Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter, Britain's mostest biking podcast, supported by nos amis at Britain's foremost and most comprehensive biking website, www.bikesocial.co.uk, and Bennetts, the bike insurance specialists. And in this week's compact episode Simon (me) and Martin (him) natter about such diverse matters as:

• the second darkest winter in northern Europe since records began
• results from the Dakar rally, and whether the race is getting too tough (it's not), and whether the IOM TT is harder
• will Michael Dunlop's recent test on the MotoGP Suzuki GSX-R RR R at Sepang, Malaysia, presage an entry in the 2018 Senior TT, and do we think he was worried about taking to the track alongside MotoGP regulars?
• what else might or might not happen at the first MotoGP test session of 2018 at Sepang?
• why has Hutchy jumped on John McG's 'unlucky' Honda Fireblade for next year's TT?
• more news on the Ducati, Aprilia and KTM models affected by Brembo's master cylinder recall
• first riding reports of Ducati's V4 Panigale and Honda's new Gold Wing are in – and if they're as brilliant as everyone says, how can we tell when it seems like all new bikes are brilliant?

Plus (and sorry, we only have time for a few) your wonderful emails.

Thank you as ever for continuing to listen to our ramblings, and please get in touch at [email protected] with your questions, thoughts, musings and chit-chat.

@SimonHbikes

@Mufga