Phil West

BikeSocial contributor, freelance motorcycle journalist, former editor of Bike & What Bike?, ex-Road Test Editor MCN, ex-founder Biking Times, one-time launch editor of American Motorcycles, previous contributor to FHM, Stuff, Daily Telegraph and Evening Standard, plus more bike mags than he can remember, author of six books and now in need of a holiday.

Ridden pretty much every new road bike since 1989 and most key historical bikes (’59 Bonnie, Commando, CB750 etc, yawn) before that. First road bike a Honda Express but first experience was putting a BSA Bantam 175 into a hedge aged nine. Quickly progressed through CB125T, RD250LC, RD350LC and RD500LC. Won a couple of club races in a former life and dabbled in (and spectacularly bad at) scrambles, trials and endurance.

Done most of the best launches/first rides – ’92 Blade, 916, Monster, SRAD, Multistrada etc – attended every major biking event (Bol, Daytona, TT, Sturgis, Assen etc) and has the scars, blurred memory, grey hairs and overdraft to match.

Considering putting it all in another book – while I can still remember.