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Road Test: Ducati 999 vs. 998
By John Cantlie on 21/04/2008 22:00:18
Of course, what every 998 owner really wants to know is whether they have to sell their bike immediately and get another loan for a new 999. Or are they - infact - better off with their undoubted modern classic?
Testastretta engine thrums away underneath.Click to continue the Ducati 999 vs 998 road test
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Road Test: CBR954RR vs. ZX-9R v GSX-R1000 v YZF-R1
By John Cantlie, Warren Pole, Niall Mackenzie, Gus Scott on 21/04/2008 21:16:18
Another year, another choice selection of 1,000cc sportsbikes. But this year is a particularly good vintage as Yamaha, Kawasaki and Honda try to close the gap on Suzuki's all conquering GSX-R1000 of 2001.
-missiles.Even the Kawasaki ZX-9R has been properly tweaked for 2002. Using the lessons learnt from the launch last issue, Gus and myself spent 30 minutes a couple of days before the test slamming the front end of the 9R and jacking the back-end up (see handling caption
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Road Test: Kawasaki ER-6n
By John Cantlie on 29/04/2008 21:48:35
Kawasaki launches a new beginners' bike. Looks weird, goes well. Sounds alright then.
Kawasaki prefers not to mess around. Other manufacturers might make lighter bikes, prettier bikes, or bikes that are easier to ride, but Kawasaki - quite rightly - sticks two fingers up at such sentimental softness and consistently delivers red-blooded motorcycles with more power...
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Road Test: Moto Guzzi Breva V1100
By John Cantlie on 27/04/2008 21:00:09
Moto Guzzi come out swinging with their new Breva V11, and they've got BMW's R1150R boxer twin up against the ropes.
is not really sustainable. Along with the forthcoming Griso and the promise of a road-going MGS-01 superbike, Guzzi appear to be getting their skates on.The first thing you notice about the Breva is the way it looks. Gone is the retro-chic of big beasts like
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Road Test: Honda CRF450X
By John Cantlie on 27/04/2008 22:39:12
With wheelie-happy monsters like Honda's new CRF450X, never has there been a better reason to get stuck in the mud.
Anyone who knows anything about off-road bikes knows Honda's CRF450 motocrosser is horrifically fast and entirely frightening to ride. Two laps of a track on one is enough to pump your forearms solid and turn your legs to jelly, and the slightest
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Road Test: Honda CRF450 vs. Yamaha YZ426
By John Cantlie on 20/04/2008 21:57:00
With two new shattering four-stroke dirtbikes available for 2002 in the shape of the Honda CRF450 and Yamaha YZ426, we sent our resident off-road specialist Steven Pheasant to various mudholes around the UK to figure out who's packing the big gun.
and over bumps, the Honda's the best of the two again because of that stability. That said, I had no problem on the Yamaha 426. Infact on the Yamaha test day, the 426 was the best bike of all the Yamaha off-road range I rode that day. And I didn't think
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Road Test: KTM 950SM V BMW R1200GS Adventure
By John Cantlie on 13/04/2008 13:42:48
Are these the two best Sportsbikes in the world? KTM’s 950sm and BMW’s seminal R1200GS adventure are ripping up the rule book and re-inventing the way we should ride.
is stamped all over the way the 950 feels to ride. I attended the world launch three years ago, and after a demented day’s riding during which I had a very serious race on deserted European roads with one of the test riders, that evening we got stuck
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Countryphiles: Honda CBF600S, Kawasaki ER-6f, Yamaha XJ6 Diversion, Suzuki GSX650F
By John Cantlie on 27/07/2010 11:56:42
The commuter motorcycle has grown up and turned into a proper bike in its own right. We took them out of their natural element of city streets for a damn good thrashing on country roads
Getting from A to B on a bike designed solely to get from A to B as cheaply as possible used to be a rather wretched affair. Such bikes were, quite frankly, built down to a price, plasticky, slow, handled like shopping trollies and looked crap. They would do the job adequately bu...
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Head Candy: KTM 690SMC vs Husqvarna 510SMR
By John Cantlie on 26/07/2010 15:29:14
How does KTM’s 690SMC stack up against Husqvarna’s rip-snorting 510R on the country backroads of southern England?
. By comparison this road-legal version is heavy and pathetically quiet but, being about 14 inches above sea level (as opposed to 14,000ft) means the motor is barbarous and power-packed in comparison. It still looks great, angular and aggressive, although it never
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First Ride: 2007 Kawasaki GTR1400
By John Cantlie on 02/04/2008 17:34:16
Kawasaki enter the super-tourer class with their blistering GTR1400. Well-appointed and refined, this top-end tourer also comes with a strong helping of brutish Kawasaki performance.
manageable. For about 70% of the riding time during the launch the roads were deluged with water and for really fast riding on some of the awful German routes we crossed into, you were aware of the weight as the front and rear tyres skipped and slipped
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