Paul Smith, Designer: “Tue Mantoni, the Commercial Director of Triumph, and I were having a drink and thought it would be good fun to work on a project. It has been great customising these classic bikes and working with another British brand which has so much history and is a real success story.”

For a perfect Christmas present the ultimate would be one of the very limited (to 100) Triumph Bonneville T100s by Paul Smith. While the Triumph logo and iconic images feature large on the clothing and accessories collections, the motorbike is the reverse – a Triumph ‘bike with Paul Smith design details.The small production run resulted from the tremendous interest in the nine Triumph Bonneville T100’s with one-off paint schemes used as press pieces and for promotional activity worldwide. The two Limited Edition Triumph Bonneville T100s by Paul Smith retail at £7,800 on-the-road, and can be ordered through any Triumph dealership on a strictly first come, first served basis. The lucky owners will take delivery in March 2006.

Now a worldwide byword for stylish British quality, Paul Smith’s introduction into fashion was (quite literally) completely accidental.

Working in a clothing warehouse having left school at 16, his real passion was sport. And his ambition was to become a professional racing cyclist - until a terrible accident when he was 17 left him in hospital for 6 months.

A chance post-hospital pub meeting with some of his new acquaintances, and those of the local Art College, led to a burgeoning interest in fashion and design. Within two years, he was managing his first boutique in Nottingham and with the encouragement of his girlfriend (now wife) Pauline Denyer and a small amount of savings, opened a tiny shop in 1970.

Paul started to take evening classes for tailoring and with the help of Pauline (an RCA fashion graduate), Paul was able to create what he wanted.

By 1976 Paul showed his first menswear collection in Paris under the Paul Smith label. The rest, as they say, is history.

The Paul Smith Triumph T100 costs EURO 11,000. For further information on this perfect Christmas present please visit www.paulsmith.co.uk or www.triumph.co.uk

Suzuki GB have announced that 2006 Bandit 650S and 1200S will now have ABS braking as standard.

Anti-lock braking has been around for some years now on motorcycles, but usually as an optional extra, or only fitted to expensive touring machines. Now even a budget all-rounder like the Bandit 600S, which retails for only £4499 OTR will have this potentially life-saving feature.

With diesel spills, poorly maintained roads and the ever changing British climate to contend with, the Bandit models have surely increased their appeal to all year round bikers.

(this article was taken from insidebikes.com)

Suzuki GB have announced that 2006 Bandit 650S and 1200S will now have ABS braking as standard.

Anti-lock braking has been around for some years now on motorcycles, but usually as an optional extra, or only fitted to expensive touring machines. Now even a budget all-rounder like the Bandit 600S, which retails for only £4499 OTR will have this potentially life-saving feature.

With diesel spills, poorly maintained roads and the ever changing British climate to contend with, the Bandit models have surely increased their appeal to all year round bikers.

(this article was taken from insidebikes.com)

The Milward Memorial Ride has reached its destination in Banjul, The Gambia, after an eventful week of long motorcycling days, sun, desert, shale and dust.

Travelling from Agadir, a long day’s ride saw them in Laayoune in the Western Sahara. The next two days saw the long Atlantic Route ride, joining the new sealed road southwards after crossing the border into Mauritania and on towards Senegal.

A rest day was taken at the travellers stop over of ‘Zebrabar’, nr St Louis, Senegal, after a day of ‘piste’ riding to avoid the notorious border crossing from Mauritania to Senegal at Rosso — reputed to the worst border in Africa.

The riders have been joined in Senegal by Ian Mutch from MAG UK and Barbara Alam, who along with the riders will both be involved with a two day itinerary of activity with Riders For Health at their Gambia centre.

Dave and Craig will then depart northward to pay tribute to Simon Milward at the site where he had his accident near Kayes in Mali.

To keep up to date on the Milward Memorial Motorcycle Ride visit www.worldofbmw.com or www.motorcycleoutreach.org

(this update was taken from insidebikes.com)

The Honda Ron Haslam Race School has celebrated the attendance of its 30,000th customer since being set-up back in 1996.

Anita Nee from Kenilworth in Warwickshire was the lucky person to be the 30,000th attendee of the school and she has now been given a free Premier course to attend next year on the Honda CBR600RR.

For Anita it was a family affair as she attended the school with her partner and two sons, all of whom rode on the day. She said: “It was such a surprise to be told I was the lucky 30,000th to attend the school! I was treating my two boys to the On-Track package with me while my partner Matthew Count enjoyed the Premier course.”

Anita’s sons 17-year-old Peter and 15-year-old James both enjoyed the day. “They’re hooked,” said Anita. “They have ridden a 125cc dirt-bike for a few years, but they excelled themselves on the school’s CB500Fs. I also rode on the CB500F and despite riding for the last 30 years, I learned so much and I’m now much more confident through corners and using my brakes. We were all very impressed with the standard of instruction which helped to make the day such a memorable one for all of us! My partner now wants to do the Elite course on the Honda Fireblades, while I’m looking forward to my free Premier course next year.”

It’s not the first time Anita has won something in biking as she was pictured in Bike magazine after being made ‘Miss BMF’ back in 1978!

Ron Haslam, who raced in motorcycle grand prix during the 1980s and 1990s, runs the Honda Ron Haslam Race School with his wife Ann. The school offers a safe, structured teaching environment where people can ride Honda’s latest machinery including the CB500, CB600F Hornet, CBR600RR and CBR1000RR Fireblade on the wonderful curves of Donington Park in Derbyshire. Youngsters as young as 12 can also take part, riding the CBR125R and CB500.

Ron said: “It’s a real testament to the amount of effort that Honda, our many sponsors and everyone involved in the school puts in that after almost 10 years we’re still here at Donington Park providing a safe, learning environment for people to enjoy the performance of Honda’s latest sports bikes.”

The 2006 dates for the school have also now been released. All events are held at Donington Park race circuit.

(this article was taken from insidebikes.com)

The Honda Ron Haslam Race School has celebrated the attendance of its 30,000th customer since being set-up back in 1996.

Anita Nee from Kenilworth in Warwickshire was the lucky person to be the 30,000th attendee of the school and she has now been given a free Premier course to attend next year on the Honda CBR600RR.

For Anita it was a family affair as she attended the school with her partner and two sons, all of whom rode on the day. She said: “It was such a surprise to be told I was the lucky 30,000th to attend the school! I was treating my two boys to the On-Track package with me while my partner Matthew Count enjoyed the Premier course.”

Anita’s sons 17-year-old Peter and 15-year-old James both enjoyed the day. “They’re hooked,” said Anita. “They have ridden a 125cc dirt-bike for a few years, but they excelled themselves on the school’s CB500Fs. I also rode on the CB500F and despite riding for the last 30 years, I learned so much and I’m now much more confident through corners and using my brakes. We were all very impressed with the standard of instruction which helped to make the day such a memorable one for all of us! My partner now wants to do the Elite course on the Honda Fireblades, while I’m looking forward to my free Premier course next year.”

It’s not the first time Anita has won something in biking as she was pictured in Bike magazine after being made ‘Miss BMF’ back in 1978!

Ron Haslam, who raced in motorcycle grand prix during the 1980s and 1990s, runs the Honda Ron Haslam Race School with his wife Ann. The school offers a safe, structured teaching environment where people can ride Honda’s latest machinery including the CB500, CB600F Hornet, CBR600RR and CBR1000RR Fireblade on the wonderful curves of Donington Park in Derbyshire. Youngsters as young as 12 can also take part, riding the CBR125R and CB500.

Ron said: “It’s a real testament to the amount of effort that Honda, our many sponsors and everyone involved in the school puts in that after almost 10 years we’re still here at Donington Park providing a safe, learning environment for people to enjoy the performance of Honda’s latest sports bikes.”

The 2006 dates for the school have also now been released. All events are held at Donington Park race circuit.

(this article was taken from insidebikes.com)