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First Ride: 2007 Honda CB600F Hornet
By Roland Brown on 02/04/2008 12:56:43
Honda's top-selling naked middleweight gets a top-to-toe revamp, sharp new looks and the world's ugliest exhaust collector box
-speed manoeuvring as we left the launch-base hotel, near Faro on Portugal's Algarve coast, out onto winding roads that headed up into the hills.The motor felt sharp and responsive, and also emitted a fruity rasp from the stubby, MotoGP-style silencer near my right
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First Ride: Kawasaki ZX-10R
By Roland Brown on 20/09/2010 14:06:19
Last year Kawasaki bought a race circuit to sharpen up its bikes on. The first to feel the benefit is the occasionally wayward ZX-10R.
response and keep peak power output unchanged while passing tighter emissions controls.Kawasaki's main aim with this update was to make the ZX quicker round a track. Much of the development work was done here at Autopolis, which the Big K bought in April
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2010 Ducati Hypermotard 796 first ride road test
By Roland Brown on 01/06/2010 14:52:45
At a fiver under seven grand Roland Brown reckons Ducati’s revamped baby Hypermotard is worth a sniff
1500rpm earlier at 5000rpm. The Hyperbike blatted forward in notably livelier fashion than the rather gutless 696, hoiking clutchless wheelies on demand and generally feeling punchier and noticeably more responsive.Click next to continue
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First Ride: Mondial Piega
By Roland Brown on 03/04/2008 19:09:16
It's hard not to be sceptical about the rebirth of another once great Italian manufacturer.
to confirm this were thwarted by rain at the launch near Venice. But those who'd ridden it in sunshine the day before had few complaints, and even on a damp track the Piega's acceleration, smooth throttle response and sharp yet stable handling were very
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First Ride: CR&S Vun
By Roland Brown on 02/04/2008 15:46:03
It's pricey single-cylinder special time.
tiny digital instrument panel. The motor fired up with a fruity thud-thud from the under-engine silencer (and occasionally a graunch from the starter).The Vun was light and responsive; for a single the Rotax lump was smooth, encouraging me to get
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First Ride: 2002 Aprilia Tuono Review
By Roland Brown on 03/04/2008 19:16:40
Aprilia's Tuono is one of the more curious of machines to come from Italy
up and heading for the horizon. Aprilia's only change to the powerplant is to improve low-rev throttle response slightly as part of an ongoing process of development. Can't say I noticed the difference, but the Tuono felt superbly well sorted
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First Ride: 2007 Aprilia Mana
By Roland Brown on 10/04/2008 21:51:31
Aprilia’s Mana puts a fully-automatic transmission into a conventional motorbike, creating the last word in practical biking. So is the Mana a fantastic scooter for grown-ups, or the worst of both worlds..?
-rev performance. Tweaking the light-action throttle sent the V-twin surging forward with a more urgent version of the typical constant-rev scooter rumble.Rain mode softens the throttle response slightly, useful given the conditions, but Aprilia has programmed
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First Ride: 2008 CR&S Vun
By Roland Brown on 27/05/2008 22:48:46
It's pricey single-cylinder special time.
tiny digital instrument panel. The motor fired up with a fruity thud-thud from the under-engine silencer (and occasionally a graunch from the starter).The Vun was light and responsive; for a single the Rotax lump was smooth, encouraging me to get
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First Ride: BMW R1150 Rockster review
By Roland Brown on 13/09/2010 15:48:40
BMW's new Rockster is heavily based on the R1150R, but comes laced with a little more attitude, a snazzier paint job and a Marty Feldman headlight cluster
and gesturing angrily at me to get back behind him where I belonged.Best response was to ignore the fools, tread into gear with the reasonably smooth-shifting six-speed box, and leave them for dust when the lights changed. The Rockster is no more of a dragstrip
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First Ride: KTM 950 Adventure
By Roland Brown on 14/09/2010 10:46:49
Light, punchy, fast and capable of genuine off-road excursions, the big new KTM rocks. But there are slight question marks over comfort and vibration
to combine a light crankshaft, softly tuned engine and carbs rather than fuel-injection have given excellent throttle response. With a max of 98bhp there's plenty of top-end go, too. When the road opened up, a brief flat-out blast sent the orange-faced tacho
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