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Icon: Che Guevara
By Bertie Simmonds on 22/10/2010 16:52:09
A political icon from the Swinging 60s and owner of the second most famous beret in the world (after Frank Spencer's) it's little known that Che was a very keen motorcyclist and biking author. Good on him...
For one very short spell in history during the 1960s, that gay dandy of head-dress - the beret - was actually cool.Before then it had been the national headgear of the French (bad) and after in the 1970s it was to be mocked by the likes of Frank Spencer, but you would not have sc...
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Used Test: Aprilia RSV-R
By Bertie Simmonds on 10/04/2008 19:28:42
The original Ducati spoiler is more practical and arguably more exotic too. Plus the spec'd up 'R' version can be had on the used market for as little as £3,000. But beware, she has a few issues up her skirt.
Fancy a big capacity, track ready, exotic V-twin but think a Ducati's too impractical, unreliable or just too small? Check out Aprilia's original RSV-R. The firm was new to making big modern bikes when it released the Mille which the RSV-R's based on in 1999, but they got it righ...
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First Ride: Aprilla RSV-R Mille Factory review
By Bertie Simmonds on 14/09/2010 14:30:43
The Mille R is dead. It's replacement, the Mille Factory, has moved Bert to proclaim the machine to be the best Italian V-twin sportsbike on the market
Click to read: Aprilla RSV-R Mille Factory owners reviews, Aprilla RSV-R Mille Factory specs and to see the Aprilla RSV-R Mille Factory image gallery.Hug the kerb through the long downhill fourth-gear left and you'll come on to the heat haze that is Mugello's main straight.As yo...
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Used Review: Triumph Daytona T595-955i
By Bertie Simmonds on 05/04/2008 17:59:57
A revelation when it first appeared: here was a proper British effort at a big sportsbike. Over the years while the competition has got wilder, the Daytona has stayed milder which makes the mature Daytona a very solid road bike
The impact of the first Triumph T595 should not be under estimated. Here was the first proper big British sports bike for many years and one which - on paper at least - promised to give the legendary FireBlade a run for its money. Cue 'Land of Hope and Glory' and much jingoistic ...
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Used Test: Suzuki GSX1400
By Bertie Simmonds on 13/09/2010 14:19:12
It looked like a pit-bull, even if it was more of a lap-dog to ride. Blessed with good looks and mucho torque, Suzuki's GSX1400 has proved to be a popular retro bruiser bike in used circles
Click to read: Suzuki GSX1400 owners reviews, Suzuki GSX1400 specs and to see the Suzuki GSX1400 image gallery.Back in the days when wearing Brut 33 was considered foreplay, real men rode bikes like these. Retro bikes from the 1990s cashed in on naked nostalgia with a raft of ma...
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Living with a 2003 Kawasaki Z1000
By Bertie Simmonds on 12/07/2003 15:18:14
Uncertainty soon turns to attraction as the big Zed wins over Bert
July 2003I shut the door gently. At last we were alone in the garage. I took a deep breath and uttered that immortal line. 'It's not you, it's me'.You see, I'd chosen the Zed thou' as my long-term bike. My choice. My shout. And I was pleased with that choice, but now after a 200...
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Living with a 2001 Honda CBR929RR Fireblade
By Bertie Simmonds on 26/04/2002 10:59:44
Former TWO magazine editor, Bertie Simmonds, talks about his experience of owning a Honda CBR929RR Fireblade
under lock, key and cover chez Bertie, the Blade started on the button, first time of asking when I fired her up to get back down t0 the office after my time off. And since then I've eventually managed to put another 800 miles on the Blade in the last
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Living with a 2003 Suzuki GSX-R1000
By Bertie Simmonds on 10/11/2003 13:54:39
It's big, it's old and a bit of a relic. But enough about Bertie, see how he got on with the monster GSX-R1000
August 2003In just two weeks and a shade over two thousand miles I've tried to give the Suzuki GSX-R1000 as good a thrashing as my pathetic skills could muster, with a track day, a 180 mile-an-hour blast down Bruntingthorpe's two-mile runway, daily commutes and a handful of Sunda...
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Living with a 2002 Aprilia RSV Mille R
By Bertie Simmonds on 12/12/2002 11:48:54
Did Bertie get on with the RSV Mille R, read on for his longterm verdict...
June 2002On your right is the Aprilia RSV Mille R. Bertie Simmonds not pictured. And why wasn't I? Well, I just couldn't do it...Sticking my ugly mug in the picture alongside such a thing of great beauty would have been tantamount to Bernard Manning
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Used Review: Ducati Monster S4 & S4R
By Bertie Simmonds on 08/04/2008 21:11:47
Like the original but on steroids, the Monster S4 grasped bare-biking from Bologna by the bars and took it into the new millennium. But are there any bugs? Used-bike fact hound Bertie Simmonds finds out.
Ducati's evergreen favourite, the Monster had been around for seven years when - in Y2K - the S4 was launched.This was a much-needed shot in the arm for the Monster family, which by this time had been overtaken by the opposition, such as the TL1000S-engined Cagiva Raptor.Out went...
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