Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2020 i BIKE

November 27th 1999 and France is gripped by the worst seasonal weather for 30 years. I’m at the Spanish border and I need to get to Peterborough, so I’ve got to ride through a snowstorm that starts south of Lyon and continues till north of Paris. Fortunately I’ve got a decent bike. I’d picked up a new Triumph Sprint ST two days earlier, from the model’s launch event in Seville and was heading back to the UK so that Bike could test the new model against its sports tourer class rivals – the Honda VFR800, BMW R1100S and Ducati ST4. The Triumph left me deeply impressed after our French ordeal. Growly, characterful engine, balanced chassis and comfort. It was a great bike on which to cover hard miles. It impressed…

When Kawasaki applied their financial defibrillator to the Bimota corpse back in October 2019, they surely did not expect life to return quite this fast. After the internet-breaking Tesi H2 comes the KB4, a Z1000-powered retro sportsbike. Bimota’s new marketing manager Gianluca Gallasso told Bike : ‘It is early days with the KB4 – we are still designing it and don’t have a prototype yet, but that will be ready by spring.’ And if that timeline seems ambitious, don’t forget that the Tesi H2 went from sketch to working prototype in three months. ‘It is early days with the KB4…but the prototype will be ready by spring’ This speed is down to one factor: Kawasaki have already done all the homologation, so Bimota can just get on with design. ‘Having…

» Ewan McGregor and Charley boorman have finished their long way Up trip on electric harley livewires, riding from Ushuaia on the southern tip of argentina to los angeles, California, USa. details of how the livewires coped are minimal because none of the crew are permitted to talk until the tV series airs later in 2020, but there have been hints. rob day joined Ewan and Charley to ride the last leg and told advpulse.com he’d asked the duo how they’d kept the livewires topped up in South america: ‘Charley said charging wasn’t too bad and they often charged from locals, even off-grid locals who had generators.’ In the US charging stations were faster and plentiful, Charley said, and they made about 300 miles per day, compared with 120-180 miles…

» As long weekends go, this takes some beating: ride on track with ex-MotoGP legends Dani Pedrosa and Sete Gibernau, watch the Spanish MotoGP at Catalunya with them in a VIP lounge, spend the night in a posh Barcelona hotel then scoff brunch the next morning bobbing about on a yacht in the harbour. The predictable downside is cost – you’ll need 3800 euros for the trip (flights not included). The other concern is the riding experience. Despite fleeting pictures of CBR600RRs in the blurb, you’ll actually be riding mini bikes round a minimoto track. It’ll be a laugh, certainly, but unless you’re as diddy as Dani, your knees will be mush by 11am. Dates are 5-8 June. » More details: destination.redbull.com If you fancy bigger bikes and possibly even…

» Although the latest ideas in active aerodynamics show that motorcycle aero is on the verge of a stride forward, if you want to see the ultimate expression of two-wheeled downforce you need to go back several decades. Back in the mid-1980s, a young Honda engineer named Satoru Horiike – who’d later go on to design the CBR600F and VFR800 before heading to HRC to help develop the RC211V MotoGP bike – designed a no-limits aero bike that exploited not only downforce but F1-style ground-effects. To achieve it, his idea was to keep all the bike’s bodywork parallel to the ground at all times, fitting a hinge in the centre of the chassis to keep the rear wheel upright. Only the front wheel, tank and seat tilted, along with the…

Something for your T-shirt feature perhaps? June 1989 and, much to the chagrin of my boss, two days into my new job i headed off on a two-week jaunt to Europe on my 60,000-mile GS1000 – destinations, the Austrian GP at the salzburgring followed a week later by the Yugoslavian GP at rijeka. Austria was brilliant, but Yugoslavia… For starters i’d needed a visa and a flippin’ expensive green card just to get in the place. Then there was the rampant inflation and a sense that here was a country on the brink of something nasty; the locals clearly hated each other, especially on the roads where foreign bikers were regarded as acceptable collateral damage in on-going car wars. My shirt predates homogenised ‘official licensed product’ and is all the…

There are more naked bikes bought in the UK than any other style of motorcycle. This is handy for Triumph, as they have a gaggle of compelling stripped-back models ready to deliver unfiltered biking sensations. Recently launched, the new Street Triple RS immediately became the best-selling bike in the 651-1000cc category. But is the high-tech middleweight really the best choice for knotted British roads? The perennial Speed Triple and thudding Speed Twin have other ideas...…

‘Waft along and enjoy the motor’s dark rumblings, or scratch your speed itch’ Take the excellent Thruxton R, stuff in some more horses and scrape off several kilos. That’d have to make Triumph’s sportiest retro even better, right? And it does. This is the new Triumph Thruxton RS. It keeps all the good bits of the R that it’s based on, meaning quick-steering sportsbike geometry, fully adjustable Öhlins shocks and Showa big-piston forks, brick-wall brakes, and thoroughly engaging dynamics. But RS guise means the Brembos and shocks are upgraded, and the Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa tyres of the R are swapped for Metzeler Racetec RRs. There’s a lightweight new battery, too. Updates for the 1200cc parallel-twin engine as well. To keep the eager motor Euro5-fresh and boost performance there’s a…

Odd features Designer Piero Remor defected from Gilera to MV Agusta in 1949. The dohc four-cylinder 500 that he produced for MV closely resembled his Gilera design but had some odd features, including separate gear levers on each side for up/down changes. It first raced in 1950. This 1951 version had a conventional gearshift but retained the Earles fork and twin carburettors mounted on Y-shaped manifolds. 500cc winners Two of the 500cc GP bikes on display. On the left is a 1973 triple. Alberto Pagani scored the 500/3’s final victory at Austria (not a GP) in September 1973. Agostini had won the bike’s first at Modena in 1966. On the right is a 1965 four of the type used by Mike Hailwood to win that year’s World title. MV reverted…

Miles ridden: 14,320 Riders: Dan Sutherland, John Westlake Tyres tried: Bridgestone, Dunlop, Avon, Vredestein Crashes: None There’s a touch of Andy Murray about the Versys 1000. In almost any other era, the Scottish miserablist would have been a megastar, dominating tennis like a colossus. As it was, he kept getting his arse handed to him by Federer, Nadal and the other one. And so it is with the new Versys. Ridden in isolation on the launch ( Bike , May 2019), we loved it – it was fast, comfortable, sophisticated and blessed with the smoothest engine this side of a flat six Goldwing. In any other era – one where the adventure market wasn’t packed with freakishly brilliant competition – we’d all ride Versys 1000s and live happily ever after.…

‘Of course it requires a special tool that won’t be in your Halfords’ toolkit’ ROUGH RUNNING Obviously you’re looking at a bike with a full history and regular cam belt changes at a pedantic dealer. Doing anything else is risky. Stalling, wobbly tickover and gruff running affected a few 1098s, on which the bike’s based, but 848s should be fine – so treat lumpy running with caution, especially with accessory pipes. Getting the injection tweaked with a map per cylinder is beneficial, and a new idle map makes it easier to start. WATCH FOR WATER The battery is behind the fairing and gets blasted by spray from the front wheel. Earlier models have the relay for the fuel system here too, and its lack of a water seal can mean…

SCREEN Whether you like this seems dependent on your height. For me (6ft) it is perfect on the lowest setting, keeping my lid in an oasis of still air, with just enough downdraft to blow raindrops off my visor. But a 6ft 2in mate hated it because of buffeting and the higher settings made it worse. CORNERING LIGHTS Having experienced the cornering lights on Kawasaki’s Z1000SX and Ducati’s Multistrada, I wasn’t expecting much. But the Honda’s really work, hosing the inside of corners with white LED goodness. It’s a basic system – those lower extra lights only come on as you lean. CORROSION We got the bike with 400 miles on the clock and there was already lots of corrosion on plenty of fasteners. Maybe it was run-in under the…

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. Bologna’s best » Ducati aren’t the only Italian brand in Bologna. In the same private hands for 60 years, Italjet are just down the road and have a new factory to make this: the Dragster. Evolved from the ’95 original, the ‘Urban Superbike’ has a trellis frame, load-separating front end and adjustable suspension. It’s available in 125 and 200cc. And we…

‘The new season of prestige bike sport starts here’ 9 & 23 February Sand Racing, Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire » Sand racing is a fortnightly event on Mablethorpe beach in winter. Great racing and donkey rides for the kids. Check the tides (and times) before travelling, and wrap up warm. Frostbite is a distinct possibility. mablethorpe.info 14-16 February Carol Nash MCN London Motorcycle Show, Excel, London » Our signal for the start of a new year. New bikes, indoor race action and kit (see p128). There’s a helmet amnesty with free gifts to encourage you to trade in your out-of-date lid (see website for details). Parking’s expensive for cars, so go by bike. mcnmotorcycleshow.com 28 February - 1 March World Superbikes, Phillip Island, Australia » The new season of prestige bike sport…

‘The Norden will be more accessible in terms of comfort, wind protection and power delivery’ Husqvarna’s new Norden adventure bike is a more comfortable, powerful yet milder version of KTM’s 790 Adventure parallel twin. Given how good that is, this is a seriously enticing prospect. The bike you see here is a working prototype, and though Husqvarna are being cagey about when it will appear, the Vitpilen and Svartpilen timelines suggest it should be in showrooms next year. ‘When I unveiled the bike [at a show in Italy] there were cheers and clapping,’ Husqvarna’s global marketing director Federico Valentini tells Bike . ‘That was a pleasant surprise. Given that reception we would like to have the Norden on sale tomorrow, but our R&D department is working on a lot of…

In the early years of motorcycling, American bikes were among the most advanced in the world, as this 1914 Indian Hendee Special proves. Well over 100 years ago, here was a bike that sported a superbly-engineered 1000cc V-twin engine (albeit only putting out 7bhp) mated to a two speed gearbox and – its crowning glory – the first electric starter to be fitted to a motorcycle. Sadly, the electric start, doubtless inspired by the first electric start car, a 1913 Cadillac, wasn’t an unqualified success and ended up costing Indian a fortune. Though it worked well enough, battery technology of the day restricted the performance of the starter motor and a number of expensive factory recalls were required. The bikes came back for magneto ignition, a kick starter and eventually…

More details have emerged from Valentino Rossi and Lewis Hamilton’s day of japes at Valencia. The only official footage of the two multiple world champions is predictably glossy, showing both legends looking pretty damn impressive on/in the other’s daily transport. But the rumours that Hamilton crashed an M1 Yamaha have now been confirmed by PR stuntmeisters Monster, and that Vale had three spins in the 2017 Mercedes (F1 tested rules meant he couldn’t use the latest car). Sky Sports also claim to have times from the day: Rossi lapped the car 1.5sec slower than Hamilton’s best, while – perhaps even more impressively – Hamilton got to within 5 seconds of Rossi’s best time on the bike. No wonder he lobbed it.…

BMW’s vast new boxer twin is an intriguing blend of new technology and old ideas. New details released by BMW show it combines all the latest tech you’d expect of a 2020 engine – four valve heads, fuel injection, sensors everywhere – with some ideas BMW came up with in 1936. Whereas previous retros by Triumph, Kawasaki et al have been styling exercises applied to modern motors, the R18 engine takes retro to a far deeper level. The valves, for example, are actuated by pushrods running from two camshafts (one per cylinder) sitting at the top of the motor. It’s an arrangement first used by BMW in their 1936 R5. Though BMW imply pushrods are purely a nod to the past, there are practical benefits too: overhead cams would have…

Forget the Pacific Coast Highway and do this Minimal traffic on California's Pacific Coast Highway (PCH)? Sorry Felix ( Bike , Nov 2019), I know better. It’s not far from me, but I never ever go because I hate PCH. It’s like Yellowstone, unmatched natural beauty with enough traffic to plug them skinny lanes tight. So if the PCH is the ass of the Earth, where should you go? Anywhere east of Highway 97. It's pine forest and desert all the way to Idaho. Any kind of road, plenty of free camping, friendly locals and little traffic. And the further east you go, the better it gets. The Columbia Gorge is awesome. The Blue Mountains are great. Hell’s Canyon is the best, and thanks to its isolation, has the least…

Forget the usual pigeonholes. Triumph’s newly juiced-up Street Triple RS might have a mid-size motor but this is a supernaked. Yes, like a BMW S1000R, Yamaha MT-10 and, of course, the Speed Triple RS it’s here alongside. If this sounds like I’m stretching it, trust me: I’m not. Powerful, fast, sharp, focused, sparkling with tech, the middleweight RS really is a full-on naked sportsbike. Refreshed with a new exhaust cam, lighter crank, rejigged balancer and other tweaks by people in white smocks, the 765cc inline three has the same 121bhp as the previous Street Triple RS. Which is more than plenty enough – the last one we dyno tested actually made more power than Triumph claim, meaning the RS has almost 20bhp more than their T595 superbike made in the…

‘As an enjoyable, usable, inspiring and engaging road bike it’s the Street Twin that stands proud’ It’s really easy to be impressed with the new Speed Triple RS. So accurate, so crisp, it’s got the performance to stand proudly against far bigger rivals and confidently stick its chest out. The reworked 765cc triple has newfound midrange drive, bringing an increase in usability, and it’s also lovingly made and stuffed to the rafters with technology. It’s a proper thing. It’s also really easy to get annoyed with it – as the most tightly-focused bike of the trio we’re sure its super-stiff suspension would be staggeringly good round Donington Park, but it makes the Street Triple RS a literal pain on degraded British roads. Despite its added oomph, the Street Triple also…

‘The Z900 has the natural, playful balance of a European super naked with a spacious, fighty riding position to match’ Kawasaki are the kings of the fast engine. Think supercharged H2, multiple WSB winning ZX-10R and the screaming ZX-6R. Of course fastness doesn’t just apply to bikes with fairings, top drawer super nakeds such as the Aprilia Tuono, KTM Super Duke, BMW S1000R and the wing’d Ducati Streetfighter are crammed with big bhps and dripping in cutting edge electronics. They also cost plenty. Which is where ‘middleweight’ nakeds such as Triumph’s Street Triple, Yamaha’s MT-09 and Kawasaki’s latest Z900 come in – although they’re hardly mid-weight, power or capacity, these days. What these bikes lack in looney power they make up for in their rapidity, playfulness and how they make…

» If you want a used adventure bike that’ll do huge miles in comfort with a pillion go for Aprilia’s Caponord Rally. The 1197cc V-twin is refined, handling is steadfast, and it features all the toys – including semi-active suspension with truly opulent ride quality and automatic preload. It’s amazing. It’ll be tediously reliable too: rear suspension sensors can seize, fuel level senders give false readings, and the tank swells if too much high-ethanol fuel is used (but shrinks again if left empty). Otherwise this quality 1200 should see-off six-figure mileages without issue.…

PETROL TAP Leaking like a Russian website. Cheap ‘ethanol-proof’ replacement now on order. SILENCER Crash damaged. Attempt to fit replacement aborted after finding silencer welded to frame. CARBURETTOR BOWL Main jet fell into bottom of float bowl. Still got me home. CARBURETTOR BELLMOUTH Vibrated off a few rides ago, no effect on performance. ZENER DIODE Rattled loose and nearly ignited the electrics. SUSPENSION Hagons replaced horrible ’80s Marzocchis. Only fitted after buying centrestand. Stand subsequently removed as couldn’t get spring to fit. CLUTCH Slippy as a greased eel. Next stop, comedy crash course in British clutch-plate replacement. I’ve owned Japanese bikes since getting my AP50 sports moped at 16. But I’ve always fancied a Sixties Triumph 650. Fonzie any one? Last January I was gifted one. My missus’s best mate…

‘This has been the most extraordinary experience of my life’ A month before the start of the Dakar Rally and, with my collar bone healing, I thought I was on top of preparations. Wrong. The outfit in Dubai, who were meant to be building my bike, announced they couldn’t get the parts in time. Fortunately Drag’on Yamaha in France, who manufacture the conversion kits that turn the WR450F into a competitive rally bike, were able to sort out a bike fast. But not fast enough to get it onto the Dakar organisers’ boat from Marseille to Saudi, so it’d have to be air freighted to Riyadh. It finally left France on 26 December. The race was due to start 5 January. There was more aggravation to come. On 28 December,…

Shoei GT Air II with Sena SRL2 communications system Used for: 6 months Price: helmet £549.99 and Sena system £259.99 Info: shoei-europe.com » Shoei’s top end GT Air II ticks all the boxes you would expect of a £549.99 lid, and it engages seamlessly with the Sena SRL2 communication system – listen to music, make calls, and navigate without having to endure battery packs and large black plastic flashing boxes stuck to the side of your lid. The significant elephant in the room, however, is the £259.99 additional payment for the communications gubbins which rockets this helmet combo to £809.99. The other issue is the much-complained-about-online leaky visor. Even when clicked down as hard as possible water penetrates, streaking down inside and even between the Pinlock. I’ve tried clear and…

‘It takes just over an hour to storm through if you ride it like you should’ You could pop in a pin anywhere on a map of north east Spain and lose yourself in a slice of motorcycling goodness, but the 51-mile stretch from Roda de Ter to Sant Esteve d’en Bas on the C-153, down the C-63 to Les Planes d’Hostoles and on to Constantins on the GI-531 and GI-532, near Girona is one of the picks. It takes just over an hour to storm through if you ride it like you should, which is kind of what you do on a new bike launch, but if you’re partial to a view, towering trees, blue sky and sunshine this is the place for you. During the autumn the forest-lined…

Back-end BMW chose shaft drive (from an R1200RS) rather than chain like the S1000R. Don’t get your hopes up that there’s an electric tourer on the way: ‘that won’t happen,’ says Baumel. STYLING As you can tell, there isn’t much going on. That’s because this is an engineering concept, to prove BMW could make a bike with 135bhp and 120-mile range. The styling concept (right), called the DC Roadster, appeared earlier this year. MASSIVE BOXY BATTERY This is usually hidden away in a 2 Series hybrid car, hence its rather blunt aesthetic. Aside from the frame, all the components were pinched from other BMs. MOTOR This is from the £83,500 7 Series hybrid limousine. Considering it could power the vast limo to 87mph with no help from the main engine,…

‘Neo means not in the present, not in the future, but in the near future’ WHEELS AND FRAME These are 26in, ‘to make it look larger than life’. The bike is a whopping 2.8m long (almost twice as long as a sports bike). The engine is a stressed member, so it’s got what Nicko calls ‘a frameless neck’. ENGINE The customer requested a Harley engine because they’re so popular in Indonesia. Nicko chose an old Softail power unit, ‘for that classic thumping carburated sound’. RIDING IT ‘I was surprised how well it handled considering it must weigh 400kg,’ says Nicko. ‘It loves to go straight, but once you get it into a corner it’s pretty good. However, when you stop, the wheel hubs are so heavy (the front end is…

» yes we know it’s another electric concept, but this one could be momentous. Ignore the rim motors and fancy styling, the really exciting bit is the power… Instead of using just a lithium-ion battery, with all its inherent problems – range, weight, size and charge time – the nawa racer adds a carbon-based ultracapacitor to the mix. this can be charged and discharged in seconds and can recoup 80% of regenerative braking power (compared with the usual 30%). because the ultracapacitor can’t hang on to its charge for long, you still need a normal battery, but this can be smaller because the ultracapacitor is so good at topping it up. nawa – who specialise in nano-tube ultracapacitors – say that’s how they got the concept bike’s weight down to…

» It’s that time of year when you notice your garage has filled with tat and decide an eBay clearout is in order. Clearly, Ducati have had the same thought, and are now flogging old parts they no longer need. Admittedly their tat is rather good – there are no holed endcans and worrying piles of left-over bolts here. Instead, you’ve got pristine crankshafts, con-rods, pistons and camshafts, all used in MotoGP or World Superbikes. Ducati have decided against the eBay route and will be selling them in dealerships and on ducati.com. Each part comes with a posh case, a certificate of authenticity and details of the rider, season etc. Prices TBC.…

In February 2018, the motorcycle world was getting excited about the revamped Tiger 800 – Triumph had announced 100 changes to the old bike and journalists were packing bags for the riding launch while dealers readied their bank accounts for a deluge. In Triumph’s HQ in Hinckley, meanwhile, a small team had already ridden a prototype of the machine that would replace it: this, the Tiger 900, an all-new bike that’s crucial for Triumph’s continued success. It features – amongst other things – a radical new crank layout, a new exhaust note and a blizzard of electronics. Of course, the new bike is the work of hundreds of people, but leading the project from beginning to end were two Triumph stalwarts: Chief Product Officer Steve Sargent (he’s worked at Triumph…

Peruse the Speed Twin’s spec list and it doesn’t look terribly enthralling. With 96bhp from its 1200cc twin it’s the least powerful of the three, with only half the power-per-cc of the Street Triple. At 196kg dry (so nothing in the 14.5-litre tank, and probably no engine oil, fork oil or battery) the Speed Twin is heaviest, with a chassis featuring unadjustable right-way-up forks and old-school twin shocks. You won’t find radially-mounted brakes, cornering ABS, lean-sensitive traction control or a swanky track riding mode either. Ride this pumped-up retro, however, and you immediately realise the Speed Twin’s easy-access wallop, instant response, rich sensations and quick-fix thrills make it the best pure road bike here. ‘It’s a completely different beast to the two RS models – sound, feel and performance are…

It’s June 4, 2003 and deep in Triumph’s Hinckley HQ, Product Manager Ross Clifford is sitting at his desk watching a live stream of the Junior TT on his laptop. No other Triumph staff are watching – they’re too busy, and everyone knows the Daytona 600 stands no chance. But Ross is hooked, and can barely believe his eyes. The bike he and his comrades launched just a month ago is leading and has just smashed the lap record by six seconds with an average speed of 121.78mph. Behind it, 57 Japanese motorcycles are failing to catch up. Ross watches with increasing astonishment as Bruce Anstey extends his lead and crosses the finish line a full 11 seconds ahead of Ian Lougher on the factory Honda CBR600. Triumph have won…

I had just returned home and so frequent were my trips to the bathroom that logic compelled me to sleep there. From the toilet, I considered thoroughly the events and decisions that brought me here... and so I tried to recall the last 72 hours in Mexico… I can’t remember why, but we got a late start. It seems no matter the prep and planning we always leave LA at the worst possible hour... between 3 and 4pm. Snake, Chris and myself were heading south for EDR (the El Diablo Run), along with 23 million other drivers. The plan was to reach San Felipe around midnight, wake up on the beach, and cross the peninsula when we got tired of the pin-coladas. We only had 72 hours before we had…

CHAIN OILER Without an automatic oiler one winter can see off a chain. And I’m not convinced by chain lube – the gritty paste it creates seems to knacker a chain fast, unless you clean it after every ride. Because the oil used in automatic oilers is thinner, it doesn’t seem to create the abrasive mush. COOlANT Because I’m now utterly paranoid about the previous owner’s mechanical ability I changed the coolant to make sure there was the right amount of antifreeze in it. It’s worth doing if you’re in any doubt – the consequences of the coolant freezing are too diabolical to contemplate. CORROSION pROTECTION I bought a litre of ACF50 about five years ago (it’s £26 now) and I’m only about half way through. The difference it makes…

‘Catch your breath, buy local jam and consider the history that, 260 years ago, paved the way that you’ve just come’ Not every road can change your life, but take two hours to ride around the far side of the Cairngorms and you might be inclined to disagree – after my first experience riding here I seriously thought about selling-up and moving to Scotland. It’s that good… The route starts in the north on the A95 outside Grantown-on-Spey. After crossing the river, you turn left on the A393 heading for Tomintoul. The skies look massive up here. This isn’t yet a classic – the tarmac is pockmarked with storm damage, and it’s narrow – but you get the sense of heading towards something special. Slowly, the brownish purple Cairngorm slopes…

I did this race at the London Motorcycle show for the first time in 2019 and it was really good fun. It’s lairier than people give it credit for. We’re not going that fast, but the racing is stupidly close. My only problem is that the bikes are little Honda CRF100s and I’m three or four stone heavier than everyone else. I’ve got a CRF at home because I like practicing flat-track and I’ve raced at Pete Boast’s place, but everyone is pushing as hard as they can so it’s difficult. When I did it there was Richard Cooper, Karl Ryde, Tom and Tim Neeve, Tarran Mackenzie… they’re all tiny and fast. I was three seconds a lap slower so I needed a jump start to beat them. But they…

Just look at all those expansion chambers. Chuffed by the instant success of the NS500, their first two-stroke Grand Prix racer, Honda waded in with their first road-going smoker in 1983: the MVX250F. Rushed into production to celebrate the NS, it might have been two years behind Yamaha’s twin-cylinder LC but brought something different. Two cylinders? Pah. The all-new MVX was a V3. The layout was a tribute to the GP bike, but where the NS had two cylinders sticking up and one forward, the 250 was the other way round. The 90˚ liquid-cooled V3 had two separate cylinders out the front and the middle single cylinder up out the back. An inline triple with 120˚ firing intervals is balanced but a 90˚ V3 isn’t, so Honda used a beefed-up…