Bike Tests
JOURNEYMAN: SUZUKI V-STROM 1050 XT
As Suzuki's V-Strom morphs closer to being the full house Adventure bike it will inevitably become, how close is it in 2020?
THE EVIL TWIN: KTM 890 DUKE R
KTM hit the reset button to re-develop the 890 Duke R and the result just may be the best model in the Austrian brand’s road bike range
GREAT ESCAPER: TRIUMPH SCRAMBLER XE
Just like Steve McQueen, the Scrambler 1200 XE provides surprisingly high off-road abilities in a ridiculously cool package
DUKES OF WELLINGTON: HANDBUILT WORD BEATERS
Nitro-burning Ducatis, a short-stroke Pantah that revved to over 14,000rpm, one of the very first 851 Superbike engines housed in a custom frame. Things got a little crazy in New Zealand in the 1980s
SPORTS COAT: DUCATI SUPERSPORT
Ducati’s SuperSport offers the versatility of its Monster range in a fully clothed homage to its sportier V4-powered sibling
HOT ROD: 2020 YAMAHA XSR900
If the MT-09 is Yamaha’s boy naked, then the XSR is the sophisticated gentleman’s version
CODE BLUE: 2020 YAMAHA YZF-R1 & YZF-R1M
It’s not the major overhaul some were expecting, but the electronic changes to the 2020 YZF-R1 are positive and purposeful
BACK TO THE FUTURE: 1985 SUZUKI GSX-R750 SUPERSTOCK RACER
The groundbreaking Suzuki GSX-R750 was the world’s first superbike. So we took Mick Grant’s racing version for a blast – 30 years after it won the British Superstock title
CUT SNAKE: DUCATI STREETFIGHTER V4 S
Remove the bodywork from the highly acclaimed Ducati Panigale V4 and you’ve got so much grunt you need biplane wings to keep it under control
LUCKY CHARM: KEVIN SCHWANTZ'S 1993 SUZUKI RGV500 XR79
When it comes to development, slow and steady really does win the race
GENTLEMAN JOHN: JOHN WOODLEY
John Woodley was close to being thrust into the limelight in the 1970s – until he hit a cast iron fire hydrant on his RG500
1989: WE RODE ALEX CRIVILLÉ'S JJ-COBAS TB5 125 RACER
It’s been 30 years since Alex Crivillé took out the 125cc GP world title aboard the Rotax-powered JJ-Cobas. We wind back the clock to a time when two-strokes ruled the world