I’ve just finished my second riding session on the new BMW S1000RR HP4 at the Jerez circuit in southern Spain. As well as having lighter wheels, a titanium Akrapovic exhaust and improved electronic rider aids, it’s the first production bike to have electronically-adjustable rebound and compression damping (Dynamic Damping Adjustment). You still need to manually adjust the suspension, albeit via ...
- Motorcycle News
- First rides & tests
- 04 September 2012
Not only has the weather this year tested the patience of the nation, it has buggered-up any opportunity to test properly.Bemsee provide a whole day’s testing on the Friday before a meeting, but this year it’s mainly rained. We did have a sunny Friday at Brands last month, but we were on the Indy circuit and the race was on ...
- Motorcycle Sport
- Club racing
- 30 August 2012
Alpinestars Tech Chest Guard £44.99Time used: Six yearsWhat’s good: I’m so used to wearing a chest protector now that if I forget to use it, I go into a blind panic, especially if I’m racing. I feel as naked without it as I do without a back protector. I use it in my race leathers on-track mainly, but also in ...
- Motorcycle Products
- Leathers, jackets & suits
- 23 August 2012
Gold Label Soft Saddle Soap, £3.85 for 500gTime used: 15 years What’s good: This is the secret to my clean leathers, boots and gloves. I bought this saddle soap in a horsey shop in Canterbury in 1997, it’s lasted all this time and there’s still loads left. I run a damp sponge over my leathers first and then use a ...
- Motorcycle Products
- Parts & accessories
- 16 August 2012
Alpinestars Quick Seal Out Jacket and Pants £89.99Time used: Six months What’s good: I’ve had more use out of these two-piece waterproofs than I’d like this year, thanks to all the rain we’ve had. They’re lightweight and fold away to almost nothing, so you can keep them in a rucksack or tank bag without taking up loads of room, which ...
- Motorcycle Products
- Leathers, jackets & suits
- 16 August 2012
Racing fans will have a chance to see a special collection of Yamaha racing machines, in a celebration of 40 years of the TZ racer, this weekend at Donington Park. Not only will you be able to see the 22-strong display of Yamaha Classic Racing Team machines, which include 70s TZ two-stroke racers, FZs, FZRs and OW-01s, Haga’s R7 and ...
- Motorcycle News
- General news
- 10 August 2012
The beautiful piece of bent yellow-painted metal you see in the picture is the spring for my Ohlins TTX2 rear shock. More important than that, it’s what determines my happiness and whether or not I have the right petrol pump for the week following a race. For the last two seasons I’ve been running a 10-weight spring and my Beemer ...
- Motorcycle Sport
- Club racing
- 02 August 2012
I guess it had to happen at some point: my little brother is gunning for me on-track. No doubt fuelled by revenge for me balancing him on top of the lounge door when he was five – and leaving him there (although he did put toast in my cassette player), Ben gave me a hard time at Snetterton 200 at ...
- Motorcycle Sport
- Club racing
- 11 July 2012
Lap four of the final race of the weekend and I’m vainly trying to hunt down race leader Danny Fowler. Up to second place from the third row of the grid and I’m on a good lap. The little green light on my BMW’s dash is telling me I’m faster than the lap before and it’s all the carrot I ...
- Motorcycle Sport
- Club racing
- 27 June 2012
