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First Ride: 2002 Yamaha TDM900
By Bertie Simmonds on 29/03/2008 14:03:53
Let me see now. Ten years ago British biking was on the verge of something big. Our bike buying trends were going to be challenged by a bug-eyed kid from Yamaha - the TDM850.
Let me see now. Ten years ago British biking was on the verge of something big. Our bike buying trends were going to be challenged by a bug-eyed kid from Yamaha - the TDM850. It promised the kind of handling and performance that would be useful against a supersports machine, with...
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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 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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Used Review: Honda CBR600F 1999-2002
By Bertie Simmonds on 05/04/2008 14:01:56
Year-on-year since its introduction in 1987, Honda's venerable CBR600F has been the undisputed king in the white-hot battle royal of the middleweight 600cc sports category. Bertie Simmonds checks out the last of the line
300,000 bikers can't be wrong. That's how many people who, the world over, have purchased Honda's evergreen favourite - the CBR600F - in the last 18 years.Back in 1987 Honda saw Kawasaki and Yamaha having a laugh in the middleweight sportsbike class with the GPZ600R and FZ600 and...
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Used Review: Ducati 916, 996 & 998
By Bertie Simmonds on 05/04/2008 14:08:20
An aesthetic and performance revolution in its day, the 916 series has guaranteed iconic status for Bologna's blood-red bullets for time immemorial. But are those stories of Desmodromic histrionics all true?
Carl Fogarty. The Aprilia RSV Mille. Neil Hodgson. The Honda VTR1000 Firestorm. James Toseland. Suzuki's TL1000. Troy Bayliss and, finally, Ducati themselves.None of the above would either be here today or where they are today without the beautiful, seminal 916.Developed in 1993 ...
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Used Review: Triumph Sprint RS
By Bertie Simmonds on 05/04/2008 21:38:34
Quiet, unassuming and unpopular the Sprint RS may have been as a new buy, it now has a loyal following and makes a bargain sports tourer.
I was at the launch of the Sprint RS in southern Spain in 1999. Some muppet in the office thought it would be a good idea to ride back from there to the Midlands, in late December.But thanks to decent winter kit and the Sprint RS's solid attributes, I got back in one piece and no...
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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.
Honda's Hornet has always been a handsome machine, but despite being up against some tough competition it's attracted a cult following.It began in 1998, when Honda (and Yamaha with the Fazer) decided they'd had enough of Suzuki topping the sales charts with their Bandit 600, and ...
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Used Review: Triumph TT600-Daytona 600-650
By Bertie Simmonds on 05/04/2008 22:01:14
Yep, it's true. Back in 1996, when Triumph first mooted a middleweight sportsbike - codenamed T806 - they looked at making a triple.
Yep, it's true. Back in 1996, when Triumph first mooted a middleweight sportsbike - codenamed T806 - they looked at making a triple.But, after listening to a number of 'focus groups' in the USA and the UK, it was felt that a tried-and-trusted four-cylinder layout should be used. ...
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Used Review: Yamaha Fazer 600
By Bertie Simmonds on 05/04/2008 16:03:24
Cheaper than chips and more versatile than a Swiss Army knife, the Yamaha Fazer is one of the few bikes that really can be (nearly) all things to all men - and all for under two grand
Even medieval alchemists couldn't have managed what Yamaha did with the Fazer 600 back in 1998.They took the motor from a second-rate 600, bolted-on R1 brakes and stuck it all in a workmanlike chassis, wrapped in plastics of questionable aesthetic value.No matter how they went ab...
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Used Review: Kawasaki ZX-6R 1997 - 2001
By Bertie Simmonds on 05/04/2008 13:29:51
The ZX-6R exploded onto the scene in 1995 and has been with us ever since. Bertie Simmonds explores the myriad of myths and litany of lies about the G and J models of the big K's popular middleweight blaster.
Honda had been having its own way for too long. A succession of CBR600s had held the top spot in the sales charts and held sway in the hearts of the bike-buying public for the best part of ten years. Someone had to do something about it.Kawasaki finally delivered the goods with t...
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