Front End Chatter

Hello and welcome to E113 and the second lock-down episode of Front End Chatter, the biking podcast that’s been around for over 160 hours of guffage – none of yer opportunist ‘Johnny-come-lately’ podcasts, jumping on the Corona bandwagon because someone’s bored, here. Oh no, Front End Chatter has been boring people for a lot longer than that. Thanks as always to our amazing benefactors and supporters at the world’s most comprehensive motorcycling website, bikesocial.co.uk, and Bennetts, the bike insurance experts. On this week’s episode we discuss: coping with life not riding motorbikes will there be any racing at all in 2020? does virtual racing offer any kind of substitute for the real thing? actual Andrea Iannone drugs ban news the joys of watching 1980s racing on YouTube Plus the mighty FEC sack gets a battering, with topics such as: the pleasures of working your way up the biking ladder, then starting again from scratch... ... and is it therefore worth ‘saving’ getting your ultimate bike candidity (©

Hello and welcome to very special, hopefully one-off, episode of Front End Chatter in which, as a result of current events, has been assembled from snippets of previous FECs and turned into a completely new podcast!  No, truth is in keeping with government advice, FEC has self-isolated itself with Mufga calling in via Skype from the East Wing of Chatter Manors – yes, he's literally phoning it in.  But even with the seriousness in the world, motorcycling carries on – well, not racing, but we can even talk about not racing.  And apart from the obvious, we take a deep dive through the FEC sack and discuss your many and varied thoughts, questions, points of order and musings.  Please keep them coming; the world might be changing but you can rely on FEC to keep chugging along. Email: anything@frontendchatter.com Thanks as ever to our long-time sponsors and friends at www.bikesocial.co.uk and Bennetts, the bike insurance specialists.  Catch us on the socials @Mufga and @SimonHBikes 

Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter E111, the Aaron Slight Episode of Britain's flavoured biking podcast, sponsored and supported as always by nos amis at www.bikesocial.co.uk and Bennetts, the bike insurance peeps.  And aptly enough we have a WSB feel to the front end of Front End Chatter, as the racing season kicks off with a triplet of cracking races from Phillip's Island in Australialia. Sadly, that's about as far as racing is likely to go for a good few months yet, as global events demonstrate racing is not, in fact, life.  Luckily we still have a few new bikes to chunter about, as well as a bulging FEC-sac with topics as diverse as... the best bike to replace a 1400GTR, is riding morally wrong, leathers buying advice and the correct underwear, and riding in France on a bike that smells.  Hope you enjoy the show, please email your thoughts, musings, questions and ideas to  anything@frontendchatter.com And get Simon or Martin on the Twit/Insta socials:  @SimonHBikes  @Mufga  Thanks again, and buy

Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter, Britain’s best and most motorcycling podcast, supported through slim and thin by the veritable font (or indeed fount; both are legitimate) of tests and news and reviews, bikesocial.co.uk. And of course Bennetts, the bike insurance specialists – check out their customer rewards and make the most of being insured! Right. Nothing going on here. Nothing to see, move along. No, of course we have ill-informed gossip about: Norton – the story you’ve probably already heard, where you can read a bit more, and – while it’s a mere spec of insignificance compared to the very real issue and pain of people losing their life savings – we discuss the role of the motorcycle media in the sorry saga Triumph’s new Tiger 900 – what’s the crank like? Kawasaki’s new Z1000S... sorry! Ninja 1000SX – what’s the steering like? Suzuki’s V-Strom 1050 XT – what’s the paint job like?* *It’s gorgeous! MotoGP is nearly back, with the closest testing times from Sepang in the history of ever meaning i

Hello and welcome to E109 of Front End Chatter, a biking podcast without barriers or boundaries – we know not the meaning of constraints other than the fairly obvious extent of our knowledge and articulacy, the limits of both of which will become obvious as soon as you press ‘Play’. However. Enormous and sincere thanks to our patrons at bikesocial.co.uk, which is where you should go for new bike news, reviews, consumer info and racing gubbins – and Bennetts, the bike insurance bods who are often the cheapest and even when they’re not, at least put something back into biking. Like this podcast. It’s not all about you, you know. Aaaaand on this edition of FEC we have: no news to speak of because the last FEC was plenty newsy enough thanks a patchy film review of 1917 – Kermode & Mayo we are not what we’ve both been up to, including riding around the Peaks on a 2020 Africa Twin, and a visit to Triumph’s splendid museum at Hinckley... a look at the state of UK biking in 2019: what’s selling and what isn’t go

Hello, welcome and feel free, literally, to feast your aurals on Front End Chatter, A Most Biking Podcast, with this being Episode 108 delivered in a stream of barely comprehensible noughts and ones directly into your earballs courtesy of the UK's most celebratory biking website, www.bikesocial.co.uk and Bennetts, the number one and ONLY place to get your bike insurance because they actually put something back into biking, including this podcast, unlike certain other so-called 'motorcycle' insurance companies who are all just take, take, take. Yeah. You know it, brother..

  Hello and welcome to E107 of Front End Chatter, Britain’s most biodegradable biking podcast, oralised by Martin Fitz-Gibbons and Simon Hargreaves, and supported and recycled by the green bins at bikesocial.co.uk and Bennetts, the bike insurance specialists.   And in this fab, decidedly retrospective episode we have:   under-achieving factory Aprilia rider Andrea Iannone is in trouble with the FIM after a urine sample is found to contain performance-enhancing drugs. Mr Iannone is understood to be seeking a refund from his dealer under the Consumer Rights Act as the year crawls to its conclusion like a slug looking for the exit sign, FEC goes back 12 months to watch ourselves gazing into our crystal balls and compares what we thought we’d be saying then to, er, now... ...and as the decade grinds to a crushing defeat we also look back at the trends and changes we’ve seen in motorcycling over the last ten years, the look forward to what’s to come in the next ten... plus more of your FEC-sack emails, including

Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter E106, Britain’s fave biking podcast, supported and enabled by the good people at bikesocial.co.uk and Bennetts, the bike insurance specialists. And in this fab, decidedly non-Xmassy, episode we have: relatively informed but mostly speculative chatter about Triumph’s new Tiger 900, including probably far too much thinking about its innovative T-bone crank – explained in an aural medium with the help of a drum machine Guy Martin off that telly they have now recreates a half century-old movie stunt by jumping a Triumph over a fence in Austria. Or Bavaria. They all look the same with your eyes shut. Which he probably did when he landed the pros and cons of riding a pair of premium litre sportsbikes on the road in December more of your FEC-sack emails, including subjects as varied as magazines making up letters, does size matter when it comes to riding style, and being gear-shamed in public Thanks for listening, you’ve been wonderful. Big up my man at Bikesocial.co.uk – an

Hello hello hello and welcome to Front End Chatter, Britain’s rambliest biking podcast with him, Martin Fitz-Gibbons and me, Simon Hargreaves – enabled, legitimised and somewhat vindicated by Bikesocial.co.uk – the world’s largest repository, depository and not the one beginning with ‘s’-itory of all modern new and used motorcycle info – and Bennetts, the bike insurance specialists. And on E105 we have: Motorcycle Live round-up – what we thought of Honda’s Blade, Kawasaki’s Z H2, Ducati’s Streetfighter, Triumph’s Rocket and Suzuki’s V-Big Strom, and what we didn’t think of Aprilia’s RS660, Husqvarna’s Denis and BMW’s R1800 concept because they weren’t there... goodbye to Jorge Lorenzo, a ‘complicated’ champion goodbye to Karel Abraham, with a ‘complicated’ exit hello to Alex, brother of Marc. Can’t see that ending well Plus a super-massive FEC-sack including... what is it with Ducati and cam belts? is Aprilia’s CapoNord an alternative to Ducati’s Multistrada 1200? leathers v textiles for commuting, and the

Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter episode 104, eventually, brought to you by via the web’s best motorcycling website, bikesocial.co.uk, and Bennetts, the bike insurance specialists, via the mouths of Simon Hargreaves and Martin Fitz-Gibbons. But before we kick off – come and chat to Martin and Simon for real at Motorcycle Live at the NEC on the Bennetts stand (Hall 4 Stand 4B 25) on Thursday 21st November between 11am to 12pm, then again 2pm to 3pm. So it’s a really simple FEC this week: bit of racing, then a metric tonne of new bike news, conjecture, comment and opinion – including: Aprilia’s RS660, Tuono and Tuareg BMW’s F900XR Ducati’s Streetfighter V4 Harley’s Pan Am Honda’s Blade and Africa Twin Husqvarna’s Denis concept Kawasaki’s Z H2 and Z1000SX KTM’s 390 Adventure, 890 Duke R and 890 Adventure. Um... Suzuki’s lovely, lovely, lovely DR Big 1050 Triumph’s... er... hello? Hello? Yamaha’s Tracy 7   We ramble on for so long we run out of time for the FEC sack so apologies if it’s not a vintage epi

Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter episode 103, suspended like a great chattering hammock from the stout tree trunks at bikesocial.co.uk and Bennetts, the bike insurance specialists. And what a rambling podcast we have this week, only tangentially about motorbikes but also talking in topics such as: MotoGP from Aragon, with how the winning bike was second slowest, how Bradley Smith beat a factory Honda and what happens to all the “New World Champion” T-shirts that are made for riders who don’t end up winning them Jonathan Rea’s fifth WSB title proves a knife can win in a gunfight if the guy with the gun shoots himself in the foot – or unless he’s actually shot in the foot by a CEO with a Photoshopped head, then takes the money and runs onto a Fireblade news of Honda’s 2020 Africa Twin, including how it’s different from last year’s bike up to and down to lower seat height, more power, fancier gadgets and electric springs – and how much it’ll all cost plus gossip about the 2020 Triumph Street Triple, Kawa

Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter Episode... oh, look, who's counting? It's not like we're keeping score. Anyway – here are Simon and Martin, Making Britain's Biking Podcasts Great Again, with special thanks and appreciation to bikesocial.co.uk, the one-stop shop (except, er, it's free) for all your bang-up-to-date biking news, views and reviews (not sure that works). And of course thanks also the Bennetts, the bike insurance specialists, for their continued loveliness and support. Hugs.  And on FEC102 (stop it!) we have:  • how motorcyclists get in the way • slightly tardy but nonetheless entertaining flashback to the Misano MotoGP in which Marquez and Rossi renew an old on-track friendship and Jorge Lorenzo falls out of friendship with Honda (recorded literally milliseconds before General Zarco got dumped by KTM)  • a new Harley ridden by Martin in that America they have now • have you ever lost the passion for bikes or riding?  • what's the worst bike of the last 10 years?  • should we record anoth

Hello and welcome to the podcast they said would never happen – 'they' being 'us' – yes, it's Front End Chatter E101 – the one hundred and one-est motorcycling podgasm in the world.  And thanks as ever to the munificent and mellifluous melodians of motorcycling, Bikesocial.co.uk, and the brains behind the beauty, Bennetts the bike insurance specialists.  In E101 we have:  • our biking Room 101s (as suggested by Mian Cowell but whom I suspect we forgot to credit!) including:    – Steppenwolf    – Polite vests     – riding certificates     – the good old days      – PR    – track tyre pressure obsession    – moaning about other riders' kit • plus! all the fact -free opinions from Silverstone MotoGP (which, yes, seems like a long time ago but was only last weekend ffs) • opinion about new bikes, including Triumph's Daytona 765, Honda's 1100 Africa Twin, and Triumph's Tiger 900... and a radical guess at Suzuki's 2020 range...  • plus #2 – emails on topics as diverse as: • helmet HUDs • heated visors • how a KT

Hello and welcome to.... THE FECTACULAR!  Yes, this is the century, the big one-zero-zero, the 100-not-out, the five-score... and widely rumoured to be the last ever Front End Chatter podcast with him, Martin Fitz-Gibbons, and him, Simon Hargreaves, loins girded by the veritable cod-piece of motorcycling on the web, bikesocial.co.uk, and Bennetts, the bike insurance specialists. And in this very special live-in-front-of-an-audience-in-the-canteen-at-Cadwell-Parkingtons (although we sound like we're actually in the toilet; do we look like sound engineers?) we have: MotoGP from Red Bull Ring Pull in Austria in which Mark Marquez and Andrea Dovizioso swapped paint atoms until on of them won, and Johann Zarco agreed to a split at the end of the season with KTM – because obviously it won’t go any further south before then, will it? Yamaha’s Ténéré 700 and KTM 70 Adventure R on the MCN250 test route (but at a track day, we’re kinda preaching to the unconvertible) the best upgrade from a GSR750 for a bit more comfo

Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter Episode 99, the Nearly-But-Not-Quite episode brought to your ears in cahoots with the best biking website on the, er, web – bikesocial.co.uk – and the best biking insurers in the, er, universe, Bennetts. And for your delectation: remarkable Mark Marquez marks his all-time record-equalling 58th pole position at Brno by qualifying with the biggest margin in the modern MotoGP era... ...although technically and mathematically, there’s still a chance Hafizh Syahrin could still take the title... ...but anyway, MotoGP is boring now because the same guy keeps winning all the time so we’re all going to watch WSB instead... ...or maybe we should watch BSB, with Scotch Redding still leading the championship after Thruxton, but by less, from Josh Brookes, not that it matters because, basically, Showdown... ...although we only needed to watch the last lap at the Suzuka 8hr because for 7hrs 57mins some bikes went round the track until Jonny Rea fell off and then won in the restaurant

Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter Episode 98, the One Less Than Jorge episode, verbalised and spuffed into noughts and ones with the roadside assistance of bikesocial.co.uk and their insuring overlords Bennetts, the bike insurance guys and gals. And it’s a short and sweet episode this week, as we clear the FECsack in preparation for FEC100 (live at Cadwell Park near Louth, Lincs, on Tuesday Aug 13th), including: Mufga gets tugged by the Fuzz Why milking snail mucin for facials is a real thing WSB from the corkscrewy Laguna Se-ca, and the revelation pit lanes the world over are, entirely not in fact, named after Brad Pitt BSB from Snettingham Parks and the revelation Scotch Reading-not-from-Reading can’t half pedal a bike round a circuit he’s not seen before, but when is a jump start not a jump start would you beat Marquez on a road bike, first time out, down your favourite road? would WSB be livened-up by forcing winning riders to change teams? when is an oil flag not an oil flag? airbags – are they poi

Apologies for the late arrival of FEC#97 – delayed by unexpected items in the bagging area – but now it’s here, let’s tuck in! Brought to you as always by the furiously febrile funkateers at bikesocial.co.uk and the bike-insuring bike insurers Bennetts, this week’s regurgitation of previously held opinions includes: MotoGP (remember that?) round-up from Assen and Sachsenring, including neck braces, tankslappers, youngsters v old ’uns, should JL99 and/or VR46 retire, who’ll take ZR5’s place at KTM, and who’ll replace MCN race reporter now he’s taken the gig as PR blerk for Petronas Yamaha? with Rea overturning Dave Bautista’s lead in WSB, does he still think his ZX-10R is “like taking a knife to a gunfight”? MotoE’s first race – pointless comedy, the future, or both?  PLUS! Listeners’ emails, including: do leathers and other items of bike kit have a safety lifespan, and what’s best to clean them? living proof back protectors are worth wearing all the time... why are the roads in the Fens so bad? has Scott R

Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter E96, the world’s most favouritist biking podcast, supported as ever by bikesocial.co.uk and Bennetts, the bike insurance specialists. Rambling gossip this month includes: MotoGP from Catalunya and why Lorenzo wasn’t the bad guy conquering the Rudland Rigg on a Triumph Scrambler 1200 new bike news featuring... 1) Ducati’s Streetfighter V4, with added wings 2) KTM’s 790 Adventure R Rally with added springs 3) Triumph Rocket III TFC with added torques ...which is an awful lot of extreme/exclusivity/exotica all in one go, but should anyone really care, do they actually make any money for the manufacturers or are they just exercises in PR and brand awareness? are bikers getting more gammony? does size matter (we’re talking engines here)? why don’t more bikes have an overdrive top gear, and is it more fuel efficient to use big throttle in top gear of part throttle in lower gears? are Triumphs more unreliable than other manufacturers, and why doesn’t the press talk about it?

Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter and the 95th outing for Britain’s most stubbornly random motorcycling podcast, suspended as ever between the 48mm upsidedowners of bikesocial.co.uk – the world of motorcycling in a webby nutshell – and the fully adjustable monoshock of Bennetts, the bike insurance experts. And what a weird podcast we have this week, as two – well, one – of Britain’s funniest, smartest, sassiest and damn amazing moto journalists – that’s him, Martin Fitz-Gibbons, with me, Simon Hargreaves –  discuss subjects as widely disparate as: • how MotoGP from Mugello (remember that?) was won by a man who used to race an EXUP who did what at the wettest TT ever, including how Peter Hickman used an S1000RR engine he didn’t use, why it was a hybrid bike but not a hybrid engine, and why Harrison, not Dunlop, won the Dunlop Senior, on Metzelers, not Dunlops why John McGuinness might want to check the details of his Norton pension plan why FEC probably holds the lap record for the North Coast 500 the

Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter Episode 94, and the clue’s in the name: for the 94th time, two hoary old motorcycle journalists stand around and make front noises into a pair of microphones for your auralisation – fertilised and fermented by bikescocial.co.uk (the world of motorcycling on a website) and Bennetts, the bike insurance specialists. Good old Bennetts. And this week we have, for your listening infuriation:   gossip and stats from Le Mans MotoGP, including Marquez showing Lorenzo how to stay upright, and Quartararo showing Marquez how to be faster by not crashing who’ll top the TT timesheets this year? Mud, sweat and beers with two days and 350 miles in Wales, following a rally-style route map on road and off on a Scrambler 1200XE News and first impressions from the launch of long-awaited, entry-level Yamaha’s Ténéré 700 and hilarious, expensive XSR700 XTribute How young is too young to ride a bike? And what’s the best route into riding for youngsters? Why aren’t there more Ducatis racing at