Front End Chatter

Front End Chatter, Britain's best (and original) biking podcast celebrates its vigintennial anniversary by remembering about the good old days. Actually, it doesn't. Instead, it gets totally lost in the seemingly bottomless pool of brand new bikes and their impenetrable acronyms. Opinion and analysis abounds, including attempting (or not) to answer: - Might Kawasaki's new H2 be a tiny weeny bit of a porker?- Will Honda's road-going RC213V really happen?- Is Yamaha's new R1 deceptively good looking?- Just what does A&S, AOS-II and CFRTP mean, and is it all a LOB?- Was any baking paper used in designing the MT-09 T-Racer (sorry, Tracer)?- What does Ducati's Scrambler have to do with a polar bear having a shave?If you enjoy any of this nonsense please subscribe and/or tell your friends about Front End Chatter. You can download it through iTunes, from any Androidy thing or direct from www.frontendchatter.com. Feedback or topic suggestions actively welcomed by email (anything@frontendchatter.com) and Twitter (

Front End Chatter, Britain's best (and original) biking podcast, returns for an hour of fun and games (literally) including: - What Ducati's latest high-tech acronym actually does- What Yamaha's latest high-tech acronyms might do- Whether the 2015 BMW S1000RR is any good to ride (Simon's back from the launch, not that he mentions it much)- The frantic debut of Hipster Bingo- The remarkable true story of how a man who once set his own beard on fire drinking cocktails is at the centre of fresh chaos surrounding one of the most famous bikes in film history Plus all the usual talk about racing, your emails and plenty more too. Download Front End Chatter via www.frontendchatter.com, search for us on iTunes, or find us through any other Androidy apps. We're even still on SoundCloud. If you enjoy FEC please subscribe, tell your friends, check out old episodes, and email feedback to anything@frontendchatter.com Oh, and Twit us on @SimonHbikes and @Mufga Thanks!

Britain's best and... hang on, have to stop you there. Anyway, this week's/month's/insert-random-time-interval's episode of Front End Chatter is all about new bikes – Kawasaki's supercharged H2R, BMW's S1000RR and R1200RS, Suzuki's GSX-S1000F and Ducati's Hipster, sorry, Scrambler – and a newly-crowned MotoGP Wold Champ, which is like a World Champ only from Lincolnshire, not Spain. There's some other stuff too. We hope you enjoy it, and please spread the word, subscribe via iTunes or an Android thing, leave a review, or Tweet us at @SimonHbikes and @Mufga (or get Simon on FB, but not Martin). 

Front End Chatter, the UK's finest biking podcast, goes all supercharged this week, in honour of Kawasaki's much rumoured, substantially teased and probably very exciting new sportsbike, the H2 (although it turns out your level of excitement depends on your promiscuity, gullibility and general willingness to indulge in fantasy). We also talk about the other noteworthy 2015 bikes likely to debut at the forthcoming Intermot bike show in Cologne, why sportsbikes may or may not be making a comeback, a bit of MotoGP chat, why Donington is nicer than Silverstone (apart from the toilets), and take a serious moment to discuss the ethics of watching bike crash videos on Youtube. From physics to metaphysics, only in Britain's favourite biking podcast. Please download, subscribe, share as widely as possible, leave us some feedback, email us at anythingyoulike@frontendchatter.com, or Tweet us on @Mufga or @SimonHbikes. Thanks!

Welcome to Front End Chatter episode 16, brought to you live, in the sense we're breathing, from Silverstone MotoGP – or is it? There's a lot of chatter about the race itself, and plenty of ill-informed gossip surrounding the event, and... well, let's just call it a wide-ranging conversation that takes in men in public toilets, why sportsbikes appear to be in decline, which one you should buy anyway, crashing on a protest ride, Aussie police, no new bike news, stolen racing trophies, how manufacturers treat customers better these days, and lending idiot wannabe journalists demo bikes. It all sounds better than it really is. But thanks for listening anyway! x

Front End Chatter hits the big one-five chattering about Marc Marquez crashing (or not), new bike news including Suzuki's big naked, Yamaha's semi-naked and BMW's wish-it-was-completely-obscured, why Welsh taxpayers may end up paying Silverstone (not in Wales) to host a Grand Prix in 2015, and lots more ill-informed chit-chat about this and that on two wheels (guaranteed to drive anyone who knows anything about bikes to distraction). We hope you like it, but have sympathy with those who don't.

If you like quantity over quality, then the longest-ever episode of Front End Chatter, Britain's best (and only) biking podcast is for you. Simon and Martin return with nearly 90 minutes of words, covering: - Cal Crutchlow's last-minute change of heart. And employer- Live (though not live by the time you listen to it) commentary from the Thruxton round of British Superbikes- A new cruiser we both like the look of, and one we definitely don't- Why a great value bargain new offer might not be so great or bargainous after all- Why the radical anarchists of motorcycling might not be so radically anarchic after all- Whether two clutches are better than one- The super-advanced production bike nobody (except Simon) is paying attention to- The retro custom bikes everybody (except Martin) is paying attention toAnd all while trying (and failing) not to be distracted by the telly.If you've been affected by any of the issues raised in this program, Twit us at @SimonHbikes and @Mufga or email us on anything@frontendchatte

After two months of radio (or, indeed, not-radio) silence, Britain's best (and only) biking podcast is back with episode 13. But what happened to episode 12, you ask? You'll have to listen to find out... Front End Chatter #13 also covers: - Who's going (or staying) where in MotoGP, and should they?- The hectic year of the world's foremost freelance racer (who may or may not be French)- Why top-name racers don't appear at the Suzuka 8-hour (because they do?)- Unsubstantiated speculation about a new Yamaha R1, including who will care most (a racer) and who won't (anybody buying a new bike in Britain, going by the sales figures) even if it turns out to be real after all- A radical solution for all the deserted supermoto tracks gathering dust (and aren't they supposed to do that?)- Everything we lost from Episode 12, which originally took two hours but can be crammed into five minutes- The debut (and possibly finale) of Front End Chatter's Realityometer gameSorry for the delay and we hope the wait was worthwhile.

Front End Chatter episode 11 is here and contains, for your aural pleasure, Simon and Martin chattering about the following:• The Isle of Man TT – who's winning, who isn't, BMW's first win for 75 years (or is it?), when's a Norton not a Norton, when a TT racer should call it a day (or not) & Twitter incontinence ('he's Twat his pants!')• Marc Marquez' autobiography (Chapter One: Womb With A View, Chapter Two: My Time With The Midwife, Chapter Three: Going Home From The Hospital etc)• Ducati's new Monster 821• Our predictions for new bikes in 2015 • How to behave on garage forecourts• and lots of musings on life, two-wheels, and forgetting to print off people's namesMany thanks for downloading, and hope you enjoy the chatter. Contact us on Twitter: @Mufga@SimonHbikes or email: frontendchatter@frontendchatter.com

The tenth episode of Britain's best (and only) biking podcast is bursting with astounding revelations, such as: - Marc Márquez isn't the fastest rider in MotoGP - Bike racing isn't the same as football - One city has more bikes than the whole of Europe - Two genuinely interesting electric bikes are launched in the same week - Ducati make lots of money by selling very expensive sportsbikes And some other stuff too. Twit a twit on @Mufga or @SimonHbikes, or email anything@frontendchatter.com Subscribe to Front End Chatter on iTunes, download us on Soundcloud, or find us through any old bit of podcasting software you like. Enjoy, tell a friend, and thank you very much.  

After a two-week hiatus (that's a posh word for slacking off), Britain's best (and still only) biking podcast is back to cover all the goings on, in, over and under the two-wheeled world. There's talk about whether MotoGP's getting dull now Marquez has won every race (it isn't); how long Marquez can win every race for (not long... probably); and whether we should all be watching World Superbikes instead (we aren't, but why not?) Then there's stuff about a bike with a small-capacity engine (Yamaha's MT-125), a bike with a big-capacity engine (BMW's S1000R) and a bike with a zero-capacity engine (BMW's C evolution). All that plus Martin busts an MOT myth, and Simon talks about his helmet. If any of this makes you want to say something, you're welcome to say it to anything@frontendchatter.com, @Mufga and @SimonHbikes Oh, and thank you.

The eighth episode of Britain's best (and only) biking podcast spreads its wings wider than ever, with irreverent (who said irrelevant?) discussion of road bikes' past (Kawasaki's KR-1, which Simon has just ridden), present (Suzuki's GSX1250FA, which Martin has just ridden) and future (electric bikes, and does anybody want to ride them?). There's also the usual racing rambling, including our attempt to work out a religious building based heirarchy for circuits around the world. And Front End Chatter welcomes its first studio guest, www.dirtbikesportnews.com editor Jonathan Pearson. Fresh from winning at Britain's toughest enduro, he explains how to use other riders as grip... As ever, emails are welcomed to anything@frontendchatter.com, simon@frontendchatter.com or martin@frontendchatter.com. Twit us on @SimonHbikes and @Mufga. Subscribe to Front End Chatter on iTunes, or find us on Soundcloud.

Welcome to Front End Chatter, Britain's best (and only) biking podcast. In this week's shambles of an episode, the gun-slinging Magnificent Seventh, Martin and Simon chatter about last weekend's stunning (or not) MotoGP race from Texas, interviewing TT racers (or not), putting the entire Japanese motorcycle industry to rights (or not), a new, road legal, two-stroke V4 (or not), why Honda's new CB650F isn't very good (or not; neither of us have ridden it).Hope you like it; please leave a review. Thanks! Contact us at: anything@frontendchatter.com    

In the sixth episode of Front End Chatter, Britain's best (and still only) biking podcast, Simon and Martin look back at the fact-filled career of Colin Edwards, preview this weekend's racing action in both Texas and Aragon, explore Simon's mid-biking-life crisis at the Yamaha Off-Road Experience, and discuss the stark differences between BMW's new R1200RT (which Simon has ridden, but didn't realise) and Honda's not-so-new VFR800 (which neither of us have ridden). Plus, our tribute to Massimo Tamburini and why his legacy deserves to be far greater than two gorgeous bikes, even if they weren't quite so lovely to ride... As ever emails are welcomed to simon@frontendchatter.com, martin@frontendchatter.com or anything@frontendchatter.com Twit us on @SimonHbikes or @Mufga Thanks again, and moo.

In the fifth episode of Front End Chatter - still Britain's best (and only) biking podcast - Simon and Martin discuss the opening MotoGP race from Qatar, new bike news, riding a pair of new V-twins in the shape of Ducati's Diavel and Erik Buell's new EBR 1190RX sportsbike, plus some other stuff including a review of James Toseland's new album.  We hope you like it, despite a passing jet about halfway through. If you're a Twitterist, we're on @Mufga and @SimonHbikes. Emails to martin@frontendchatter.com, simon@frontendchatter.com, or absolutely anything you can think up @frontendchatter.com

After the naive first episode, a difficult number two, the critically panned and self-indulgent third episode, Front End Chatter, the UK's best (and only) biking podcast, returns after a week away with a stream-lined, sleek, punchy fourth episode: FEC the 4th.I can't remember what we talk about because I had a late night last night. But there's some stuff.  Hope you like it! Please email us at frontendchatter@frontendchatter.com or get us on Twitter: @Mufga or @SimonH_on_bikes

In the critically panned third episode of Front End Chatter (the UK’s best, and only, biking podcast), motorcycle journalists Simon and Martin road test Yamaha’s new MT-07 and talk about Ducati’s new Diavel. Plus, there’s gossip about ludicrous last-minute MotoGP rule changes, the re-opening of Mallory Park and bike manufacturer’s sales figures. FEC E03 also features a special Guess-The-Engine competition (with the chance to win a Front End Chatter mug. Or two) and a musical interlude during which a cocktail of high-calorie refreshments will be available in the foyer.  Podcast also available on iTunes and at www.frontendchatter.com All emails to frontendchatter@gmail.com Twitter: @SimonH_on_bikes or @Mufga  Thank you!

In the difficult second episode of Britain's best (and only) biking podcast, Martin and Simon discuss the World Superbike racing from Phillip Island and interview Voltcom Crescent Suzuki boss Paul Denning, discuss MotoGP test times and 'a bit of politics' from Sepang, Simon gets hot under the collar about BMW's S1000F (whether it exists or not) and gets a completely noncommittal answer from BMW themselves. Plus Yamaha’s new Super Ténéré, what Martin and Simon really think about BMW’s R1200GS, Martin’s knees and Simon’s empty stomach.

In the very first episode of Britain's best (and only) biking podcast, we discuss the new Yamaha MT-07 (which we haven't actually ridden yet) as well as the Ducati Monster 1200S and MV Agusta Dragster (which we have); analyse BT Sport's new MotoGP presenter line-up while trying to work out what it takes to watch it on TV; look at supercharging, including who's likely to do it, who's already doing it and who did it ten years ago; and Simon explains why he's bought a 1996 Honda FireBlade.