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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.
-cylinder layout should be used. From this we can gather that listening to focus groups can be a bad idea, for 10 years down the line we're full circle with the new Daytona 675 triple...So, in 1999 we got a four-cylinder motorcycle that scarcely deviated from
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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
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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.
formula and constructed the new ZX-6R for 1995. Suddenly the sporty and practical CBR was blown into the weeds.The ZX-6RF1 had a stoating, all-new 599cc motor which, allied to Kawasaki's ram-air system gave the bike a rear-wheel 93bhp and an intake roar
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Used Review: Aprilia RSV Mille & Mille R
By Bertie Simmonds on 05/04/2008 13:50:45
With looks and performance akin to a kick in the pods, Aprilia's Mille proved that not every Italian sportsbike had to be a blood-red, 90¡ V-twin from Bologna.
lumpy) power delivery. It piled out 128 claimed bhp, which equated to around 112-115 in rear-wheel terms.With Aprilia already umpteen titles through their 125 and 250cc GP haul at the time, you had a beautifully polished and organically curving ally beam
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Used Review: Yamaha YZF-R6
By Bertie Simmonds on 05/04/2008 16:08:21
Yamaha's feisty little R6 has deservedly gained a cult status amongst its fans, as a rev-happy, sharp-edged alternative to Honda's more easy-going CBR600.
'claimed' 120bhp (more like 105bhp at the rear wheel) and was also the first production bike to boast 200bhp per litre.But these figures only tell half the story. What did make the bike the success it became was its single-minded attitude to sports biking
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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?
...Performance wise, it was close to the 'Blade with 122 claimed bhp and an altogether more fiery disposition. For years it stayed the same (save for fuel-injection in 1998) before again transmogrifying itself into another litre-beater sportsbike, the GSX-R750Y
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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
nightmare suffered by the TL1000S during 1997. A recall to fit steering dampers hit buyer confidence in the Suzuki, and Honda effectively sold double the number of TLs in that first year.Then, as a rash of big-bore four-cylinder bikes got better and better
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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.
in the UK, it ably filled a gap between the ZXR750 sports tool and the ZZ-R1100 tourer.Things changed in 1998 as Kawasaki got serious. In came shark-like sleekness, less weight (183kg dry, down from 215) and more power - 143 claimed bhp, a whopping 18bhp
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Used Review: Kawasaki ZRX11 & 1200
By Bertie Simmonds on 09/04/2008 21:55:47
The menacingly handsome, retro-cool and capable ZRX series has been with us for a decade now, so how does it fare as a used buy? Bertie Simmonds finds out.
Synonymous with the Kawasaki muscle bikes of old and Eddie Lawson's 1980/'81 AMA title-winning inline fours, the ZRX series is actually a little more than that.The bike first came into being in 1997 in 1100cc form, sporting a retro square headlight
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First Ride: 2007 Buell 1125R
By Bertie Simmonds on 02/04/2008 17:59:37
25 years in the making and Erik Buell finally makes the bike he always dreamed of: a liquid-cooled V-twin with plenty of poke and handling to die for. So has junking the Harley engines given Buell a new edge?
motor and around an unfamiliar track like Laguna it cossets you, as your gear selection needn't be spot-on.Buell claims 146bhp @ 10,000rpm at the crank, but I reckon the 1125R will be pushing out more like 115 on the dyno. The bike is so tractable
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