Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2025 i Fast Bikes

If you were to put a theme to this issue, it would be one which makes you question what happens next. Arguably, we have a pretty solid idea of what new metal is coming our way in 2025, albeit there are still new models in the offing that we know of but can’t yet talk about. Some new bikes are predictable, based on trends and the ethos of certain brands. For instance, KTM has more than made a name for itself in the naked bike sector above all else, so it would beg to reason that it will continue to plough on down that route, doing what it does best in that sector. Yamaha has found a happy place in the last decade producing more affordable yet fulfilling motorcycles, such…

“WITH THE LIGHT FADING, IT BECAME APPARENT THAT THE DUCATI’S HEADLIGHT IS CRAP. LIKE, REALLY CRAP.” Not that long ago, I was speaking to my friend Mr Gomez (aka Gogo) about the ‘good old days’ on our ageing middleweights: my 2010 Ducati 848 and his 2008 Yamaha R6. We can’t quite believe these bikes are 14 and 16 years old. That conversation turned into a plan – to see if these oldies (the bikes, not us!) still had what it took to make your hair stand on end and rip around Europe on an Alpine tour spanning three countries. Or was it time to give it all up and buy an adventure bike? Grab a cuppa and read on… you’ll be surprised. About the bikes My 848 is relatively standard…

Ever wondered what it’s like to wrestle a 245kg Triumph Tiger 1200 around the Welsh countryside? Yeah… me too. That is, until I got the chance to follow expert rider Matt Reed through his backyard at the Triumph Adventure Experience venue in Ystradgynlais (don’t even ask me to pronounce it), South Wales, the other week. Spoiler alert: it didn’t disappoint. Since I’m based in Lincolnshire, a mere 240 miles northeast of Triumph’s Adventure Experience base, I figured it made sense to head down the night before. That way, I’d get a decent night’s kip and could sample a pint or three of Guinness at the pub just down the road from where I was staying. At four quid a pint, it went down a treat. We were scheduled to arrive…

It’s not a figure of speech when you say Michael Rutter has spent his whole life in the race paddock, because he literally has been a part of the paddock since he was in nappies. Michael was born in 1972 just as his dad Tony Rutter was reaching his prime. Tony won the first of his British Championships the year before Michael was born, and the year after, Tony won his second British Championship and the first of his seven TT races. Rutter Jnr’s early years were entirely defined by motorbike racing. If he wasn’t being taken to actual races, home life revolved around racing too as Tony went on to win four world championships in the 1980s. So, as day follows night, it wasn’t very long after Tony’s competitive…

A BIT OF THIS AND A BIT OF THAT… With the onset of a new year, the pace of new model announcements has finally started to tail off, but we’ve still got a mixed bag of greatness to talk about this month. DUCATI PANIGALE V4 S TRICOLORE It’s a fine line between genius and insanity, and in this economy, a £48,000 special-edition superbike will seem like madness to many out there. But this trick variant of the world-conquering Panigale V4 is a really intriguing piece of design, with some unique chassis kit and a one-off asymmetrical paint job that echoes the Italian flag. Just 1000 bikes will be built, which sounds like a lot for a limited-edition model, but we reckon there’ll be a big queue of well-heeled fans ready…

It could be argued that I’ve never been sophisticated enough to appreciate the retro bike market, but there are many people out there who do. It is big business and especially so to Triumph, which claims that roughly a third of its sales can be attributed to its old-school range of renegades. It’s fair to say the British brand knows how to build a classic, and one of its bestsellers is the Speed Twin. About 20,000 units have been sold since 2019 – and that’s a figure sure to rocket higher thanks to the introduction of not one, but two new Speeds. Built around a similar foundation, the new Speed Twin 1200 and Speed Twin 1200 RS are well thought-out enhancements over the smash-hit iteration that came before. Despite being…

It looks like a million dollars – and the official Kawasaki UK British superbike ZX-10R race bike is an extremely serious piece of kit. But the road bike is a little way behind the monsters of the class, the BMW M1000 RR and Ducati Panigale V4R. Even the Honda Fireblade has had more recent fundamental updates than the Kawasaki. But the road bike is only part of the equation when it comes to making a great BSB racer, and the guys and gals behind the AJN Steelstock ZX-10R know what they’re up to. Smart engine mods, and the level playing field provided by the control ECU and other tuning restrictions on the newer bikes makes it closer still. Add in the posh stock parts on the homologation ZX-10RR – titanium…

It’s hard to believe that this year will be my sixth season in the superbike class. It feels like only yesterday that I made my debut on the Kawasaki, which is the only superbike I’ve ever raced. It’s been great, even getting my first win and podium last season, which was mega, but I really do feel that I’m at a point now where I really need to go somewhere else and get onto a more competitive bike. So, when I heard the rumour that Rutter was thinking about bringing his team to BSB, I was straight in there to suss out what his plan was. Like many people, I’ve often noticed their bikes on track and love their look – who doesn’t like a bit of gold? And even…

STAR LETTER GIVE THESE A GO… Hi guys, I’m responding to your comments in the welcome section of January’s issue. I am aware of the pressures within the magazine industry and I’m glad you’ve got a positive outlook for Fast Bikes. I much prefer having something tangible; a hard-copy magazine is, for me, far better than a digital document. I’ve been reading your mag for years now, and it was what got me into riding bikes. I took my test at the age of 53, and my first bike was a Honda Fireblade. I’m not a subscriber, but my local newsagent, who I like to support, keeps a copy for me every month. I enjoy the variation and the scope of articles and features. The coverage of new bikes is…

With the big-ticket Supernaked class well and truly occupied by 200bhp fully-loaded KTMs Ducatis, Kawasakis and Aprilias, the trend towards more affordable, simpler naked bikes with enough power to entertain is in full swing. Yamaha, Triumph, Ducati, BMW and Kawasaki have been right in the thick of the action, and while Honda has had the CB1000 in its range, it’s never really ticked the ‘exciting’ box, but now it’s only gone and given the CB1000 a Hornet badge, which should mean a whole different proposition. The 2025 CB1000 Hornet, just like the Hornet 900, gets its engine from a discontinued Fireblade, but this time not from one that’s already outdated. This one comes from the 2017-2019 Fireblade, which has been slightly detuned to 154bhp in the SP version and 148bhp…

“PUT SIMPLY, IF LOTS OF PEOPLE WERE STILL BUYING R1S, YAMAHA WOULD STILL BE MAKING THEM.” So, that’s it, the arms race is over – for now, at least. Following Suzuki’s lead, we kick off 2025 without Yamaha R1s… and it’s probably fair to say the ZX-10R must be at a crossroads. That’ll leave Ducati, Honda, BMW and Aprilia still in the game, but as far as anything radical happening any time soon in the superbike class, don’t get your hopes up. Expect small upgrades here and there from Honda, BMW and Ducati, depending on what their race teams want, and not much else. In other words, small changes to engine internals, aero, or maybe the odd tweak to chassis geometry, none of which will move the game on. The…

If you are considering buying a Ducati sportsbike, there is always the temptation to head straight for the headline range-topping model, which is understandable – generally, buying a Ducati is a decision made as much by your heart as your head, so why compromise on your dream ride? Well, hang on a second, because while the big-capacity models are undeniably fabulous machines, by the same token, their slightly smaller siblings are equally as impressive packages. And, better still, they will cost less to buy… Ducati first properly entered the ‘supersport’ war with the 748 in 1995, which, just like its bigger brother, the 916, broke the capacity rules for its race class. However, while it did scoop a World Supersport title in 1997 with Paolo Casoli, the 748’s role in…

You might be thinking that we’ve messed up big time at this end, using the wrong pictures for a bike that’s unmistakable the world over… but we haven’t. The Cagiva you’re looking at is very much the gateway to MV’s iconic F4 750 that was officially presented to the public for the first time on September 15, 1997. The Serie Oro, with magnesium frame parts and a sand-cast engine housing, finally came to the market in April 1999 at a price of 68 million lire (about £30,000 today). The ‘F’ in the model designation goes back to a co-operation between the Cagiva group (which included Ducati, Cagiva, Husqvarna and Moto Morini at the end of the 1980s) and the engineering service provider Ferrari Engineering, from Modena, which had designed the…

If you’ve been a naughty biker, you need some decent legal advice, get it from mail@whitedalton.co.uk Several people have been asking about Shakey’s case, so here’s a legal run-down on that, and to answer the question: ‘Is this the end of trackdays as we know it?’ For those living under a rock, Shakey Byrne sued MSVR and associated companies for an accident he suffered in 2018 while on a test day at Snetterton. He came out of corner three, lost control of his machine, and was forced to jump as his Panigale hit the tyre barrier. Sadly, Shakey hit this barrier too, which was called a Type D safety device – i.e., it was a bunch of tyres bolted together to form a protective wall. Now, this is fine if…