November 2011

6 MAIL
A mere month it may have been that has just whipped past us all but in the world of biking there has been oh-so-much going on. MSL readers have written about it.

18 IT?S A VICTORY
Well, a Victory 2012 machine that is. The world?s first ride on a huge, American tourer on some huge, American roads.

26 SUBSCRIBE TO MSL
And get the magazine before it?s out in the shops, for a cheaper price and without the hassle of discovering that other keen bikers have had the last copy from the corner shop before you got there. Makes sense.

28 PRODUCTS
Now it?s not often we?re pleasantly surprised by some LED lights but this month we are, especially as they?re attached to a rather snazzy jacket. No, we?re not making it up.

40 CASTIGLIONI REMEMBERED
Claudio Castiglioni was the man behind iconic motorcycles that, literally, changed the biking world. The 64-year-old died last month and here we look back at the motorcycling giant?s achievements.

50 WHOA, GINO
With apologies to any of Dexy?s Midnight Runners who happen to be reading this, no we?re not re-treading a hit from the 1980s, we?re talking to Gino Rea - hot young Brit motorcycle racer on the global stage.

52 DUCATI?S 848: DR JEKYLL MEETS MR HYDE
If ever there was a split personality built into the form of a motorcycle then it?s here in this delightfully hatstand serving from those Italian chaps.

66 STUFF THE BANKS
And invest your money in a bit of ageing classic (and not so old, modern classic) motorcycles. We?ve compiled the info for you here so you know what you?d rather do with your cash than leave it sitting in a one percent savings account.

72 THE DIESEL TIGER
Why? Why would you take a diesel motor and put it into a Triumph Tiger? Why would anyone do that? It can?t be any good, can it? Oh, it appears it can...

78 TRIUMPH?S SD500
It?s a properly old bike that was just asking to be ridden. So we had to ride it. Or to be more precise, our 25-year-old road tester Bruce had to ride it while we all had a bit of a giggle at the concentrating face he had as he flashed past.

85 LONG TERM LIFE
The editor?s got the Diavel back from Ducati and has barely been off the back of the 1200cc power cruiser all month. Fair to say he still likes it since last year?s gushing launch report then.

97 MSL TOURING
This month kicks off a new massive section of the magazine with touring routes, maps and tips for travelling in the UK, nearby foreign trips that will take a long weekend to complete and the life-changing big trips farther afield. All carried out by riders just like you, doing the trips that you can make yourself.

110 REFLECTIONS: KAWASAKI?S ZX750 TURBO
Sometimes called (wrongly) the GPz750 Turbo, this was the last of the 1980s fully blown bruisers - and what a way to bring turbos to an end it was.