 
▲ Kawasaki's new Z1000 Sugomi special edition bruiser. It kicks-ass and beats up people and ... just see the story below... December 2015
Suzuki 2-Stroke Triples
If we owned a Suzuki 2-stroke triple, we'd probably sooner or later pick up a copy of this new book from Veloce Publishing, entitled: How to Restore Suzuki 2-Stroke Triples. However, we don't own a GT750 Kettle, or any of the GT350 or GT550 Ram Air models, all of which are covered by this 176 page "ENTHUSIAST'S RESTORATION MANUAL". We recently received a review copy and have been quietly thumbing through it and scratching notes whilst watching the usual Christmas TV rubbish, and we can report that to our (inexpert) eyes, this guide looks pretty good. [More...]
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Vincent Uniflow engine Vincent Motorcycles and two-stroke engines are not usually spoken of in the same sentence. But this is a special case. It's a two-stroke motor designed and built by Vincent Engineers (Stevenage) Ltd for use in WW2 lifeboats. Auction house Bonhams will have the rare privilege of searching for a buyer for this very unusual mechanical rubber band, and that will happen on Thursday 7th January 2016 at Bally's Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, USA. [More...] | 
Triumph back in the black
Between June 2014 and June 2015, Triumph Motorcycles moved from loss into profit and posted a £2.3 million surplus. This compares to an £8 million loss over the previous 12 months (2013-2014). However, for the second year in succession, revenue fell from £364.4 million to £341.3 million. Bike sales were also down slightly from 54,432 to 53,812 machines. Need some accounting clarification and simplespeak? Okay, last year the firm sold fewer bikes, brought home less bacon, but turned an £8 million debt into a £2.3 million profit. How? By cost-cutting exercises, sophisticated (but no doubt entirely legal) accounting, product rationalisation, disposal of assets, etc. [More...] |
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Mobile phone "crackdown" The UK government is looking to increase penalties for the dangerous twits who still use hand-held mobile phones whilst on the move. Such road users are to face increased penalties and higher fines under proposals (note the word "proposals") from the Department for Transport (DfT). Currently, the fixed penalty for using a hand-held device on the move is £100 plus three licence points. Under the very recently published DfT's Road Safety Plan, that penalty will rise to a derisory £150 with four licence points (is it any wonder that road users don't take these fines seriously?). [More...] | 
Gasoline Alley bike show
If you're a Calgarian, and 1.2 million people are, there's a new exhibition coming atcha starting on 5th February 2016 and finishing on 24th April 2016. It's called Reflections in Chrome: Motorcycle Retrospectives, and it's sounds like a cheesy, synthetic, by-the-numbers tour through biking history for the usual Sunday wowsers (as opposed to a more serious down-and-dirty seminar for the world's rivet counters). But that's okay, normal folk need entertainment too, and the motorcycle world has broad shoulders. [More...] | 
Scootin America H-D ride
He might vaguely look like Bruce Willis, but his name is Adam Sandoval. He's a kung-fu or karate man and a self-confessed philanthropist, and he's set himself the gruelling task of riding back and forth across the United States of America on a Harley-Davidson dresser with nobody for company except his pet 7-year old Chihuahua (Scooter), a back-up driver in a van, hundreds (or even thousands) of supporters using GPS and Facebook to track his lonely progress, and dozens of other Harley riders joining his caravan on various legs of the route in order to share an hour or two on the highway and offer encouragement and comfort. [More...] |
Ducati 1299 Panigale model
Italian firm Pocher has been making model kits since 1966. The company's latest offering is this 1299 Ducati Panigale S, and it represents Pocker's first foray into the world of motorcycling. So okay, the world is full motorcycle model kits. But this one is a little more expensive than others and retails at around $749. [More...]
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Mick Grant replica Norton If you're a Mick Grant fan, and a Norton fan, and if you've got £18,000 plus change in the piggy, this might interest you. Announced earlier this month, it's Norton's limited edition 961 Commando Cafe Racer dressed up as a #7 JPS Norton replica. The bike, we understand, pays homage to Grant's successes as a Norton factory rider (along with the likes of Peter Williams and Phil Read). He signed up in the 1970s, and he's maintained his association with the brand. He's currently working with Norton on their TT racing programme. [More...] | 
H.O.G membership offer
If riding Route 66, or cruising the Pacific Coast Highway, or attending the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in North Dakota does quite float your boat, then maybe the offer of free VIP admission to the Harley-Davidson Museum Harley-Davidson Museum at 400 W Canal Street, Milwaukee, WI 53201 will do it for you. However, to get this particular backstage pass, you have to be either a Full Member, a Life Member or an Associate Member of H.O.G; aka the Harley Owners Group. [More...] |
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Vozz: rear entry helmet
John Vozzo, from the Land of Oz, is the creator of the potentially revolutionary RS.1.0 Vozz crash helmet that will make "the pull-on and pull-off crash helmet extinct". We're advised that Vozzo was mucking around in his garage with a skydiving lid when a friend arrived, and one thing led to another, and suddenly a new way of looking at crash helmets was born. There's no chin strap. That's one of the key points. You open the rear access hatch, or door, or flap, or whatever the hell it's called, and you stick your noggin inside. [More...] | 
Enter the Saietta NGS
NGS stands for New Generation Saietta. And Saietta, we understand, means "Thunderbolt" in an obscure Italian dialect. The company, based at Heyford Park in Oxfordshire, reckons that this motorcycle is the new breed of electric bike that we've all been awaiting. But it's by no means the first design from this firm. Saietta has been around 2008, and they've been developing their technology with machines such as the Saietta R first seen in 2013. [More...] | 
Viva Knievel bike auction One of the 1976 Harley-Davidson XL1000s ridden by Evel Knievel in the movie Viva Knievel is to be auctioned on Thursday 7th January 2016 at Bonhams Las Vegas Sale at Bally's Hotel and Casino on The Strip. Evel Knievel starred (as himself) in this classic Warner Brothers "B" movie playing a man tangling with a Mexican drug dealing gang. The plot was totally unimaginative. The dialogue was at times laughable. The action was ... well, predictable. But the movie also (and perversely) starred Gene Kelly, Lauren Hutton and Red Buttons. [More...] |
Buell auction debacle
The demise of Erik Buel Racing and the liquidation of the company's assets has hit a second hurdle after the Walworth (New Jersey) County Circuit Judge Phillip Koss refused to accept a bid of $1.6 million. To clarify, in October 2009 parent firm Harley-Davidson shut down the Buell Motorcycle Company. One month later, Erik Buell founded Erik Buell Racing (EBR). In April 2015, having suffered chronic under-capitalisation problems (amidst other woes) Erik Buell Racing went bust. The firm, we hear, had $20.8 million in assets and liabilities of $20.4 million. [More...]
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USA GSX-S1000 recall As far as we know, only USA Suzukis are affected, and only 600 of them. But we get plenty of US visitors on Sump, and we like to think we've got a global reach. Besides, it pays to check, just in case. The recall isn't exactly new. It was issued on 19th November 2015 after Suzuki notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and alerted the authorities to a leaky seal groove in the front brake master cylinder. [More...] | 
Royal Enfield R&D centre
The West Midlands used to be the manufacturing centre of the British motorcycle industry. Triumph, Rudge and Coventry-Eagle at Coventry. BSA, Norton, Velocette and Ariel at Birmingham. AJS and Villiers at Wolverhampton. And many others all local to that area. But now the tide has moved into the East Midlands, specifically Leicestershire where Triumph and Norton are well established, and where Royal Enfield will soon be building a design, research and development centre at the ex-RAF/USAF airbase at Bruntingthorpe. [More...] |
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Bodmin Brough Superiors
Eight Broughs stored in barns for over half a century will go under the hammer at the Bonhams Sale of Important Collectors’ Motorcycles at Stafford on 24th April 2016. 
The bikes were unearthed earlier this year, and until that time they were largely viewed as mythical machines. [[More...] | 
BMW sales Nov 2015
Motorcycle sales figures for BMW make for interesting reading. In November 2015, BMW Motorrad sold 7,844 bikes (including maxiscooters) worldwide. If that doesn't sound much in absolute numbers, the figures represent a percentage rise of 5.8 (and in today's market, those figures are very respectable). Worldwide, the brand flogged 129,466 machines which, we understand, are record numbers. BMW bike sales in the UK during November 2015 were 338 bikes. And although the hard numbers ain't exactly eye-watering, those sales were made in the context of a 42 percent jump. See Sump's Motorcycle News November 2015 for more on BMWs Big Bike Sales. [More...] | 
£1200 Sealey prize draw No, it ain't our competition. We're just the messengers. If you want to be in with a chance of winning a heap of motorcycle maintenance kit, you'll have to talk to The Classic Motorcycle which, in case you didn't know, is a Mortons Media title. 
To be in with a chance, Mortons want you to take a trip to its Facebook page and fill in a form and submit your name, age, date of birth, etc and then spin the wheel. [More...] |
Petrol drops to £1 per litre
Actually, the price has fallen below £1 per litre, and that's the lowest level since 2009. Currently, the ASDA supermarket chain (owned by the US giant Walmart) has ratcheted the price down to 99.7 pence per litre. According to an ASDA spokesperson, this is simply a "weekend promotional deal". Which might be true. But analysts reckon that the deal could well last a very long weekend, which might mean way into the new year. [More...]
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AltRider Dual Control system Here's a simple device that makes you wonder what the hell motorcycle manufacturers are doing with their development dollars. As the above heading suggests, the thingy on the right is called the AltRider DualControl system. It's designed for the BMW R1200 GS motorcycle and serves to provide more stable footing and braking action when the rider is standing up. In other words, BMW's brake pedal is fine when you're seated. But when you're plugging along fully extended and vertical, you can't quite get the angle your foot needs. That slows your reaction time. Then you hit a tree, or fall off a cliff. And then you die. [More...] | 
Flying Tiger poofy soap
Are you one of those cool, trendy, bearded, six-pack, fashion-conscious, macrobiotic designer types? Do you live in or around Shoreditch (East London), or aspire to live there? Do you use the phrase "man-cave" at least once a month? Do you look like you just stepped out of a Triumph Motorcycles' or Harley-Davidson brochure? Well alright. We're cooking on North Sea gas here because this Flying Tiger Moto Man Oil & Leather Soap could be exactly what you need to bolster your motorcycling credentials. After a hard day at the gym (if you know what we mean by "hard", and if you know what we mean by "gym"), you can take a sexy shower, purify that tanned and toned temple of your body, and then finished off your masculine ablutions with this soapy stuff. [More...] |
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Chain Monkey thingy
Does anyone really need this tool? We're not sure. It looks suspiciously like the kind of heavyweight sledge hammer that you might use to, say, crack a very small nut. But Tru Tension, which manufactures this orange thingy, reckons you can get precise tension on your motorcycle drive chain. In fact, the firm tells us that the Chain Monkey [More...] | 
2016 Africa Twin prices
Honda has released pricing details of its new CRF1000L Africa Twin which goes on sale in January 2016. The new, 2016 bike was first shown to the UK press just ahead of this year's December EICMA Show and revealed a 998cc liquid-cooled parallel twin featuring Honda's compact Unicam head architecture. [More...] | 
ContiRoadAttack 2 EVO GT NOTE; CHECK THE FOLLOWING WARNING! If you ride a Yamaha FJR1300, a BMW R1200RT or a Suzuki GSX 1250FA, these new ContiRoadAttack 2EVO GT tyres are aimed at you and other heavyweight tourers. The new hoops haven't yet landed on UK shores, but they're on the boat, so your local tyre merchant will no doubt soon be having a word in your shell-like. The big change with these GT designated upgrades... [More...] |
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Street Twin - 2016 prices
Specifically, we're talking about the new 900cc Street Twin, the 1200cc T120 Bonneville and the 1200cc T120 Bonneville Black. The Street Twin will cost from £7,300. The two T120s will each cost from £9,000. There are no prices yet for the 1200cc Thruxton or the 1200cc Thruxton R. [More...] | 
BAD ASS BIKER T-shirt Being "bad" means different things as and when the years get behind you. This light-hearted T-shirt was designed for guys and girls who share that sentiment. "Mess with me and you mess with the entire National Health Service." That's the subtext. But you need to read the rest of the copy to fully appreciate the message. We've got a few dozen in stock and we'll despatch either the same day, or the next day. [More...] | 
Ural Scrambler outfit
Considering the fact that this bike, like many Ural outfits, is equipped with a driven sidecar wheel, it's perfectly natural that Ural should be way out in the dirt fooling around and getting mucky. In fact, it's a wonder that it took the firm so long to produce a dedicated Scrambler-badged model to add to its rapidly increasing range. [More...] |
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Indian dealer competition
It's called "Project Scout, Build a Legend". The idea is that Indian dealers can knock-up an Indian Scout with no restrictions on theme, style, or cost. However ... [More...] | 
Street Twin launch date Monday 7th December 2015 is the date. Valencia, Spain is the location. Triumph's new Street Twin is the subject. That's when the first of the five-strong series of new Triumph Bonneville babies gets its bum slapped by the marketing midwives from Hinckley. The Street Twin is ... [More...] | 
PRAËM Æ15 SP3 We don't know how to pronounce that name, either. We don't even know if, strictly speaking, it ought to be capitalised, or what will happen if we don't capitalise it. But that's how it is on the Frenchy website. This bike is ... [More...] |
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FJR1300 Yam for 2016
We're not big fans of the sports-touring market. But we can see the appeal, and so can Yamaha which has re-invested in this niche sector and has updated its FJR1300 with three new models... [More...] | 
Could the tax disc return? Note, if you will, that our heading is highly speculative. There's no suggestion from the government that the paper tax disc could be reintroduced. However... [More...] | 
Schuberth SR2 for 2016 Schuberth has released details of its new SR2 Supersport helmet for 2016. The helmet shell is fabricated from a "special glass fibre reinforced, thermoset-molded polymer matrix". And if you don't really understand what that means... [More...] |
 Sump successfully prosecutes
US pirate T-shirt trader
Fortunately, we don't have to do this too often. But when we have to do what we have to do, we do it. We're talking specifically about US T-shirt trader Wayne Lankin who, under various names, for over six months had been heavily operating at swap meets in the USA whilst pirating numerous Sump sweatshirt and T-shirt designs. Lankin, 37, was spotted by one of our many eagle-eyed Sumpsters who not only tipped us off, but had the presence of mind to photograph Lankin—which was presented as evidence (along with numerous examples of our pirated products and sales documentation). Further investigations tracked down Lankin and our lawyers did the rest. Lankin, originally from Omaha but now living in Massachusetts, was subsequently found guilty of 19 offences, 17 of which related to copyright infringement—plus one charge of false accounting, and one other matter that for legal reasons we're not at liberty to reveal). He was ordered to pay $21,875 (£14,522) plus costs. Additionally, his website www.willydecustard.com was shut down by Google. Lankin is the fourth pirate trader we've shut down since Sump was launched (two in the USA, one in the UK and one in France). As ever, if you spot anyone marketing or selling our products, especially those carrying the Sump logo, let us know by email and we'll return a suitable reward with our thanks. UPDATE (August 2016): Wayne Lankin has since been arrested and imprisoned on an unrelated matter and is no
longer trading in the motorcycle sector. See also: Sump seizes Kempton trader's stock | 
Kawasaki Z1000 Sugomi
"Sculpted" and "aggressive"; that's how Kawasaki is pitching its new Z1000 Sugomi special edition roadster for 2016. Based on the current Z1000 "supernaked", this 1,043cc, 6-speed, in-line, liquid-cooled four will be available in the new year priced at... [More...] | 
Buffalo Nucleus wet gear So okay, none of this stuff is exactly sexy. But like a condom, when you need it, you'll be glad you had the foresight to have it stashed away somewhere on your bike or in your rucksack. [More...] | 
T100 "Meriden" sidecar It's Watsonian Squire's new sidecar, and the firm calls it "The Meriden". We're advised that T100 Bonnevilles make excellent sidecar haulers, and this chair will suit all Hinckley Bonneville's built between 2000 and 2015. Watsonian Squire is currently showing off this outfit at ... [More...] |
Click the link for last month's news: November 2015 motorcycle news from Sump |
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Motorcycle newsThere's news, and then there's Sump news, and we usually see it differently from the rest of the world. Come check it with us... 
Biking product newsIn a world of plenty, there's plenty more coming down the pike. Stay with us for new motorcycle gear. 
Bike industry newsWithout industry, the wheels won't turn. We're keeping an eye on the guys who grease your spindles. 
Motorcycle legal newsFortunately, in the UK we have the rule of law. Unfortunately, few know what all those laws are, and the government keeps changing them anyway. But if it affects you, we'll tip you the wink... 
Motorcycle safety news In a dangerous world, we're intent on keeping you shiny side up. So mirror, signal, brake, stop and read the latest news.
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Sump news archive Motorcycle news - Nov 2015
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