Hard to believe, but it’s 25 years since Yamaha launched the first series R1, back in 1998. The new one-litre sports bike caused a sensation with its combination of high torque, rapid acceleration and quick handling (the latter aided by a short wheelbase of just 1395mm). One of its secrets was the ultra-compact powertrain, thanks to the stacked gearbox with the input shaft mounted above the output, giving a more compact package which allowed that short wheelbase. The bike quickly became a favourite with sports bike fans in this fiercely competitive class, and it arguably took over from the Honda FireBlade as the class benchmark. R1s enjoyed a string of race wins, at the TT as well as countless circuits around

The sole prototype of Triumph’s Hurricane – a factory custom of the early 1970s – is up for auction at H&H Classics. The only Hurricane to wear BSA badges, this was the bike shipped over to BSA’s Umberslade Hall R&D centre in 1969. Designed by young Californian Craig Vetter, it was certainly an eyeful, with its distinctive, flowing one-piece tank/side panel cover, extended forks and three-into-three exhaust. It even had extended cylinder head fins to give the BSA triple a beefier appearance. Vetter had been asked to restyle the BSA Rocket 3 after sales failed to meet expectations – American buyers didn’t take to the factory bike’s squared-off styling. Back in the Midlands, young BSA engineer Stuart McGuigan was given the

Emma Bristow, the eight-times World Trials Champion, has been awarded an MBE in the King’s first birthday honours list. The MBE, awarded for services to motorsport and women in sport, also recognised Bristow’s dominance of women’s trials, which covers 44GP wins and two World SuperEnduro titles as well as the eight World Trials titles. “I am so honoured to receive this award,” she told MCN. “It was completely unexpected, all I have ever tried to do is keep improving myself and with it raise the level of women’s competition.” She went on to thank everyone who had supported her career, especially Sherco, who had “committed to women in motorsport above and beyond any other manufacturer.” Emma Bristow might not enjoy instant recognition

The Vintage Motorcycle Club’s (VMCC) Banbury Run saw over 270 veteran and vintage bikes gather in north Oxfordshire for the 73rd running of this flagship event, thought to the biggest meeting of running pre-1931 bikes in the world. Despite rain being forecast, this held off for the morning, only starting in earnest as the last few competitors reached the finish line after lunch. This year saw TV’s Henry Cole and custom bike builder Allen Millyard take part, both riding the entire Banbury Run course, which follows some of the county’s quieter roads, culminating in the fearsome Sunrising Hill. With its 16% gradient ,this is a challenge for many of the older bikes, some of which are single-speed with belt drive, needing

What’s claimed to be the first sustainable fuel for classic vehicles has just been launched in the UK. SUSTAIN Classic, which went on sale on 13th June, has a renewable content of up to 80% and is based on bio-ethanol produced from agricultural waste, including straw, byproducts or waste from crops which wouldn’t otherwise be used for consumption. Because the crop absorbs CO2 as it grows, this reduces the carbon footprint of SUSTAIN Classic compared to conventional petrol, according to manufacturer Coryton. Andrew Willson, CEO at Coryton, said: “We believe that SUSTAIN Classic is the world’s first ever sustainable fuel catering for classic vehicles, providing a credible and convenient way to run vintage vehicles without the need for fossil fuels. Every

There’s nothing new about electric trials bikes, and in some ways their linear torque delivery from a standstill is ideal for the delicate, tiptoe world of low speed trials riding. On the other hand, when an electric bike stops, so does it’s motor, which isn’t ideal for a typical trials move of having to stop in front of a precipitous climb, then launch straight up it. Electric Motion, a French manufacturer which builds them, reckons that it has the answer. Its EPure Racer electric trials bike was fitted with an hydraulic clutch from 2021, and now they’ve added a TKO (Tickover) function which enables the motor to spin at a steady 900rpm while the bike is stationary, clutch in, allowing the

Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha and Suzuki are getting together to research the use of hydrogen as a direct alternative fuel for petrol engines. The Hydrogen Small mobility & Engine technology group (HySE) will look into all practical aspects, to see whether hydrogen can work as a realistic alternative fuel for motorcycles while cars decarbonise through electrification. The four companies have divided up the jobs between them. Honda will concentrate on model development while Kawasaki will look at auxiliary systems such as fuel supply and tanks. Yamaha will research making refuelling with highly volatile hydrogen a safer process as well as testing hydrogen engines, alongside Kawasaki. “We are committed to this endeavour,” said Kenji Komatsu, Chairman nominee of HySE, “with a sense of mission

We’ve all heard of overland riders whose 12-month trip across the world extends to several years, but how about being on the road for 34 years? Not only that, but on the same bike! That’s what Australian couple Sam and Stew Saunders have done, having been travelling since 1989 on their BMW R100GS, covering 150,000km (over 90,000 miles). They started out riding from the UK to Australia, getting there in 1991, and later shipped the bike to the US and rode through South and North America. More recently they planned shipping to Japan and riding to South Korea and Vladivostok before turning west and riding back to Europe through Mongolia and Russia. First Covid, then Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, has put paid

Girder forks were the standard motorcycle front suspension through the 1920s and ‘30s, before being superseded by telescopic forks after WWII. Since then, telescopics have become almost universal despite their widely acknowledged flaws. But now it looks like the girder fork could be making a comeback, albeit in more sophisticated form than the pre-war original, based on designs by British engineer Norman Hossack, who developed a modern girder fork in the 1970s. BMW’s Telelever front end has been well established for about 30 years, though on a shrinking number of models, now only fitted to the K1600 tourer, while more recently Honda has fitted a similar system to the Goldwing. Now Chinese manufacturer CFMoto – is following suit, patenting a girder

Triumph of Hinckley has announced new initiatives to attract younger people into the motorcycle industry, countering fears that the industry has an ageing workforce as well as customer base. The Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA) is well aware of the problem, and at last November’s Motorcycle Live show ran a Careers Hub stand with BikeJobs and the National Motorcycle Dealers Association, which resulted in 150 serious enquiries. Now Triumph is to launch a range of schemes to encourage young entrants into motorcycle engineering, retail and design. In an interview with MCN, Paul Stroud, Triumph’s Chief Commercial Officer, said: “Our dedicated STEM Outreach team is also planning the new Triumph Design Awards, which is an opportunity for students to showcase their innovative designs and

Wolverhampton Speedway, home to the Wolverhampton Wolves team and thought to be the oldest active speedway track in the UK, is facing closure after nearly 100 years of racing. Entain Leisure, owners of the Monmore Green site, have decided to concentrate on greyhound racing, and informed the Wolves promoter Chris Van Straaten that the current lease would end on 31st October. Until now, the team has signed up for a three-year rolling lease, but the latest lease has been cut back to one year. A short statement on the Wolverhampton Wolves website read: “Club bosses are devastated by the news and will be making no further comment at this time.” “The impact on British speedway as a whole will be considerable,” wrote

Mental Health Motorbike (MHM) – the charity which provides mental health support from and between bikers – has teamed up to with Phoenix Motorcycle Training to make mental health awareness an integral part of rider training. MHM is training 24 members of Phoenix staff as Mental Health First Aiders, spread across all of the company’s 22 sites in the UK. Paul Oxborough founded MHM in 2020 after a friend suffered as a result of poor mental health. “We lost a friend to suicide and decided we had to do something about it,” he said. “Having been a motorcyclist for so long, I knew that community and thought that was a good place to start.” Mental Health Motorbike now has a nationwide