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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
August 2001Ever since they first came out way back in 1992, I've lusted after a FireBlade. Loved the looks, the performance, the name, but hated the insurance costs and the prospect of having a target on your back because you've got the best sports
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Public Access - James Toseland Road Ride
By Bertie Simmonds on 01/09/2006 14:46:03
With just days to go before Brands Hatch WSB, Bertie Simmonds takes a road ride on the wild side with 2004 World champ and Great British hope James Toseland
better than that?At the moment though, he's wide-eyed from having a biker's blast on a road-going Fireblade. Best bit has been the casual nods from the riders we meet head-on, oblivious to who this really is. They probably think he's some wannabe in a set
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Used Review: Honda CB600F Hornet
By Bertie Simmonds on 05/04/2008 21:49:32
Born in 1998's naked middleweight boom, the Honda Hornet has evolved into a more capable, practical machine than the tiny-tanked original model.
and simplistic, but the whole plot had clean lines and pleasant looks.The Hornet was originally blessed (or cursed) with the same size boots as the original FireBlade, chosen (said Honda) for control and agility, but many felt it was for the sort of looks
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Used Review: Honda VTR Firestorm
By Bertie Simmonds on 05/04/2008 13:42:06
In the mid-90s, V-twins were red, temperamental and raced by Carl Fogarty. Until Honda brought out the Firestorm, that is. We examine Honda's first big-twin sportsbike
the world, and decided they should get in on the act. That year, Suzuki launched the wayward and potent TL1000S, while Honda pinned its hopes on the VTR1000F Firestorm.Despite the similarity in name with the four-cylinder FireBlade, the 'F' designation most
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Used Review: Suzuki GSX-R750
By Bertie Simmonds on 28/09/2008 16:25:56
A classic headbanger's bike, the SRAD and 750Y models of the legendary GSX-R were once giant killers. But how do they stand the ravages of time?
.But this time it wasn't the Honda FireBlade Suzuki had to beat. By now Yamaha's YZF-R1 had taken the top sports bike slot.Once more the GSX-R750 was hailed as a bike which could 'do the business' up against the litre tools, despite losing out around 250cc. Once
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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
development being inexcusably completed by the first paying customers led to the machine and its image losing some of its shine.Eventually, while the Honda FireBlade and Yamaha R1 went off in sportier directions, Triumph quietly went about slowly refining
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Road Test: Peak Practice
By Bertie Simmonds on 20/04/2008 21:24:25
Once a year, at Shrove-Tide, Ashbourne becomes the Wembley of the Peak District.
to be just as tough as kicking the shit out of a bag of sawdust for three miles, as we aim to test the cream of motorcycling twins - BMW's R1100S, Honda's VTR1000F FireStorm and the Aprilia SL1000 Falco.Alex reckons the Peak's roads will offer a stern testing
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Used Review: Kawasaki ZX-9R (B1 - F2P)
By Bertie Simmonds on 05/04/2008 16:32:53
Kawasaki built a Blade beater for 1998, just in time for Yamaha's R1 to trump the pair of 'em. But all was not lost - the ZX-9R drew a dedicated following.
Kawasaki's ZX-9R should always be considered a 'sporty' sports-tourer first and foremost, not a full-on sportsbike aiming to beat Honda's FireBlade or Yamaha's R1.Once you get this one very important fact straight then you can start to appreciate
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10 Minutes with Adrian Gorst
By Bertie Simmonds on 05/04/2008 11:16:36
Now a key part of HRC's BSB effort,
title?Working for Honda, you're damned if you win and damned if you don't. People look at us expecting us to win. I try not to worry about it and just get on with my job. People talk about just how 'factory' the HM Plant Fireblades are. Are they
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What’s MotoGP ever done for us?
By Bertie Simmonds on 30/04/2010 12:21:11
How comparable is a £3 million MotoGP weapon to your sportsbike? Since 2002 technology has filtered down from the best teams in the world, more so than you might imagine
of the time, but I wonder if anyone actually went to Honda dealer and tried to buy an NSR500 like Mick Doohan’s? And that was the point. GPs were two-stroke and we were riding four-strokes. The MMSA – the manufacturer’s organisation in MotoGP – realised
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