Motorcycle Sport & Leisure

Motorcycle Sport & Leisure is a monthly 116 page full colour magazine covering all aspects of modern leisure bike riding. New bike reviews, product news and events add to the unique mix of touring features and long term road tests.

Motorcycle Sport & Leisure1 min read
Honda
We thought the big H had shot its bolt last issue, with a knockout price on the new Hornet 1000, an updated NT1100, and smart new CMX500 and 1100 Rebels. But the firm still had a heap of hot metal for us, with clever updates to the Transalp and Horne
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure3 min read
Stay Bright!
I’m most certainly not alone in getting a little down in the dumps at this time of year – dark mornings and darker nights aren’t just about the level of light in the sky – which is why it’s important for us all to celebrate those little victories and
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure1 min read
XL750 Transalp and CB750 Hornet updates
You’d forgive Honda for taking a year off in terms of developing these two: the 750 twin family has been a big hit for the firm, with great pricing, solid performance and slick style making them strong sellers. But for 2025 there’re some smart update
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure1 min read
2025 New Bikes Round-up
The new bikes for 2025 just kept coming last month. Partly driven by Euro 5+ emissions rules for next year, the engineers at all the big firms have been tweaking, refining and updating their machines. And some of the new kit is properly mouth-waterin
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure1 min read
Gb350s
Seen this somewhere before? You’d be forgiven for thinking so if you’ve been in a Royal Enfield showroom of late, because the new GB350 has more than a hint of the wildly successful Indian brand’s 350 single cylinder range. And the GB350 does actuall
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure1 min read
Nc750 X
It’s been a stalwart performer for Honda over the past decade or so, despite being a little low on saucy components or wild performance. And the NC750 X has earned itself a sensible update for 2025, with uprated brakes, more equipment and a Euro 5+ e
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure2 min read
Suzuki DR-Z4S and DR-Z4M
You’d be excused for checking the cover date on this magazine – is it 2025 or 2005? Because Suzuki’s been rootling about in the cupboard and brought out a cracking little bike from its archives. The bike is the DR-Z400, which was on sale in the UK fr
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure1 min read
Honda V-3 – Electric Boostaloo!
Honda pulled a total flanker at the Milan show as well, showing off this wild concept. It’s no less than a 75° V3 engine, in a sporty chassis, with an electrically driven supercharger nestling above the intake plenum. The Japanese firm was tight-lipp
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure2 min read
Ducati V2 Panigale and Streetfighter
Ducati showed off its new V-twin engine just before the Milan show, and it marked a new direction for the firm. Rather than just continue building bigger-capacity engines, with ever-higher power outputs and more complexity, the Bologna firm has gone
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure1 min read
2025 BMW S1000 R, S1000 RR, M1000 R and M1000 RR
Fresh from winning the WSBK title at last after 15 years of trying, BMW released uprated versions of its inline-four 999cc superbike and supernaked machines. The S1000 RR and M1000 R get a series of detail changes but stick with the 2024 engine set u
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure2 min read
Yamaha MT-07
2025 is a busy year for Yamaha – it’s got a heap of new metal, and some hefty updates to bikes like the Tracer 9 range. And the MT-07 roadster is also getting a makeover, with solid revisions for the chassis, extra new tech kit, and the option of Yam
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure5 min read
Products
£24.95 / £8.95 (e-book) www.amazon.co.uk For 30 years Fabio Taglioni was the Technical Director of Ducati, its Direttore Tecnico, and was responsible for all manner of engine designs ranging from single cylinder lightweights to a massive V-four, and
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure1 min read
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure
EDITOR: Dave Manning [email protected] DESIGNER: Druck Media PRODUCTION EDITOR: Mike Cowton PUBLISHING DIRECTOR: Dan Savage GROUP ADVERTISING MANAGER: Sue Keily ADVERTISING SALES:Simon Meyer [email protected] 01507 529310 SALES AND DISTRIBUTI
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure8 min read
IT’S GOOD To Be Different
And so it is that the new Vitpilen 801 now follows on from the Svartpilen 801 launched in the summer to complete the double-act of 799cc twins. While the Svartpilen arrived in showrooms wearing traditional Svart scrambler styling, the 2025 Vit drifts
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure7 min read
Ursa Major Rises In The East
It’s important to know your history. The popularity of TV programmes centred around celebs finding their ancestors testifies to this. As does the success of firms who’ll analyse the DNA in cells scraped from inside your mouth, then tell you that you’
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure4 min read
No, it’s Michigan
I missed one of our end-of-the-month local Moto Guzzi Club meetings while Tamar and I were in London and the Isle of Man. We’d been back a few weeks when, at the next meeting, I sat across from the very guy I had looked forward to chatting with about
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure8 min read
Letters
Warm, waterproof, and well designed, Nomad gloves have got what it takes to keep you riding through the cold and wet winter months. Featuring full grain leather and textile construction, with a waterproof Hipora® membrane and 120gsm Thinsulate™ inner
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure3 min read
Legal Eagle
Q. Last summer I was on my Africa Twin heading on my usual route for a Sunday morning blast. The sun was shining, the birds were singing… you get the idea. It was a perfect day, and I was the star in my own story, heading for tea and a sticky bun! As
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure9 min read
SWEDEN or BUST
It wasn’t much time, but keen to cover some ground and experience some places we’d not seen before, it made sense to head away from the UK with its known delights, and experience life on the other side of the road for a bit. Heading south is easy, wi
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure3 min read
Motorcycle HAMMOCK CAMPING
There are two types of motorcycle campers in this world, those who have never used a hammock because they know they are rubbish, and those who use a hammock for camping and think it is great, for a number of reasons, not least of which is the fact th
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure7 min read
The SIDECAR GUYS
In 455 days, the pair racked up 1361 hours on the road, travelling 34,000 miles as they visited 35 countries across five continents. Since arriving back in the UK, the pair founded the Armchair Festival, a celebration of adventure travel, and establi
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure4 min read
Back In The Day...
From Motorcycle Sport, February 1991 Let us consider the philosophy of Kerbside Motors Ltd. ‘A motorcycle should be quick, handle well, be frugal, stop easily and be simple enough to maintain (or fix, if necessary) without a rack or special tools and
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure11 min read
BUTTERFLIES, Beaming Smiles And Bends
The 2024 Triumph Tiger 900 GT Pro and I covered just shy of 3500 miles over 14 days, hopping across France, the Swiss Alps and Northern Italy. In the transition to the mountains, I jumped from appreciating its all-round capability, to a brain-surging
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure11 min read
Thundering To The Glen
The plan was fairly simple: to borrow a Harley-Davidson Street Glide, pack enough clothes for a weekend and head 450 miles north from Lincolnshire to attend Thunder in the Glens, organised by the Dunedin Chapter of the Harley Owners Group in Aviemore
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure6 min read
MOTO MORINI STEALS THE SHOW – AGAIN: Moving Still Further on Up
Alongside a significantly updated and restyled version of its best-selling X-Cape 650 parallel-twin middleweight Adventure bike, now bumped upwards in capacity to 700cc, the Chinese-owned manufacturer displayed four all-new models and two entirely ne
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure13 min read
MOTO MORINI GM ALBERTO MONNI INTERVIEW: Range Complete!
In my exclusive interview with him that month, Mr. Chen declared he would immediately develop a range of Moto Morini models with 650cc parallel-twin engines. These would financially underpin the development of a range of different models, including r
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure2 min read
TOURING Tell Us About Your Ride!
We love to read about our readers’ rides and adventures. Whether it’s a local bimble to your favourite spot; a week spent touring and exploring; a one-off trip of a lifetime; or anything and everything in between, if you have a two-wheeled story to t
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure3 min read
Natchez To Tupelo On The Natchez Trace Trail
Due to losing the keys to my rental bike, my friend Chris and I spent a good few hours in the Eagle Rider shop at Kenner, near New Orleans. The usual bike brotherhood came in to play when asked where we were heading for next. We were told: “You don’t
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure8 min read
Memories of Morocco Part 2
From Âït-Herbil, the Desert Highway crossed vast sandy plains interspersed with oasis villages like Akka with its luscious palm grove stretching for miles to dry umber hills. When I reached Tata, Mohammed was dozing on the front porch of his hotel, h
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure4 min read
Everything Will Change
Back in the long-lost mists of time, 2018 to be precise, we ran a six-week circumnavigation of South East Asia, cunningly called South East Asia 360. Starting from Bangkok, we rode Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia, returning to Bangkok. It was a
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure8 min read
Getting Your Kicks On The Perfect Wave
The tour is still guided by Gary ‘Bear’ Fleshman, an authority on all things 66, backed up by Jeff, driving the support van. Last outing I had a pillion, but this time it’s just me, so I’ve opted for a manageable H-D Low Rider. After collecting our h
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure4 min read
Test fleet: Ducati Diavel V4
The truth is that the Diavel was never just a cruiser. It was never meant to be a custom bike built just for looking at and for riding to the coffee bar and back home (regardless of how many people use them for just that). This was a bike that harked
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure4 min read
Suzuki V-Strom 800RE
“You’re doing what! Coming up on a bike. Are you mad?” The question came from a friend, clearly baffled by why I’d undertake a 170-mile trip in near-freezing temperatures. But winter riding has been a feature of my biking life each and every year sin
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure4 min read
Test fleet: Honda CRF1100L ES Africa Twin
It’s been a strange old time of late regarding two wheels, but one which has been rather morally uplifting, if also challenging. The story begins with a text from a number I didn’t recognise. It went: ‘Hi Bertie, it’s Will, long time no see. I’m gett
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure3 min read
Test fleet: Suzuki GSX-S1000GX
I’ve never had a satnav on a bike. I’ve got one in my car but have never fitted one to a bike. If I owned my own bike then I probably would fit one but, as I test different models for MSL, I’ve never thought it worthwhile. Being 54 and old school, if
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure4 min read
Voge DS 900 X
If you’ve been reading my reports on the 525 then you will be well aware of who Voge is, and that it’s the premium brand within the manufacturing giant, Loncin, one of the biggest manufacturers of scooters and motorcycles in China. The parent company
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure5 min read
Tried & Tested
Tested by Peter Henshaw | £149.99 | www.pyramidmoto.co.uk Years ago, there was a TV ad for a guy who spent his life dreaming – man and boy – of a beefier ravioli (stay with me on this). Eventually he found it, and joy was unconfined. Now that’s almos
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure3 min read
Buying Power And The Motorcycle
There can be no production without a market, and fortunately a vigorous middle-class was at the time expanding in Britain, requiring rapid construction of new housing and indeed of whole new towns. Commuter rail carried this technological-commercial
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure2 min read
About Us
Mortons Media Group Ltd. was established in the 19th century and is a highly respected independent publisher of books, bookazines and magazines. The company specialises in producing high quality publications on topics ranging from railway, military a
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure1 min read
Banovallum
FRANK MELLING AVAILABLE NOW Softback £15.00 ISBN: 9781911704171 JAMES ROBINSON AVAILABLE NOW Softback £30.00 ISBN: 9781911658894 JAMES ROBINSON AVAILABLE NOW Softback £7.99 ISBN: 9781911658399 JAMES ROBINSON AVAILABLE NOW Softback £25.00 ISBN: 978191
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure2 min read
Military History
PETER SAMSONOV AVAILABLE NOW Softback £12.99 ISBN: 9781911658306 ROB GRIFFIN AVAILABLE NOW Softback £16.99 ISBN: 9781911658757 PETER SAMSONOV AVAILABLE NOW Softback £14.99 ISBN: 9781911704065 The first encounter between British armour and the Red Arm
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure3 min read
Transport
Locomotive No 32 Tamerline became the first steam locomotive to be completed at Crewe Works on 10 March 1843. One hundred and fifteen years later BR 9F No 92250 became the 7,331st steam locomotive to be built at the Cheshire works, when completed in
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure2 min read
Silver Link
JOHN STRETTON AVAILABLE NOW Softback £20.00 ISBN: 9781858952949 ALAN CLARKE AVAILABLE NOW Softback £25.00 ISBN: 9781857945553 BARRY ALLEN AVAILABLE NOW Softback £10.00 ISBN: 9781857945584 BRIAN LAMBERT AVAILABLE NOW Softback £20.00 ISBN: 978185794545
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure12 min read
Tempest
ADAM LUNNEY AVAILABLE NOW! Hardback £14.99 ISBN: 9781911658351 BERTIE SIMMONDS AVAILABLE NOW Hardback £14.99 ISBN: 9781911658535 BERTIE SIMONDS AVAILABLE NOW! Hardback £25.00 ISBN: 9781911658566 CALUM E DOUGLAS/ DAN SHARP AVAILABLE NOW Softback £40.0
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure1 min read
Trade Distribution
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