Fascinating. My highlight: "I would say there were three types of greed... operational greed... strategic greed... [and] governance greed." No mention of cams. No mention of MV. No mention of Demo Mode. History and folklore will tell a different story, but this is what led to KTM's insolvency.

Got a 6-page interview in the new Bikemagazine with Dorna chief commercial officer Dan Rossomondo, looking into Liberty's plans for #MotoGP 😎✊

Finished MARC MÁRQUEZ The Biography and sent it to the printers😃😃 First come, first served 😎😎 matoxley.bigcartel.com/product/marc...

Congratulations to Marc Márquez, seven (or is it nine?) time world champion. Ahá!

Here 'tis: the new issue of Bike, "my" first. There's loads inside, from a @sihbikes.bsky.social group test, to Nick Sanders riding a Royal Enfield Bear to the Arctic Circle, to the world's fastest R1300GS, to @matoxley.bsky.social interviewing Alex Marquez + tons more. Let me know what you think!

22 years ago this month I rode this bike to this building to start a new job as staff writer at Bike magazine. Today I rode the same bike to the same building to start a new job as editor of Bike magazine. It's been a two wheel trip, alright. Here's to the next leg of the journey.

Spent some time getting to know the 2025 Speed Triple 1200 RS - the most powerful production Triumph ever built. But here's why the bhp doesn't really matter, and why its most important and impressive improvement isn't the motor... www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/r... @bennettsinsurance.bsky.social

Spent some time getting to know the 2025 Speed Triple 1200 RS - the most powerful production Triumph ever built. But here's why the bhp doesn't really matter, and why its most important and impressive improvement isn't the motor... www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/r... @bennettsinsurance.bsky.social

Well, it'll keep me busy.

Whelp

Enough is enough! Dodgy sellers keep pushing unsafe gear — and getting away with it. The petition to shut them down closes tomorrow. We’re near 7,100. Let’s hit 7,500 by tonight. 🖊️ Sign: petition.parliament.uk/petitions/70... 📬 Verify your email or it’s wasted. 📢 Share — and don’t let this slide.

A #wheeliewednesday from 17 years ago this week on Triumph's Speed Triple 1050. What a tool for the job. That original 1050 was such a willing wheelie bike, with its millpond-flat torque curve and rearward weight bias. Big, butch, brawny, beefy and British. Wonder how the new 1200 RS compares…

After 3000 miles and a year with Kawasaki's Z7 Hybrid, I've written an extra huge pile of words covering the recall, the recent discounts, testing EV mode through London, and what it tells us about the future of hybrid motorcycles 👇 www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/r... @bennettsinsurance.bsky.social

In the new edition of @BikeMagazine in case you didn’t know about this 🙄😎

1.17pm - bike passes MOT, no problems 1.32pm - pick up screw in rear tyre on ride home

Summer's here 😍 but with a heavy heart I have to get rid of this beauty because I've no time to do the miles it deserves 😥 2020 BMW R1250RT, 7k miles, pristine condition. Awesome machine and soooo comfortable. £11,500. North London. Reply here if you're interested

This is exquisite. Wish they'd do a regular show together. Must-listen.

Awoke my poor old Suzuki SV650S from hibernation yesterday and gatecrashed an MCN event (🙏) to see whether it (and I) could still wally about on one wheel. Wheelies seem a redundant skill, like being able to hunt a woolly mammoth or repair a Betamax. But the world would be far duller without them.

Front End Chatter #213 is live! Verdicts on Triumph's Tiger Sport 800 and BMW's R1300GS Adventure after nearly 3000 miles apiece in Scotland on our Highland Fling tour(s). Plus Ducati Streetfighter V2, Voge DS625X, KTM/Bajaj, the best cheap sports-tourer and more! www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/n...

Isle of Man TT races preview from the Framlingham Weekly News, Saturday 27th May 1922 - so exactly 103 years ago today. Reads like a parody but it's 100% legit. Poor old Thacker on his Beardmore Precision.

It is over fifty years since Japan's "Sunshine Project" started governments pouring money into green hydrogen as a replacement for fossil fuels. How is it going? TLDR: not well. open.substack.com/pub/mliebrei...

Full details of KTM's rescue and bailout by Bajaj, how Stefan Pierer will have no more involvement with the Austrian motorcycle manufacturer, and what it might mean for their MotoGP program. motomatters.com/news/2025/05...

MotoE: Still relevant? Floating along? Or still showing the possibilities of alternative tech in MotoGP? Some thoughts and words from a person that knows best: ontrackoffroad.substack.com/p/motoe-2025... (photo by motogp.com)

Would you still be tempted by this #motorcycle if you knew you had to run it on Super Unleaded? www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/r... #skymoto #motosky

Bajaj to take control of KTM, Stefan Pierer to step down completely in June 2025. www.reuters.com/world/india/...

20 years ago this week I took a group test into London; it was a disaster, of course. Retreated and headed for the roundabout outside Bike's office on the winner; Suzuki's SV650S, of course. Wore a hole through my jeans - and my knee. Foreshadowing… #throwbackthursday @suzukibikesuk.bsky.social

Gotta be in the running for bike of the year: www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/r...

Took this for a spin today. Voge's DS625X - 581cc twin, 63bhp, £6199. Centrestand, crash bars, TPMS, backlit switches, handguards, tubeless cross-spoked wheels, hoooge TFT dash, and even a 1080p dashcam in the nose. 26k valve clearance checks. Three-piece ally luggage costs just £699. Tempting?

2700 miles in 10 days The best roads in Scotland, twice 30 lovely FECers Sun and fun by the tonne Quite a bit of Belhaven 🍺 FEC's Highland Fling tours were very special. The bar has been raised ridiculously high. Blown away by the Tiger Sport 800. Proper write-up once my head's stopped spinning 🤯

Racked up 1750 miles on Triumph's Tiger Sport 800 so far on FEC's Highland Fling tours. It's been spectacularly good. Spacious, comfy and smooth for the long-haul, then agile, eager and frisky in the twisty stuff. Hasn't put a paw wrong. Two more sunny riding days, then a final 500-mile dash home!

Och aye and away... Heading north for FEC's Highland Flings, a pair of back-to-back tours of Scotland's best bits. Riding so good I'll get to do it all twice! Couldn't ask for a better bike to be doing it on than Triumph's Tiger Sport 800 either. Three-piece luggage is loaded to the Sally's!

Rode Triumph's 2025 Trident and Tiger Sport 660s recently. Check out the reviews on Bennetts BikeSocial here: Triumph Trident 660 www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/r... Triumph Tiger Sport 660 www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/r... @bennettsinsurance.bsky.social

Going in deep on Honda's CB1000 Hornet and Hornet SP over at @bennettsinsurance.bsky.social YouTube channel; give it a whirl by all means. youtu.be/OKtKipglCPo?...

Oooof. KTM shutting down Mattighofen production again until July 27th. www.krone.at/3764935

Bad news if you're still hanging on for that hydrogen bike. New research paper looking at "Realistic roles for hydrogen in the future energy transition" puts motorcycles firmly in the "uncompetitive" category, along with cars, trains and bulk e-fuels. Sozballs. www.nature.com/articles/s44...

Some sparky malarky for a #throwbackthursday ahead of BMW's R1300R reveal. This was April 2019, shot for RiDE's first test of the R1250R. A comfy, gentle, capable roadster that never wanted to play the lairy supernaked game, it could still get a decent wriggle on in its own, quiet, unassuming way.

Anyone else listen to Front End Chatter? www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/n... Highly recommended, UK based podcast with @mufga.bsky.social and @sihbikes.bsky.social #motorbike #motorcycle #motosky #FEC

Front End Chatter #210 is up at @bennettsinsurance.bsky.social, YouTube and the usuals. The bikes we'd be if we were bikes, BMW's R-space-12-space-G-slash-S, bike journalism 120 years ago, Honda Hornet 1000 SP, Moto Guzzi Griso, Triumph Daytonas and plenty more! www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/n...

Despite the updates for 2025 the standard NT1100 has no price increase from the 2024 version – remaining at £12,679 in base form... but is that good value? #BikeSocial find out with Mufga in the hot seat! 👊⤵ www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/r...

We've just made this handy starter pack for anyone new to #BlueSky. Please add your suggestions in the comments, and we've put a few more down there too! go.bsky.app/5dSLT3r

If you have an electric car or bike you should retax it today, even if the tax isn't due. VED rates come in from tomorrow, but tax it today and you'll postpone paying until March 2026.

A wonky #wheeliewednesday from 2019 aboard the quirktastic Moto Guzzi V85 TT. Reminded of this pic because I've just picked up the 2025 version (right) ahead of a spin tomorrow. Six years back I was shooting for MCN; tomorrow I'll have my RiDE hat on. Anything you'd like to know about the V85 TT?

One bike, three motors. How Yamaha's new hybrid powertrain works 👇 www.motorcyclenews.com/news/2025/ma...

📢ANALYSIS: UK emissions fell 3.6% in 2024 to lowest since 1872 🏭Coal lowest since 1666, when Great Fire ravaged London 🚗EVs pushed oil down despite more traffic, saving £1.7bn 🌇Gas down on "cleanest ever" power 📈📉Since 1990, CO2 -54% / GDP +84% www.carbonbrief.org/... 1/9

Motorcyclists often criticise the government for not considering powered two wheelers when determining policy. There are currently 3 Parliamentary petitions that deserve support to get noticed by Whitehall. The petition I created is at petition.parliament.uk/petitions/70.... Please sign and share.

FINAL CALL! Come ride Scotland with @sihbikes.bsky.social & me on FEC Highland Fling #2 Arrive Tues 6th May, spend 3 mind-blowing days riding the best of Scotland, leave Sat 10th May. Great roads, great scenery, great company. Don't miss out - bookings close tomoz (Fri 7th Mar) 👉 bit.ly/fecfling2

A #wheeliewednesday from 16 years ago today, on a Bike mag 1000s test at Ye Olde Rockinghame, before the place was upgraded to Corby's costliest car park. Suzuki's GSX-R1000 K9 (woof etc) felt friendliest of the four, the least offended at lowering itself to my level. @suzukibikesuk.bsky.social

I remember when old people did nostalgia properly. Not this modern self-aware meta nonsense.

Latest Front End Chatter wiv me & @mufga.bsky.social out now for listen &/or download directly from @bennettsinsurance.bsky.social Cut & paste into yer browser: www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/n...