Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter, and episode 132 of the long funning ramily drama in which ranty old seadog Simon Hargreaves (played by Oliver Reed, in his final screen role), rattling around alone in the east wing of Chatter Manors, is faced with moral bankruptcy and can only be saved by the intervention of the saintly Martin Fitz-Gibbons (played by Peter O’Toole in his final screen role). Together they form an unlikely alliance with Bennetts, the bike insurance specialists (played by Alan Bennett, in his final screen role) and www.bikesocial.co.uk, the world of biking on the web (played by Meryl Strepsil, in her final screen role).

And there are some motorbikes in all this, in case you’re new round here.

And in this episode, Simon and Martin chatter about:

• a new Suzuki Hayabusa they know nothing about, but which you, by now, do – was we right or was we right?
• Triumph’s new and rather impressively spec’d Speed Trip
• KTM’s updated but also impressive 1290 Super Adventure with rude tyres
• Are BMW really not going to bike shows any more?

And in the FEC sack, we have topics as varied as:

• how to secure your helmet to your bike when going walkabout
• how to ride over potholes and bumps (at speed)
• what do electric bikes have to achieve to find widespread acceptance?
• what makes a bike exceed expectations?
• what’s the Five Nations Tour?
• when is a Vyrus not a virus?

...and much, much more...

Thank you for downloading and listening, and sending your thoughts, ideas and questions to:

[email protected]

And thanks to Bennetts and BikeSocial for continued support!

Get Simon and Martin on the socials at:

@SimonHbikes

@Mufga