RiDE helps you get more from your motorcycle. Put together by a team of enthusiastic experts, with help from thousands of committed readers, every issue of RiDE is full of recommendations on bikes, kit, routes, destinations and technique. We speak directly to our readers about their biking lives & use our expertise to steer them towards the good-value option in bikes, trips and kits. We’re famed for our regular Product Tests and eery month provide a comprehensive used-bike buying guide, helping potential owners find the right bike at the right price. Finally... every issue features touring guides and riding advice to help readers explore the world on their bike.
Welcome…
This month’s highlights • What’s got the RIDE team excited in the October issue
★ STAR PICTURE ★
YOUR RIDES
‘Every way you go it’s a proper riding road’ • RiDE readers Mike and Chris take us from Chelmsford to Finchingfield, the long way round
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE • Fancy some Essex fun? Mike and Chris will set you right
WILL THE PETROL-ENGINE BAN MEAN THE END OF BIKING? • Can electric motorcycles replace the combustion engine in time for the proposed 2035 deadline date?
RIDE READERS RESPOND
Triumph to launch small-bike range
Road users aren’t getting a fair deal
LETTERS
RiDE
ASK THE LAWYER
ASK THE RIDING COACH
CFMoto moves to the big time • The KTM-based 800MT Touring offers a lot, which is handy as it’s over £11k
BEYOND THE HYPE • The bits that actually make a difference
Green global explorer? • New electric tall-rounder offers more range and pace than ever. Is it enough?
BEYOND THE HYPE • The bits that actually make a difference
Now better than ever
Hunter gathers speed gradually
5 things you need to know about… • Gas Gas’s new ES700 trail bike
Q Does the DesertX work in the UK? • Is Ducati’s new hardcore adventurer too extreme for our roads?
Pembrokeshire • With spectacular scenery and amazing roads, it’s Wales’ unsung riding paradise
Feed me, feed me, feed me…
Three great places to visit
THIS MONTH’S BIG RIDE ROUTE
A QUESTION OF SPORT • Performance, panniers and plenty of miles: how well do Suzuki’s GSX-S1000 GT, KTM’s 1290 Super Duke GT and Yamaha’s Tracer 9 GT put the sports into touring? RiDE goes north to find out
GT ENGINES
DO YOU REALLY NEED A FACTORY GT ? • The return of the sports tourer is big news in 2022. But do you really need to buy one? Or can you fettle your own bike to make it better for distance without having to plump for a tourer?
POWER AND NAV
COULD YOU REALLY OWN A CRUISER? • They’re perennially popular, they look the business and they’re what the public think motorcycling is all about. But what are modern-day cruisers really like? Three noncruiser-owning RiDE readers give us their verdicts…
FANCY A USED CRUISER? • Fancy a cheaper option as a second bike? These are all good choices…
Good lid for long road trips
UNDER £100
‘The cutting edge of tyre tech’ • Wonderful in all weathers and at sports and touring editor Matt rates Michelin’s new Road 6
TESTING IN PROGRESS • RiDE staffers on kit they’ve been using recently
Sub-£200 Sporty textile jackets • Which delivers the best mix of comfort, style, waterproofing and performance?
THE YEAR’S BEST KIT • We’ve been busy testing in the past year. Here is what we’ve found that works
Kawasaki Versys 1000 • How Kawasaki’s first-gen tall-rounder had the last laugh — and makes a superb-value used buy
DUKING IT OUT • Is it really worth spending the extra on a high-spec sporty middleweight or will the standard model do? We test...