Front End Chatter

Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter Episode 172, hosted by Simon Hargreaves and Martin Fitz-Gibbons and supported in their noble endeavours by Bennetts, the bike insurance gurus, and bikesocial.co.uk, the world wide web of wokorcycling.

Bit of a special episode of FEC – c'mon, keep it light – as we visit the Motorcycle Industry Association annual conference and speak to the head of the MCIA, Tony Campbell, to find out what the great and the good of the British motorcycle industry are doing to prepare for the UK government's proposal to ban the sale of new petrol-engined bikes in just over a decade from now. It's not all bad news, but some of it might be. Thanks for listening, and please email your thoughts, reactions, questions and opinions to: [email protected] Get us on the socials: @SimonHBikes @Mufga

Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter E171 and I'm a bit short on time this week so here's a condensed version of the usual word salad: FEC is a motorcycling podcast created by Martin Fitz-Gibbons and Simon Hargreaves, a pair of motorcycle content creators (I wrote a load of other stuff here about crumbling ivory towers but thought the better of it and pressed delete). Meanwhile, FEC is truly, deeply, madly proud to be supported and fertilised by the good people of Bennetts, the bike insurance specialists, and bikesocial.co.uk, the best motorcycling website in the world. Pay them a visit, check out what's going on, and get involved with Bennetts Membership with all its offers and discounts. And there are many. Bit of a slow news week for this episode, so in the absence of actual news worth repeating we have a deep dive into the FECsack instead, covering so many topics you might as well listen than have me type them out here, if that's ok? Ta. Please keep your thoughts, queries, musings and mumblings coming in to: [email protected] And thank you for your continued aural appreciation. @SimonHBikes @Mufga

Hello and welcome to episode 170 of Front End Chatter, the UK's finest motorcycling podcast with Simon Hargreaves and Martin Fitz-Gibbons (other finest motorcycling podcasts without Simon Hargreaves and Martin Fitz-Gibbons are available). FEC is, as ever thus far, supported and ported by Bennetts, the bike insurance specialists, and BikeSocial.co.uk, the greatest motorcycling website on the, er, web. And on this episode, we natter about: • birthdays, and why BMW are celebrating theirs like a death in the family • prices for Suzuki's GSX-8S and P-Strom, and why maths isn't their strong point • KTM's spy-shotted RC990, and possible the origins of its motor • last chance for an exclusive place to the FEC tour 2023 (It's Grin (and indeed, Gin) Up North) before we spread the love on the internet • our memories of ex-motorcycle journo John Cantlie • plus loads of next bike recommendations, too late as usual but no-one ever does what we suggest anyway Thank you for your listening ears throughout 2022, and 'ears to a similarly audible 2023. Please keep your thoughts, ponderings, musings and questions coming to [email protected] @SimonHBikes @Mufga

Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter, Britain's best biking podcast even if we – 'we' being Martin Fitz-Gibbons and Simon Hargreaves, a pair of motorcycling ne'er-do-wells who once had an opinion and now just have onions – do say so ourselves, which is just as well because no-one else does. Front End Chatter is as ever supported like a great surgical truss of benevolence by Bennetts, the bike insurance specialists, and their media empire of bikesocial.co.uk, upon which one can find all the news, reviews, new bike and consumer tests one could wish for. And check out their YouTube channel too. On this esipode of Fnet Rund Chasser we have, for your aural delectation: • a bit of goss from that Motorcycle Live they had recently • a thoroughly in-depth chat about Honda's new CB750 Hornet • why World Superbike will be worth watching in 2023 • the return of KTM's 790 Duke and Adventure, only made in China and as we predicted ages ago • details of the FEC Tour 2023 – It's Grin Up North! • plus a stack of your emails from the FECsack Thank you for listening, and please keep your thoughts, queries and ponderings coming to: [email protected] @SimonHbikes @Mufga

Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter, Episode 168 in the long-running series of Great Motorcycling Podcasts – yes, we're back after a late summer break in which one of us got married and one of us didn't. Thanks as ever to Bennetts, the bike insurance specialists, and BikeSocial.co.uk – supplying quality motorcycle news, reviews, videos, launches and consumer product tests longer than anyone can remember. No, not the consumer tests themselves; how long BikeSocial has been aro... oh never mind. Right, 168 is easy to describe: • a big chatter about the finale of the MotoGP races of the season, who won, are the Japanese factories on the way out, and why it will be our last for a while • tons of new bike news, including Honda's Transalp & Hornet 750 slugging it out with Suzuki's P-Strom 800DE and impossible-to-pronounce GSX-8S, plus a bit of green news from Kawasaki (geddit?), the most advanced radar system ever on the new Yamaha Tracer 9 GT+, revamped Triumph Street Triples and loads of stuff we forgot to mention. Thanks again for listening with your ears, and please send thoughts, questions and offers of pretty much anything to: [email protected] @SimonHbikes @Mufga

Hello everyone, and welcome to episode 167 of Front End Chatter, Britain's poddiest motorcycling cast, supported as ever by nos amis at Bennetts, the bike insurance specialists and bikesocial.co.uk, not only the web's most informative and enlightening motorcycling website, but also refreshingly free of the nasty, irritating ads and pop-ups you get on other websites. So let that be a lesson.

And on this FEC we rabbit about: • the new Ducati Multistrada V4S Rally • BMW's uprated S1000RR • Honda's new CB750 Hairnet • ...and which of those is the most important for the future of motorcycling • the action from MotoGP in Thailand, including how Ducati are actually managing to beat themselves • 42 MotoGP races at 21 MotoGP rounds next year, including one in Kazakhstan (why?) and India • Plus more ruminations from the FECsack • details of FEC at the NEC – yes, on the Black Horse stand talking with Jamie Whitham on Thursday 24th Nov Thanks for your ears, and please send your thoughts, ideas, disputes and questions to: [email protected] Get us on the socials: @SimonHBikes @Mufga

Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter, Britain's chattiest motorcycling podcast with him, Simon Hargreaves and him, Martin Fitz-Gibbons, and supported as ever by the wonderful folk at Bennetts, the bike insurance specialists, and BikeSocial.co.uk, the best biking website, er, on the internet.

And on E166 we have for your aural delectation:

• the fallout and the fall-offs from Aragon, son of Arathorn, including Marc 'Mayhem' Marquez
• a farewell to Dovi, the new Dani Pedrosa
• speculation around the new Honda Hornet 750 parallel twin and Transalp
• more speculation around Suzuki's forthcoming parallel twin adventure bike and roadster, including why it could be an 800, not a 700
• a whole thing about the future of motorcycling
• if there's anyone left, a bit of FECsack including Suzuki power modes, Groms, and how crash recovery isn't the same thing as breakdown recovery. Thanks for listening, please send thoughts, questions, contributions and other scribbled notes to [email protected]

@SimonHbikes

@Mufga

Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter, Britain's best biking podcast, and episode 165 featuring him, Simon Hargreaves, and him, Martin Fitz-Gibbons. Front End Chatter is, forever and day, sponsored and supported by Bennetts, the bike insurance specialists and www.bikesocial.co.uk – the best website on the planet to get your fix of news, views and reviews. Hot news – FEC will be *briefly* be on stage at the NEC at 11am Thursday 24th November at Motorcycle Live! Be there, and come prepared to FECkle! And also on this week's FEC we have: • MotoGP's plans for an additional Sprint Race in 2023 • Marc Marquez's Honda ultimatum • the long-term future of Yamaha and Honda in MotoGP • oh, and there was a race in Austria • meanwhile, we take a guess at Ducati's seven new 'products' in 2023 • plus the usual deep dive in the FEC sack - your questions, queries, comments and thoughts - please send them to [email protected]

Thanks for listening! @SimonHbikes @Mufga

Hello and welcome to Episode 164 of Front End Chatter (or 'FEC' as it's also known around these parts) – a motorcycling podcast, ish, supported by Bennetts, the bike insurance specialists and bikesocial.co.uk, the world of biking on the web. And on this episode of FEC we have: • a round-up of Silverstone MotoGP, for the benefit of the 26,000 people who went last year but didn't go this time. • Energica Experia – in a genuine ooo, Mufga test rides the best electric bike, by a mile, so far. • Royal Enfield make the UK's best-selling big bike. • Triumph's Enfield Meteor rival, built by Baja . All this and more, including ruminations from the FEC sack of listeners' emails. Thanks for listening, keep the emailed questions coming to: [email protected]

@SimonHBikes @Mufga

Hello and welcome to Episode 163 of Front End Chatter, Britain's most flavoursome motorcyclistic podcast with Simon Fitz-Gibbons and Martin Hargreaves if you're listening in black & white. Front End Chatter is supported by Bennetts, the bike insurance specialists, and BikeSocial.co.uk, the best place on the web to keep up to speed with all things two wheels (and don't forget the Bennetts' YouTube channel wot has tons of good stuff on it). And on this week's FEC we have:

• testing jackets for RiDE magazine on the hottest day EVER • the splendour of a Bennetts' track day at Cadwell on an SV650 • World Supers from Donington • running over cats and dead piglets • does MotoGP visit democratic countries? • why boots squeak and how to fix it • how much better is a Tracer 9 GT than a Tracer 900 GT? • should we experiment with cornering ABS? All this and much more, or less, depends on your point of view and the orientation of your ears. Thanks to everyone for listening, please keep your emails coming in to anything@frontendchatter and see you soon! @simonhbikes @mufga