Big-inch V-twin Honda VT1300CX carries custom cool to a new high
Honda (UK) Motorcycles has announced an exciting and new V-twin custom model – the radical Honda VT1300CX – to the UK for 2010.

For many years the chopper motorcycle has summed-up a particular breed and passion of two-wheeled cool. Many are home-built machines – some made to quite basic specifications. But with the VT1300CX you can have all the presence and pose of a chopper, but with the reassurance of Honda’s enviable style and build quality.

The VT1300CX is a whole new breed of cruiser, showing Honda’s wild side and playing on the popular chopper genre. The machine is powered by a 1312cc 52-degree fuel-injected V-twin found in the popular VTX1300 machine, but featuring re-profiled camshafts and a new exhaust system. The single-pin crank gives the bike a unique sound which growls through the machine’s twin stacked pipes. Meanwhile, the radiators for the liquid-cooled machine are neatly tucked out of sight for a more ‘traditional’ look. It also boasts a new programmed fuel injection system, further contributing to the impressively low fuel consumption of 56.5mpg*.

For cruisers and choppers, style is king and the head-turning looks, coupled with great attention to detail of the VT1300CX, are a milestone. The overall classic profile accentuates the whole chopper look. This is thanks to the widely-raked front forks, the small, high-set 12.8-litre fuel tank which sits behind the single chrome headlight, down to the striking nine-spoke front and seven spoke rear wheels. Dominating the mid-section is the punchy V-twin motor, while the slim front tyre is exaggerated by the fat and wider rear tyre. The whole look is completed with a ‘hard-tail’ look rear-end and an LED tail-light.

The long, low chassis is lean with its stretched-out wheel base and sleek lines, which cloak a single shock rear suspension system with an aluminium swing arm and adjustable rebound and preload adjustment. This combination provides riding comfort that’s far above the norm for a chopper.

The VT1300CX – with its great package of looks, sound and feel – is effectively Honda’s first factory-finished chopper and has the longest wheelbase of any production Honda ever – a full 1805mm between both axles. But, despite this and its radical looks, it’s still a Honda, which means the ultimate in performance and poise as well as good fuel economy, with fun and easy of riding and assured handling.

For customers who want to add an individual touch to their VT1300CX and make it even more unique, a range of accessories will be available to include:

• A tubular chrome backrest and optional backrest pad for pillion comfort
• A wide, low screen with chrome stars for protection from the elements when cruising the streets
• Colour-matched front spoiler for increased custom appearance
• Chrome-plated steel rear fender to complete the solo-seat look

The VT1300CX will be available in two colours – the striking glint blue wave metallic provides an eye-catching option, while the graphite black accentuates its extravagant styling. The price of this new model will be announced later in the year.

Terms of reference and call for evidence

In January 2009 the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) announced that the motorcycle test would be split into two parts: Module 1 contains the specified manoeuvres element of the test including exercises designed to assess the rider’s ability to control their machine safely, including avoidance and emergency stop exercises; and Module 2 includes an eyesight test and at least 30 minutes of on-road riding, assessing the rider’s ability to safely interact with other road users. This took effect in April 2009. The decision to split the test in two is the result of changes to the practical driving test for motorcyclists introduced this year as a consequence of the European Second Driving Licence Directive – though the decision to deliver the new test in two parts and via multi-purpose test centres was taken by the Government, following two rounds of consultation.

Concerns have been expressed that there are too few test centres and that some test candidates are now required to travel long distances to reach their nearest test centre. Concerns have also been raised about the safety of riders taking the off-road test, particularly the ’swerve and stop’ test.

The Transport Committee will hold an inquiry into current motorcycle testing arrangements. In particular:

1. Has the DSA interpreted the EU Second Driving Licence Directive correctly and applied it appropriately?
2. Are the off-road motorcycle tests safe and appropriate?
3. Is the number of motorcycle test centres adequate and are the locations satisfactory?
4. What is the impact of the recent changes in motorcyclist testing?

Interested parties are invited to submit evidence by Tuesday 22 September 2009.

Guidance on submitting written evidence

It assists the Committee if those submitting written evidence adhere to the following guidelines:

1. Submissions should be as short as is consistent with conveying the relevant information. As a rough guide, it is usually helpful if they can be confined to six pages or less. Paragraphs should be numbered for ease of reference. A single-page summary of the main points is sometimes helpful.
   The submission should be in a form suitable for monochrome photocopying.
2. Evidence should be submitted in Word or Rich Text format, by e-mail to transev@parliament.uk. The body of the e-mail should include a contact name, telephone number and postal address. It should be absolutely clear who the submission is from, particularly whether it is on behalf of an organisation or in the name of an individual.
3. Once accepted by the Committee, written evidence becomes the Committee’s property and it may decide to publish it or make other public use of it. You should not publish evidence submitted to the Committee. If you wish your submission, or any part of it, to be treated as confidential, then please indicate this clearly when you submit it.
4. Though the Committee is happy to receive copies of published material, formal submissions of evidence should be original work and not published elsewhere.
5. Committee staff are happy to give further advice on any aspect of the Committee’s work by phone or e-mail.

More detailed guidance on giving evidence to a select committee is available on-line at: http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/witnessguide.pdf

FURTHER INFORMATION:

1. Committee Membership is as follows: Mrs Louise Ellman (Chairman)
   (Liverpool, Riverside), Mr David Clelland (Tyne Bridge), Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering), Mr John Leech (Manchester, Withington), Mr Eric Martlew (Carlisle), Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin), Ms Angela C Smith (Sheffield, Hillsborough), Sir Peter Soulsby (Leicester South), Graham Stringer (Manchester, Blackley), Mr David Wilshire (Spelthorne), Sammy Wilson (East Antrim).
2. Transcripts of evidence sessions for the Committee’s inquiries can be found on the Committee website at: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmtran.htm

Committee Website: http://www.parliament.uk/transcom/

Watch committees and parliamentary debates online: http://www.parliamentlive.tv

Publications / Reports / Reference Material: Copies of all select committee reports are available from the Parliamentary Bookshop (12 Bridge St, Westminster, 020 7219 3890) or the Stationery Office (0845 7023474). Committee reports, press releases, evidence transcripts, Bills, research papers, a directory of MPs, plus Hansard (from 8am daily) and much more, can be found on http://www.parliament.uk

Santa Pod Raceway may be the home of European Drag racing, but there’s still one event every year that impresses even the most hardened of fans; The Main Event on Friday 22nd to Monday 25th May. This is the first round of the prestigious European Drag Racing Championship and features the largest race entry and most packed Motorsport paddock anywhere in Europe! Over 250 teams, and 15 race classes make this event unrivalled for both the quality and quantity of racing.

Exemplifying the very greatest, fastest, loudest and craziest spectacles in drag racing, the entire weekend gathers the most brutal machines in Europe and pits them head to head in an epic display of rubber burning, nitro-snorting insanity! Both cars and bikes are represented, with some of the entrants able to hit an incredible 300 mph in just 5 seconds!! If this wasn’t impressive enough, on the track in-between the racing will be the awesome Fireforce and Firestorm Jet Funny Cars, plus Ronnie Picardo’s gravity defying Wheelie Truck.

Off-track action is equally as exciting with loads of entertainment and attractions aimed squarely at families looking for a great weekend away. Full camping facilities are available and under 16s even go for free! There’s fun for the whole clan with Kids entertainment, side shows, traders, Fun Fair and full catering & bar facilities all weekend with evening entertainment in Fuelers Bar on Saturday and Sunday.

Adrenaline junkies will also love the car crushing Monster Trucks Podzilla and Red Dragon attempting to out jump each other in the Live Action Arena, along with the world record breaking Stunt Driver Terry Grant and Trials rider Chris Doney.

The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight will also be making fly pasts with a Lancaster, Hurricane & Spitfire on Saturday and Monday afternoons, plus a Hurricane on Sunday. Don’t miss a chance to see these iconic aircraft in action.

Advance ticket prices start from just £27 for the action packed Saturday or Sunday, with both days totalling £49 and the entire 4 day event costing just £55. With the kids getting on for free, It could be the best May Bank holiday you’ve ever enjoyed!

For more details please visit www.santapod.com or call the team on 01234 782828.

Bike Classes Include:

• UEM Supertwin Bike – Thundering 700bhp motorcycles
• UEM Top Fuel Bike – 200mph, 1000bhp drag bikes
• UEM Pro Stock Bike – Screaming, petrol-burning motorcycles

Greetings.  After much brow-beating by many visitors to our pages we’ve decided to cave to popular pressure and set ourselves up as a member and a page on the popular social networking site Facebook.

We’re easy to find on there simply click on this link to go directly to our FB profile;

But perhaps even more useful is that we’ve added ourselves as a “Page” on Facebook, which you can become a fan of by clicking on this link here

This fan page is particularly cool; because Bikesource Link Directory has tried to host details for events from sometime now, somewhat unsucessfully, due to the fact that a web page was required to submit the event.  If you become a fan of Bikesource on Facebook, you can add your events and rallies to this page and it all works really well, and helps others see them; and you can get an idea of how popular they’ll be.

We’ve only just created all of this nonsense, so feel free to tell everyone you know, and within a few weeks we should have quite a healthy following.

Cheers!!

To celebrate the arrival of the new MotoGP inspired Yamaha YZF-R1, participating Yamaha dealers will be holding an launch evening on Friday 27th February 2009, primarily to show of this unique motorcycle that is set to re-write the Supersport record books.

Visitors to participating Yamaha dealers will have the opportunity to win, subject to terms and conditions, their very own Supersport R1 in Yamaha’s free to enter on-line competition if they enter before midday on Friday 27th February, get the answers correct and be drawn first out of the hat on that night. The lucky winner will be drawn and called at their nominated dealership at 20:00hrs that night.

There is also a great runner up prize of a never-to-be-forgotten VIP MotoGP weekend at Catalunya on 13/14th June 2009. Not to be sniffed at, as the winner of this one will be rubbing shoulders with Vale himself!

How do you win? Log onto http://www.yamaha-motor.co.uk/r1_competition/

• Complete the on-line entry form including nominating your participating Yamaha road bike dealer
• Get the answers correct
• Be at the dealership at 8pm on Friday 27th February 2009
• Wait for the call!

While down at the dealer’s, visitors can look around the great range of Yamaha motorcycles that will be on display, including the brand new XJ6 and Supersport legend, the YZF-R6 (which also features in the ‘No Worries’ finance campaign), plus the fabulous range of genuine Yamaha accessories.

• 1st Prize – Yamaha YZF-R1 A brand new 2009 Yamaha YZF-R1, to be drawn on the night. Entry via Yamaha’s website (a specific page). The winning entry will be drawn at YMUK at 20:00hrs. The winner’s nominated participating Yamaha dealership will then be contacted by phone. To have a chance of winning, the entrant must be in attendance at that dealership.

• 2nd Prize – VIP MotoGP Weekend The second successful competition entry winner drawn will be invited to attend the Catalunya MotoGP round on June 13/14 2009 as a guest of Yamaha Racing, given the opportunity to meet the factory riders.

The stars of Honda’s exciting and new-for-2009 motorcycle range will be making their mark at the annual Northern Ireland Motorcycle Show, taking place this coming weekend, 13-15 February, at The King’s Hall in Belfast.

Heading Honda’s line-up at the show are the awesome new supersports machines, the CBR1000RR Fireblade and the CBR600RR, now equipped with Honda’s innovative and acclaimed world first Combined ABS system for sports bikes, as an option. Both the ‘Blade and the CBR600RR are the leaders in their class and the addition of an effective, light-weight ABS system is not only a technological first in the supersports class, but a significant step in the advancement of safety features for motorcycles.

The C-ABS-equipped Blade at the Belfast Motorcycle Festival will be seen in the stunning Pearl Siren Blue colour scheme, while the standard CBR1000RR Fireblade will also be on display in the eye-catching Repsol MotoGP team livery. The ABS-equipped CBR600RR will appear in the striking new Tri-colour scheme.

Other important Honda machines will be there for the public to see, including the CBF125 – the latest addition to the Honda family of naked motorcycles and best selling motorcycle in the UK in January. It shares all the features of its larger siblings but with the economy and ease-of-use only found in smaller capacity machines. Many other machines from Honda’s 2009 range will also be on display – including the stylish CB1000R performance naked, sturdy CBF1000 GT, versatile ST1300 Pan European, ever ready-for-adventure Transalp, the stunning white VFR as well as the ground-breaking DN-01.

Steve Martindale, General Manager of Honda (UK) Motorcycles said, “This is the biggest show of its kind in Northern Ireland – a part of the world where motorcycling is extremely popular. We’ve seen so much interest in our Combined ABS-equipped supersport models for 2009 but the new CBF125 also shows that motorcycling can be practical and economical, as well as fun.”

The show runs between 13 and 15 February and opening times are Friday 2pm to 10pm, Saturday and Sunday 10am to 5pm.

Visitors to the show and motorcyclists throughout Northern Ireland also have the chance to win one of Honda’s superb motorcycles, by signing up for Honda’s ‘Test Ride and Win’ event the weekend following the Show, from Friday 20 to Monday 23 February. Riders who book a test ride online at www.honda.co.uk and complete a test ride of any new Honda motorcycle or scooter from a Honda motorcycle dealer during the three days, will be automatically entered in to a free prize draw and be in with a chance of winning a machine equivalent to the one test ridden*.

Suzuki GB Plc has launched a new Hawk protective jacket offering the winter riders a more comfortable commute.

In association with AGV Sport, the introduction of the Hawk riding jacket follows the success of the black riding jacket launched to customers in July 2007. The jacket is made from 100% waterproof and breathable material, and reflective logos and piping for extra safety.

Featuring a removable thermal liner, soft neoprene collars for extra comfort, zip in trouser option and removable CE approved body armour it will be available in the Suzuki Blue / White colour.

With a recommended retail price of £105.00 including VAT it is available from any authorised Suzuki dealer or available to view on the accessory pages of the Suzuki website – www.suzuki-gb.co.uk/accessories/

Yamaha have just announced a great new finance promotion on a select range of their class leading motorcycles.

Just when you thought that your finances may not allow the purchase of a brand new Yamaha this year, the company has launched an affordable new finance deal offering you prime Yamaha models with just a £99 deposit.

For a limited period, you can own the best selling Supersport 600 of 2008, the amazing YZF-R6, one of the FZ or Fazer range of great bikes or the XT660R/X, all with 2 years interest free credit. With a low deposit and affordable repayments, the road to freedom beckons sooner than you think! Yamaha – no worries.

For full terms and conditions and more details, talk to your authorised Yamaha dealer or click onto our website www.yamaha-motor.co.uk. The finance promotion ends on 31st March 2009.

Honda’s exciting 2009 model range will be the stars of the MCN London Motorcycle Show – the biggest of its kind in London and the South East – which starts this week from 29 January to 1 February, at ExCeL in Docklands.

Heading Honda’s line-up on stand N580 (Hall 15) is the exciting new supersports CBR1000RR Fireblade and CBR600RR machines, armed with Honda’s ground-breaking electronically-controlled Combined ABS system. Both the ‘Blade and the CBR600RR are the leaders in their respective categories and the addition of an effective, light-weight but sophisticated ABS system is a technological first in the supersports class.

Other important Honda machines will be there for the public to see, including the acclaimed CBF125 – the latest addition to the Honda family of naked motorcycles. It shares all the features of its larger siblings but with the class-leading fuel economy and ease-of-use only found in smaller capacity machines. Many other machines from Honda’s 2009 range will also be on display – including the flagship GL1800 Gold Wing.

Steve Martindale, General Manager of Honda (UK) Motorcycle Division commented, “The interest generated by our new 2009 machines – especially the small but significant CBF125 and the Combined ABS versions of both the Fireblade and the CBR600RR – has been incredible and shows Honda’s, and the public’s, commitment to performance, economy and safety in motorcycling.”

ExCeL London is located just 1 mile east of Canary Wharf and 1 mile west of London City Airport. It’s accessible from the M25, M11, A13 and A406 North Circular. Show opening hours are: Thursday 10am-5pm, Friday 10am-5pm, Saturday 9am-6pm, Sunday 9am-5pm. To book tickets contact 0844 581 0752.

MVR-D Suzuki rider, Carl Nunn, claimed the British Supercross Championship title on Saturday evening, as the RM-Z250 rider put on another impressive performance, to leave the final round of the series at the O2 Arena in London, with the British title.

Nunn, who went into the final round with just a one-point advantage over Gordon Crockard, took the title in the single race, by finishing in second place, behind Neville Bradshaw, after a racing tangle with championship rival, Crockard.

Talking about his path to championship glory, Nunn commented, “Obviously I’m over the moon to get a British title under my belt. The MVR-D Suzuki Team have been fantastic and this gives us a real boost for the season ahead. As for the last round, my clash with Gordon was really unfortunate, but we both agree it was just one of those unlucky racing incidents. On the whole though, it’s been a fun series and a great opportunity to stay race fit during the winter.”

Carl finished the final International race in a solid fifth place too.

The MVR-D team now head to Italy for some pre-season testing, as well as a one-off ride in the Italian national series, before the British outdoor season kicks-off.