Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2018 i BIKE

» A 21st Century motorcycle is a flippin’ amazing thing. A really complicated piece of engineering and electronics that delivers amazing performance, impeccable reliability and meets loads of demanding noise, emissions and safety targets. I can just about re-assemble the carburettors on a 1981 Moto Morini, but I’ve no real comprehension about how the technology on a 2018 motorcycle actually works. They don’t half ride beautifully though. But there is more to it than technology. Because as well as delivering performance, they also have to tug on your heartstrings. Laptop computers are clever too, but you don’t want one the way you want a motorcycle. So making a decent motorcycle is pretty hard. And before you can make the bike, you have to make a motorcycle factory. That takes some…

Price £21,228 otr tested (£18,928 base) Battery 14.4kWh Li-Ion 28s2p Range 105 miles (clmd), 111 miles (calculated) Recharge time 2.5hrs with charge tank, 9.8hrs w/o Power 68.7bhp (clmd) Torque 107.7 lb.ft Top speed 110mph Rake/trail 26.5°/117mm Wheelbase 1427mm Wet weight 220kg (clmd) Seat height 843mm Colours black Availability one-week delivery time. Bike verdict Lighter, more powerful, longer-legged and less cash than an Energica Eva. But an electric adventure bike? Bike rating 6/10…

» The Biker Down! course could easily be the most valuable three hours you’ll spend this summer. It’s a first aid course run by motorcycle-riding firemen who explain what to do if, god forbid, you come across a bike crash. It’s direct, simple and confidence-inspiring. You’ll be the one saving a fellow rider’s life rather than flapping about in a panic. The Bike staff attended and wished they’d done it decades ago. To find your nearest course go to https://bit.ly/2KeNlIC…

» 7-9 September Goodwood Revival, Chichester, W. Sussex Not been before? Book tickets to the best fancy dress party in the world before they sell out. Plus, this is one of the few events that works for non-motorcycling partners. Pricey, but worth it. Only one bike race per day, so be somewhere good to watch it. Getting to Lavant corner is worth the effort. goodwood.com » 14-16 September Bol d’Or, Le Castellet, France The main race starts 3pm Saturday 15th and finishes 24 hours later. If you’ve not seen it then you need to. Almost equally importantly the classic endurance race, two hours on Friday evening, two hours on Saturday morning, will feature the 2015 race winning Team Bike Honda RC30, and Peter Boast and Guy Martin’s Team Lincolnshire Suzuki…

» 10-12 Aug Horizons Unlimited Travellers’ Meeting, Ulaan Bataar, Mongolia Get your skates on and you can make it to the first ever HU Travellers’ Meeting in Mongolia’s capital.Co-hosted with local adventure company, Drive Mongolia, it’s shaping up to be an exciting, truly multinational event, with local Mongolian travellers, and many from China and Russia passing through. horizonsunlimited.com/events » 24-28 September Adventure Bike Gathering, British Columbia, Canada The Adventure Bike Gathering takes place in Vernon, BC and features off-road training and local ambassadors taking groups out on epic rides. All trail and adventure bikes are welcome and terrain ranges from fully-paved and gravel backroads to intermediate and advanced dirt. theadventurebikegathering.com » 30 September Lois Pryce on motorcycling in Iran, Malborough Literature Festival, Wiltshire If Mongolia and Canada are a bit…

BETA’S 2019 ENDURO range stretches long and wide: the eight-model line-up is as comprehensive as you’ll find from any manufacturer. And the new RR 200 is the best of the lot. This is saying something, as the 300 two-stroke is Beta’s biggest seller and choice of world enduro champion, Steve Holcombe. Then there’s the big 480 four-stroke, which appeals to road bike riders because of its brutal motor. But though big capacity enduro bikes can work for racing they’re not ideal because most riders don’t need all that weight and power. They sell in big numbers in North America and Australia though, because they are fast and torquey, and still agile compared with a road-orientated trail or adventure bike. But even in this company, the RR 200 shines. It’s a…

» Unless you’re a racer it doesn’t get much better than riding an R1M around the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit. Yamaha’s Silverstone Masterclass is special. ‘It’s one-on-one instruction and we gear it to what you want,’ says chief instructor Niall Mackenzie. ‘Riders get double the usual trackday track time, so that’s 12 sessions of 25 minutes each. We get club racers coming along but mostly it’s trackday guys wanting to ride better. You get the full deal – we assess where you’re at and what you want to work on, using video analysis etc. Tarran and Taylor instruct, plus Troy Corser if I’m away, or one of our other senior instructors, like former racer Alan Batson.’ A Masterclass on the full GP track costs £899, or £599 if you use…

Triumph Speedmaster Pros: liquid-cooled 1200cc parallel twin feels frisky compared with the Sport Glide’s huge V-twin. Handling is in a different league too. Cons: saddle has some riders fidgeting within 30 minutes. Indian Scout Pros: feisty 1133cc V-twin with 100bhp makes the Scout a hilariously fast cruiser. Traditional Indian styling gives an authentic vibe too. Cons: dealers are few and far between. Mates will ask why you didn’t just get a Harley. Harley-Davidson Roadster Pros: twin front discs, pegs in the right place, aggressive attitude. And because it’s Sportsterbased it’s £5k cheaper than the Sport Glide. Cons: lacks the Sport Glide’s quality feel and Big Twin presence.…

This may be a tiny bit London-centric, and if people being pushed off their bikes to have their bikes stolen is not yet a problem for you, in your local area, then I am genuinely happy. So far in 2018 we have had three clients pushed from motorcycles by feral gangs, usually on fairly high capacity scooters and of these there were two ‘successful’ thefts and one where the rider with a quick and aggressive mindset managed to keep hold of their bike. So, what can you actually do if confronted by a gang? Firstly, unless you have good and well-honed fighting skills, your bike can be replaced, but you can’t. Let it go. But if you take a hard line, you are big enough, hard enough and skilled enough…

This isn’t a limp brochure-style round-up of all the bikes you can buy. No, your guide is far more useful as it only contains bikes that we have tested, with comparable on-the-road prices plus data, expert opinion and must-know detail gathered by fussy full-time testers. We do hundreds of thousands of miles, dyno, datalog, weigh and answer the big questions. Don’t buy a new bike without reading this first. ✱ ENDURING IMAGE BMW’s mid-eighties K-series bikes were tourers, but that didn’t stop people racing them. This is AMA Superbike star and ex-GP rider John Long at Suzuka in 1986 with the Mint Racing bike, which used an alloy beam frame, knotted pipes, jaunty lamps and fabulous multi-section rear wheel. ✱ PERFECT TIMINGÉ Mike Hailwood’s 1978 TT comeback on a 900SS…

LIVING IN AWE OF BIKE’S HARLEY FOOL Mark Graham, as I do, my unfathomable lust for a modern sport-cruiser – a category I may just have invented – continues unabated. Herewith three possible candidates… Harley Street Rod £5495 » Over a grand less than list, in the best colour and with merely 1600 miles on the clock. Boasting 20% more power, 10% more torque and better handling than the stock Street (a previous object of perverse desire), the only gripe would be the much criticised riding position. However, with a little ingenuity and not much money, ’bars and ’pegs can be changed and I’d enjoy the warranty offered by Robin Hood Harley-Davidson, even if I had to travel 150 miles to hand over the dosh. Kawasaki Vulcan S650 £4190 »…

DESPITE WHAT MY ESTEEMED ‘colleagues’ would have you believe, I’m not a complete imbecile. I understand that the go-anywhere, do-anything image is a massive part of why folk buy a BMW R1200GS. Or a Yamaha XT1200Z, Triumph Explorer or Honda Africa Twin, for that matter. It’s why countless families trudge around Go Outdoors looking at inflatable kayaks each weekend. Our extra-adventurous R1200GS comes on Michelin’s Anakee III tyres. These are a dual-purpose tyre, though a little different to the blocky Metzeler Tourance that all GS models used to have, with a bias toward road but ample ability on loose, mucky surfaces. The tread pattern is more like that of a sports-touring fitment, except with broader and deeper grooves that have a pretty pattern on the inner faces to shift gravel,…

As loyal followings go, the allegiance for Royal Enfield is right up there. From dedicated restorers and the ever-increasing specialist support, to the riders of their current machines and even the folk who design them, the devotion is compelling. Celebrating the diverse and intriguing world of Royal Enfield, this magazine takes you deep into RE culture. From the remarkable spares and unrivalled knowledge of brand specialists Hitchcocks, to the new 650 twins and sparkling UK tech centre; from the passion of Rider Mania, to Royal Enfield’s radical Lock Stock drag racer – which we just happen to have taken for a blast. Enjoy the magazine.…

“INFLUENCED BY AND IN THE SPIRIT OF THE ORIGINAL...” It’s been a long time coming. Speculated in the press for at least the last five years, Royal Enfield admit their newest model has been a ‘dream’ for a decade. Now the wait is over, with a new twin-cylinder 650 set to be launched at the end of this summer. The Royal Enfield Interceptor is back. And it’s not alone. As well as the Interceptor, the 650 will be available as the café racer-style Continental GT. “The original Interceptor was an export model to California,” says Paul Ventura, Royal Enfield’s product strategy manager. “It was an iconic model in our range, and the California style is something the [new] Interceptor embodies. The GT is more focused and committed – it has…

Well of course it’s a dream; stuff like that doesn’t happen in real life... But I thought such a fantasy scenario might be a good way to test out just how complete Hitchcocks' parts coverage is for any given Royal Enfield model, because it just ain’t like the old days; it’s actually much better. When I started motorcycling, the British industry was largely gone but not forgotten; the big dealers, where British chrome had once gleamed under the showroom lights, had moved with the times, selling their redundant stock to greasy-denim young entrepreneurs trading from railway arches and backstreet dives. That’s where I bought my parts. But it was a finite supply and as the saleable stock depleted, most of those shops sold out to more determined rivals and it…

If there’s one rider who’s inextricably linked to the success of Royal Enfields in off-road competition, it’s surely Johnny Brittain. The son of famous all-rounder Vic, he became one of Britain’s most successful ISDT riders ever, with a staggering 13 Gold Medals picked up over the course of 16 consecutive rides in the event – 15 of them for Royal Enfield. And he was a member of the last British team ever to win the ISDT, in Czechoslovakia in 1953. He was a top trials rider, too, scooping a brace of SSDT, British Experts and Scott Trial wins, and during a glittering career was also British trials champ in 1957. It’s well known that one of Johnny’s works Bullets – adorned with his ‘factory’ registration HNP331 – resides in the…

Hugo Wilson This month: a terrifying 38 years after passing his bike test (back then you rode round the block – if you didn’t run over the examiner you passed), the editor investigates the 2018 testing process. Break it into chunks and it’s doable. Summer licence challenge, page 102 Mat Oxley This month: Mat’s a TT winner and a former World Endurance contender. He went to brush up his riding skills at a Silverstone Masterclass with Niall Mackenzie and son Tarran, and talk about the British GP. A Ride with the Mackenzies, page 84 John Westlake This month: this month’s cat herding prize goes to John. Bike’s former editor and current road test boss conceived the 18-bike Triumph showdown and somehow made it happen too. He’s now having a quiet…

Price £29,699 (DCT, airbag), £26,679 (standard) Engine 1833cc, 24-valve, SOHC flat-6 Power 125bhp @5500rpm (clamd) Torque 125lb ft @ 4500rpm (clmd) Top speed 112mph (limited) Rake/trail 305°/109mm Wheelbase 1695mm Wet weight 379kg Seat height 745 mm Tank size 21 litres Economy 51mpg (tested) Colours Candy red, white Availability Now Bike verdict The most sophisticated, coherent and luxurious tourer ever made. DCT gearbox and integrated control systems are icing on cake. The lack of a mode between Tour and Sport is annoying though and the price is, er, big. Bike rating 8/10…

‘I was trying to sculpt the most beautiful woman. She’s the one you fall in love with’ THE BEAUTY YOU’RE gazing upon is Indian’s latest step towards a full production version of their all-conquering FTR750 flat-track racer. Called the FTR1200 Custom, it uses the 1133cc, 100bhp Scout road bike engine and sits in an all-new frame. It’s the strongest hint yet of what the road bike will look like – ie smoking hot –but is by no means the finished deal. Tantalisingly, the road bike is already complete, but Indian won’t show it off until later this year. ‘The Custom is a pure, emotional, sculptural, sexual interpretation of the race bike,’ designer Rich Christoph tells Bike . ‘I was trying to sculpt the most beautiful woman I could. She’s the…

Save £1775 Honda Fireblade SP1 » The nasty business with John McGuinness and Guy Martin took the shine off the race bike, but the road-going SP1 is a wickedly easy bike to ride fast. Fowlers have this ’18 machine for £18,494, and you can get it on a 0% PCP deal too. 01174400727. Save £1454 Yamaha XSR700 » Based on the brilliant MT-07 the XSR700 is just as good with a hilariously peppy engine, joyful chassis and retro-ish looks. This one comes with £750 worth of free accessories and £704 off a list price that was good value to start with. Chorley Yamaha: 01257 444706. Save £1000 Harley XG750A Street Rod » Fancy a Harley but wary of splashing huge cash on a big twin? Then the Street Rod is…

» 29 July Suzuka 8 Hours Quick, get the telly on. Specifically, get Eurosport on from 4am. Alex Lowes on the factory Yamaha, Leon Camier on the factory Honda, Brad Ray on the Factory Suzuki, Jonathan Rea and Leon Haslam on the factory Kawasaki at the most important single race in the world. fimewc.com » 24-27 August Classic TT Racing proper is on two days, Saturday 25 and Monday 27. The Senior and Lightweight, which means 250cc two-strokes, races run on the first day, the Junior and Superbikes on the second. There will be a good number of top road riders plus John McGuinness parading Hailwood’s Ducati. iomtt.com…

‘I truly started to believe in the universe – as long as I remained positive about my goal it actually happened’ » Where are you right now? I am now living in El Pardo, Madrid, Spain. » You’ve recently returned from a pretty epic ride. Where have you been? It feels like yesterday! My route started in Malaysia and went all the way by road to the Netherlands crossing 25 countries including SE-Asia, the lower parts of Asia and Europe. All in all it took me a bit less than 11 months and 21,748 miles to reach my hometown Ermelo. » Most people, for a long overland ride, use their own ‘adventure’ bike and prep at home. But you decided to buy a small ‘local’ bike and ride it back.…

WE ALL COME to customising from different disciplines and Steve Hillary is no exception. With a solid background in selling, fettling and racing Ducatis via companies such as Moto Rapido, Dr. Desmo and Pro Twins, Steve got fired up by the then nascent UK flat-track racing scene in the early noughties, ‘And when I discovered that no-one was really making or importing the stuff to do it with, I decided to set up a little business – RedMax – on my own to do just that.’ Helped by his own involvement as a racer, interest in this very American sport soon generated enquiries for street-legal flat-track style bikes and Steve was only too happy to oblige. As we can see here… » For more info redmaxspeedshop.com NORTON ’TRACKER After substantially…

On the front page of your magazine in big black letters is the word Bike, which conjures up in my mind a belief that your magazine, the magazine to which I subscribe, is about bikes. Also, your email address, Facebook page and twitter all use the same Bike magazine metaphor to lure the masses brought up on two wheels to read about motorbikes. So, why the f**k am I provided eight pages of drivel about a f**king three wheeled vehicle in your August edition? I have no interest whatsoever in gyroscopic forces or Ackerman geometry that John Westlake has multiple orgasms over. The Nikon is a trike, a three wheeled monstrosity that 90% of your readers would gladly see scrapped tomorrow. It is not about bikes, it has no resemblance…

FOREST OF LEATHER Dainese have collected over 1000 leathers and displayed 500 amazing examples in their ‘leather forest’ room. Each suit will be tagged for identification. AN IDEA IS BORN ‘It’s 1968 and three friends, Mario, Franco and Lino [Dainese] begin to plan a summer bike trip with the desire to see new worlds.’ So say the first words as you enter the Dainese Archivio (DAR). ‘DAR is not a museum, it is the evolving archive of a company that looks to the future,’ continues the message. And so round Europe, on bikes, went the boys and the idea of Dainese was born amid the music, skirts and drugs of London and the like… READ ALL ABOUT IT Dainese was born back in 1972, in a garage in Molvena, Vicenza,…

5.5in screen A useful 4 inches taller than the ornamental original fitment. Essential if you go anywhere near a motorway. £158.44. Luggage rack The panniers are useful but small. With a rack there’s no end to the clutter you can haul about. £224.90. Phone mount Neat mount. This one’s for an iPhone 5, but there are others. Price includes the ball-socket the case bolts to. £104.14. Power kit Adds 24% more power to the top-end. You’d probably want an air filter and exhaust too. £408.96 (kit) approx, £1200 (fitting).…

» I n addition to a plethora of independent schools, several manufacturers have their own training schemes, giving a chance to ride the latest machinery as well as a host of other incentives. Some are run in-house while others use external, approved training schools. There may be cost differences depending on how you book; for example booking through the dealer may cost more than going direct to the same school but with the dealer, you get a potential discount on purchasing a bike once you’ve passed your test. Kawasaki Rider Training Services Trial, upgrade, all-in-one and bespoke courses at a network of dealers nationwide. Five-day course including CBT, Mod1 and Mod2 training and tests (Theory test cost excluded). £890, Kawasaki Z650 » learntoridewithkawasaki.co.uk Honda Just Ride Depending on experience,…

» Oxford HD Chain from £45 Hardened steel chain with 10mm diameter square links. However, if you’d prefer something a bit beefier try Oxford’s Monster chain and padlock (£110) . The 1 metre HD chain weighs 2.6kg, so that’s just light enough to put in a backpack. There are other sizes, too: a 3.6kg 1.5 metre or 4.6kg 2 metre. » Abus Detecto 7000 £132 Disc lock with 100dB motion-activated alarm, plus your choice of pretty designs. Feed it two AAA batteries, clip it onto a brake disc, and a beep will tell you the motion sensor is activated. The hardened steel construction is covered in plastic to reduce scratching. Order multiple locks at the same time and Abus can match them, so you only need one key. » Y…

2007 KTM 990 Adventure Ad says: 24,302 miles. Superb condition. Centrestand, sump guard, crash bars, comfort seat, GP Racing 2-into-1 pipe, plus original parts. We say: check fuelling’s been altered for the new pipe. Price: £6994 2008 KTM 990 Adventure Ad says: 31,571 miles. Immaculate, three owners, Akrapovic exhaust. We say: check service history includes cleaning clutch oil jet. Clattering when cold means cam chain tensioners: £200 off price. Price: £5595…

Quality at a price Spidi Globetracker jacket and trousers Used for: six months Price: £1299.98 Info: spidi.com » This is an expensive suit and you can feel where the money’s been spent – the shell. As you’d hope, it was 100% waterproof when used daily through winter, and it never suffers from condensation now the weather is sticky. But more impressive is how it looks after six months and 8000 miles: like new. At this rate it’s going to last at least a decade. The pockets are waterproof (though I don’t like the vertical main ones which, always, feel like they’ll lose stuff if I forget the zip), and the neck seal is excellent. There are niggles though. Most serious is that without the winter liner in, the elbow armour…

Production of Indian (Springfield, Mass.) V-twins came to an end in 1953, and in 1955 the surviving Indian Sales Corporation signed a five-year contract to sell British Royal Enfields in the United States, badged as Indians. The Bullet became the ‘Woodsman’, the big twin was the ‘Chief’ and so on. Confusingly, 1955 was also the year India (Madras) started manufacturing Enfields, so the term ‘Indian Enfield’ could mean an ‘Enfield’ built in India or an ‘Indian’ built by Enfield at Redditch. The featured ‘Trailblazer’ is the Indian version of the 700cc Super Meteor. These ‘Indians’ were unknown in the UK until it became viable to repatriate British machines by the container-load from the States some years ago. They’re still rare, however, and make an interesting buy for either an Indian…

As well as his outstanding record in the ISDT, Brittain was a top flight trials rider throughout his career on Royal Enfields. Naturally, with a brilliant all-round motorcyclist as a father, Johnny and brother Pat were never far from bikes and, when the Suez crisis curtailed motorcycle sport for the entire 1948 season, the two brothers started to ride bicycle trials organised by the Wolverhampton Motor Cycle Club. It stood young Johnny in good stead as the following year he learnt to ride a DMW motorcycle, and was soon approached by James with the loan of a bike. Johnny soon started to pick up wins and awards in local and Midland Centre trials and, by late 1950, he had caught the eye of Royal Enfield. For the next 15 years,…

LOVELY BAPS »Excellent breakfast rolls at Casey’s Cabin (on the A16 between Thorney and Eye) can make you late for work. EXCELLENCE »Our riding is assessed every two years by examiners from Rapid Training. Swotty Mike Armitage scores perfect tens. THE WEATHER »Resisting the British default position of complaining about everything, surely this summer bests that 1976 effort. THANKS TRIUMPH  »Especially Martin, Miles and George. Also the health and safety man. » And, NoLimits trackdays Trackdays 13 September » Only £99 To book please go to bikemagazine.co.uk/trackdays Subscribe Get an Oxford Aqua Roll Bag T30 this month »Worth £59.99 Call 0185843 8884 or go to greatmagazines.co.uk/bike Free issue Get a free issue of Bike on your tablet or phone. See our latest subscription offers at greatmagazines.co.uk/bike…

Price £15,599 otr Engine 999.6cc liquid-cooled DOHC 65° V4 Power 196bhp @ 13,000rpm (clmd) Torque 84.8 lb.ft @ 10,500rpm (clmd) Top speed 186mph (est) Rake/trail 25.1°/105mm Wheelbase 1447mm Dry weight 182kg (est) Seat height 845mm Tank size 18.5 litres Economy 36mpg Colours black or grey Availability now Bike verdict Aprilia’s V4 is now overshadowed by sublime Ducati, but RR package makes it cheaper to compensate. Want more Italian exclusivity? Bag yourself a year-old RSV4 RF for the same money. Bike rating 8/10…

The Black Forest looks like a Mad Max refugee, but without a sawed-off exhaust. Mad Max on mute then… THE BLACK FOREST looks like a Mad Max refugee, but without a sawn-off megaphone exhaust. In fact, it’s almost noiseless: Mad Max on mute then. Grunty, too, like you imagine those Max machines to be, except with no raggedy fuelling. Instead there’s just clean, instantaneous, rapid thrust. No gear clicking, no rev watching – the thrust is yours from walking speed to the 110mph limiter. And the delivery is just so smooth you never worry about the lack of traction control. Silent, grunty and panniers? Essentially Zero have kitted out their dual-sport DSR with a glut of extras. Both bikes have long 178mm travel forks and 19in fronts, but the Black…

‘So has the new class produced any new stars. Maybe…’ THE SEARCH FOR talent is a serious business. Thank goodness then for search-for-a-star series such as the British Talent Cup and Red Bull Rookies. But what to do before these auditions, or if you don’t make the cut? Supersport 300: the championship run alongside World Superbike, or Junior Supersport as it is known in BSB. Bikes have to be European A2 licence legal, originally that meant Honda CBR500R, Kawasaki Ninja 300 and 400, Yamaha R3 and KTM RC390 and 390R. The usual very strict Superstock restrictions apply so you can’t change much apart from the exhaust – the world series allows a few more changes than the domestic series, but the emphasis is on affordability. This is the first year…

Bruce Cox 1969 BSA Starfire 250 » I had a Triumph Speed Triple R, and riding back from Cadwell Park last year I decided that I’d switch to classic bikes. Now I’ve got this and a 1972 Triumph Trident, which is really a 1970s equivalent of a Speed Triple. The BSA had been restored, but I’ve rewired it and finally fixed a carburation problem I’d been chasing; it was missing the heat proof spacer on the carburettor inlet stub. The Starfire owners forum is amazing. There are some really helpful people out there. I’ve ridden in 85-90 miles from Barnsley to get here, I don’t go over 60 on it. I had one as a 16 year-old, and the brochure said it’d do 90. So of course I tried it…

A lot of thought has gone into the Moto Fizz Camping Seat Bag – its Tardis-like qualities mean its 59 litre capacity can expand to a whopping 75 litres. Features include D-rings, elastic bungee cords and pull down straps on the outside for securing extra items and keeping wet/muddy gear separate. The main storage section can be accessed through zipped openings at both ends and there’s a removable belt pack, for essentials needed close to hand such as passport. £159. nippynormans.com…

27 August Kent Chrome & Cruisers Show Abbey School, Faversham ME10 8RZ A major get-together featuring bikes and cars. Doubtless there will be keen competition for the numerous trophies on offer, plus live bands, a monster autojumble, food and drink. facebook.com/events/1281976598598530 8-9 September Kickback Festival of Bikes, Town Hall, Cheltenham Companion event to April’s custom bonanza at Stoneleigh,Warwickshire this adds rare race bikes and original classics to the mix and features ‘how-to’ workshops and trade stands as well as a ton of fine iron. thecustomshow.com…

» August 12 British Master Grasstrack Championships, Gawsworth, Cheshire The summer months are grass track racing’s high season and there’s plenty to see across the country in August. The British Masters Finals is ‘the UK’s premier grasstrack meeting’ and features the best 500cc solo and 1000cc sidecar racers. If you’ve never seen grasstrack, start here. grasstrackgb.co.uk » August 25-26 Rhayader 2-Day Enduro, Cwmythig Hill MX track, Rhayader Two-day Welsh Enduros are the heart of the sport and Rhayader MCC’s two day event over the August bank holiday is as hearty as they come. Friday evening’s prologue is fun but the real action (including clubmen, sidecars, over-50s, ladies and Pro riders) begins Saturday. rdmcc.co.uk…

Marko and Tony are friends who’ve shared a passion for motorcycle travel all their lives. They founded a tour company, bringing a maximum of six riders on each tour, and introducing riders to riding easy gravel trails. Alkemist run late-model BMW GS800 Adventure and R1200GS bikes, and offer one-day pre-tour off-road training for those who feel the need. Great value, too: tours start at £1800. Get in touch Alkemist Adventures alkemistadventures.com info@alkemistadventures.com +386 40 23 77 77…

‘The Tracer’s roomy, comfortable, and suspended like a vintage ’60s sofa’ MONDAY MORNING 6:30AM. Fall out of bed to Mr President Coco Jumbo on the alarm. 6:40am: stiff double espresso. 6:50am: transfer locks from Yamaha Tracer 900 to GSX-R. 7am: start Radio 4 on the ear buds. 7:06am: bark off down street having forgotten credit card, house key, thick gloves, shower. I’ll get them when I return on Friday. For the next two hours the Tracer Nine ploughs 123 miles from cosy York home to faceless Peterborough workhouse. The bike’s roomy, comfortable, and suspended like a vintage ’60s sofa. With my week’s clothes strapped to the pillion seat and valuables zipped in the tank bag, the Tracer flounces over the A1’s worst bumps. I’d waggle a C-spanner at the rear…

“I’d been attending custom events in Europe for a few years – the scene is great for getting a feel for how the market is moving. I got the budget to build two bikes for Wheels and Waves at Biarritz in 2016, to showcase the diversity of possibility with our bikes. It’s snowballed from there. I was hired to work on production models, but custom work has become a division in itself. “It could be that there’ll be a Royal Enfield division which produces small-volume custom bikes for sale. We occasionally do special editions of 500 or 1000, and they tend to sell out, particularly in India. Enfields are eminently suitable for customisation: there’s very little plastic, and the electronics are simple. I’ve been giving bikes to builders who haven’t…

Royal Enfield’s Interceptor is one of the unsung heroes of the British motorcycle industry. While Triumph and BSA twins have garnered most of the attention, those in the know appreciate the virtues and qualities of the last of Royal Enfield’s post-war twins. The powerful and torquey 736cc parallel twin was the largest-capacity British bike available on the home market when it was launched in its 1962 MkI guise. If bigger really was better, this had to be the best Enfield yet. In fact, the Interceptor name had already been used by Royal Enfield for a couple of years – though only in America. There, it had been applied to a tuned version of the 692cc Constellation, available in S Sport (road) and TT variants, but it was the arrival of…