The day started out with a press conference at the Moto Guzzi factory. My stomach had still not recovered after all that cold, raw and pickled fish we had last night at a very nice restaurant in Mandello. However Moto Guzzi kept it short and basically announced that they are delighted to finally be able to offer the classic Moto Guzzi configuration of 850cc again in Griso and Breva. I know several importers are not too happy about it as they don't want to loose Breva 1100 and Griso 1100 sales as a cause of the 850 launch. For these reasons many of you will not be able to buy the new beauties. I tried desperately to access the internet on Moto Guzzi's LAN but were not allowed in as the LAN is protected. So with my head hanging I had to settle for the fact I had to fly from Malpensa to Amsterdam, then wait for an hour and then fly to Manchester for then to catch a bus home. Then do some work and publish the blog I had written whilst travelling. At Malpensa I was travelling economy and the KLM bastards charged me 150 Euro overweight. Due to me attending two launches back to back I had all sorts of riding gear with me and clothes for a week and all in all it was 13kg too much for the greedy Dutch airline. Not only that but my camera has got some sort of damage on the way so that when shooting shades and dark the colours aren't right. I was tired and pissed off and just wanted to get home to do some work and spend time with my girlfriend that probably hates me by now. Greetings from one tired traveller. TS 

It turned out to be quite a day today! I rode Moto Guzzi California Vintage, Touring, Griso 850, Griso 1100, Breva 850, Breva 750, Breva 1100 ABS, Nevada Classic and basically the whole range. I concentrated on the new bikes off course and Vintage and the 850's was the bikes that I spent most time on. So many bikes that I have decided to create a whole new page dedicated to Moto Guzzi. Under Raptorama I'll just add a picture of each bike with a link to the Guzzi page with all the reviews, video's and photo galleries. I am now aching to get back home to publish all this. It's been hard to not being able to get all this online as it happened.  For me these launches are also important networking events. All the guys at Guzzi are very likeable and passionate Italians. I have more or less been agreed to attend the event I was trying to plan to ride the Norge 1200 from Mandello to Norway doing the exact historical route. I think I have managed to persuade Moto Guzzi to walk the full mile this time and reach the North Cape. The event will take place in June/July and only top notch people will be invited. Around 6-7 journalists from the world press. We had lunch at the "Al Verde" in Mandello today. This part of Italy is absolutely stunning. The Alpine landscape surrounding Lake Como is fantastic. If you are a Guzzisti it is a must to go. Moto Guzzi almost dominates the whole town and it is a great tourist attraction even if you are not riding a Guzzi. Tomorrow morning there is a press conference at the factory and the Moto Guzzi museum. Hopefully I'll get my press CD there so I can publish more pictures. TS

I Am sitting at the Jolly hotel in Lecco, Italy writing this. Earlier this morning my flight from South Africa arrived in London and I jumped straight on to another flight from London to Milan. I am here to ride the new Moto Guzzi 850's. Lecco is close to lake Como in the Italian alps and it's certainly a beautiful place. That's about all I know at this point as I have been without E-mail for the last 4 days. More updates tomorrow after the test rides and photo galleries of all the bikes and more news on Friday afternoon.. TS

A very early start with the F800S today as I have a flight to catch back to London Heathrow later today. Meaning the bike had to be back by 4 to get ready for the bus that left at 4.30 for Cape Town airport. So I hooked up with a German group so that we could swap between the S and ST without returning to the hotel. I had planned to change clothes for the ST but there just wasn't time. It was a gorgeous day in the sun drenched South African mountains and the F800S is a blast to ride. Engine is great and the whole bike feels much more compact than the R1200S Boxer we rode yesterday. More in the article. TS

Time to ride the BMW R1200S on the local mountain roads that eventually lead us to Killarney race track just outside Cape Town. Unfortunately it was a bit gray in the mountains in the morning so I headed out for the racetrack early. It was perfect sunshine, although windy. The R1200S is a bit of a strange animal out on the race track. Suspension is very good with Ohlins rear shock that gives very good traction. Tyres was Michelin Pilot Powers that was a good choice on the warm tarmac. It is so easy to flick from left to right considering the Boxer cylinders that stick out. All is not perfect though. More in the article. Sir Al and I rode around the track in front of a film crew as well. More later when I have the film. In the afternoon it was time for the F800S/ST press conference ahead of the road test tomorrow. TS

Flew from Manchester to Frankfurt this morning to catch the flight to Cape Town. It was a very comfy flight, though long, with South African airlines. Upon arrival it was already 20 degrees and perfect for riding motorcycles. But first it was time to explore Cape Town after checking into the hotel in Franschoeek, North West of Cape Town. BMW had arranged a bus with tour guide for the journalists that felt fit enough after the long flight. I went as it was my first time in Cape Town. It's a gorgeous place and highly recommended. In the evening it was time for some vine tasting and dinner after the R1200S press conference. TS

I have now returned the GSR 600 and picked up the K6 GSX-R 1000. The weather changed completely from yesterday and I had to use the old all weathers again. The fog was thick in the Peaks today and visibility nil. So my heart jumped when out of nowhere a big lorry was standing in the middle of the road backing into a side road. Panic caught me and I locked the rear wheel on the slippery surface. Luckily I managed to scrub of most of the speed and then went around the lorry bastard. The fog cleared further down the road and I made good progress down to Suzuki GB. Had a chat about the things that I like and don't like about the GSR 600 and grabbed the GSX-R keys and headed back. On the M1 there was incidents high and low and I absolutely hate to have to filter as the first thing I do on a new test bike. But that was what I had to do most of the way. I did get to sample the lovely engine a few places though. GSX-R 1000 has got enough oomph to travel on motorways in sixth all the way. Did I? Nope. Stopped just by Donington services and the Midland airport to do a few stills in case the fog hadn't cleared further North. Then headed back to Buxton and jumped into my leathers to do a few shots before it got dark. Unfortunately the fog ruined it for us this time. Proper pictures next week. I am now a bit stressed out as the whole of next week will be extremely busy with launches, bikes and writing. My leathers and gear has to be packed again and my passport is hopefully where I left it after arriving home from Milan on Wednesday. I will still do the blog, but might not be able to publish it until later. Wish me good luck! TS

Did a last evaluation run on the GSR 600 today. Also did a few more stills as it has been a gorgeous day today. Tomorrow I am returning the GSR 600 and picking up the GSX-R 1000 down in Milton Keynes. MK is built only a few years ago and consists of a billion roundabouts and lorries. Would have been a good place to check out a bikes handling capabilities had it not been for the traffic. Well, well I only hope the weather stays the same tomorrow so that I can ride in leathers and get a good feel for that '06 Gixxer thou' straight away. I have also received South Africa tickets and will spend the weekend there riding BMW's new super Boxer and the new parallel twin range. It should be fun. Immediately after that launch I am heading back to Milan and Lecca near Lake Como to test Moto Guzzi's new 877cc engines and possibly other bikes too. Immediately after that I will finish the GSX-R1000 test and then take a break. Today I received confirmation of date and place for the Bimota Delirio launch as well. That will take place in Rimini May 17-19. I will be there to give you first hand info on the latest Italian exotica. There is a possibility I'll head over to Bologna in April as well to ride Ducati GT1000 biposto, but it all depends on the Ducati subsidiaries. They are skinned for resources it seems so we'll see. Next week Kawasaki are launching the ZZR1400 in Europe. More specific in Germany. I guess this is where we'll see the real ZZR1400 as the US launch was some sort of daft drag racing strip affair rather than high speed motorways. Rather than doing 200mph on ice cold German motorways with lorries overtaking doing 60mph I'll be in Cape Town riding R1200S on road and track. Hopefully I'll be able to update the site whilst I am on the move. If not you'll get the biggest Raptors & Rockets update ever afterwards. Whilst you are reading this I am making sure everything is updated with more pictures and text. GSR 600 test is being written and the last pictures photo shopped. Tor

I arrived at the very posh central Milan hotel "The Gallia" yesterday with the rest of the UK journos to attend Aprilia's race press conference. Luckily I only had to travel to Birmingham airport yesterday rather than London which is good for me. I rode the GSR 600 down to Sutton Coldfield and parked at my safe house there and Claire dropped me off at the airport. No schedule other than having dinner yesterday evening. We headed off to the press conference the next morning at Spazio della Valle in Milan where everyone from 125 and 250 GP teams and riders to endurance teams were presented. Then it was back to old Blighty again where the Suzuki GSR 600 was waiting to take me back to Buxton. As long as you have a clear road ahead and can ride smoothly with plenty of revs the notchy fuel injection is not a problem. As soon as you are riding more smooth with less revs the notchy fuelling starts to irritate. Whilst keeping the GSR 600 I have both loved it and hated it. Depending on what sort of riding I have done basically. The GSR 600 should be one of the great machines to filter through queues but it is let down by poor low-speed throttle response. It's still freezing at night even though every day gets milder and milder. Pictures today of the hotel and the central railway station Mussolini built before the Italians hung him upside down. TS

Time for the action shots of Suzuki's new middleweight champ GSR 600 today. Thanks to Magnus for driving and Claire for sticking her head out of the window to do the tracking shots. Stopped at the Cat & Fiddle today for some hot chocolate and surprisingly many bikers out today. The season is on! More coming... TS

Happy St. Patrick's day today. May the force of the Guinness be with you! Piccies from our trip to Dublin on a Ducati Multistrada 1000 a couple of years ago. TS

Snowing again, argh! Well, at least I'll get all my writing done since I am not out riding all the time. I will also test the whole Suzuki GSX-R range again in 2006. The last time I did that was in 2001.

This is how it went:

In 2001 I rode the whole GSX-R range back to back (when the 1000 had just been launched) and I remember that I preferred the induction noise on the 600, rev-range of the 750 and shear power of the 1000. When I first rode the 1000 I had a jacket on over my leathers as it was early spring and had forgotten to close one of the pockets. The most important pocket where my wallet with £400 in cash, driving license, credit cards etc was in. It was lost forever on some motorway even though I spent the whole evening looking for it riding slowly on the motorway shoulder. A week later I was on the 750 and my mobile phone somehow found its way out of the inner pocket of my leathers and flew out on another motorway. To make matters worse I low-sided the 600 on a race track in Norway the week after. At the very same bend that I low-sided the 2000 Yamaha R1 the year before. the same year I also rode a Superstock kitted GSX-R 1000 on slicks. That was great!

Today, more than 100 bikes later, these things don't really happen anymore (as I have learnt) and I will feature all the GSX-R's again during the year. First out is last years biggest selling bike in the UK, GSX-R 1000. There is no real changes on the K6 from the K5, but it could still be the daddy despite both Honda, Kawasaki and Yamaha's updates for 2006. More GSR 600 stuff this weekend. I'll try and do some tracking shots as I have two drivers and one photographer available then. TS

 

Suzuki's new Bandit, oh sorry GSR it is, happens to be a bloody good road bike. I had a fantastic ride home from Suzuki GB HQ in Milton Keynes today. From snow in Buxton this morning to sun and dry roads this afternoon. First impressions of the GSR 600 are good. Very good as it has already excelled at what it's made for, road riding. But I also found two negatives straight away. They involve low frequency vibrations and the fuel injection. But those were all forgotten after a brilliant performance by the GSR on the A515 today. More later as the days go by. I will be riding the GSR 600 around in the Peak district the next couple of weeks. Judging by the first day it will be loads of fun. Moto Guzzi has had to postpone their event next week one week. Meaning more quality time on Suzuki GSR 600 for me. I will still be heading to Milan for the Aprilia gig next Tuesday. Judging by the response I have received on the MT story under the news section it's about time Yamaha offered the whole MT range to the US market. Keep the comments coming in. I'll collect them all and send them over to Yamaha. If weather permits you'll get much more GSR 600 pictures tomorrow or at least before the weekend. TS

Whilst it hails outside I have been busy with various projects today. Plenty of news have been collected and they will be spread over the next few days. First out will be something special from Moto Guzzi. Already tomorrow I will have more details about some brand new bikes that I will ride already next week in Mandello. But first I am heading to another Aprilia press conference in Milan on Tuesday. It will be a big presentation of Aprilia's 2006 race teams ++ I am also one step further in the plan that I have to ride Moto Guzzi Norge 1200 from Mandello to the North Cape this spring/early summer. First the bike has to be launched and that happens in April. Since riding to the North Cape in Norway involves crossing the Alps and the North of Norway it is probably best to do it in May or June. We'll see. Frederico Minoli, the CEO of Ducati, has launched his blog these days. He has been good and there are updates for both last Friday and Saturday. Can he keep it up? Will he let something top secret slip? Will his blog become better than mine? Don't think so, but it shows that Ducati is picking up on what is happening everywhere these days. Internet is king. I am wondering how next generation 749/999/1200 Ducati will look like. According to the rumours Ducati is designing something more true to the original 916/996/998 design. I am pretty sure pictures are looming... TS

I have finished both the R6 and MT-03 articles after waiting for the last bit of technical details from Yamaha. They will soon be published. In the mean time I have arranged with Suzuki to test the GSR 600 next week and the week ahead of the big BMW launch. It will be interesting as this is yet another bike for the real world riding and wallets. There are exciting news stories emerging all the time despite this being the "dry season". Hopefully I'll have an exciting one for tomorrow. TS

Time to return the MT-03 today. Weather still cold and MT-03 not excellent on the motorways. Nevertheless I always enjoy riding bikes like the MT-03. They are simple, easy to ride and get along with and there is no need for motorways or racetracks to get the full potential out of the bike. It's cheap as chips too! TS

Despite the poor weather we managed to shoot everything we needed today of Yamaha MT-03. It was quite wintry here in Buxton so headed South for the pictures. But I did not have to go further than Bakewell for the action shots you can see under Raptorama. The petrol tank filler cap had frozen despite containing half a box of WD-40. Claire kept the 5 litre petrol tank I had to buy running out of fuel on the HP2 in her car and she followed to take the pictures. After a few miles it had melted enough so that I could refill the petrol tank. It was Claire's birthday yesterday and that's the reason WSB reports have been updated in retrospect rather than live. We went to York on Claire's birthday yesterday to visit the Viking museum and then I took Claire out for a posh afternoon tea. She deserves it. On Monday I'll be heading back south to return the MT-03 I have kept for a week. I'll take a little break from testing the new bikes to hunt for more news and finish all writing projects before the next major motorcycle launch which is the BMW launch in SA later this month. I am still awaiting some firm Honda dates and will be chasing those this week. There will be more Honda news and pictures this week too. Use that F5 button. TS

It has been a few cold days here in Buxton, but today the sun was shining. I still had to bring a boiling kettle of water and some WD-40 out to get the ignition on this morning (because it was frozen). I rode the Whaley bridge road twice today and stopped to do a few static's on the way. The MT-03 suits the roads around here perfect. The riding position gives you very good leverage on the handlebars and in many ways it is similar to the Buell City-X. I got some info about the BMW HP2 that broke down today as well. It was caused by a minor engine problem. More technical after I have had a chat with the BMW garage. It's 1st of March today and every day is between 4 to 5 minutes longer. Spring time is coming. TS