Humber Bridge motorcycle toll to be scrapped!

Tell your friends but just as important tell them that it was MAG that got it. 

Ducati UK is pleased to announce a set of finance offers including 0% APR and low rate options over 24 and 36 months - deposits starting from 33% on the 24 month option, and 50% for the 36 month option.

The Monster carries one of the most iconic names in motorcycling and the Monster 696 and 796 fully live up to the heritage.  Power outputs of 80hp and 87hp respectively, delivered with character from the L-twin engine is plenty to set the pulse running.  Famous Ducati handling plus the option of ABS braking keeps things nicely under control, making the Monster 696 and 796 ideal for novice and more experienced riders alike.

The Monster 696 also features in the Ducati Learn to Ride programme, allowing new riders to take their first motorcycling steps with Ducati.

For more details see www.ducatiuk.com or visit your dealer to arrange a test ride and discuss the available finance options.

Riders in the UK and in Ireland are up in arms about the EU Commission’s proposals for motorcycles. Protest demonstrations have been organised for the 25^th September throughout the UK and Ireland.

There are many issues of which riders have justifiable reasons to express their anger and concerns regarding these proposals.

There is however a lot of misinformation out there and it seems to us that riders are getting mixed messages about what the European Commission is actually proposing and what the MEPs and the UK Government is doing in response to these proposals.

Right To Ride has aimed to provide clear and factual details of the progression of the Commission’s proposals and the discussions that have taken place within the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) Committee.

We have communicated to all the players in the Commission, Industry and IMCO expressing our views and concerns.

Yesterday we received from Malcolm Harbour, Chairman of the IMCO Committee and Shadow Rapporteur for the European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR) a follow up email in relation to the Commission proposal for an EU Regulation on the approval and market surveillance of two- or three-wheel vehicles and quadricycles.

Excerpts from his email:

“The amendments tabled by MEPs which are outside the scope of the Commission's proposal constitute political recommendations which are very unlikely to feature in the adopted text. If however there is majority support for any of these ideas, the amendments concerned can only feature in Recitals to the Regulation which means they have no legal effect. Even if these recommendations make it through the Committee stage, which I doubt, both Council and Commission would resist them featuring in the final text of the Regulation as they have no corresponding Article. The amendments concerned relate to driver/rider training, side visibility reflectors, roadside random spot-checks, technical examinations of motorbikes and liabilities in accident situations, and the harmonisation of driver licence schemes”.

“In the context of this draft Regulation, we are simply not engaged in a discussion on national debates concerning the mandating of high visibility jackets for riders, the banning of older motorcycles from urban areas, nor are we discussing EU funded research on throttle and speed control schemes. These are all considerations which are completely outside the scope of this legislative proposal. Furthermore, picking up on other concerns constituents have expressed, there are no proposals on the table about mandating the sealing of the power train from the air box or relating to setting a diameter and aspect ratio for the rear tyre”.

Read the full article on Right To Ride EU

The Castrol Honda team has completed a two-day test at the Misano circuit in Italy with riders Jonathan Rea and Ruben Xaus declaring themselves happy with progress. The test was Rea’s first visit to the circuit where he crashed in June, sustaining a wrist injury that kept him out of action until two weeks ago.

With three rounds still remaining in the 2011 World Superbike season, the team has been working on developments for the current CBR1000RR. However, Rea and Xaus were also joined by Japanese rider Makoto Tamada at the Misano test and tried some development parts for next year’s racing machine.

In spite of a brief rain shower this afternoon, the test was conducted in temperatures of more than 30 degrees ahead of next week’s 11th round of the series at Imola, just an hour up the road from Misano.

Jonathan Rea

It’s been a real proper test, this, and we had a lot of stu ff to work through. On top of that, Pirelli also brought some new rubber to try so, in the end, we actually ran out of time. We probably needed the rest of this week to get through everything, but we can definitely see the potential of the fly-by-wire system that I tested for the first time today. Also, I’m able to ride a lot more in my comfort zone with this new package and it helped with engine braking, too. Going back to Misano was no problem for me and, in fact, I was going through the corner where I crashed faster than I did during the race weekend in June. Pirelli brought a lot of soft rubber and we could have used a qualifier to try for a time, but we had to keep our heads down and keep focused on the work we had to get through. The lap time is probably about where we are at the moment, but we know that the next step forward will push us back to the front.

Ruben Xaus

Well it felt good to be back on a bike again properly f or the first time since the Brno crash in July. Of course, after two days of testing, I was tired, but it felt like a naturally tiredness. We’ve been testing some different electronics and the bike is much easier to control. The feeling is much better and the bike definitely feels stronger and faster. It’s been a good two days for motivation and to give me confidence heading into Imola next week – I’m feeling like I can really go for it when we get there.