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:

anything@frontendchatter.com

Thanks for listening!

@SimonHbike

@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:

anything@frontendchatter.com 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!

 

 

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 anything@frontendchatter.com

Cheers until next time!

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 anything@frontendchatter.com

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 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: anything@frontendchatter.com

 

Or catch us on Twitter:

@SimonHbikes

@Mufga

 

 

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: anything@frontendchatter.com

 

Or catch us on Twitter:

@SimonHbikes

@Mufga