Front End Chatter

Welcome to Front End Chatter E59, brought to you in association with our good friends at www.bikesocial.co.uk, sponsored by Bennetts, the bike insurance specialists.   AND! What an episode we have!   Just in time for the Assen MotoGP race this weekend, Front End Chatter recaps the previous round at Catalunya (apologies for the delay, delay, delay and don’t worry, because it was so long ago we keep it brief) – and it’s worth reminding ourselves what a hilarious, thigh-slapping sit-com of a race weekend it was with riders using the wrong track (but still in Spain), other riders falling over things and some riders falling over themselves.   We also cover – unusually – a cracking World Superbike race from Misano and find it a rewarding experience. Which is more than can be said for Ducati’s Charles Davies.   We’ve a bit more race goss, including a possible return to racing for former WSB champ and ex-Yamaha MotoGP star Bens Pies, Iannone moving from Suzuki to Aprilia, why it would be cool to see Jonathan Rea swit

Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter Episode 58, supported by www.bikesocial.co.uk and sponsored by Bennetts – and a very special, fully employed episode it is too; featuring, as it does:   1) Mugello MotoGP goss including Rossi’s motocross crash a worrying resemblance to a CGI character from Lord Of The Rings a bad case of the shlitz fast Ducatis how to celebrate a win Mattia Pasini’s odd riding controls and his clutchless downshifts Triumph’s Moto2 deal   2) TT goss including – in fact almost entirely – semi-informed speculation about the travails of Honda, the 2017 Fireblade, and riders Guy Martin and John McGuinness – with an attempt to understand the connection between their accidents and the road bike (if there are any)   3) Loads of your emails, on wide-ranging subjects from the health of World Superbike and a few ideas on how to make it better, cheap motorway bikes, Husqvarna Nudas, more best-looking non-sportsbikes, and tons of other chattering.   As ever thank you very much for listening, and th

Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter episode 57, which is really episode 69, powered by the mighty online juggernaut of two-wheeled infotainment that is Bike Social (that's www.bikesocial.co.uk). This time round Martin and Simon chatter in their front-endy style about:  Nicky Hayden: the man, the talent, the achievements, the infectious passion, the generosity, the tears at Estoril, the tears at Valencia, the incredible strength of character, the smile.  MotoGP from Le Mans, where General Zarco was propelled by patriotism, Lorenzo was stumped by strine, a small fall by Rossi led to a big fall in his championship standing, and Simon got in a huff and turned his telly off before the end of the race and went to spend some time in his log cabin that Danny Kent still hasn't turned up to finish yet.  The red-bike, red-flag, red-fireball fest that was World Superbikes from Imola.  John McGuinness's crash at the North West 200, what might have caused it, and whether it might have anything to do with the slig

Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter, and episode 56 brought to you in association with our pals at www.bikesocial.co.uk.   This week, between blackbird interruptions, we look back at the fallout from the spectacular Jerez MotoGP race – which isn’t the same as the Corby Grand Prix – including:   race weekend perfection from Daniel Pedrosa Yamaha’s asymmetrical grip the world’s least safe safety car a last corner clash that failed to materialise the closest championship since 2009 do the riders, premium athletes to a man, actually pop a can of Red Bull in parc fermé? the trials and tribulations of ex-Moto2 rider and sometime World Champ Danny Kent, who’s not from Kent   Plus – a re-evaluation of Ducati’s SuperSport, the merits of A2-licence friendly inline fours or parallel twins, and news of Avon’s new Spirit ST, their ‘hypertouring’ tyre.   Plus – some of your emails, including more of your best-looking non-sportsbikes, is speeding as socially unacceptable as drunk driving, who is General Zarco, what is

Welcome to Front End Chatter episode 55, powered by the good people at Bike Social (www.bikesocial.co.uk), where Simon and Martin discuss: MotoGP from Texas, where we got the first mouth-watering tease of a proper Marquez v Vinales MotoGP scrap during qualifying, only to have all our hopes and dreams cruelly snatched away during the race in a massive shower of disappointment. The great GP lost-and-found phenomenon, including Lorenzo losing his temper and finding it caught on multiple HD cameras (and other great racing tantrums of our time); Loris Baz losing the front and finding himself praised for it (and other great racing non-crashes of our time); and Valentino Rossi losing his piece of racetrack to General Zarco and finding himself handed a 0.3-second penalty (and whether any of this should have ever happened at all). British Superbikes from Brands Hatch Indy circuit, where a nice smart young man appeared to come of age (not to be confused with his race number), won two races, shattered a circuit record

Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter E54, brought to you as is our wont, by our friends at www.bikesocial.co.uk.  Subjects for discussion in E54 include:  • MotoGP from The Hot Springs Of the River Hondo circuit in Argentina – who won, who fell off, who thought they should've won, how many miles per gallon Cal Crutchlow gets from his RCV, and a whole bunch of nerdy stats including some so nerdy we can't actually work out what they mean • World Snoozerbike from Aragon where • British Superbike from Donington Park • plus some bikes we've ridden including a thorough review of KTM's revamped 390 Duke, and a less coherent mention of Honda's new Rebel, CB1100s and CBR and CB650F • plus your emails, which is easily the best bit, including why no-one makes 750 sportsbikes, why Rea could become the most winningest rider ever in WSB this year, and why swapping a Daytona 955i for a Versys 650 is a good idea. Thanks for listening, please visit www.bikesocial.co.uk to download FEC (or buy insurance from Bennetts), ge

Welcome to Front End Chatter 53b – made possible by www.bikesocial.co.uk; go check them out! – and it’s a special FEC dedicated to answering, or failing to answer, your emails. Topics up for Front End Chattery include: what’s happened to the UK sportsbike market? do ex-police bikes make good winter hacks? why a BMW K1200LT is the best-value used bike out there the best set of one-piece leathers for under £600... ... and what should be worn under them? more headphone chat (that’s quite enough of that – Ed) what’s better: being faster or being safer? why MotoGP frames are hand-made and production bike frames aren’t is a Honda Varadero more comfy than a Pan European, and are they more comfy than a VFR800? And where does a CBF1000 fit in all this? (and what about a BMW K1200LT?)   why there’s a TAT, might one day be a TET, but probably not a TIT or a TWAT more Honda heated grips gripes – and turns out it’s not just the Africa Twin that suffers more top five favourite bikes, and a few least

Welcome to Front End Chatter Episode 53a, powered yet again by our friends at www.bikesocial.co.uk – and yes, it’s the first of two FECs; 53b will be along shortly. Or at least soon.   In the meantime, feast your ears on the will they, won’t they two-wheeled soap opera of Qatar MotoGP – including:   how recording BT Sport in hi-def when you haven’t upgraded your package can result in missing the race the argument for and against remounting a crashed bike how Tech3 Yams (pronounced ‘Trois’, but don’t tell Simon) do well at Qatar until a certain Moto2 champion gets carried away disrespeculation about why Crutchlow crashed some nerdy stats about top speed what exactly Lorenzo is packing in his lunchbox plus chatter about World Superbike, World Supersports 600 and 300 at Aragon, and BSB at Donington – including a guest appearance by Martin Fitz-Guintoli...   We also say farewell to Sir John Surtees, have a quick tour around Suzuki’s new and rather wonderful V-Strom 650, the less new and less wonderful V-Strom,

Welcome to Front End Chatter, episode 52 – and it’s a very special episode of Britain’s least regular but much-loved motorcycling podcast because this is the first to be brought to you by the lovely people at Bike Social (www.bikesocial.co.uk)!  Front End Chatter is a podcast spoken at length by us, a right pair of motorcycle writers called Martin Fitz-Gibbons and Simon Hargreaves, and we chatter about every and any subject with two wheels and an engine: racing, news, new bikes, old bikes, and the issues that effect you, me and him (like what bike should you get next, how to ride, what kit to wear, and generally why things are the way they are). We don’t know all the answers (in fact we hardly know any of them) but we now people who do. Bike Social – and if you’re not reading this on their website, WHY NOT? – is Britain’s most comprehensive biking website, packed with road test, new bikes, old bikes, features and news. It’s like a bike magazine, but on the web, created by Bennetts, the bike insurance people.

Say hello to Front End Chatter Episode 51, a numerically insignificant episode that nonetheless contains much chatterage about:   the opening round of World Super Brits from Phillip Island – although if you haven’t seen the racing you’ll be none the wiser afterwards because we watched it and still manage to get the race result wrong not once, but twice...   MotoGP testing from the very same Phillip Island at which, it seems, “They’re all going really fast...”   Plus!   how Ducati’s new SuperSport is less sports tourer, more sportsbike   why Kawasaki’s new Z900 is a 123bhp entry-level naked bike   and why the new Ninja 650 is, er, an entry-level bike with a full fairing   And there’s more:   We read out your lovely emails on subjects as wide and wonderful as:   the great hi-viz debate – to yellow or not to yellow   bike security in London   the wisdom of modifying modern sportsbikes   a comparison of the average increase in rider skill v the increase in motorcycle performance   the great Hon

Welcome to Front End Chatter Episode 50 – yes, you’re not imagining it, it’s really real, and only a week after Episode 49.   Anyway, with next to no racing to chatter about, we’ve finally got round to answering all your emails (at least, the ones that had a question) – some from as far back as last September; sorry about that. So, in some particular order, we natter about:   Sportsbike luggage systems What will happen to production racing when there are no more production sportsbikes Why sports 600s are dying out The best headphones for on bike entertainment The perils of Hi-Viz An extremely long-winded and rambling piece about girls in bike sport Does size matter? (this is a different point) Why you only see Ducatis in the Ducati factory car park Who’s better – Rossi or Marquez? Why Honda’s Deauville is desirable The future of electric bikes A whole heap of buying advice for several FECers which always seems to end up in the recommendation of a Ducati Multistrada or a BMW R1200GS ...and much, much – some

Welcome to FEC49, finally – at least in the sense it’s been a long time coming, not in the conclusive sense. And, despite no actual racing to talk about, we find enough to fill half a podcast: • Why MotoGP team launches are fake news – and, worse, they even have fake soundtracks • Why testing is a pointless guide to the outcome of the season, but it’s worth taking notice of because it’s some motorbikes going round a track • Crazy new World Superbike rules • How BSB should fill a Supersport-sized gap with naked bikes and Moto2 • Who will be the busiest Aussie racer in 2017 • Why this year’s TT will be the best ever • What that crazy Guy Martin has been saying about his TT comeback and why modern bikes are rubbish PLUS! We have a few mini-reviews of some 2017 bikes, including:   Kawasaki’s Z1000SX and why it’s better than before but has odd steering Ducati’s 950 Multistrada and why comparisons are odious Ducati’s sportier-for-2017 Monster 1200 S Suzuki’s perfectly nice but slightly ordinary GSX-S750 Ducati’s

Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter E48, which you'll be pleased to hear has no racing at all apart from a brief discussion about the merits of being called Danny Kent but not actually coming from Kent, unlike Danny Webb who does come from Kent.  Anyway, this one's all about 2017's new bikes you *can* buy, and 2016's bikes you can't any longer. Thanks for listening, hope you like it, and see you at Motorcycle Live at the NEC.  Email: anything@frontendchatter.com Twitter: @SimonHbikes and @Mufga  

Hello and welcome back to Front End Chatter E47 - it's been a while, so we've come back with an episode purely about racing – who's won what, why, how, and what will happen next year – and we introduce a new word to the English language: disrespeculation.  Thanks for bearing with us – more episodes will follow soon, about 2017 new bikes, and reading your emails and answering your questions.  Email: anything@frontendchatter.com Twitter: @SimonHbikes and @Mufga FB: www.facebook.com/FrontEndChatter/  

Welcome to Part Two of FEC's Summer Special, featuring your emails and assorted chatter about:  • the pros and cons of riding at night • the ethics of washing bikes and bikinis • the truth about new tyres • how best to listen to music while riding • is the future electric? • have electronics spoiled racing? • is Ducati's new Supersport a Monster in drag with the wrong engine? • what's the best adventure bike for a tall Hamburger? • why buying a Crossrunner is a good, good, good thing • why sportsbikes might not be the best idea for people with little self-control • what's the best bike to strap to the back of a motorhome? And as if that isn't enough, you can hire Simon to come and play bass at your party/wedding/festival etc. Once again, we thank you for listening!

Hello, and welcome to Front End Chatter, Britain's original... most original... oh, whatever. It's a podcast mostly about bikes, with added swearing. This is the Front End Chatter Summer Special Part One, which is only special by virtue of being a) shorter than usual and b) accompanied almost instantly(ish) by Part Two. So this half is the usual racing chatter, including gossip from the Austrian Red Bull Ring Pull MotoGP round, followed by mini-reviews of a couple of bikes we've ridden recently, and Part Two will be along in a while with a sackful of readers'... no, listeners'... emails. Of which there are many, and for which we thank you. We read all of them, even if we don't read them all out. It would take a long time and there aren't enough seconds in, well, a second, basically. Thanks for your patience in waiting for the least consistent podcast in all creation, and please get in touch via anything@frontendchatter.com or @SimonHbikes or @Mufga

Welcome to Front End Chatter E45 featuring not much racing, shock, partly because there hasn’t been much since E44 but mostly because we didn’t actually watch what there was. Which, as it turns out, was a wet Assen MotoGP (always a pleasure, never a chore). So we talk about a race we didn’t see, plus wings they aren’t going to use for a safety concern (or issue) they may or may not have. It’s just like actually being there, only with your eyes closed and with fingers in your ears.   We also find time to chunter about: BMW’s 2017 F700 and F800GS with thrilling new Euro 4 compliance Ducati’s 939 SuperSport sporty sportsbike that fills the gaping hole in their range for a non-entry level, non-track day road sporty sportsbike Yamaha’s MT-07-based 700 Tracer that has the same performance as a 1992 TDM850 but at a fraction of the price Triumph’s rumoured 765cc Street Triple roady sportsbike-ish The recently opened David Silver Honda Collection based near Ipswich, for fans of vintage Hondas The very excellent Champ

Welcome to Front End Chatter #44, in which Mufga and SiH talk about a couple of MotoGP races that happened ages ago – and including the tragic loss of Moto2’s Luis Salom at Catalunya, the slightly unedifying fallout, the race itself with torpedoes and last lap thrills, and a very necessary handshake to cap it all off.    We also natter about TT racing – and in our excitement over the difference between letting a MotoGP bike race in the Superbike class but chucking out a rider for coated cam buckets in another, completely neglect to offer condolences to the family and friends of lost riders Dwight Beare, Ian Bell, Paul Shoesmith, Andrew Soar and Dean Martin. Which we do here.   Mufga and Si also discover the joys of Bluetooth headsets, muck about in Wales on BMW’s GS Challenge, ride KTM’s 1290 GT (for the next issue of Bike magazine) and chunter about BMW’s R1200 GSA v KTM’s Super Adventure v Triumph’s new Explorer v Ducati’s new Multistrada Enduro (check it out in a forthcoming issue of Ride magazine). No spo

Welcome to Front End Chatter E43, brought to you in association with the enjoy-while-it-lasts British summer. In this episode, Simon and Mufga chatter about:  • results and matter arising from Jerez and Le Mans MotoGP including Brad Binder's hooky software issues in Moto3, Rossi's lauded flag to flag win, Lorenzo's flag-to-flag win that no-one cares about, synchronised crashing, more wings and things, being beaten up by a tangerine, and even more about who goes where, and who's talking about who's going where, in 2017. And why. And are you Team BTSport or Team MCN/MotoMatters?  • Chaz Davies' WSB double for Ducati in Imola and a great weekend's racing at Oulton Park in BSB • a world first podcast review of TomTom's new Rider 410 sat nav, plus a bit of Garmin Navigator Street • loads more emails and questions covering topics as diverse (I nearly said 'perverse') as Circuit Of Wales, fantasy British MotoGP tracks, burying bodies, dropping other bodies on their heads, crashing a Desmosedici into a pig, best M

I dunno, you wait ages for an episode of Front End Chatter, and then two come along at once. Welcome to FEC#42, which is (almost) solely devoted to reading your emails and answering your questions on subjects as wide-ranging as:• riding the B500 in The Black Forest Gateaux, a nice road in Croatia, and what's the best off-road bike for a father and son (like we'd know) • why a 2 x British world champ is doing a bit of half-naked Turkish oil wrestling on TV but isn't coming across as a nob • choosing between a BMW R1200RT and a Suzuki GSX1250FA• whether a Honda VFR400 handles better than a Ducati 748 - or a modern sportsbike • on-bike tracking systems for £13• how the risk of riding a bike could put you off riding altogether• what bike manufacturers get from racing• why F1 cars blow up more than MotoGP bikes  Plus, a bit more natter about Circuit Of Wales wrangles and other bits and bobs. Please don't make me listen to it again just to fill this bit out. Thanks for downloading, please leave a review on iTunes a