Bike Social

5 days ago | bennetts.co.uk | Michael Mann |Martin Fitz-Gibbons |Jim Moore |Ben Purvis

BikeSocial Managing EditorOverall BikeSocial rating4/5You what? A brand-new, 1-litre V-twin adventure bike with adjustable suspension, riding modes, heated grips and seats, and Pirelli rubber for under eight-grand? Tell me more, I hear you say. Well let’s start at the start. Morbidelli is one of those boutique Italian manufacturers that you’ve probably heard of but don’t know much about, right? That was certainly accurate for this scribe as of a fortnight ago.

1 week ago | bennetts.co.uk | Jim Moore |Ben Purvis |Michael Mann |Martin Fitz-Gibbons

Overall BikeSocial rating4/5When launched in 1996 Suzuki’s GSF1200 Bandit made thumping performance available at an irresistible price – £5999 for the naked N model and £6399 for the half-faired S. To put that into context, Suzuki’s own GSX-R600 cost £6999 at the time, so the Bandit 1200 represented litre-plus performance for less than the price of a sporty middleweight. No surprise, then, that the GSF12 proved an instant hit. Suzuki had pulled the same trick a year earlier with the GSF600 Bandit.

1 week ago | bennetts.co.uk | Ben Purvis |Michael Mann |Martin Fitz-Gibbons |Steve Rose

Motorcycle Journalist Overall BikeSocial ratingTBCIf you want an adventure bike that really puts the emphasis on offroad ability over everything else you’d normally make a beeline for your nearest KTM dealer -  but the launch of the CFMOTO 800MT-X might see customers taking a turn in another direction as it promises to match the 790 Adventure, punch-for-punch, with a price tag that’s 20% lower than its Austrian inspiration.

1 week ago | bennetts.co.uk | Simon Hargreaves |Ben Purvis |John Milbank |Dale Lomas

It starts with a sound. The shrill, high-pitched shriek has dogs’ ears pricking up as a small black dot appears on the horizon, shimmering in the heat haze like a tiny mote of dust dancing in sunlight. Within a few seconds the noise – it’s the sound of air being torn apart inside a spinning compressor and spat from an exhaust – deepens into roaring whistle as the dark speck resolves into the shape of a bike, pointed nose, rider prone on the tank.

1 week ago | bennetts.co.uk | Ben Purvis |Jon Urry |Steve Rose |Michael Mann

Motorcycle Journalist Overall BikeSocial ratingTBCFor decades China’s fast-growing motorcycle industry has been laser focused on supplying millions of riders in its homeland rather than turning its attentions to exports – but that’s changing fast and the West is seeing an influx of surprisingly capable Chinese-made machines as a result.