Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter, Britain's best and most motorcycling podcast, supported through slim and thin by the veritable font (or indeed fount; both are legitimate) of tests and news and reviews, bikesocial.co.uk. And of course Bennetts, the bike insurance specialists – check out their customer rewards and make the most of being insured!

Right. Nothing going on here. Nothing to see, move along.

No, of course we have ill-informed gossip about:

• Norton – the story you've probably already heard, where you can read a bit more, and – while it's a mere spec of insignificance compared to the very real issue and pain of people losing their life savings – we discuss the role of the motorcycle media in the sorry saga
• Triumph's new Tiger 900 – what's the crank like?
• Kawasaki's new Z1000S... sorry! Ninja 1000SX – what's the steering like?
• Suzuki's V-Strom 1050 XT – what's the paint job like?*

*It's gorgeous!

• MotoGP is nearly back, with the closest testing times from Sepang in the history of ever meaning it's even more pointless to try and derive any relevance from it – and why the top-placed factory rider has a V-Strom 1000...
• news on Iannone's hair and sausage drug defence
• and of course the mighty FEC-sack, including:
• how to wave at other riders
• VFR800Fi or late 90s Blade?
• do mods make a used bike more or less valuable?
• how to overcome a fear of leaning a bike through corners

...and much more.

Thanks again for lending us your ears – we really appreciate it – and thanks for all your emails which are truly thought provoking, funny, interesting and just plain daft. Please keep them coming – addressed to:

[email protected]

Thanks to our friends and benefactors at Bennetts and bikesocial.co.uk – the place for your all biking information, and bike and travel insurance.

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