1000 Articles
Suzuki's bringing back the V-Strom 1000
Know what there's not enough of these days? Large-capacity adventure tourers that are so heavy and so expensive you can't take them within sight of dirt. Bikes like the Ducati Multistrada 1200, Kawasaki Versys 1000, Moto Guzzi Stelvio, Honda Crosstourer and the new Triumph Tiger Explorer 1200 leave such a gap in the market that the case of this new V-Strom 1000 concept practically makes itself. It...
Dailies
Michael Czysz on MotoGP: it's lost
500 > 990 > 800 > 1000 > CRT > ? In an era where it is more important then ever for companies to innovate and differentiate themselves from the competition, the race track, for a motorcycle company, should be as central to their operation as the boardroom. If companies no longer deem racing essential, it is because the formula is no longer relevant. Worse, if racing classifications are not clear...
Can 14 little changes transform the GSX-R1000?
No traction control. No ABS. Down on power and heavier than most rivals. It’s easy to write off the 2012 Suzuki GSX-R1000 before even riding it. But should you? We flew down to scenic Homestead, Florida, home of a NASCAR track, to find out. Paper, Performance and foregone conclusions Burdened by the weight of testosterone and bragging rights, it’s common to see the conversation on new motor...
Without traction control and down on power, can the 2012 Honda CBR1000RR still compete?
It’s easy to feel a bit sorry for liter bikes as 2011 slowly becomes 2012. They’ve reached some sort of pinnacle — without exception the entire class is now so impossibly fast that the bikes have become distinguished not by power or handling, but by the efficacy of electronic rider aids. Even while technology progresses exponentially, model cycles are stretching longer and longer and cash-st... The 14 updates that make the 2012 Suzuki GSX-R1000
If only be barely, but the 2012 Suzuki GSX-R1000 has been updated with a view to optimizing performance and handling. It’s a little lighter, has a little more mid-range and looks slightly different. Here’s details of the 14 changes Suzuki made to it, plus a whole mess o’ images and action video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lij8bPdgP-k - Thanks to Suzuki 's uncompromising efforts to sha...
Dailies
Spy Photos: Kawasaki Versys 1000
These photos, captured by French website Moto-Net.com, appear to show a Kawasaki Versys equipped with the alloy beam frame and 1,043cc inline-four from the Z1000. Aside from the engine and frame, which wear different color finishes to the Z, this bike looks very production ready and is equipped with bespoke parts such as the large, low-mount exhaust. That seems to indicate that this is a productio...
Dailies
They call him Fast Freddie
Freddie Spencer was so precociously gifted as a racer that by age 19 he had several film crews following his every move as he dominated the AMA's fledgling Superbike class. The combined footage is an incredible time capsule of American racing seen through the perspective of the mild-mannered Louisianan, crammed with interviews and fantastic battles with past giants like Wes Cooley and Eddie Lawson...
Dailies
Report: 1,200cc engines for 2013 KTM Adventure, Super Duke
Our friends at Dutch publication Nieuwsmotor just returned from a visit to KTM’s Austrian headquarters, where they discovered that new versions of the Adventure, Super Duke and Duke are in the works. At the heart of the new models is a new modular engine which they suggest will be available in 1,200, 1,000 and 700-800cc capacities. A 700cc version of the single-cylinder Duke is also planned for ...
Dailies
2011 Kawasaki Z1000S: a practical liter bike
Alright, no one can accuse us of breaking into a warehouse and stealing this one. MCN is published in England and I’ll happily provide a scan of my passport to anyone that asks, no UK stamps for at least three years. What you’re looking at is apparently called the 2011 Kawasaki Z1000S and, as the name suggests, it looks like a faired version of the Z1000. This scan comes from MCN, who suggest ...
Dailies
HFL + RSV4 Factory = NYPD
This is what happens when you ride a barely less than thoroughbred racing machine on Manhattan's Harlem River Drive. The Aprilia RSV4 Factory got me nailed at 80 in a 50 earlier today. The officer cornered me in the far left lane, stopped traffic and made me walk the bike across four lanes to the 125th Street exit. During rush hour. Granted, the rest of traffic was doing 75 when he popped me, I go...