Thefts of powered two-wheelers of all types totalled 2064 in June 2025, slightly down (by 72) compared to May. According to statistics compiled by Bennetts, and sponsored by Datatool and BikeTrac, this overall figure hid some big regional variations, with some police authority areas reporting an increase in thefts. In Warwickshire, thefts soared by 76% (up from 21 in May to 37 in June) while Hampshire (from 53 to 80) and Staffordshire (50 to 71) were also hard hit. Some areas saw huge percentage increases, but this was down to the small number of cases involved – thefts were up in Northern Ireland by 700%, but only because the eight cases in June dwarfed that of May, when just a single

Remember the Adventure Travel Film Festival? It ran for over a decade, showing a weekend of travel films at various sites in the UK, ostensibly about all forms of travel but often focusing on bikes. The last ATFF was held in 2023, but now a successor is close to launching, and it will concentrate solely on motorcycle travel. The Adventure Motorcycle Film Festival will debut on 28th February 2026 at the Brewery Arts Centre in Kendal, Cumbria. Sponsored by gear specialists Adventure Spec, the one-day festival has been organised by podcasters Clive Barber (Trail and Adventure Motorbike Podcast) and Simon Josey (Reel Riders Podcast). Barber told MCN there were would eight to ten internationally-made films shown on the day, selected by a

Honda appears to be developing a battery-electric sports bike as well as a 125cc-equivalent machine, if its patent applications are any guide – but at the same time, the UK Government has been accused of neglecting sales incentives for electric bikes, while expanding them for battery-powered cars. According to a report in Visor Down, the projected sports bike looks like an ‘electric FireBlade’ and shows certain similarities with the Honda-sponsored Mugen Shinden electric TT racer, which won the TT Zero race on the Island six times. Both bikes have the motor and transmission mounted relatively far back, creating more space for the battery and electronics, plus allowing for a longer swingarm and shorter wheelbase. An integrated motor, swingarm and rear suspension is

We’ve had some gloomy news recently, what with KTM’s well publicised restructuring, CCM going into administration and the end of the MCN London Motorcycle Show. However, there are some hopeful glimmers as well. One side effect of the financial collapse of KTM is independent ownership for MV Agusta, which is being bought by Art of Mobility, owned by the Russian Sardarov family. An official statement read: “The official transfer of full ownership from Pierer Mobility AG to Art of Mobility is approaching its final stages. This makes a pivotal step in the company’s strategy to reaffirm its independence.” MV Executive Director Luca Martin also told British Dealer News that MV will be coming back to the UK with a wholly-owned subsidiary,

All MOT testers will soon be required to take photos of every vehicle they put through the test, after a successful pilot scheme. As reported by the BMF in March 2025, the move is aimed at reducing MOT fraud, and for testers to turn a blind eye to items such as illegally small number plates. Chris Price, head of the DVSA’s head of MOT policy, said at the time: “We want to create a level playing field where high quality testing is the standard. Capturing images at the time of the test will help prevent fraud while ensuring MOTs are conducted correctly.” A six-week trial involving 62 testing stations and around 170 testers saw over 13,000 photos uploaded to the MOT

Metisse, one of the best known badges in scrambling of the 1960s and ‘70s, is up for sale. Gerry Lisi, who has owned the brand for 26 years, is planning to retire – the package includes the right to produce 150 McQueen Desert Racers. Metisse was the brainchild of brothers Derek and Don Rickman, who in the early ‘60s combined a Triumph twin engine with their own chassis to create a bike which would achieve worldwide success in scrambles. The name – derived from the French for ‘Mongrel’ – reflected the bike’s varied parts origins. Steve McQueen was a Metisse fan, and in 2007 Gerry Lisi was asked to build a replica of his desert racer. With the McQueen estate’s approval,

Remember Boon, the hit TV series of the 1980s? The BSA Lightning 650 which took a starring role is up for auction, and it could be yours for less than £3000. In the series, which was very successful and ran for seven series, actor Michael Elphick play retired fireman Ken Boon, a biker who runs a motorcycle despatch business but gets drawn into becoming a private investigator. Set in the Midlands, it attracted an audience peak of 11 million, making stars of both Elphick and the BSA, with every episode featuring him on the bike (or appearing to be). Ironically, although he looked every inch the seasoned biker, Michael Elphick wasn’t a fan and admitted in one interview that the BSA

Avon motorcycle tyres are being relaunched, eighteen months after the historic factory in Melksham, Wiltshire was closed. The closure was significant, as the Melksham plant was the UK’s last production facility for motorcycle tyres. Unfortunately, it was in serious need of modernisation and investment, and was closed by parent group Goodyear in December 2023. Goodyear inherited the Avon brand when it took over previous owner Cooper Tires (also owner of the Dunlop name) and moved production to a factory in the EU. The company is now relaunching EU-made Avon motorcycle tyres, positioning them just below its more premium Dunlop-badged rubber. The relaunched range consists of four models to start with: the Cobra Chrome for cruisers (with optional whitewalls); Spirit ST sports-touring

The Ace Cafe is to close at 6pm on Fridays for the foreseeable future, due to anti-social behaviour on the road in front. Previously the iconic venue has been open until 10.30pm on Fridays, making it a mecca for petrolheads on both two and four wheels. Café management referred to episodes of “illegal and unacceptable behaviour on the road,” adding that it will not tolerate wheelies, burnouts or excessive revving, and that anyone caught indulging will be permanently barred from the site. It also emphasised that illegal substances such as cannabis are banned at the venue, and that anyone turning up with an illegal numberplate will be turned away. CCTV with numberplate recognition technology is being used to enforce the rules. The

Less that 1% of the licenced bikes in the UK are able to park in a designated space in a council car park. Research by motorcycle insurance broker Bikesure has revealed that out of just over a million parking spaces across the UK, only 4241 are motorcycle-specific, able to accommodate just over 11,000 bikes. Of course, not all of us want to park at the same time, but motorcycles are clearly under-provided for compared to cars – seven bike spaces for every 1000 machines, against 30 for every 1000 cars. Bikesure also looked at how individual authorities were catering for bikes, by counting the number of motorcycle spaces compared to the number of bikes registered in each area. Stratford upon Avon

CCM has been placed into administration, after a difficult 2024 which saw output halve to just 150 bikes. The move is a voluntary one by parent company Pitalia Capital, which bought into CCM in late 2021, with an injection of cash to help expansion and pass homologation tests. A post on the company’s Facebook page on 2nd June read: “A legendary name in UK bike manufacturing, known for their handcrafted machines and bold innovation, is now facing uncertain times.” The news comes after months of uncertainty for CCM, which cut back its workforce to just 12 earlier this year, and suffered when Completely Motorbikes, one of its major dealers, closed its doors in October 2024. CCM was left with only eight

How many powered two-wheelers would you say Honda has built since 1949, when Soichiro put the first Dream into production? A few million? It’s actually 500 million – half a billion – an astonishing figure which underlines Honda’s continuing dominance of the world motorcycle market – it grabbed a 40% share of global sales in 2024. But the real story here isn’t that Honda is big (we all knew that) but that its 500 millionth machine was a Activa 125 scooter, which rolled off the production line in Gujarat, India. It was no coincidence that Honda chose to celebrate its 500 millionth bike in India rather than Japan. The company has four factories on the sub-continent, with a combined capacity of over