Mike Cowton

Winter motorcycling: How to prepare your bike for the chilly months

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Mike Cowton

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10th October 2019

WInter’s fast approaching, and for many bikers that means it’s getting to that time of year when they think about stashing their pride and joy away under covers for the next few months and wait for the rain, sleet and snow to pass. That’s not the case for everyone, though – some riders don’t have…
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Torque of the town

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Mike Cowton

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10th July 2019

Husqvarna’s range of pure road bikes expands with the flat-track styled Svartpilen 701, based on KTM’s 690 Duke engine and chassis. Is the 701 different enough to forge its own identity? MSL finds out from the launch in Portugal. In the space of 10 minutes we’ve gone from bossing downtown Lisbon traffic like a super-commuter…
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BMW TO ENTER CRUISER MARKET IN 2020

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Mike Cowton

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21st June 2019

BMW is seeking to go head to head with Harley-Davidson and Indian on the American giants’ home turf by developing a range of cruiser models to help achieve the coveted status of world’s No. 1 in the premium motorcycle sector, reports Alan Cathcart. It’s not the first time that the German manufacturer has tried to…
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Triumph Factory Customs are rocketing

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Mike Cowton

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18th June 2019

Following the factory custom Thruxton a couple of months ago, Triumph follows with a new Rocket 3 TFC.
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TEST RIDE – BMW R1250R: FORGOTTEN GEM

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Mike Cowton

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13th June 2019

The naked Boxer R has always lived in the shadows of its fully dressed RT and Rambo-styled GS siblings. Does it deserve more? If all the dreams we have and all the places we imagine when we want a ‘happy place’, midweek Northamptonshire, in the wet, on a naked bike, is quite possibly and understandably…
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Big is beautiful

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Mike Cowton

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13th June 2019

Ducati Multistrada Enduro Pro 1200 (2018) and Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports (2018) are now ripe for some good second-hand buys. But which is the one to go for? Everyone has their own slightly different opinion about what it is that defines an adventure motorcycle. For some riders, an adventure simply involves a long slog…
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First Ride: Norton 1200 V4-SS

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Mike Cowton

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10th June 2019

Norton has created a bike that looks, sounds and handles great. Alan Cathcart was the first person outside the factory to get a ride. “I say, that’s a very bright-looking bike!” exclaimed the husband of the 50-something couple as they walked past where I’d stopped for a coffee break at the Fleur-de-Lys pub on the…
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Test Ride: Yamaha R125

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Mike Cowton

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9th May 2019

Back in the olden days, Yamaha had a reputation for making powerful 125s, writes Alan Dowds. From the (unrestricted) air-cooled RD125DX two-stroke twin of the 1970s, through to the amazing-when-derestricted TZR125 of the 1990s, the tuning fork folks knew how to get the most from an eighth of a litre. They’ve done it again with…
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COOL KITTY: SUZUKI KATANA, 1980 ONWARDS

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Mike Cowton

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29th April 2019

What started out as a mere design exercise has since become one of Suzuki’s legendary models, ripe for 2019’s reboot. The name ‘Katana’ brings to mind a sharp, curved blade, used by the samurai of feudal Japan. Fitting then, that the name would be used on the winner of a cutting-edge design exercise that German…
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Test Ride: Honda CB500X, CB500F and CBR500R

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Mike Cowton

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23rd April 2019

Honda couldn’t choose a more appropriate venue for showing off the versatility of their updated CB trio of 47bhp, A2-licence compatible, parallel twin 500s. Tenerife has it all for great riding – endless tight, twisty mountain Tarmac, like an unspooling tape reel, mile upon mile of sinewy, winding blacktop across the volcanic landscape, off-road mountain…
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Mike Cowton

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