An independent test programme from Australia has been assessing motorcycle clothing for eight years and has reached an uncomfortable conclusion. The protection offered by jackets and trousers with European certification is falling year after year, even though every item tested still meets the standard.
After Fabio Quartararo’s open criticism, Yamaha has hit back and accused the Frenchman of lacking objectivity. Team director Massimo Meregalli holds up Jack Miller of all people as the example to follow.
An air-cooled BMW R 100 reached the Spanish workshop Bolt Motor Company completely dismantled inside a wooden crate. The result is a custom build that brings the old boxer up to a modern technical standard while deliberately doing without paint.
A study by the German Institute for Motorcycle Safety compared the estimated and actually ridden braking distances of 50 motorcyclists. The result is clearer than expected: depending on the speed, almost every second rider needed more distance than they thought.
BMW Motorrad has filed a patent for a newly designed rear swingarm intended for the coming superbike generation. What matters here is less the shape than the process used to make the part.
Fabio Quartararo no longer wants to help Yamaha with development for 2027 in their final year together. By his own account, the trigger is the manufacturer’s refusal to let him ride at the Pirelli test in Austria.
After the severe earthquake in Kyushu, Honda has been building complete motorcycles at its Kumamoto plant again since 24 August. The group’s most important two-wheeler factory in Japan stood still for around four weeks.
South Australia’s Premier Peter Malinauskas has presented the revised design of the Adelaide Street Circuit, which is to host the Australian Grand Prix from 2027. Compared with the first plan from February, the track has become shorter, has three corners fewer and runs completely differently at one decisive point.
The ZXMoto 820X has been granted type approval and turns out different from the model shown at EICMA in November 2025. The documents list 116 hp, 218 kg and a wheelbase well above that of the concept.
Marc Marquez won the Grand Prix at MotorLand Aragon even though a mistake of his own dropped him to third right after the start. Behind him, Pedro Acosta produced the biggest moment of the race with one overtake and ended a long wait for a podium.
From 2027 the Leipzig motorcycle show is called Motorräder Leipzig and moves to the start of the Leipzig trio of trade fairs. The dates themselves stay on the first February weekend, but in future the show opens alongside the parallel fairs instead of closing them.
GoPro is evidently working in earnest on its own motorcycle helmet. Newly published patent documents show a blind spot warning that relies not on radar or cameras, but on microphones and machine learning.
Zontes expands its 703 three-cylinder range from two to four models, placing the 703R naked bike and the 703T sport tourer alongside the familiar 703RR and 703F. From model year 2027 the entire range gets an electronic throttle, cruise control and a quickshifter that works in both directions.
Yamaha has unveiled the new YZF-R2 in India, placing a model in the 200 cc segment that sits above the R15. The combination of 26.5 hp, 149 kilograms and an electronics package with riding modes and a quickshifter would be unusually complete by European standards too.
The MotoGP Group has appointed Carlos Ezpeleta deputy Chief Executive Officer. His father Carmelo remains CEO, which officially moves the 35-year-old into second place in the leadership structure of the motorcycle world championship.
Tech3 has signed Luca Marini as its first rider for the 2027 MotoGP season. The Italian is leaving the Honda factory team after three years and will ride a KTM from now on.
With the Commando UH and the Skin UH 03, Pando Moto offers protective clothing that is worn under ordinary everyday clothes. In our test the jacket reaches the highest protection class that exists in motorcycle clothing; the trousers are available in two protection classes.
In Denmark it is prohibited to ride a motorcycle between waiting rows of cars. An association with close to 30,000 members wants to change that and is meeting clear resistance.
Fermin Aldeguer stays with Ducati until the end of 2028 and moves from Gresini to Valentino Rossi’s team for the 2027 season. There he gets a current factory bike for the first time, and with it the same machinery as Marc Marquez and Pedro Acosta.
Honda UK is launching a replica of the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP to mark John McGuinness’s 30th TT anniversary. Fifteen road-legal units will be built at 37,730 pounds each, sold exclusively by invitation.
