Front End Chatter

Hello and welcome to a slightly sweary, distinctly snowy Front End Chatter Episode 73, supported as ever by nos amis at BikeSocial (wwwbikesocial.co.uk) and Bennetts the bike insurers – and which ignores the current level of white precipitation (sounds iffy) while resolutely chattering on about:

• last weekend's racing season opener, with World Superbike at Phillip Island – was it or wasn't it dull, and what's the difference between an exciting race and dull racing?
• recent MotoGP testes, and what's the likely outcome of Tech 3 and Yamaha announcing their conscious uncoupling?

...and then FEC73 dives headlong into proper motorcycling and confronts pressing issues such as:

• the launch of Triumph's new Speed Triple S and RS, and when is a hooligan not a hooligan?
• how does Triumph's Daytona 675R rate against MV Agusta's 675 and 800 F3s?
• is it only us thinking this, or have Triumph got some massive holes in their model line-up, and does that presage a completely new, large-capacity engine powering a range of new models in the near future?
• would we buy a Panigale 959 Corse if a) we wanted it and b) could afford it? • are some new bikes 'better' than other new bikes, and does it matter, or is modern motorcycling more about deciding what the bike feels like?
• what's the wisdom of filming ourselves for vlogs – does it make motorcycling look bad?
• should we feel guilty about not using a bike all the time?
• how much does rider weight and fitness level affect our ability to ride a bike?

Plus there's loads more of waffle about grid boys, why manufacturers build the bikes they build, and a satisfied FEC customer! Thanks for listening, and please keep sending us your questions, thoughts and queries... and picking us up on our errors (that should get a few emails). Email to: [email protected]

@Mufga

@SimonHbikes

Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter Episode 72, Britain's most rambling, shambling biking podcast supported as ever by our gender-neutral comrades at www.bikesocial.co.uk (and definitely *not* .com) in association with Bennetts, the bike insurance people. It's like a great big biking family, packed with road tests, new bikes, used bikes, buying guides and kit git guides; come in, the water's lovely. On a crammed FEC 72, Martin and Simon waffle about: • Sepang MotoGP testing results • the cancelled Welsh Road Races: why it's been postponed and how much damage has been done to the reputation of the organisers and a potential 2019 event – plus some sensible mathematics • a surprisingly measured and informed opinion on the great grid girls debate... from a man • McGuinness signs to race the Norprilia at the TT • news from the launches of the 2018 Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports (not in Africa) and Triumph Tiger 800 (in Africa) • embarrassing crashes, heart-breaking crashes and unpredictable crashes (aren't all crashes unpredictable?) • do we get the new bikes we want, or the bikes manufacturers think we want... and how are new bikes developed, anyway? • what were the best-selling bikes in Europe and who were the biggest manufacturers in 2017? Thank you for your ears, and please get in touch at [email protected] or on Twitter @SimonHbikes or @Mufga

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

Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter Episode 70, the world's most eclectic motorcycling podcast, supported by www.biksocial.co.uk, the UK's most informed and entertaining website, and Bennetts, the bike insurance specialists.

My name is Simon and that man over there is Martin, and today we're nattering about:

• the masochism of riding in winter, and whether a hot bath at the end of it is worth the suffering
• the masochism of riding a Kawasaki H2 and an Enfield Himalayan in winter
• ...or the historical perspective of riding three generations of GSX-R750 on an old runway in Cornwall
• details of a Brembo brake recall in the USA; what it is, what bikes are affected, and whether there'll be a recall in the UK
• how, despite the Kawasaki H2 SX and Yamaha Niken and BMW F850GS, the Kawasaki Z900RS might just be the best bike of 2018
• an enlightened approach to selling a used bike, and how faith should overcome fear...
• ...or just ask your local dealer to sell it for you
• why Honda's Crossrunner is always overlooked when discussing used all-rounders
• the crazy new bike deals about last year, such as Honda's Africa Twin DCT PCP deal of no deposit, 0% finance at £70 per month for three years – and the implications for the values of used Africa Twins
• how cold is too cold to go for a ride?
• and introducing the Hall Of FEC – what bikes are in, what bikes are out (starting with 2009 – which turns out to be a particularly bad year for new bikes)

Thanks for listening, please email your nominations for FEC's Hall Of FEC, or indeed any other thoughts, questions, requests to:

[email protected] Thanks for listening! @SimonHbike

@Mufga

Had enough of cold turkey? Fear not, here's your fix of Front End Chatter Episode 69, served in a very small tin foil hat with a side-order of www.bikesocial.co.uk in association with Bennetts, the bike insurance specialists. And, following on from the last episode's fab interview with Julian Ryder, this time it's business as usual as we read through a veritable mountain of your occasionally lengthy emails, on topics as varied as: • Does the motorcycle industry do enough to attract young riders?

• Does uploading fancy software and a few items from the accessories catalogue justify adding a few grand on the price of a new bike and calling it a premium model?

• Is motorcycling becoming too tribal?

• Will we be seeing more examples of forced induction on new models? • How British Superbike is also brilliant if you live in the US

• Why does no-one build a modular, adjustable motorbike?

• Where is the Husqvarna Vitpilen?

• Why riding a bike a great cure for illness.

• PLUS loads of other nattering and chattering...

Many thanks for your continued ears, please tell everyone you know to download the podcast and please email you thoughts, considerations and questions to:

anything@ frontendchatter.com

You can get us on the Twitter:

@SimonHbikes

@Mufga Hope you had a great Christmas and look forward to a splendidly two-wheeled (or three) New Year!

Hello everybody and welcome to Front End Chatter, the biking podcast powered and empowered by the super-swell folk at Bike Social - that's www.bikesocial.co.uk.

In episode 68 Simon and Martin welcome a FECing guest for the first time in a long time. And not any guest, but the one and only Julian Ryder (@MotoGPJules) - journalist, broadcaster, author, antiques dealer and former WSB, 500GP and MotoGP commentator.

Fresh from putting the finishing touches to the official MotoGP Season Review 2017 (a proper book, with "not too many cockups", on sale now at Amazon), Jules talks all about one of the best racing seasons in recent memory, whether things really were better in the good old days, the greatest racers of all time, tribal fans, the MotoGP riders' rider of 2017, why each of the top names performed the way they did this year, how he'd fix World Superbikes (and whether it's important to fix), and which racing series Jules's dulcet tones might (or might not) be gracing next.

Thank you once again for allowing FEC into your ears and brain. If you enjoy it, please tell your friends, colleagues, co-worked and fellow riders to find us on www.frontendchatter.com or, better still, on www.bikesocial.co.uk.

You can also find us on Twitter - @SimonHbikes and @Mufga - and we eagerly await any and all of your emailed correspondence at [email protected]

Cheers until next time!

Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter 67, the Shakey's Racing Age episode, ably supported by our friends at www.bikesocial.co.uk who are in turn supported by bike insurance bods Bennetts.

This week we natter about the small matter of a race in Valencia, some racing in Wales that actually looks like it might happen, some more gossip about the Motorcycle Live bike show they had last week (including how manufacturers cheat on seat heights), and answer a veritable raft of your emails on subjects as wide ranging as what bike you should buy.

Thanks again for your continued ears, and please spread the word of the words we speak.

You can find on Twitter – @SimonHbikes & @Mufga – and you can download this on iTunes or from www.frontendchatter.com – but we'd much rather you listened at www.bikesocial.co.uk, not least because you can lose yourself for hours browsing the library of all sorts of archived biking stuff.

Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter E66, supported by our good friends at www.bikesocial.co.uk and Bennetts, the bike insurance specialists – and who better to insure your gleaming new, 2018 motorcycle? Because this week's podcast is stuffed full of new bike news, gossip and opinion (admittedly, more of the latter pair than the former), fresh from the Milan bike show. In no particular order, we natter about:

• Kawasaki's 200bhp sport-touring mega-bike, the ZZR1400. Sorry! We mean the new H2 SX/SE
• Ducati's V4 Panigale, and whether it's better-looking than the 1299
• Yamaha's Niken and whether it's actually a motorcycle
• plus chatter about Yamaha Tracer 900s, Kawasaki Z900RS and Café, Honda's Africa Twin Adventure and CB1000R, BMW's F850GS, Triumph's Tigers, Ducati's Multistrada 1260 and KTM's 790 Duke...
• ...and seeing as how few of us can afford any of them, should we be interested?

Plus we have a brief natter about the forthcoming final MotoGP showdown at Valencia, and answer a few of emails (but not all – more to come!).

Thanks again for listening, and please email your thoughts, questions and comments to us here: [email protected]

Or catch us on Twitter:

@SimonHbikes

@Mufga

Hello and welcome to the long-awaited (well, about a month) Front End Chatter Episode 65 – supported as ever by our magnificent colleagues, pals and beneFECtors at www.bikesocial.co.uk and Bennetts, the bike insurance specialists.

This week FEC bangs on about subjects as wide and varied as:

• how does three-time World Superbike champ Jonathan Rea's win-race ratio match to Carl Fogarty's, and how to fix World Superbike (again)
• did the three-way Showdown final British Superbike round at Brands and the subsequent love-in make us want to watch it next year?
• ...and compare all that to an epic MotoGP race at Motegi

PLUS! words of gossip about what we know about 2018's new bikes (or do we?) including

• the 2018 supercharged, sports touring Kawasaki H2R GT...
• ...and their Z900RS, and how close it'll be to the existing Z900
• Honda's NSC 'New Sports Cafe'...
• ...and if the motor is based on the CB650F inline four
• Honda's new Goldwing with its funny front end...
• KTM's 790-800cc Duke parallel twin which probably won't have bungees pulling the pistons back to TDC
• Yamaha's MT-07-based T7 budget adventure bike
• Triumph's, er, well, definitely not a 765 Daytona, say Triumph...
• Harley-Davidson's new Softail range of, er, big V-twins including the rather splendid Fat Bob

PLUS! listeners' questions, including:

• what supermoto as a second bike
• the law around on-bike dash-cams – and can plod nick you using your own sat nav's 'snail-trail' as evidence?
• are smaller bikes less likely to get you in trouble?
• can you buy a decent used bike for the price of a new iPhone?

Thank you for listening and putting up with us – and please email any biking questions (or any questions you like) or comments to

[email protected]

or get us on Twitter @SimonHbikes

@Mufga

And don't forget to check out www.bikesocial.co.uk and get your bike insurance with Bennetts.

Hello and welcome to a special, John McGuinness Front End Chatter Episode 64, supported by our good friends at www.bikesocial.co.uk, supported by Bennetts, the bike insurer par excellence, bar none. And what a treat this week – apart from the usual nattering about subjects as random as:

• tech details from the launch of Ducati's 210bhp V4 Stradale engine, which is coming to a chassis that may or may not but probably will look remarkably similar to a 1299 Panigale this November
• Rossi's broken leg bones, Cal's severed tendon, the ramifications for the MotoGP title, and who Valentino gets to sign the plaster cast...
• why Silverstone's MotoGP was so poorly attended (conspiracy theory alert)
• how lovely BMW's R nineT Racer is, and why don't other manufacturers make bikes that, simply, look beautiful?
• will the news Welsh police are actively encouraging dash-cam users to upload footage as evidence for traffic offences make you ride any differently?
• how to learn how to pronounce Ikea, Abba and Öhlins on a Magic Motor Experience tour on a Yamaha XT660R, in Sweden...

... the jewel in FEC64's crown is the audio version of BikeSocial's interview with TT legend John McGuinness, in which he talks about:

• the physical side effects of 'that' crash (caution: not for the squeamish!)
• how it's affected his head
• what caused it and what he really thinks about the 2017 FireBlade
• what happens to his career now
• how important the race fans are to his recovery

Hope you enjoy, please say nice things and spread the word, and please email any and all questions, comments and ideas to [email protected] Thanks for listening! @SimonHbikes

@Mufga