In this week's MCN paper: Exclusive Long Way Up inside story

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In your new edition of Motor Cycle News this week we've got the biggest stories in biking along with tests of the most modern metal and crucial kit you need to know about.

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Dear MCN reader,

Welcome to this week’s extra-punchy edition – celebrating the huge excess of BMW’s gargantuan new boxer, light at the end of the tunnel for Norton buyers, and three of the most explosive race series battles for a decade.

They say that pretty much anything ever invented will, if you wait long enough, come back into fashion. Whether its range stalwarts that seem desperately out of date one minute before surging back up the greasy pole of popularity; or the bikes that were a bugger to shift when new but which now command a king’s ransom; or the fashion that was mouldering in the back of your wardrobe that now marks you out as the coolest dude in Hoxton.

You could argue that BMW’s boxer engine has achieved its legendary status as much by longevity as it has by performance. It’s been at the sharp and blunt end of the evolutionary knife drawer in relatively equal measure, but BMW’s recent dogged determination to keep it central to their fortunes should be applauded – especially because they’ve overcome serious engineering and emissions obstacles to do it.

From water-cooling to ShiftCam tech, to the frankly shocking ability to deliver a Euro5-pleasing 1800cc air-cooled behemoth in the new R18, the boxer has never been more advanced, nor more effective. It’s a proper 100-year legend of stubborn engineering – and we’re celebrating it in this issue with an exclusive 1500-mile mega test of the new R18 on UK soil, and an in-depth look at 100 years of boxer evolution.

On top of that, BMW’s retro boxer king – the R nineT – goes head-to-head with Ducati’s new-and-improved Scrambler 1100 PRO Sport; we reveal a new report from Norton that confirms they will build all outstanding deposit-holders’ bikes; BMW unveils a £31k ‘M’ edition S1000RR; delve inside the head of Bike Shed founder Dutch van Someren; deliver a masterclass on how to adjust your chain like a pro; profile five cracking £2500 used buys and explain why now is the perfect time to buy a new bike; bring you all the latest paddock insider gossip and analysis from MotoGP, WSB and BSB – and much, much more.

Enjoy the issue,

Rich

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