Bike Devil’s Week on Two-Wheels: 8 June 20

Hot off the press – and announced this morning at 10am – Motorcycle Live 2020 won’t be happening! In a statement put out by show organisers this morning, “…concern for the safety of our visitors, exhibitors and industry colleagues is at the heart of this decision.”. To be honest, we don’t think it’s a decision that will come as a surprise, and we would think that many of the other European shows will follow suit…a shame, but one that has been made with the right reasons in mind.

It’s important to acknowledge too the big announcement from the last two weeks from Triumph Motorcycles and the unfortunate news that around 400 employees from across their global workforce could be made redundant. It’s been reported that around 240 of the losses will be from the UK HQ in Hinckley, Leicestershire. The restructure has been made ‘in order to protect the long-term health of the business’. We wish all those impacted all the best at this challenging time.

Let’s turn our attention to the new bike reveals since our last update – and there have been a few!

Spanish motorcycle manufacturer, Rieju, has introduced a new model to its range – the MR 300cc Racing Two Stroke Enduro. Priced at £6995, it weighs just 105kg, and the single-cylinder liquid-cooled engine produces 55hp.

In its own words, ‘here’s a new dog in town…and it’s a vicious bugger’. Mutt Motorcycles launched the Razorback 125 to its lineup of small capacity machines with big attitudes. It has a brand new monoshock frame, designed in-house at Mutt, and a new ‘skinny tank’ which has been influenced by the many vintage tanks the brand has fitted over the last 20 years. It’s priced at £3495 + OTR costs – and comes with 12 months free AA cover. Very cool…

While it’s not a new-bike-available-for-all-vibe, over on the MV Agusta Facebook page, the brand showed off a drool-worthy exclusive version of its Brutale 1000 RR, made especially for a very lucky customer. There’s a matte gold frame and swingarm plates, forged aluminium wheels and a 001/001 plate on the tank…we certainly wouldn’t mind if that was sat in our garage…or lounge… see, even though it’s a one-off, we *had* to include it…

What about that chance to win a bike – just for taking a test ride? Interesting? Unbelievable? Well, that’s what Indian Motorcycle is offering. It’s giving away a free FTR – you know, the super cool flat-track inspired machine?! – to some lucky so-and-so just for taking a test ride between now and the end of July. Test ride slots are available by appointment only so you’ll need to head over to the Indian UK website to book your slot – there’s the small print on there too if you want…

It didn’t really come as a huge surprise to any of us, but there have been more cancellations to the MotoGP calendar announced – the British and Australian rounds. Silverstone was set to play host to the Championship at the end of August – it will be the first time in the Championship’s over 70-year history that the MotoGP will see no track action in the British Isles. And the Australian GP was set to take place on Phillip Island from 23-25 October. It’s a big shame as both circuits usually set the scenes for impressive battles.

Now, it may feel weird talking about the 2021 MotoGP championship when the 2020 hasn’t really even started properly! However, that being said, congratulations go to 25-year-old Jack Miller, who has been announced as one of the two official Ducati Team riders in the 2021 MotoGP Championship. There’s also the option to extend the contract into 2022…

We’re still waiting for full revised calendars for MotoGP, WSBK and BSB to be revealed. So we’ll just have to watch the virtual racing for now, but with the announcement of the first eight races of the revised F1 calendar made public, we’re sure that it won’t be too long until other Championships follow suit.

One more thought to leave you with is the #UnlockYourFreedom campaign launched in ‘collab’ with the MCIA (that’s the Motorcycle Industry Association), manufacturers and industry specialists – basically everyone in the powered-two-wheeler industry. It’s aim? To show why scooters and motorcycles are brilliant – even more so given the guidance around social distancing. Who wants to be all hot and sweaty breathing in other people’s air on public transport when they could be toddling to work on two wheels?

Honda has got behind the campaign and has launched it’s ‘Back To Work Bonus’ packages – with up to £1000 savings on certain models in the range. Check out their website for all the ins and outs.