Britain's biggest FREE bike newspaper

Are four cylinders better than two?

Honda's new mpg mile munching, and very cleverly designed new commuter middleweight, the NC700X, also impressed us in a very different way - read all about it on page 8. And of course, 20 years on and the iconic Fireblade is still an astounding sportsbike despite not having the electronic wizardry of its competitors - it's still very much a rider's bike - see why on page 10.

We also rode Yamaha's fourth generation super-scoot, the best-selling TMAX in LA - see what we thought of it on page 20.

Have you been on a monster motorcycle trip this year? One MCM reader and pillion rode 15,000 miles from Leeds to Mongolia and back in two months with their friends on a Yamaha 750 Super Tenere and Honda 1000 Varadero - and what a trip it was - find out what happened on page 16.

And if that isn't 'wow' enough, read all about two riders who took on Mount Everest - but did they succeed? Check their story out on page 28.

We've also got a four-page show guide for the brand new Classic Bike Guide Winter Classic Show - see page 23 for details.

Plus we've got nine new products and all the best events happening this month.

We've also got a new Really Useful Section, packed full of everything you need to know when buying a used bike, starting on page 33. Used bikes this month include the underrated Yamaha Thundercat, Yamaha R1 and the Honda RVF400 NC35.

And of course, there's loads more in the issue: don't forget to check out all the latest news, and have a look at the rest of our action-packed features and get commenting on them. Visit our letters page and add your own: one star letter each month wins a V2MAL Essentials Touring Pack worth over £40. On the subject of free stuff, there is a fantastic competition for a lucky reader to win a £500 Ixon bike kit voucher courtesy of Topgear Superstore on page 32, plus 10 pairs of CBG Winter Classic Show Guide tickets are up for grabs on page 4, no less than 50 copies of the new New Motorcyclist's Handbook on page 5 and five chances to win an exclusive artist's proof of a BSB star on page 6. Also, if you're looking for a new bike or want to sell your own, take a look at a selection of our free bike classified adverts.

And don't forget, if you've got any news, events or ideas you think we might like to feature in MCM, just drop us a line here. We want to hear from you!

Melanie Falconer
Editor, MCM