I just checked the weather forecast for where I will be riding bikes the next week and it will be great. Ranging between 16 degrees Celsius to 18 and sun. Bring it on. I am not sure how the internet connections are at the different hotels I am staying in, but if it's good you'll get instant updates. If not you'll have to wait until Friday for a RXV/SXV update and next Tuesday for 990 Adventure reports. The articles I will write will go to the UK, Norway, US, China, France, Sweden, Holland and perhaps Australia. But the blog is the first stop for the instant reactions, how the hotels are and how the launches are behind the scene etc... I also found out today that Erik Buell is a guitar freak like me and Carlos. Erik, you are hereby invited to play guitar for the next Raptors & Rockets video featuring the next Buell we will test (whichever that will be). see you around. Tor

I am now getting a little bit stressed since there are still things to do before I head off to two launches with just 8 hours at home in between them. I have my bag packed with the riding kit and will pull all the plugs on the laptop at the latest possible moment before I leave tomorrow afternoon. I despise travelling by bus and train, airplane too when I come to think about it, but it helps when you meet up with colleagues from other mags so that I can chat to someone about something meaningful. Like whether there will be any decent food or who buys the beers. I know who will buy the beers, that'll be Rich from Bike magazine. I wasted time today on that bloody Road Hog from Harley-Davidson. Happy Ground Hog day on Thursday to all you guys in the US. I still believe there will be something from Milwaukee soon though. Thanks to Andy Hornsby over at American-V for useful insight as usual. Right now I am sorting out the best Aprilia Tuono R photos that I have, to send them out with the article. I guess you will see them around soon. I am still in HP2 mode to finish the article before I leave tomorrow. I am awaiting the techs to tell me what caused the flame-thrower problem. And our in-house axe-man and camera shake maestro Carlos Ballester has just picked up his new Kawasaki Z750 after the insurance paid out for his bikes that got nicked. It's a 2005 and you'll soon see it around on these pages. I will try to get Carlos to write a few words about it even though it might be difficult. Carlos speaks English, Spanish and Norwegian so it will be interesting to see which language it comes in. If it shows to be a completely hopeless task I will take the bike off him and do the writing. So long, sayonara. TS

The day started out with some work in the office until lunchtime. Then I headed out to return the HP2. I decided to wear my Scott all weather gear as I expected rain later. I started riding out of Buxton on the A515 after checking the air pressure in the tyres (they needed about 1/2 a bar each). I could see on the expected fuel miles gauge that I had about 50 miles to go so reckoned that should be plenty enough to reach the one and only service on the A50 before reaching M1. How wrong I was. Just after Ashbourne (about 20 miles from Buxton) the fuelling started behaving erratically. I stopped to see what on earth this was that could ruin my day. When I stopped the engine would not run on idle. I assumed the fuel gauge was wrong and checked the fuel mark on the see through plastic tank. It was not plenty of fuel but enough I thought to reach that elusive service on the A50. I decided to continue to fill up to see if that would sort the irregular engine response. I short shifted up to 6th gear and kept behind a lorry doing 50mph with my head down. I was praying a silent prayer for the HP2 to take me to services before running out of fuel. The gauge showed that I had 20 miles left, which is plenty. Then suddenly the gauge started counting down miles as if they were seconds and suddenly it indicated 0 miles left to go on the fuel reserve. Shit, I was now preparing to turn off onto the hard-shoulder as soon the fuel would run out completely. And when it did I was still miles away from services. There was only one thing to do and that was to start walking. I walked for about two miles pushing the bike until I reached the junction that I could see from where I stopped. I parked the bike there since I thought I would find a garage in the closest village. That was when a friendly old couple stopped and picked me up and drove me to the nearest service station that actually was miles away! I asked at the garage whether I could borrow a fuel can to refuel a couple of litres and then come back and fill up. No, I would have to buy one at £5.99 was the answer. I thought this was silly, and a guy that had overheard me advised I should check with the neighbouring car garage whether they would lend me one. They were somewhat hesitant at first (people have changed...) but they would finally give me and clean a container that had held other hazardous fluids. I went back to the pump and tried to fill. Then this control freak bitch of a service station deputy manager pointed her finger saying no, no and would not authorize the pump. I tell you this, people like that should not have enough power to even authorise a fuel pump. The 5 litre can this Esso station sold was too big for my backpack and I first refused the fact that I had to buy the damned thing, but what else was there to do? I had to buy the damned thing. I am normally a man that will not swear over too many things, but now I did. These two friendly souls that picked me up waited patiently and took me back to where the bike was. I filled up and went to that A50 service station. Unfortunately the engine did not change behaviour on idle, but did run to it's max potential, which it hadn't before I ran out of fuel. Filled up with Shell Optimax and set out again. When I reached the roundabouts by Castle Donington (where the famous racetrack lies) I noticed the exhaust started making loud noises. In the last roundabout before hitting the M1 I turned around and saw a sight for sore eyes. A red-hot flame spewed out of the exhaust, at least 50 centimetres, grilling the left blinker and the number plate like Swiss cheese! It was spectacular, but now I knew I had done my last mile on the HP2 for today. Stopped on the lay-by and made the necessary calls. This was around 14.00. I was back home in Buxton at midnight after 170 miles in a recovery truck and 200 miles of riding in snow and rain on the newly washed Cagiva. I think the guys at Vines killed my tail light and shaved off some paint on the oil-cooler with high pressure water, but thanks anyway, the bike has never been this clean. What a day! I will come back to the cause of the problem next week. TS

Rode the HP2 on some more challenging routes today. After a quick run on the old Macclesfield road and somewhere close to Shining Tor I headed down into the Macclesfield forest. Then I figured I would try to get to the Cat & Fiddle from Wildboarclough. There's a small river crossing and loads of rolling rocks on a narrow trail. I reached the point where you can either head left for the Cat or right for Three shire heads. I went left but didn't get far. The obstacle demanded too much commitment and there was a nasty ditch on the right hand side and a steep hill on the left. So if I had attempted to lift the front with the gas I would have ended up in the ditch if it had failed. So I stepped off and tried to nurture it up walking on the side carefully. But on the highest step the rear wheel just spun, so I had to give that route up. Here the HP2 reached it's limitations since a 100kg Enduro would have been easier to just push up. It was so narrow at places so that the Boxer's left cylinder dragged along the edge collecting dirt. So I had to start the tedious process of backing out to a place wide enough to turn the bike around. Tedious because here the weight plays a big role. These were not fast and easy gravelled roads, but rather narrow trails with big rolling rocks. When I decided to start turning the bike around I could feel the front wheel slowly sliding off the trail towards the ditch so gave it some help with the engine and got the HP2 back onto the trail. But it was only by inches... It had already started to get dark so headed up towards Three Shire heads and the A54. I was happy to see a proper road again as it is much more fun riding offroad in daylight. I will return it tomorrow down in London and I will miss it. From today you will have the opportunity to read my articles several places in the world online in several different languages. From English, Norwegian, French to Chinese. For this reason I will continue as I do today under Raptorama with only short reviews. But you'll still get the blog where I will mention all the day to day stuff on any current test bike. I will revisit the bikes I have not kept for as long as the BMW as soon as there is a gap. And for all you design guru's that have sent me stuff, I will come back to you as soon as there is time. In the meantime Luc1 is working on several exciting new projects for me and soon I will publish pictures of some very interesting 2007 bikes. two mentions today: Happy Burns night to all you Scottish people out there (yes, I had Haggis and Whisky for dinner today), and a happy Chinese new year! TS

Don't you just hate computer trouble? I know I do. I had my hard drive backed up and pc re-imaged the day after it crashed, but still it takes time to install all the software and settings again. However, I have kept myself busy on the fastest enduro bike ever made, BMW HP2. I got a new rear tyre last week and it's a new bike after that. No challenge is too big for the HP now. It weighs 175 kilo's, but most of the weight is centralised around those two cylinders just under the petrol tank and it's easy to correct from side to side should it be needed. The 105bhp engine is just amazing and the speeds you can reach on unpaved roads is mind-blowing. Grip-levels are great too, but that rear tyre will always have a tough life. You might as well buy a couple at a time and get a quantum rebate. But for the fun and tractability it's worth it. On the roads you can easily leave long black lines of rubber out of any bend as the engine is so strong from no rpm's and knobbly tyres isn't exactly made for road tarmac. The HP2 is just as fun and even more single-minded than the KTM 950 SM I tested last week. With a bit of commitment the HP2 tackles the steepest hills, the deepest mud and the Boxer cylinders knocks down trees if the trail is too narrow. One thing is for sure, you are in for a big surprise if you are coming from a GS. I am on the 7th day with the HP2 now and I am not returning it until Friday. This is good and I will have time to do a proper long "Enduro" run purely on gravel and mud. I have already spent hours on the stuff, but with tarmac in between. Whilst being away from the computer stuff, I have received the invitation from Aprilia for the world launch of the RXV/SXV in Sicily 02 February. It will be a very interesting launch as the world press will finally get a chance to get a taste of how important these two bikes will be for Aprilia. In the meantime, enjoy another week of HP2 and new images. TS

Spent the whole day out on the HP2 today. Started out by stealing Claire's bicycle pump to fill up that rear shock to raise the ride height to proper off-road levels. The rear tyre was struggling for grip where the mud was deepest and its mostly down to a worn out rear tyre. I'll try to get a new one tomorrow. It has been raining loads the last couple of days so there was loads of mud for me to play in. I've got some video proof of that later. The HP2 has got some serious acceleration with that big engine and if you like you can spin that rear tyre for miles on end. i will spend most of tomorrow riding as well since the first action shots we tried today ended up with a camera full of water and mud. The rest of the pics was a bit blurred because of that so more tomorrow. And I'll do the water shots last. One of the engine sensors jumped out of place and gave us a oil warning. It was false alarm and just put the sensor back in place and all fine. It looks like my cross helmet will be part of my uniform for quite a while still as the three next bikes I will test are either Enduro, Supermoto or Adventure bikes. Then after that it's time for the new Triumph Daytona 675. I have some exclusive pictures of a new bike for the news section as well that will be published 1. February. I will not reveal too much until then out of consideration for some of the publications that I work with. My new Scott gear arrived today too. More on that later. TS

First of all today a big, big thanks to the guys that stopped and picked me up from a rain soaked M1 today after running out of petrol with the KTM 950 SM. They will be credited with full names as soon as I hear from them again (I told them to send me an E-mail) as they saved my day. Literally just 30 seconds after I ran out of petrol a big white van stopped and asked if I was OK. I told them I had ran out of petrol and they offered straight away to bring both the bike and me to the nearest service 2 miles away. I could not believe my luck. The 950 SM's petrol tank takes 17,5 litres. I filled it up with 17.02 litres after riding 123 miles. This time only 0,5 litres lost due to design. The Superduke hides 1 litre of petrol out of reach for the fuel pump. I returned the 950 SM, picked up my Raptor and went down to Guildford in Surrey and picked up BMW HP2 from one of BMW's dealers. It had a worn rear tyre and not enough air in the rear suspension. Usually the BMW's would be in mint condition, but I don't think this rear tyre will last the week. I rode it back and noticed how small that petrol tank is as every 70-80 miles or so I had to stop and refill petrol. The Beemer is fuzzy on the petrol too. It only prefers high octane ratings such as Ron97 and 98. I tried 95 and the highly tuned 105bhp Boxer does not like it much. So I'll stick to the 98. There is also a sticker on the bars advising not to exceed 100Mph. I assume this is due to the sticky Enduro knobbly tyres, but will check to be sure. And this Enduro easily exceeds 100Mph. Tomorrow I will check whether we can fit a new rear tyre and I will also check how many bars of air should go into the rear shock. One thing is also sure and that is that this BMW is very light and ready to tackle most terrain. Then the fun starts and I promise dirt, loads of dirt to be ploughed away in the wake of that HP2. I can't wait. TS

Dakar 2006 is over with a anticlimax as there was no racing for time today. This was due to respect for the two boys killed by traffic. Tomorrow It's time to return the KTM 950 SM fun machine and after that I will head down to London to pick up BMW HP2 Enduro. Wonder how that will be to travel all the way back to Buxton on. TS

KTM 950 Supermoto is all I will ever need in a motorcycle. Fun, fast, safe, simple and uncomplicated. This is the beginning of the Hypermotard era, or "King-Motard" and "Super-Supermoto" as I will call them from now. I was out riding the first half of the day, and then back to edit the photos. This weekend I will edit some of the video I have got of Aprilia Tuono R and KTM 950 Supermoto. But first I have articles to write. So I'll keep it short today. TS

Before I could pick up KTM 950 SM today I waited for press-guru Paul Walker from Aprilia UK to come and pick up the self destructing Tuono R. The Tuono R is a great bike and shouldn't really have any teething problems at this point. The engine comes directly from the proven RSV-R and this must be due to a faulty part, probably the washer. I'll come back later with the cause after the Aprilia technicians has had a look. Paul had good news too and I have been put forward to attend the RXV/SXV world launch in Sicily at the beginning of February. Not only will it be loads of fun riding those two new V-twin's, it will be a big logistical operation as well as both bikes are being launched at the same time. This means I will need both all my MX gear and leathers in the jumbo suitcase. There will be no need to unpack the MX kit, as one day after getting back from that one I will be heading south again for KTM's Adventure 990 launch in Fuerteventura. Since my Arlen Ness all weather gear was smashed up after the Ducati Multistrada 620 wipe out I have been shopping for some new waterproof gear. This gear is probably the most important of my every day gear. To avoid freezing to death doing 80mph on the motorways during winter and to stay dry when it rains in the summer I will be wearing Scott onroad gear this year. Being Norwegian it had to be the Narvik jacket and Nordland pants. Narvik is a Norwegian town in the far north and Nordland is the name of a county in the far north. I thought I would try to do this sometime during the year; Ride the new Moto Guzzi Norge 1200 from Mandello to the North Cape wearing the Narvik jacket and the Nordland pants. My winter gloves are called Antartic (Dainese) and that's not too far off. And then write about it! Or perhaps I should make my own television series about it:-) It will be filmed in Raptorvision and there will be loads of wind-noise in the background. Anyway, the KTM 950 SM is safely brought to Buxton and the sidestand on this one is much better than on the Superduke. To be perfectly honest with you, the 950 SM and me is love at first sight. I can't wait to take it out properly tomorrow. Today was only transportation and the M1 is never fun on any vehicle after 17.00. And when you're freezing your bollocks off, the A6 and surrounding roads aren't much fun either. TS

Yesterday it was pissing it down with rain mixed with fog. Today it was pissing oil, but not from the sky. The day started out with some great sunshine and after writing up the Kawasaki motard story, I jumped into my leathers to do the final riding in front of the camera. I had in mind rave reviews of the new Tuono R as everything has been working perfectly and I have enjoyed every minute on the bike. Until it decided to start spilling its oil through the oil plug. This happened just as we had finished shooting for the day, Claire was heading to Manchester for an appointment and I was going to ride a long trip before returning the Tuono. I got the warning light just after starting the engine without waiting for the diagnostics just to move the bike for our shoot. As soon as I started riding again I noticed something was wrong and the oil warning went on again. So stopped again and noticed the oil leaking out when the engine was running. Killed the engine and checked oil that at this point was below minimum. I was in the middle of Tideswell Dale and my mobile phone would only work from a nearby windy hill. I called Claire back so that we could go and buy some oil to if possible nurture the bike home (I was only lucky she was still in the area). Being in the middle of nowhere we had to drive more than 10 miles to find a service station that stocked 10W-40 SAE semi-synthetic oil. Got two litres just in case and drove back. When back I discovered that Allen keys were needed to get to the oil filler cap. Did we have any tools at all with us? No. So then had to drive the 10 miles back to Buxton to get my tools and then back. I had agreed with Aprilia to get the bike to a safe place and then transport it back tomorrow as I would not take the chance of a engine seizure on the way. So filled her up with more oil and rode back to Buxton, after several stops to check how much fluids were left, with max rpm of 2.500. That was not the fun I had in mind for today. The bike came here to the UK from the Italian launch (hence the Italian plates) and we will be interested to see what Aprilia find after checking over the bike. Then we drove to Aprilia to get my Cagiva Raptor 1000 as I will be needing it tomorrow morning to pick up KTM 950 Supermoto. So thank you Claire for saving the day. If it hadn't been for Claire I would probably still have been in Tideswell waiting for either recovery or the bus. TS

That fog ruined today's possibilities for decent action pics as well. Tomorrow it is crucial that the sun rears it's rays for us, or there will not be any proper action pictures of the Tuono R. I am writing today with my riding gear on as I will head out for a ride this evening. At least we can test those RSV-R headlights on the Tuono R. The 2006 Tuono handles beautifully and allows for fairly quick riding even in these conditions and with the new ultra powerful RSV derived V60 under it's belly. I am working on a story regarding a brand new Kawasaki model at the moment. Tomorrow I will have the images that I need and some more info. Soon I will have enough information for yet another BMW story too. There is no resting for the successful German manufacturer. Another German manufacturer that had news for us today was MZ. Not bad at all that brown metallic SFX. Check it out under News. Tor

A sad day for the rally sport today after Andy Caldecott's death in Mauritania. It only confirms that the Dakar race is one of the two surviving truly dangerous motor sports for bikers. Paris-Dakar and the Isle of Man TT race. They are both in serious trouble since it is very difficult to make these two events any safer than they ever will be. Both sports are "dinosaurs" of motorcycle racing where Enduro and Roadracing are the "safe" alternatives. Exploring the Sahara desert and the roads on Isle of Man involves a risk for anyone and deep within the racers heart he would still want to continue. These men live for the larger than life adventure that starts every new year and spring. But whatever KTM decides to do now is beyond personal ambition and adventure. I will respect whichever decision KTM makes. It would be sad to see KTM disappear from the elite part of Dakar in the same way as it was sad to see BMW withdraw and Peterhansel to trade in his Yamaha for a car. I personally believe that the magnetism of the Dakar rally is to strong to resist for the few that has got the ability. Perhaps the future is private teams such as the BMW backed Race to Dakar team with support more on the promotional side than the sportive. Whatever happens, there will still be Dakar 2007. Photo Caldecott: DPPI

Here in my office it's been a very busy day. People seems to have settled back into their jobs after the holidays. My bike puzzle is resolved and the calendar is filled with test bikes. I picked up Aprilia Tuono R today. The ice cold fog just wouldn't leave in time for some proper action shots today, so Wednesday is the next and last window of opportunity for those. Because on Thursday it's time for KTM 950 Superduke for my feature on both the 990 Superduke and 950 Supermoto. The Tuono R is reassuringly sure footed and the only problem going fast on the Cat & Fiddle road today were the fog misting up my visor all the time both on the outside and the inside. Think i might opt for my offroad helmet and goggles if weather is the same tomorrow.  Back in Buxton it was a bit clearer so I shot some stills around town. Buxton opera and Bath makes sure everyone thinks people from Buxton are posh. They are both good backgrounds for the Italian thunder bike. Also, BMW nearly promised me a place on their 2006 world launch schedule. In three weeks I will know for sure when the invitations are sent out. I have also initiated a new co-operation with a few selected web sites and publications across the world. More on that later. TS

Winter riding has its dangers, but I change my riding style quite a lot to accommodate for those dangers. It's all important to ride smoothly and slow down corner entry and corner speed considerably. In some places you'll have to stay away from the B-roads all together due to snow and ice. However, motorways are clear most places in the world even in the middle of winter. Here in the UK there are many more winter riders compared to lets say Scandinavia or certain places in North America. I used to ride through winters in Norway, but never on standard tyres. The years that I owned a offroad bike I would buy a pair of cheap knobbly tyres and get them spiked (I cherished the snow on these tyres) and when on a superbike (my good old Suzuki TL1000R) I rode on Supermoto rain tyres (Pirelli MT60RS). Here in the Peak District, England, you can ride on completely standard tyres all year round. There are a couple of days with snow, but never enough to either not ride or have fun in the snow. Saying this, tomorrow it might change, but that Golf stream seems to make sure most of this Island stays warm enough for riding. It's not as pleasant as in the spring or summer, but can give just as much satisfaction. If you are afraid of the salt rotting up your pride and joy you probably shouldn't ride much in the winter. However, by washing the bike after each winter ride, you can prevent much of that rot. At least you can flush off the salt with a water hose. It is important to do this as soon as possible after a ride otherwise you'll have to wash properly because the grime will have settled. Back to the dangers, as you can see from today's images the best motorcycle roads can turn into gravelled roads in the winter. On this particular road the speed limit is 50Mph and you can only imagine what could happen if you are not aware of all that gravel when turning off the main road here. And when riding in the winter you will get cold. I have accepted this fact years ago, but it has never prevented me from riding. It doesn't matter what gear you use, there's always a weak point even on the most expensive electrically heated gadget. It helps, but you'll probably still get cold. Tomorrow I will spend most of the day out in the cold on the new Aprilia Tuono R. We will be one of the very first publications to ride the 2006 Tuono on "real" roads and if you follow this blog and Raptorama you'll see how it goes. Tomorrow the Dakar race continues and it features the longest special in the whole race. The fastest riders will spend around 7-8 hours on the stage. Tor

Been In Manchester today at a somewhat disappointing national motorcycle show in G-Mex. More on that show under News and UK news this weekend. Also finally received the goggles I will wear in 2006 from Oakley. They are the Crowbar MX pro with tear-offs. Used the helmet and goggles for the first time today. Next week I will be riding the HP2 Enduro muscle bike from BMW and the HJC AC-X2E helmet and offroad gear will be tested to the fullest on Derbyshire gravel. TS

Just got confirmed dates for Triumph Daytona 675 and Scrambler 900 as well. From 08 February I will test first the 675 and then the Scrambler. We will do some research in the area to find suitable barbed wire fences to jump with that Scrambler 900, Steve McQueen style. But I am not going to be too silly and wear a yellow jersey. You can look forward to some beautiful images of both bikes in the same fashion as the latest bikes I have tested. I managed to get a double booking today as well when one of my slots in January within minutes got double booked. Now should I ride Yamaha R6 or BMW HP2 first? It will have to be the BMW as that is most relevant to the most urgent writing projects. I would prefer to ride the R6 as close as possible to Triumph Daytona 675 and that's what I will try to do. I also tried to beg on my knees for KTM to bring one of the Dakar 660 Rally Replica's to Fuerteventura, but unfortunately KTM's launch truck leaves for the Canary islands ferry already this Monday and the Dakar race is not finished until 15 January. TS

Today was the first day in the new year where something actually happened news wise. New Triumph's and new Guzzi's galore. I will be chasing up on those stories with relevant figures in the industry the next couple of weeks. I decided that I will head to the G-Mex show on Friday to see what is going on. At the same time I'll have a look at the new Dainese D-store in Manchester city centre, that hopefully will have opened by Friday, to see whether they actually sell any motorcycle gear there. Other than that I will pick up the 2006 Aprilia Tuono R on Monday for testing. I am also awaiting dates for BMW HP2 and KTM 950 Supermoto before heading to the Adventure 990 launch in Fuerteventura 04 February. Hopefully I can go to Aprilia's RXV launch that might be scheduled for 31 January, but it all depends on places for that one. I am hoping to ride both Triumph Scrambler and Daytona 675 in February, but knowing how this works March is probably more likely. I also have to decide fairly quickly whether to go to Sweden in late February to ride the new Highland bikes or not. It has to fit into the schedule. I have been on the phone to most of the manufacturers today except Kawasaki and Suzuki which I have saved for later. Loads of people are still enjoying their holidays, but from next week and on it should be business as usual for most. Ducati can still not officially tell us that they will produce the Hypermotard despite the fact they were going to decide before Christmas. Expect a press release on it possibly late next week. Bimota has still not found an engine for it's 2007 superbike project. It will be a SB, YB, KB or HB followed by a number that tells it has got a new engine. S=Suzuki, Y=Yamaha, K=Kawasaki, H=Honda and B=Bimota. I will contact Bimota again later this month to see what's going on and in May I will ride the new Delirio in Rimini if all goes to plan. Make sure you check out Superbike's bullshit detector for February by the way. I'm in it for the right reasons luckily. TS

A Happy new year to all of you. I am enjoying the Lisbon-Dakar race at the moment. It is the last great adventure and let's hope everyone gets safely to Dakar this year. Other than that I am sure I need new leathers after all that Christmas food and drink. I am sure I am not alone. I don't know about you, but I am glad to be back at work. The next month will be busy with bike launches, test rides, writing projects, possibly the G-mex motorcycle show in Manchester and research into 2007 bikes. During Christmas I have been riding since the weather has been fairly mild and only a couple of days with snow. I have also done a little service on the bike and replaced the standard air filter with a K&N one. Other than the air filter the Raptor has got fresh tyres and new brake pads so that I can survive winter and do it all again in the spring depending on how many miles I am doing. TS