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Fast Bikes UK
ON TRACK...HONDA FIREBLADE RR-R SP
To kick things off, I decided the Fireblade would be the weapon of choice to get my senses sharpened and the ball rolling for this year's Ultimate Sports Bike track test.
5 min |
October 2023
Fast Bikes UK
UNDER THE SKIN...HONDA FIREBLADE RR-R SP
What's interesting about the Fireblade is that unlike the other bikes on this test - pumped-up trick homologation versions of existing bikes in their ranges, so BMW and Ducati can go racing the Fireblade was made from day one as a race bike.
4 min |
October 2023
Fast Bikes UK
ON ROAD...BMW M 1000 RR
Just like that, our three days of testing were done and dusted, barring a final blast over the Mountain. The question was, what bike would I be doing it on?
9 min |
October 2023
Fast Bikes UK
ON TRACK...BMW M 1000 RR
When I first clapped eyes on this carbon-covered kryptonite, I can't say I was particularly dazzled by the new styling and upgraded aero package. Now I've seen one in the flesh, I've turned a full 180 and can completely appreciate the bodywork overhaul and the detail within.
5 min |
October 2023
Fast Bikes UK
UNDER THE SKIN...BMW M 1000 RR
The latest M 1000 RR must surely be the first bike to be faster in a straight line as well as around corners than the bike it’s replacing without getting a single upgrade to its engine or chassis.
4 min |
October 2023
Fast Bikes UK
HOMOLOGATION Special
Sportsbikes… they’re bloody awesome. They always have been, and for us, they always will be.
5 min |
October 2023
Fast Bikes UK
Charlie Nesbitt
Our last chat with SHARK Helmets’ 2023 crop of British riders is with Swindonborn Hawk Honda man Charlie Nesbitt.
4 min |
September 2023
Fast Bikes UK
SHED FIND TO SUPERBIKE...
It’s been out of the mag for a few months, but Bruce has finally pulled his finger out and made some solid progress on his ZX-7R.
8 min |
September 2023
Fast Bikes UK
WHAT THE TECH: AIRBOXES
As we recently discovered with Project R7, which concluded last month, an airbox can make a massive difference to the performance of an engine and, therefore, motorbike.
9 min |
September 2023
Fast Bikes UK
FACTORY RACER
In 2012, Aprilia armed its RSV4 models with a WSB-derived electronics package.
4 min |
September 2023
Fast Bikes UK
DUCATI DRE - RACETRACK ACADEMY
Some days just start better than others... like when you open your bedroom curtains and stare down at one of the sauciest racetracks in the world – Silverstone.
7 min |
September 2023
Fast Bikes UK
BABY BLADES...HONDA'S OTHER CBRS
Sportsbikes come in all shapes and sizes, as Honda’s middleweight CBRs hammer home.
10+ min |
September 2023
Fast Bikes UK
SPORTSBIKE VS SUPERNAKED - WHICH is FASTER?
It’s a question that needs answering. With a chunk of help from Ducati, Pirelli and a certain BSB star, we pitched one of the finest sportsbikes on the market against its technically similar supernaked sibling.
10+ min |
September 2023
Fast Bikes UK
Christian Iddon
Iddon's one tough cookie, as we're sure you'll agree after reading this.
6 min |
August 2023
Fast Bikes UK
Heal like Wolverine
Unfortunately, crashing is part of the job when it comes to racing motorcycles, and completing an entire season without copping for the odd spill is relatively unheard of... even the most successful riders get a little too intimate with the tarmac every now and then.
2 min |
August 2023
Fast Bikes UK
Kyle Ryde
Every now and then, it seems like there’s a bit of a changing of the guard in the top race series. The big names you’ve grown accustomed to begin to drift down the results sheets and new, less familiar names start to rise to the top.
3 min |
August 2023
Fast Bikes UK
THE FINALE - ROAD TO THE TT YAMAHA R7 PROJECT
Now the dust has settled, it’s time to tell the tale of how Rutter’s R7 cut it around the 2023 Isle of Man TT.
10 min |
August 2023
Fast Bikes UK
MID-SIZED MAESTRO 2023 KTM RC 8C
The second-generation KTM RC 8C took all of two minutes to sell out its 200-unit production run. Cathcart was not lucky enough to have bought one, but he bagged another golden ticket – to try one out for size around Valencia.
10+ min |
August 2023
Fast Bikes UK
HIDDEN TREASURE
Remember the 2005 YZF-R6? This one-hit wonder is worth searching out...
5 min |
August 2023
Fast Bikes UK
THE Fairy-tale TT
The dust might only just be settling on this year’s epic TT, but we want to take you back to 2017 and one of the most magical wins around the Island ever. To a Senior TT victory that could, and maybe even should, have gone very differently. It’s time to talk about Michael Dunlop and the Hawk Suzuki GSX-R1000R…
10+ min |
August 2023
Fast Bikes UK
BEEN THERE, DONE THAT...
So, there you have it… you’ve got our take on the bikes to buy, the bikes to salivate over, and the bikes to take a punt on. But before we sign off and leave you to a weekend of scrolling online ads for overlooked bargains, we thought we’d give you a bit of insight from a bloke who’s built up an impressive collection of bikes on the back of buying them at the right time and for the right price.
4 min |
August 2023
Fast Bikes UK
WORTH A PUNT...
2004 Fireblade - The 2004 Fireblade is the result of Honda deciding it wanted to go superbike racing, abandoning its ‘less is more’ approach to superbike design and going all in with a 1000cc example. It also drew heavily on Honda’s design philosophy of mass centralisation it was using to great effect on the V5 RC211V MotoGP bike. And it was the first non-Baba designed Fireblade, which, unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 20 years, you’ll know is significant.
7 min |
August 2023
Fast Bikes UK
ON THE UP...
2009 Yamaha R1 - In 2008, when Yamaha released the teaser adverts for the upcoming replacement to the ever popular R1, all they did was publish a photograph of a crankshaft.
7 min |
August 2023
Fast Bikes UK
BIKES THAT HAVE BOOMED...
Ducati 916 - Like all the bikes in this category, the 916 should really not need any introduction, but as an example that in recent times has gone mad in value, this shines.
10 min |
August 2023
Fast Bikes UK
HEDGING YOUR BETS...
We all have that list – bikes we wish we still had and can’t believe we sold for what we did, because since then they’ve gone on to become icons that everyone wants... but when we owned them, they were just what we got our kicks with.
5 min |
August 2023
Fast Bikes UK
2023 KTM 890 SMT released
The first road bike that really made us sit up and take notice of KTM was the original 2005 950 SM supermoto
2 min |
June 2023
Fast Bikes UK
Lee Jackson
Interviews with Kawasaki factory BSB racers in Fast Bikes are a bit like buses. None for ages – then you get two at once… Last month we spoke to Max Cook, the new rider for the Cheshire Mouldings team about his career so far and his relationship with SHARK. And this month we’re doing the same with Lee Jackson, the senior rider in the Kawasaki UK-backed team (Team Green completists can also read about Jackson’s ZX-10R race bike on the Addiction pages this month).
3 min |
July 2023
Fast Bikes UK
WHAT THE TECH: SLIPPER CLUTCHES
Few people know more about slipper clutches than MotoGP tech guru Neil Spalding. We quizzed him on the wonder weapons.
8 min |
July 2023
Fast Bikes UK
YAMAHA R7 PROJECT
Time and tide waits for no man, and the same goes for race meetings. Up against it, the Batham’s R7 made it to the North West 200… but only just.
6 min |
July 2023
Fast Bikes UK
BAGGING A GOOD'UN
There are some things in life that just don’t make much sense, but never let that be said of baggers on a race track, banging bars and scraping panniers.
7 min |