RiDE

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…

YOUR RIDES • Been somewhere inspirational? Ridden an amazing road? Email YourRides@ride.co.uk to tell us about your trip and your bike

IS BIKE LICENSING BROKEN? • Some say our licence structure is complicated, expensive and outdated. Is it true – and how can it be fixed?

WHAT CHANGES SHOULD HAPPEN?

Return of the king • Suzuki bring GSX-R1000R back to Europe following short absence

GS Trophy heading to Romania

Compulsory eye tests for over-70s

CCM get lifeline from auctioneers

LETTERS

RiDE

ASK THE LAWYER • With Andrew Dalton, White Dalton Motorcycle Solicitors

ASK THE RIDING COACH • With Rapid Training Coach Dave Hewson

It's a pint-sized prizefighter • BSA's new Bantam 350 has the potential to rule the single-cylinder retro roost

BEYOND THE HYPE • The bits that actually make a difference

One for the (off) road

Voge raise their entry level

5 things you need to know about… • Suzuki's neo-retro works well, but the price is eyebrow-raising…

BIG QUESTIONS ANSWERED Q Is the RT still the best tourer? • …or has the new 2025 BMW R1300RT LE strayed from its core values?

Q Is DCA just a gimmick?

Q Can it still eat up the miles?

Q Is all the tech good?

Q Have updates made it targeted too much towards performance?

Q How well made is it?

Q What are the best options and add-ons

Q What will it cost to run?

Q How easy is it to work on?

Q What power does it make?

Q Is it a good bike for riding as a pillion? • A brilliant – but hot – two-up mile muncher, says RiDE's Alison Silcox

Q What are its main rivals?

THE BIG RIDE Ayr Miles • Spend a fantastic day exploring the back roads and grand scenery of Ayrshire, in a quiet corner of Scotland that's closer than you think

Feed me, feed me, feed me…

Three great places to visit

THIS MONTH'S BIG RIDE ROUTE

THE RiDE GUIDE TO RETROS • …or ‘modern classics’, as they're also known. A growing market of motorcycles that blend modernity with the charm and aesthetics of yesteryear. And the options are increasing in shape and size – as RiDE discovers by heading out on three bikes that fulfil the mantra

THE SPORTY ONES Yamaha XSR900 GP • The ultimate sporty retro is still making us misty-eyed 18 months after launch

THREE OTHER TOP SPORTY CHOICES

THE SCRAMBLERS BMW R12G/S • Celebrating the bike that spawned the adventure class

THREE GREAT KNOBBLY CHOICES

THE ULTRA-CLASSICS Royal Enfield Classic 650 • All the flair of a British classic in a modern, great-value package

OLD LOOKERS THAT RIDE LIKE NEW

So, which should you choose?

TALL-ROUND GENIUS • Celebrating the best tall-rounders in the business – machines that combine adventure ergonomics with sports-tourer performance

FANCY A USED ONE? • With 10 years of evolution and an under-stressed motor, the S1000XR is a sound used buy…

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

WHAT MAKES IT SO...