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Anatomy of a new bike launch
Congratulations! You're the millionth customer at the local multi-franchise mega-bike-dealer! And so you've picked up a very special prize! Yep, you're going on an actual bike press launch. Wooh! So what can you expect?
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Modern Classics: Honda VTR1000 Firestorm (1997-2005)
I remember when I first rode one of these – it was back in 1997, it had a set of cheap, loud cans on it, and it went like hell. A hundred and seventy appeared on the clocks in no time, totally belying the rather unassuming appearance of the little Honda...
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Modern Classics: Yamaha FJ1100 / FJ1200 (1984-1996)
Back in the 90s and 00s, it wasn't unusual to see motors being updated every couple of years. So it's a sign of just how good Yamaha made the original FJ1100 motor back in 1984, that it's still going strong today, in the naked XJR1300. That's more than 32 years with essentially the same layout...
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Modern Classics: Yamaha Fazer 600 (1994-2004)
The 1990s was a cracking decade for superbikes. We got Ducati's 916, Honda's FireBlade and NR750, Suzuki's GSX-R750 and Hayabusa, and Yamaha's R1 and R6. Stonking sportsbikes all! But we also got some classic metal in the lower classes too...
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Time Travel: Modern bike v old GP bike
How far back in history would I have to time travel to win a GP on my GSXR Fireblade ZXS1000RR? Jerez in Spain is the best circuit to answer the question as the layout hasn't changed since its Grand Prix debut in 1987...
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How do bikes go round corners
Bikes go round corners because the rider is balancing a large number of physical forces to a high degree of accuracy – at least, accurately enough not to crash, hopefully. To explain further may break the internet or your attention span. But here goes...
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Why do motorcycle tyres wear out?
At a superficial level, tyres wear out because otherwise tyre manufacturers wouldn’t sell as many. But the physical reason a tyre wears out is because it grips. Or sticks. Well, both. There IS a difference...
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Suzuki Katana Concept Bike
Despite a relatively short-lived four year production run the Suzuki Katana had well and truly left its mark (the styling cues can still be seen on some of today’s line-up) and has even been resurrected many times in limited numbers. We think that somewhere out there, Suzuki are still building them and they might just look like this...