Everyday Superbikes EDSBK

BT vs BBC

2013-05-12T19:13:00.000+01:00

For over a decade the BBC have had the rights to show every round of MotoGP. Myself and biker friends regularly watch the BBC's splendid free coverage of the build up to the races followed by the races and laugh at the comments from Steve Parish and Charlie Cox. Granted its appeal dropped slightly when Suzi Perry left, but that aside the coverage is very good.

Col bought a post on Crash.net to my attention on Saturday that says Dorna the governing body of MotoGP have decided to move from the BBC coverage to BT.
Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta said, “The BBC has been very good for us. The UK is a mature market and now with the possibilities we have in our TV production, BT Sport can give to us what I think the British fans and everybody needs.”
Until reading this post on Crash.net I didn't even know that BT Sport existed, let alone had the potential to come and ruin the top class in bike racing, but unfortunately it has.
You may say all is not lost, just watch it on the new BT channel. But this is where the problem for many of us Motogp fans lies. Apparently BT are giving the sport channel free to customers of its mediocre broadband service. I dont know anyone into bike racing who is a BT broadband customer. To get this channel we have to pay £15 a month. Looking into the content on offer on this channel, it looks like the channel will be mostly filled with Football, Rugby or Tennis, which I don't follow so some months I would pay £15 to watch 1 race on that channel, that's not good value at all. BBC is broadcast all over the country and with 65 million people in the UK thats the potential for a lot of fans. Advertisers who pay a lot of money to put their products on the bikes and track surroundings wont get seen. BT or British telecom a telephone company is the total opposite having only thousands of subscribers.

Summing up, Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta thinks BT sports can give us what the fans want, that looks to me as though its a bill for £120 for the 8 months of the racing season to watch our sport.

Fair play to BT for taking on the BBC and winning the battle, but in doing so they have cost many of the fans of MotoGP the chance of watching the the races, I for sure wont be using their service for £15 a month.

April

2013-05-12T15:53:00.000+01:00

During April Col and I managed to get out for most of the Sunday mornings covering slightly bigger distances than in March due to better temperatures even though it was still cooler than we'd like.
Jon still has the Gixer locked away in the garage and Rich needs to wait for mid May before he can make it due to other commitments.
We made our first trip of the year to Dom's cafe in Leominster and was greeted by old Sam the farm dog who came from the cafe area to the bike park to see us. His getting on a bit now but always manages to muster enough energy to come for a bit of sandwich and a stroke.

Sam

Col when getting used to his new Fireblade decided the setup wasn't right. After searching online he found a site that recommended some numbers, so one Saturday afternoon I went round to help and we set about changing the suspension settings, they still seemed a little on the soft side so we added a couple of turns to stiffen up the rear and slow the front rebound. He finds it a lot better, getting some impressive leans going through the corners.

The following week the weather was slightly warmer so we left out the inner gloves and went the long way round to the cafe at Bridgnorth before the rain came down and we went back home.

Top of Camphill

The weekend after the weather forecast was reasonably warm and promised to stay dry, so we did our first ride along the B4364 a local favourite of ours that goes from Bridgnorth to Ludlow the back way over the Clee Hills. Theres a corner at the top of the hill just outside the villiage of Burwarton and since last year has a bump that gives the bike a real thump as you go over it at above 50 mph. It was cold up on the top and my mind kept turning to the inner gloves in my pocket, eventually I had to give in and put them back on before heading back to Bewdley for a warming coffee.
We are looking forward to May to get some sunshine and hopefully all 4 of us out together.

Improve your Sports Bikes Handling - Setup

2013-04-21T20:56:00.000+01:00

Talking about motorcycle suspension to your biking mates is a bit like speaking in a foreign language that you both only know the odd word of.
Everyone knows you need suspension to make the ride more comfortable on bumpy roads and it makes the bike handle better when its done right, but what the adjusters actually do and the words actually mean normally brings on vacant stares.

At the bottom of this page are the setups we use on our bikes.

Heres a basic guide to setting up your bike

Tyres

Your motorbikes handling will improve quite noticeably just by having the tyres blown up. Col likes his tyres set to the manufacturers recommended pressures as it makes the bike feel light and quick to respond in the corners, where as I like my front tyre 5 psi down and the rear 2 down from the recommended pressures. This way I think the front grips and give more confidence in the corners and the back rolls from side to side better as it gives a larger contact spot. Jon always seems to have a flat middle section and rarely does anything to his tyres and Rich has not got any preference as of yet.

Suspension Settings

Before you start do this:- Get a pen and paper and write down the settings you are currently using so at least if you like how your bike feels you can go back to that setup if your adjustments or messing's don't go to plan.
The front adjustments are done on the front forks and the rear adjustments done at the rear shock.

The Suspension has 3 adjustable parts:-
Compression -
This is when the suspension first moves, such as when braking,accelerating or going over bumpy surfaces
Rebound -
This is the movement when the spring has peaked and is returning to its usual position
Preload -
This is how much the spring needs to be loaded before it can compress.

Preload (gold bit with hex head) rebound (flat screw part in middle of gold bit)
Compression is a screw head at the bottom of each fork leg.

Rear Shock Preload (Threaded collar above spring), Compression screw head at top of picture,
Rebound (screw head below the spring at the bottom of the shock)

To adjust them, you will need a flat screwdriver and the rear preload spanner that comes in the kit with the bike.

Front adjustments

Preload is normally determined by how many lines are on show at the top of each fork leg.

Rebound and Compression are determined by how far from full in you turn the screw out (anti clockwise), eg. 1 and a quarter turns means turn the screw 360 degrees then a further 90 degrees.

Rear Adjustments

Preload is determined by which position the lug is located in starting from the lowest (softest) position.

Rebound and Compression are determined by how far from full in you turn the screw out (anti clockwise), eg. 1 and a quarter turns means turn the screw 360 degrees then a further 90 degrees.

Some more modern bikes have clicks when you turn the adjusters so they may suggest 5 clicks out from full in, again anti clockwise.

There is no one right or wrong setup, the default is closest to that as it has to suit a plethera of situations, however when making adjustments be aware that what suits you may not suit your mate, you may like the front to steer quickly where your mate may not, you may like the rear to dip as you accelerate but someone else will not. Also you may not be as heavy as your mate so it may be set perfectly for you but its no good for your mate, so theres lots to think about.

Do your home work before making any changes, you can learn lots from magazines and advice and opinions form the owners forums for your bike.

Remember, always take it slow for a few miles after making adjustments until your happy with the way the bike handles and be prepared for the bike to feel unpredictable if you didnt get things right.

But when it is set just right your ride is sorted!

Our Bikes Settings

Bike / Year Front Rear

Preload Rebound Compression Tyre Preload Rebound Compression Tyre

Yamaha R1 '02' 2 lines 3/4 turns 1 turn 31psi 6th 3/4 turn full in 42psi

March

2013-04-07T20:55:00.001+01:00

The Spring was due to start in March, but nobody told the weather and we had 6 inches of snow that lasted for weeks. So unable to go riding for 3 of the 5 weekends in March I decided to change the oil and filter and fit a sump plug with a built in magnet and change the engine coolant.
Col and me have had the bikes M.O.T'd and now we are set for the new biking season. Rich says his bike is ready to go and Jon's bike is still stuck in the back of the garage in need of tyre's and a wash, no doubt!

We have managed to get out on the bikes, but temperatures were low. Even inner gloves didn't stop the biting cold these times. The first ride of the month saw a high of 3 degrees so by the time we had gone the long way to the Cafe in Bridgnorth we decided after a coffee we had been far enough and went back home the quick way.
The next 3 weeks were no good for riding so on one of them we paid a visit to the bike shop to get supplies.
We always class Easter Sunday as the first chance of a big ride on a Sunday, normally planning a trip out to Wales to go on the A483 and cover some miles, not this year though, Easter Sunday was in March rather than April as usual. So we braved the cold once more. The sun was out and the sky was blue, at home the snow had melted and the temperature was up to 6 degrees, which we can put up with, unfortunately 25 miles away the snow was still around 12 inches thick and some snow drift were up to 4 ft tall, but the road was clear and dry. You could feel the temperature had dropped significantly so we again headed back to Bridgnorth and to the cafe to warm up.
We swapped bikes for some of the journey. I was looking forward to having a go on Cols new blade and it didn't disappoint, there is lots of power and the riding position felt almost perfect. When we stopped I said the suspension seemed a little soft for me, and compared to my R1, the way the power was delivered was different. On the R1 6th gear will happily pull from 30mph, but the Blade needed you to drop down to 5th for the same amount of torque.
Col agreed, so we are looking on the internet for some suspension setup data to try and improve it.

Cold!
This was the only lay-by we could get in, that wasn't blocked by snow.

The race season starts properly in April and then the proper biking Sundays begin for Months, cant wait.

February

2013-03-03T22:58:00.003Z

February is not a favourite month of ours. The temperatures range from minus figures into double figures from one weekend to the next, but some how we've done lots of bike related stuff.

Clean Machines. Blue sky and 10 degrees in February!

Luckily we managed to get out for a ride be it a problem one. We decided to make our first stop a fuel stop which was only 5 minutes away from home.
We both brimmed the fuel tanks and went into pay, after waiting in line for 5 minutes for a lady who was doing her weeks shopping in the petrol station, grrrr! we came out to find Col's new bike stood in a damp patch of petrol. Thinking he had over filled it he moved it to the far side of the forecourt and waited for me to ride over. As I arrived I could see the fuel dripping out from underneath the fairing. We checked inside the tank nothing seemed wrong there but noticed the problem stopped as soon as the bike was up straight. He didn't really want to ride any distance with the fuel dripping as bad as it was so suggested we went to the shop where he bought it and got them to fix it, so we did. I left a good distance between us, just in case Col and the Fireblade turned into Coal and a fireball after all I didn't want to melt my bikes plastic fairing!
Luckily the guys at the shop found the problem and had him back on the road in about 30 minutes. A breather pipe had somehow been left unattached when it was last serviced.
Something interesting came to light when this problem arrived, the Honda Fireblade of 2004 has a dummy tank. The painted part that you see is just a plastic cover and the main petrol tank is a hinged smaller metal tank that hides underneath, which can be tilted back towards the seat to gain access to the rear of the engine below, we thought this a neat idea.

The R1 didn't get away with out any problems on that same ride. I noticed that when it started it couldn't tick over without stalling, so the following weekend I lifted the tank to discover the bar that controls the air intakes had seized. I squirted some WD40 around all the contact areas and free'd it up and the problem seemed better. I am not entirely convinced the problem is gone completely however the bike will start and run without my help. Also I noticed during that sunny ride out my chain was clonking and on closer inspection I found some of the links had seized up, so it needed replacing. I decided that a gold and black chain would look nice and D.I.D. made just what I was after so the following weekend our bike mechanic mate Mark fitted it for me, and it looks great cheers Mark!

So what is the life expectancy of a Motorbike chain?

The owners manual doesn't give a specific mileage, it says, Check the drive chain for slack and rear wheel alignment and re oil after every 1000km or after washing or rain. (Thats a lot of checking when you live in the UK it rains a lot)
Owners clubs seem to suggest 15000km-25000km or around 17000 miles but mine the original D.I.D fitted by Yamaha had done exactly 30000 miles so it has lasted very well.

Honda Fireblade under seat exhaust replacement (2004).

During a cold February Sunday morning, Col asked if I would help change his standard exhaust for a new Scorpion system.
After opening the box and reading the instructions we guessed it was going to take a while.

The first thing that we had to do was remove the exhaust valve pulley system, the bolts had seized up on the one end, but came off with a bit of brute force. The pulley cables can be completely removed or pushed up under the seat out of the way. Next we removed the foot peg with brake pedal attached and any bits of plastic hiding the old exhaust pipe. We removed both the seats and the whole of the plastic rear section of the bike until only the under tray was left.

Eventually the bolts that hold the exhaust on can be removed, the old exhaust pulls away with a bit of effort. Remove the old metal shielding. Stick on heat shielding is then stuck over the underside of the under tray.

The new exhaust can now be assembled starting from the engine end of the bike pushing into position until the end can is in place. Lining up the end can takes a few attempts, then bolt it into position.

Remove the silver covers either side so the Scorpion logo can be seen, then reassemble the bike.

It took us just over 2 hours, but we learnt a lot about the an area of the bikes we wouldn't normally see. An interesting mornings work.

See the video below to see how it sounds.

Finally.

The 2013 motorbike racing season has started with the World Superbikes race from Philip Island. Somehow Rich has managed to claim 1st place in the fantasy league, this will be short lived I am sure, unfortunately the next round will be in April which seems a long time away.

Improve your Sports Bikes MPG

2013-02-03T20:46:00.000Z

In our end of year survey I asked, ''What would be the best improvement you could make to your motorbike?" and the most common reply was better Economy.

Every year we at EDSBK while on one of our road trips do an ECO challenge, this is mostly to give us something to think about when on the long journeys between fuel stops. We record the miles traveled and the fuel added this gives a reasonably accurate measure of how well the bikes are performing and to make it more interesting make a competition out of it. Over the few days we are away our average MPG ranges from 37 - 52 MPG depending if we are cruising or going for it.
Sports bikes are designed to go fast, the engine is designed to deliver lots of power to the rear wheel and not to deliver lots of MPG. The shape of the sports bike is to cut through the air and its low weight is also an advantage to achieving a higher MPG, but you don't buy a sports bike for its economic fuel usage. Taking advantage of its design and keeping it in a good condition can yield a reasonable MPG figure providing you ride in a fuel conserving way.

The Miracle Product

At this point I would like to say there is a product out there that's going be the answer to our question giving an average 60mpg to the typical sports bike rider. There isn't one. However, an improvement can be made with some thinking around your bike,kit and riding style.

What works?

I have been reading other peoples fuel saving tips, there are some good ones out there. Here's some examples of them and my thoughts on how it affects sports bike riders.

Remove excess weight
EDSBK - Our bikes were designed to be light, after market exhausts can save a few kilograms for the money they cost, but unless your a racer with a good budget realistically there's not much to be made here. If you worry about saving weight try putting yourself on a diet!

Use correct tyre pressures.
EDSBK - We regularly check our tyre pressures, it makes such a difference to how the bike handles and improves MPG. Best of all this improvement only costs 50p

Slow Down. Twisting the throttle uses more fuel.
EDSBK - Boring. OK the way to improve here is on roads like motorways and dual carriageways just cruise along in 6th gear at the speed limit, tuck yourself behind the screen and your MPG will be as good as you can get it. Once you get onto the more exciting stretches of road you can give it some beanz as you will have saved a bit of fuel.

Keep the bike moving, an idling engine does 0 MPG
EDSBK - The advantage of a motorbike is being able to avoid queuing by passing any stationary traffic waiting to get into the field to the car boot sale. Even riding slowly and getting 5 MPG is better than nothing. However if you can see that there's nowhere to go and your going to have a long wait, turn the engine off for the best fuel savings.

Be aerodynamic, use a full face helmet and tight clothes.
EDSBK - I dont like a face full of dead flies so always use a full face helmet. Last years trip to Scotland rained a lot, so flappy wind catching waterproofs were required on some parts of the trip. On all the bikes the MPG dropped when wearing these, but as our speed was slightly lower due to the poor weather conditions it almost evened things out.

Keep the bike in good condition
EDSBK - A nicely polished clean bike with correctly aligned wheels,adjusted chain and a fresh set of plugs,oil and filters will improve you MPG by a fraction.
The main thing to remember is the harder the engine works the more fuel it uses and the more money you spend.

Change to a different style of motorbike
EDSBK - Not for me yet. All of the above will help to save fuel, you might get up to an extra 5 MPG if you really try, but you have to ask yourself, why have a sportsbike if you want excellent MPG? If the difference between riding as normal or riding economically on a Sunday morning ride is only 3 or 4 MPG will you even notice when you next fill up the fuel tank. Why worry about fuel costs when the tyres and insurance cost as much as they do?
For most of us owning a sportsbike is for fun, racing around a circuit on a track day, an escape from the usual daily routine or for a morning out with your mates, so is the best thing just to take it for what it is?
Of course you can do all the above on any style of motorbikes, but for now I still like, the look, speed, handling and sound of Sports and Superbikes.

Go green use electricity
EDSBK - Sports bikes that run on electrickery have a few major flaws so far. They weigh more than a petrol bike, and more importantly cant do the mileage, OK 90-100 miles seems to be the figure most manufacturers are quoting which is good enough to get us to the Cafe on a Sunday morning, but how do we get back home? Going touring for a few days would be out of the question. The good thing is these latest electric bikes look right, they have very similar dimensions to the petrol bikes and as time goes by these bikes are getting better. Who knows in 10 years time electric super bikes could out perform petrol bikes and charge times could be just a few minutes. Until then I will be riding my petrol bike.

Some of my favourite Electric Superbikes

Nope I'm not ready for one of these yet!

January

2013-01-27T20:44:00.004Z

Colder than it looks

The first weekend in January Jon suggested we have a ride out to the cafe in Quatt just so he could replace his going stale petrol that had been in the bike for the last couple of months, Myself and Col always willing to take the bikes out agreed it was a good plan. Rich was on nights again so said he couldn't join us for this one.
On Sunday morning they both arrived at my house in need of a squirt of chain lube, the Sun even decided to join us, throwing a bit of heat into the rather chilly morning and temperatures soared up to about 6 degrees. We set of towards Telford and Ironbridge a route we like that feels as though your miles away. We arrived at the cafe facing quite a big turn out of bikes and took our place in the queue for a coffee, listening to people moaning about cold hands, this is when Col told us about a motorbike he had seen for sale at a local dealer and wondered if we would go and look at it on our way back.

The bike looked good, very good. Low mileage, nice colour and in excellent condition. Col had some thinking to do.
The following week over a beer Col informed me he had bought the bike! I almost fell off the chair as he and his old Fireblade had been together for 10 years, and every road trip we have been on that partnership has never changed. He was to collect it the following weekend.
The Snow had other plans, dumping 5-6 inches over the West Midlands on the Friday, so the weekend came and went and the collection date was put back a week.
Still with Snow on the ground Col couldn't wait any longer, went and collected his new motorbike, and the following day I joined him for the first ride, be it a cool one still with snow here and there along the lanes.

Col has bought a 2004 Honda Fireblade. First impressions are very good, and a feature on the bike will follow shortly.

First photo of Cols Fireblade

I decided my bike needed some upgrades over the winter. So I have bought a new exhaust replacing the standard one. It is a Pipewerx can which is 2/3rd shorter, almost half as heavy, quite a few decibels louder and a whole lot shinier than the original.
I am pleased with the look and sound, especially with the decibel killer taken out.

Myself and Col have been testing inner gloves when on our winter rides, neither of us has suffered with cold hands since using them. The extra layer does tend to make the motorbike controls more awkward to use and especially when trying to use the vent switches on our crash helmets as the switch is so small.
So we agree in our tests inner gloves work well at keeping warmth in your fingers when the outside temperature ranges from -2 to 10 degrees. (wind chill taken into account)

Wish you were here?
We will be soon!

Finally, the Everyday Superbikes 2013 road trip has been booked up. We are headed for the Black forest in Germany and the infamous Schwarzwald Hochstrasse or B500 as it is officially known. described as one of the best roads in Germany by many motorbikers as it has many bends and goes for miles. This followed by 2 days by the Nurburgring and of course a lap or 2 of the circuit while we are there. Col,Jon Rich and Me have booked up, cant wait!

December

2012-12-28T19:33:00.000Z

Well, we all survived December 21st and the ''End of the World'' as predicted by the ancients, (NO i didnt mean you Rich).

The Results of the 2012 Survey have been published, click here or on the Best of Tab to view them.

During December most of us managed to get out on the bikes for a ride. Rich took his Kawasaki out to blow away the cobwebs. Col and I went the long way round, to the Food Stop Cafe in Quatt. Jon started his bike to see if it worked and if the battery was flat but still needs to get some tyres as they have both had it.
I wanted to test my new Sidi Vertigo boots. When leaving home the boots were very stiff and getting my foot to fit into the gap between the foot rest and the gear changer was almost a challenge in itself. The rubber sole of the boot is 4-5mm thicker than on my old boots and has a lot less flex. After a while they softened up slightly and gear changes became a little easier, but I am going to adjust the gear changers position to help with this.
Col and I both suffered with glare from a low Winters sun. Even with the built in dark sun visor it was tough seeing with the bright reflections on the damp roads. Since then I found sticking a piece of black tape across the top of the inner sun glasses is just enough to take some of the brightness and costs nothing.

The shadows show the low lying Sun at 11.30am

Over a beer one night, the subject turned to Cols bike, which he has now owned for a decade. If you look at our Road Trip pages you will see he has the same bike for every trip we have been on. He is still contemplating a change (for the 6th year) but would want another Blade, the 2004 version. Jon and Me still think he will have this same bike this time next year, which no matter how you look at it, is a nice bike, still attracts a lot of attention when parked up at any bike meets and has just had a fair bit of cash spent on it having a number of parts replaced as they were worn out, so runs and handles like new.

Currently we have started planning our 2013 trip. We have some dates in mind and a few destinations to pick from. I think due to the weather in 2012 being on the wet side we have almost ruled out the UK for this year.

Ethanol

2012-12-16T21:52:00.000Z

Recently at work we have employed a new guy who had been running his own service station. We got talking about fuel prices and fuel saving methods, which is when he started telling me about Ethanol being added to petrol. I decided to look deeper into what he had told me and the following is what I've found out based on what he had said.

In 2013 the Ethanol content in Petrol is due to go up from 5% to 10%. This move from the European Union is received by many as a greener alternative to crude oil. Fuel companies are obliged to add 3.5% bio fuel to both Petrol and Diesel and each year the content of bio/renewable fuel is set to rise by a small percentage.

What is Ethanol?

In short Ethanol is a modified form of alcohol, made from distilling fruit, vegetables or grain, which is a good way to get rid of unwanted crop waste and use less fossil fuels, and as it's made from plants they would absorb some of the carbon that vehicles generate as they grow. Sounds just what we need to help save the environment.

How will affect us?

Research estimates over 750,000 motorbikes wont run on the mixture of Petrol and 10% Ethanol without some adjustments.
Ethanol is acidic so is very corrosive. When added to petrol the fuel is of a poorer quality.
Being corrosive, Ethanol will clean old deposits from the fuel lines and fuel tank which can block up the fuel filter and in some case's cause running problems. Ethanol will cause damage to rubber pipes and seals, it reacts with sealants and on older engines can cause carburettor icing when humidity is above 77% and ambient temperatures are below 12C . In the USA they have been using a 10% mixture already, and common problems from the poor quality of the petrol is causing engines to struggle with starting, lack of power and mpg can be up to 10% worse than with 5% mixture. Once you have filled your motorbike with fuel at the service station, you should remember that Petrol with Ethanol added has roughly, only a 3 week life span, after this the petrol and the ethanol separate which is called Phase Separation.

Phase Separation describes what happens to Petrol containing Ethanol when water is present. When Petrol containing even small amounts of Ethanol comes in contact with water, either liquid or in the form of humidity, the Ethanol will pick-up and absorb some or all of that water. When it reaches a saturation point the Ethanol and water will Phase Separate, actually coming out of solution and forming two or three distinct layers in the tank. The only option when this happens is to get rid of the fuel as it will damage the engine.

Fuel specialist are advising fresh Petrol every 3 weeks, as at present there is no additive that will stop Phase Separation.

(For more information click here to visit the Motorcycle Action Group website)

Some of our bikes are affected see below.

Kawasaki are still considering the effects of E10 and do not recommend its use.

Yamaha models are compatible with E5 and some new models are compatible with E10.

Suzuki's have been compatible with E10 since 2005.

Honda models have been compatible with E10 since 1993 but carburettored vehicles could suffer poor drivability.

All the major Fuel brands currently run a mixture of 5% Ethanol in Petrol, apparently added to the tanker in seperate operations. Supermarkets get their supply's of fuel from the same refineries, I cant find any other details, so expect them to have the same content.

November

2012-12-02T17:24:00.003Z

November has been a bad month for EDSBK as far as rides go. We have only had 1 weekend out on the bikes, which was a shame as the weather permitted the chance of a couple more even if the circumstances didn't as unfortunately I lost my mother in law at the start of the month.

The ride we did go on was a little shorter than the normal route which took us out towards Telford and Ironbridge. This route is one of our more local, cold weather circuits that keeps us out for about 2 and a half hours including a stop for a warming coffee at The Food Stop Cafe at Quatt which is always a good place to visit. I particularly like the road from Buildwas to Wenlock the A4169, it always make me feel like I am in the Welsh mountains, miles away.
The roads had almost dried out at 10.30am but were quiet and the temperature had been down to -1 over night so there was still touches of frost on the edges of the leaves which were still clinging on to the twigs for their last few weeks.
It was now 3 degrees as we set off to our first stop, the petrol station in Kingswinford, so tested some inner gloves. Col had just bought a pair of Weise silk inners for 8.99 and somehow I had picked up 1 oxford inner glove and a nylon and rubber coated glove I use at work. Its the kind that look a bit like the gloves the bin men wear, but only noticed this when I was putting them back on at the cafe.
We have both just bought new Shark helmets as you can see in the picture they're the same. We look even more like the EDSBK logo now with Union Jack helmets a paint scheme that goes with anything.

Shark, Vision R Jack

The helmet has a fibreglass shell and one of the first things you notice is the light weight. It has a slightly larger aperture which gives more vision all around through the anti scratch and anti fog visor, there is some handy features such as the built in sunglasses again made from anti scratch and anti fog material, which drop down when you move a lever on the side of the helmet, also there is the town position which very slightly cracks open the visor allowing the air to pass up the inside of the visor and clear the mist that can appear on cold days and gives more ventilation. It has 3 vents which can be opened or closed with a patented exhaust system that sucks the air through the grooves on the inside of the helmet, also it has a chin curtain and all the inner lining can be removed and washed under the tap and allowed to air dry. It boasts it is Shark tooth ready which is some bluetooth system which we couldn't be too bothered with.
We were both impressed with the helmet, however we both noticed that when the sun is low you cant shade your eyes with the inner top section of the opening as you could on our older helmets. Maybe a piece of tape on the inner glasses would help solve that, I will keep you posted.

Check these videos for more info - RevZilla review
Shark Video

The glove test results
Col was pleased with his Weise silk inner gloves saying his hands felt comfortable, no complaints which must be good as Col is normally the first of us to start complaining about the cold.
My Oxford glove has a soft section that goes against your palm and a wind cheating bit on the back of your hand which worked well. I found the finger length was just a bit too long which caused the finger tips to scrunch up inside the leather gloves. It wasn't enough to be uncomfortable but was noticeable in 2 fingers.
Comparing it to the work glove I had on the other hand the Oxford glove was no warmer, but the rubber part on the nylon work glove against the palm of my hand was making it sweaty. We will test these again through the Winter and keep you posted.

At the end of November we visited the Motorcycle live show at Birmingham. We went in the car as we all wanted stuff that could be awkward to carry on the bikes.
I needed some better boots as my 12 year old pair leak and my feet get soaked when it rains, so found a pair of Sidi Vertigo Rain boots. They felt comfy when I tried them on and the show price was down to £170. The look on my face must have said Im off so the lady said well YOU can have them for £140. So I had them. Checking online these range from £139.99 upto £229.99 in the local bike shop so I was pleased with the deal.
Check out the video for more info - Sportbike Track Gear

Our bike of the show was the new Honda Fireblade. We all agreed the position and look were best of the show, we thought the BMW H4 came a close 2nd.

On the Honda stand they had a group of the Iconic blades of which was one similar to Col's. On closer inspection it was not in as good shape as Col's but it did settle an ongoing question regarding the colour of the front edge of the front mud guard. (it should be all the same colour)

During our visit we stopped off at James Whithams stage and watched him interviewing Ian Hutchinson and Simon Andrews about the Isle of Man TT and a little later we saw Top Gears Richard Hammond and Henry Cole from The Motorbike Show.

Mini DV MD80 / D001 Cam

2012-12-01T20:31:00.000Z

Myself and Jon have bought the mini DV D001 Cam from off Ebay. At the time of buying they were £18.50, they can now be picked up for as little is £12, which is less than a tank of fuel. So for that price we weren't expecting anything amazing.
We have now owned these cameras for over 12 months, and after some recent testing can give a fair review of these little camera's.
The purpose for buying these camera's was to attach them to the motorbikes and record some of our favourite roads and the trips away, so that during the cold, dark winter months we can virtually ride some of the best bits and share them with you via our Youtube channel.

Features

The Mini DV/MD80 has a 2 mb High Def camera,
Video records at 30 FPS in 720x480 pixels,
It supports memory cards upto 8 Gig,
There is a hi res camera mode that can shoot up to 2,000,000 pixel images,
It has a fast acting light response lense,
can be used as a web cam,
and has a 2 hour battery life.

In reality the camera mode is a waste of time as you cant see what your taking the picture of,the 30 FPS is pretty good, 720x480 is almost HD, the fast acting light responsive lense works well, the battery lasts about 2 hours and my 4G card holds about 50-55 minutes of video.
When the camera arrives it comes with all the bits to attach it to a computer, a disk with the drivers and files needed, some brackets and instructions which were originally written in Chinese, so makes interesting reading if not any sense.

In Use

The first chance I had to try my camera was when we went to Germany and the Nurburgring. I used the brackets included in the kit and clamped it to the handlebars, but didnt have any idea what the camera was looking at as theres no view finder. Also I didnt know what the camera was doing as you cant see the lights when its sunny outside. The 4gb memory card can hold just under an hours worth of film so I saved it to record a lap of the nurburgring, the sudchleife and any other intresting bits we could find. We connected up to a laptop at the hotel only to find I had recorded a lap of the sky, with a few overhanging trees, and Jon had recorded by using a helmet cam idea of his a lap of the tank of the motorbike. Both cameras had wavy lines scrolling up the screen which made the footage unwatchable. Most dissapointing!

Wobbly vision

Once back home I tried the camera every time I went out with varying amounts of success The main issue we were getting from both cameras was wavy lines scrolling up the screen, I found it was caused by the vibrations from the bike. After experimenting with places to mount the camera I discovered that the motorbikes frame hardly vibrates at all, so built a mount out of a piece of plastic tube which fits tightly into a crash bobbin. This has stopped the problem almost completely, only occasionally under high revs do they come back.
The brackets that are included in the kit, are useless for the purpose we need them for, so they went in the bin.

Lower MotoGP style view
(Date Stamp was hard to adjust)

After some experimenting we found that videos recorded from a lower position give a better perspective, show some interesting views and feeling of speed. If you watch Motogp they also use some nice on bike camera positions, looking behind across the top of the rear wheel or at how much the front tyres give in the corners, so we want to try out some new ideas and brackets.

Another issue was the on light and record light could not be seen, so by removing the 4 screws in the sides of the camera and pulling it carefully apart you can see the little led lights. I used a dremil to make a hole big enough to let the light shine out of and put it back together. When riding along now I can see the lights clearly.

After this Modification and using the bike mount I am pleased to say that I rate this little camera quite highly and have no fear of recommending them as a good buy and good value for money, just be prepared to put some time into experimenting with brackets/mounts.

For and Against

The good things about these camera's are the size, reasonable quality video and they arepretty tough. (We had one fall off a bike at over 70mph, when we went back to collected it it was still recording)
The problems with these camera's are the poor instructions, the wavy lines, the L.E.D lights are not visable in bright sunlight and the worst thing is the time/date stamp cannot be removed. The newer version of the camera now has a much smaller transparent time/date which is a step in the right direction but totally removal would make for a welcomed option.
However there is ways around all of this:-
The Instructions - Just go on Youtube and watch some of the how to use the MD80 videos.
The wavy lines - Experiment with positions on the bike that don't vibrate. Plastic fairings, mirrors and mud guards are no good, you need to find something metal for the best results, frame, swingarm or lower part of front forks we find work best.
The L.E.D lights - Make your own window to view the L.E.D's (see above).
The Time/Date Tag - Using Windows Live Movie Maker with 3rd party effects such as the increase zoom by 15% mode helps mask the problem as the time and date disappear off the bottom of the screen.
To reset the time - You will need to make a file in notepad which you copy onto the camera. There is a demo file on the disk that comes with the camera.
Good Luck with getting that to work! Eventually mine gave the correct time.

Old Camera with Yellow Date Stamp

New Camera with Transparent Date Stamp
To Watch this video click here

In conclusion we like it. 4/5

See our videos on Youtube

Latest Video has the new look time date stamp

The camera mount video

R1 Numberboards

2012-11-30T00:15:00.000Z

One fine Sunday morning at the cafe, a chap came over to me to ask if I had got a spare passenger seat or seat cover as he had just lost his that morning. I couldn't help the guy but looked over to where he was pointing to see his bike, a red R1 the exact same model as mine, the only difference was it had some white panels around the rear seat and on the front fairing around the headlights, and the seat was missing. I looked into the under seat compartment and asked if he had already ate his sandwiches, he laughed and said nothing had fell out yet!

On return home I kept thinking about the white panels on the back of his bike and convinced myself how great my bike would look with the same set. After trawling the internet, I gave up looking as I didnt know what they were called, who made them and couldn't find anything that looked the same. A few weeks later I saw a sticker set boasting it had rear number boards, a quick Google search later and I was onto something. The stickers the guy had were the same as the Demon Graphix set I had found on Ebay, so as I had just had a bonus I bought the rear set called number boards for £50
They arrived a few days later and I stuck them in position, and now it gives a more racey look to the bike.
The logo at the end says ''R series ''

R1 With Numberboards

If you decide you want a set, they are easy to fit. All you need to do is clean the section where they are going and remove any dirty marks or other stickers.

Next you will need to borrow the wife's hair dryer. If you have the same hair style as me, she will probably give you a funny look, and even if you have a full head of hair, no doubt ask the question:- Where are you going with that?

The garage, was probably not the best answer to give her but it was accurate...

Once you have then took the wife most prized possession the hair dryer back upstairs and dropped it out of the upstairs window onto something soft you can get back to attatching the stickers.

The panel needs to be warmed up for the glue to stick at its best. I heated the plastic area around the passenger seat until it felt warm to the touch and lined up the sticker so that it left a similar sized gap all the way around just resting it in place, you have time to pull the sticker off and re apply if it goes off target, but try to get it right first time. Once your happy with the position, get a soft rag and press down on the sticker making sure to push any trapped air bubbles out to the sides. Then leave it for a few minutes to stick.

The sticker comes with 2 smaller panels that should attatch to the plastic seat cowl if you use one but I prefered to stick mine underneath as you can see in the picture.

Suzuki GSXR K8

2012-11-29T00:28:00.000Z

This is Carls Suzuki GSXR 1000 K8. The model was released in 2008 having minor changes to the paint scheme from the previous K7 model that Jon owns. Suzuki have always made class leading motorbikes and this is no exception. The engine chucks out 185 BHP and was the first main stream bike to have a power mode switch that lets the rider select between full power, medium for economy and a wet weather mode. Suzuki have fitted twin pipes on their 1000cc model which is different from the other manufacturers who make superbikes.

Carl has changed the factory exhaust from the standard 2 pipes into a Scorpion, shorter, single sided pipe which gives a much louder roar under acceleration, saves weight and looks great. He has had the suspension lowered as it was a bit to high for him and finds it handles well.

He has been making some artsy, photoshop pictures and has submitted them to the site for all to see.

October

2012-10-28T17:07:00.003Z

The internet is ripe with storys and predictions of an October Suprise, these range from world war 3, to terrorist attacks, UFO invasions, and US presidential mumbo jumbo, however I have an October Suprise!
It comes in the fantasy league, I am now battling with Rich and Ryan for places on the podium, which only last month seemed unlikely. During the last Window Martin has confirmed he is the 2012 Champ, but 2nd and 3rd places are still to be sorted out. With 9 points between the 3 of us and all managers having different riders for the last 2 races, whos gonna come out the best?

October has been a tale of tyres. Starting with Jon, he has decided that he has used his bike for the last time this year as, you guessed it, he needs a set of tyres. He is thinking of trying out a set of Michelin Pilots. During our last group ride out in September, Rich picked up a screw in the rear tyre which caused him to be off the road through out October, hes now had it fixed and is ready to go.
My bike as always is ready to go when the weather is good enough for a Sunday morning ride to a biker cafe, I fancied a ride to Dom's Bike Stop in Leominster. Col wanted to join me so as the temperature has dropped quite noticeably we headed out about 10am on a Sunday morning towards Ludlow and Leominster.
I dunno if it was the cold 3 degree temperature or me not feeling completely with it, but I seemed to struggle to get going and Col quickly disappeared down the road. Eventually I saw Col stopped in a layby waiting for me to catch up, so I stopped to thaw out and a chat. I had been riding with the visor slightly open to stop it misting up and now my lips felt as though they didnt properly fit on my face. While there we got talking about tyres so checked our bikes, both legal, but only just! We are both going to be needing front tyres very soon. Myself and Col are Pirelli fans so we plan to stick with the brand.

R1 and Fireblade at Doms.
Its not looking as cold as it was!

We arrived at Dom's Bike Stop 15 miles later, patted the dog and drank 2 mugs of coffee allowing my lips to get back to normal. If you have never been to Doms its an unusual place, Ive not seen anywhere quite like it, its great! I was starting to feel back to normal as we headed home along the A44 and when Col got past me I gave the R1 a handful in all the right places to appear big in Cols mirrors !

I dont know how often we will be able to get out over the coming cold months with one thing or another, but we do have a few things lined up.
We plan to visit The 2012 Motorcycle live show 24 Nov - 2nd Dec
The Results to the EDSBK Championship
The Results to the Fantasy League Championship
A report on some upgrades and riding in the winter.

September

2012-09-30T19:15:00.001+01:00

We have been surprised by Jon during September as he has made 2 trips out on his bike with us and a another time out with his mate Figo.
For our first trip on a Sunday morning the sun was out, the temperature good and the road was dry, perfect conditions, at last. We, Jon, Rich Col and me (Phill) met up as usual in the layby on the A458 at Stourton and set off to Newton to the start of our favourite section of the A483.

Title: Out of the light
CBR,R1,GSXR
Makes a good screen saver!

Myself and jon attached the cameras on to our bikes, and we set off. I deliberately went at the back so that I could capture everyone with the camera to put into a film I have been working on.

Pictures from Google Maps

We have divided the road into 4 sectors. The first sector is From Newtown to the 30 limit at Dolfor, We call this the Twisty Sector. Along this part are lots of tight corners, woodlands and a couple of near hairpins.

The 2nd sector, we call the Mountain section, it goes from the 30 limit to the 50 limit and runs along the contours of the hills eventually climbing up and over the ridge where it opens out into a lot of sweeping bends as it drops back down to the 50 limit at Lanbadarn Fynydd or Little Alps as we call it.

The 3rd sector, we call the Long Sweepers section, has lots of long sweeping bends that keep you leaned over on the side of the tyres for ages, they can all be taken at the speed limit and theres plenty of oppotunities to overtake slower moving vehicles if you want too, ending at Llandewl Ystradenni.

The 4th Sector, we call Farmlands, is the winding down section as there's lots more going on around that area with more side roads, tractors and buidings, but it still has a couple of good corners before you arrive at Crossgates and the Cafe.

As in sector 1 there's hardly any opportunity to pass, I followed Rich on the Kawasaki ZX636 for about 5 minutes watching him take some good lines around most of the corners, before passing him and catching Jon a few hundred meters further along the road with Col right infront of him, and we entered sector 2. Jon's bike a Suzuki GSXR 1000 has lots of power, so getting past him I knew was going to be hard work, I noticed Jon was much slower around the corners than me so thought of a couple of places with good clear visibility and broken white lines where a corner pass is acceptable. On 2 occasions I had managed to get along side him but he just pulled away as we came out the bend and onto the short straight sections, he was like a rolling road block. While this was going on, Col had got about 10 seconds away so pulled into a layby and we passed him so he rejoined back behind me. I stayed stuck behind Jon for for all of sector 2. When entering sector 3 I thought about the perfect corner to get by Jon. Its a right hander, about half a mile long with a great view of the whole corner so you can see if the road is clear from any part of it, that was going to be the place, and only a few minutes away!
Approaching the corner we caught up with a car, Jon pulled out and passed it followed by me and Col, as Jon pulled back into the left lane I kept it leant over and passed him, I heard his loud exhast pipe give out a roar as the power came on but I was already away. Two cars were just ahead and entering the next corner, I eased off timing it right to pass them both out of the corner and along my favourite couple of miles to where sector 4 starts. I checked the mirrrors and they both had also passed the 2 cars and now Col was struggling with the Jon and his awesome power, but later got passed out of the last bend.
Over a coffee, the usual banta started, and Jon told us he was having to muscle his bike around the corners as the tyres were so warn that the front had gone 50p shaped!(flat across the width)
Col says he had got that far ahead that he had to stop and wait for us to catch up! Video evidence from Jons camera shows him just stopping in said layby, I noted he didnt get ahead again.
Rich says he got things wrong into a corner and ended up on the opposite side of the white line, which put him behind.
And me.... Well the way we ride on the roads, Jons bike is no faster than mine!

A few weeks later the 4 of us headed into Wales once again, probably for the last time this year, as Rich has changed his shifts and Jon needs new tyres. We did a similar route to the above, but stopping at the Station Cafe in Craven Arms a favourite of ours before continuing along to Newtown to test out a new loop I discovered thats worth a mention. It adds an extra 25 miles to the day, going from Crossgates, just follow the A483 to Bulith Wells turn Left onto the A481 which turned out to be our best tarmac discovery of the year, until it reaches its end, turn Left on to the A44 which takes you back towards Crossgates along an impressive set of bends. Unfortunately on this journey the weather was not so good so we are looking forward to our next adventure out there on a dry run around this loop.
After arriving home Rich discovered he had a puncture on his rear tyre, so looks like a new one is on the cards.

Super Bike Phone Apps

2012-09-24T19:48:00.001+01:00

Over the last 12 months I have been using the Pirelli Diablo Super Biker app for my iphone.
I am amazed at what it can tell you and at how well it does it.
Each time we go along our favourite road the A483 I start the app. Now, I don't ever try to beat any times, etc after all its a public road, I just take it as it comes, if conditions permit I'll lean the bike over around the corners and pass slower moving vehicles so the data that gets recorded is only just for my own interest and nothing else. However the App has 2 modes, 1 for road use and one for track use. Now the information provided around a circuit would make for far more interest, especially if you were setting up suspension or trying a new performance parts or doing track days.

Start Screen

The app records things such as:-

Stock Picture

Journey Time, Distance, Max speed, Average speed and Maximum lean angle, then laps of the same circuit can be compared. It overlays your route over a photo map so you can see where you have been. This worked great until the recent update to the Apple Iphone IOS which did away with Google Maps replacing it with the far inferior Apple Maps so the map quality has gone and you look at a wobbly red line in a square of blobs, but that's Apples fault not the makers of the App's.
It works all this out from the GPS signal, the accelerometer and the built in gyroscope in the iphone. We have carried out a few test on the system, testing speed distance, max lean with great success and accuracy.
Lapping a circuit gives extra data such as allowing you to compare 2 laps to see where you were faster and how much lean angle you applied, and share the data on facebook. Like I'm ever gonna do that!
Unfortunately the last update has somewhat cocked this info up, it has almost doubled some of the stats. For example, the first time I used it after the update, the app informed me I had travelled over 120 mph and had a lean angle of 65 degrees, impossible I thought, I didn't go anywhere near 3 figure speeds along there. Luckily I have gone back to the previous version (1.4) which is the one that works for me, and the figures when combined with video evidence are within 1 mph and 1 degree so that's good enough for me.

We use the app for our Ashwood Triangle competition to record the lap times.
(This will be available in a later post)

To try it for yourself for free Click Here

Nurburgring Bankrupt

2012-09-08T22:46:00.002+01:00

Bankrupt

I've recently read that the Nurburgring is in financial trouble with a debt of around 400 million Euros and are asking the government for a bail out from tax payers money.
The area has been under development over the 5 years when we have visited and the improvements are most impressive, the shops and motor sports museum had opened shortly before our last visit in 2010. There is/was plans to make the area into a huge leisure park, unfortunately only a quarter of the expected visitor have attended leaving the area struggling, in debt with many jobs already lost. The government has already invested 330 Million Euros into the area and is now looking for help from private buyers. Even the boastful fastest roller coaster in the world has yet to be operated due to a lacking permit.

On a more pleasing note I have read on a number of German websites that its highly unlikely that either the GP circuit or the Nordschleife track will come to an end as they both earn the region a very good income. There are plans to sell off parts of the complex to private buyers, so owners may change but as long as the public are willing to pay to keep lapping the ring there will be someone interested in taking the money (the part we are mostly interested in going there for) .

If you have never been to the Nurburgring and your into motorbike or car racing or just want to do a lap of a world famous GP circuit the Nurburgring is the place to go. Its set in the Black forest region of Eifel in Germany, surrounded by little villages, castles and hills.
The original track was divided into 3 sections, the Nordschleife, the Sudchleife and the Zielschleife,
Only the Nordschleife exists now and thats the 13 mile north loop which is now an unrestricted 1 way toll road. Its incredible to think that the place is allowed to run the way it does as you can go in/on whatever you like, go as fast as you like (which needs to be fast or you spend the whole lap watching in your mirrors) and risk everything as your not covered by your insurance, however theres not much more satisfying than on a warm Summers evening getting around a near deserted lap and topping it off by passing a super car down the long straight just before the finish and talking about it over a cool beer back in Adenau.

The Sudschleife is the little known 7 miles long southern loop. Last time we went we did a lap of the remaining parts incase it was demolished completely. Part of the southern loop is the main road, but turning off through some rusty old gates you can find some of the original old tarmac which leads up the tree lined hill and back towards the new GP circuit, a must see for any Nurburgring fans.
The Zielschleife was the much shorter finish loop or pit / stadium section which was demolished to make way for the various guises of the modern GP cuircuit.

Map showing the 3 original sections

To find out more watch the video (German with English subtitles).

August

2012-09-01T22:30:00.000+01:00

During August some of us have been on our bikes for 3 of the 4 weekends.
As usual for 2012 the weather in August has been mostly wet. The first ride of the month we decided that it was dry enough to go on our local route along the B4363 or as we call it the 3 bridges. Well it started off dry anyway, then it hammered down for about 20 minutes, but we made the most of it and ended up in Bewdley.
On my way home a piece of wood that was in the road was kicked up by a car in front, I tried to avoid it but heard it hit the front fork and then the rear wheel went over it.

See we do go out if its raining!

The following weekend it was forecast to be reasonable weather so Wednesday evening while out for a beer planned an early start on Sunday. So Saturday morning I thought I would give the bike a coat of polish. I opened the garage door and straight away saw that the rear tyre was flat and a screw was embedded just off centre. Damn!

Number boards by Motographix

I whipped the wheel off and took it to our local tyre shop to get it repaired, they looked at it and decided that the hole was too big to risk a repair so I had to order a new one as they didn't have one in stock. So I was wheel less for the weekend, so ended up on Ebay and bought myself something for the bike.
Mid week I collected the wheel and the parts I ordered had arrived so the following Saturday got busy putting the bike back together and applying my new number boards. Col commented that it tidys up the back end and follows the lines of the factory white section on the bottom of the front fairing, money well spent.
The sun made an appearance so we set out early on the Sunday morning heading out for Newtown and the A483. Both Cols and My bike were looking cool, shiny and clean, we headed along the A483 and it turned out to be our best run yet, only slightly spoiled by a convoy of cars following a caravan but it was little work to get past them. A few bends later we managied a 42 degree lean angle and again a few miles on. My new rear tyre has been well and truely scrubbed in. We were both grinning when we stopped at the cafe for a coffee. Luckily the minidv cam was in action so we can watch it back once it starts getting to cold to go on 200 mile rides. The journey back was more of the same along another favourite road back to Knighton. We got back and Col said thats been the perfect ride, which it was.

At the end of a perfect ride

Both Jon and Rich have been using their bikes during August. Jon went out for a ride with a mate from work to stretch the legs on his GSXR along the A456 one of his favourite roads, he says he enjoyed it and wants to go with us again soon and go a bit further.
Rich went on an all day run heading for Elan Valley. He says he was out for 6 hours and covered 213 miles but had an electrical problem on his ZX636, later he found the fault was related to the indicator.
We are hoping to all get out again at the same time during the next few weeks, but lately its harder to organise than you think as some of us have to work Nights or Away or Sundays and get weekdays off!

On a totally seperate issue I feel I have to mention this. The other day I was out on the bike and saw the new Honda Civic from behind. Its hideous looking. It looks as though the designer forgot all about rear lights and then thought, Oh shit where can I put them hmm I know I ll stick them here in the rear spoiler, have a look for yourself, somehow it looks worse in real life. Shame as the car looks good from all other angles.

I think I am gonna be sick

Eco Challenge

2012-08-13T20:51:00.004+01:00

Every year while on our road trip we do an Eco Challenge. This means everytime we fill up with fuel I have to write down how many litres of fuel each of us drew.
The fuel used ranged from 55.1 MPG to as low as 36.4 MPG over the 6 days.
We all took the same amount of luggage and used the same Oxford Hump Back soft luggage.
Our trip was 905 miles which included a good mixture of roads and steep hills, a fair bit of stops to take photos, eat, drink, repair and dry off. 400 Miles were on Motorways and the rest A or B class roads.

Loaded

Col on the Honda Fireblade with a 900cc engine recorded the best MPG at 55.1, this is down to the combined weight of the bike and rider being the lightest which gives a good power to weight ratio. He averaged 48MPG over the trip. His average MPG when wearing his waterproofs dropped by 4MPG

Rich with the Kawasaki ZX636 a 600cc machine got 52.7MPG at best and averaged 47.6MPG over the trip.His average MPG when wearing his waterproofs dropped by 1 MPG

Phill with the Yamaha R1 a 1000cc machine got 50.8MPG at best but averaged 45.3MPG over the trip.His average MPG when wearing his waterproofs dropped by 2.5 MPG

Jon on the Suzuki GSXR another 1000cc machine got 48.7MPG and averaged 43.6MPG over the trip.His average MPG when wearing his waterproofs dropped by 3 MPG

Ed is the average of the 4 of us.

For 3 journeys we were wearing waterproof over suits, which have a lot of loose fitting areas and flapage, when on these journeys the bikes average MPG dropped by 1-4 MPG.

This year I have scored it in the same method as the Olympics, counting the amount of Golds, Silvers and Bronzes for the 5 catergories below.

Average MPG
Best MPG
Tolerance (The difference between best and worst MPG)
Best MPG compared to MCNs figure
Difference between biggest and smallest amount of litres bought

Results

Gold Silver Bronze

Best Average MPG Col Rich Ed

Best MPG Col Rich Ed

Tolerence Ed Phill Jon

Better than MCN Rich Phill Ed

Difference between fill ups Col Ed Phill

Col - Honda Fireblade 3x Gold 0x Silver 0 x Bronze

Rich - Kawasaki 636 1x Gold 2x Silver 0 x Bronze

Ed - LAW of Average 1x Gold 1x Silver 3 x Bronze

Phill - Yamaha R1 0x Gold 2x Silver 1 x Bronze

Jon - Suzuki GSXR 0x Gold 0x Silver 1 x Bronze

July

2012-08-04T20:08:00.000+01:00

As biking goes this month has been our busiest of the year, mainly due to the EDSBK road trip to Galloway and Cumbria. As you can imagine from the weather 2012 is throwing at the UK we needed to wear our water proofs. When you consider we were away for 5 days and had 2 soakings and the forecast had been for 4 days of rain we didn't do so bad. The bikes have been fixed after the recent trials and troubles and you can read all about it in the previous 2 posts.

The 2012 Road Trip- Clatteringshaws Loch A712

Myself and Col have had 3 other rides on the Sunday mornings through the month and Rich joined us for 1 of them. First we set off heading towards Ludlow, we went through a village called Neenton, minding our own business, where from under an umbrella an old woman shouted, ''Your riding too fast through the village!''
We didn't understand her complaint though, we were taking it steady as it was chucking it down with rain and we were following a car that was doing less than 30 around a sharp bend! She still managed to wave a walking stick out in front of us causing us to have to stop, then she turned and walked away!
It would be nice to know how fast she thought we were going, but don't suppose she will ever read this, or leave a comment!
The week after, Rich came and we headed to Wales and the A483 trying a different route to get there via the B4355 through Knucklas. The road has the making of a good alternative route but is let down by the amount of loose gravel all over the place. On the way back we went via Tenbury to have a look at the floods.
The last ride of the month we did, the sun was out and it was like a proper Summers day. Myself and Col headed to the welsh A483 again, the sun bought lots of other bikes out. Unfortunately that meant the road was busy, there were road works going on which messed up our flow and then the coffee at the cafe didn't taste the same,oh! the disappointment.

2012 EDSBK Road Trip. Part 1 (Moffat)

2012-08-01T14:55:00.002+01:00

We set out on Sunday 8th July headed for Moffat in Scotland, about 50 miles from the border with England. Col arrived first followed by Rich who was already wearing his water proofs and Jon arrived a few minutes later. The sun was trying to make an appearance as we set off and the odd patch of blue sky appeared on the horizon. We stopped for a cuppa and fuel and Rich said he was too hot, so took off his waterproof suit and we headed off. As we approached the climb up Shap in the lakes district the heavens opened and gave us a few minutes of rain, we decided to wear the water proofs until we arrived in Moffat.

The Buccleuch Arms Hotel

The garages

Moffat is just off the A74 (M) at junction 15.
The Buccleuch Arms Hotel was our destination in Moffat. We were met by the owner David, who showed each of us to our own garage for the bikes, then to our rooms in the hotel. (EDSBK Recommended)
The following morning we decided over breakfast to follow a route that was recommended by a website called
Motorcycle Scotland, through Dumfries to Galloway Forest following along the coast roads. After a while we needed a coffee so pulled in at Carsluith Castle over looking the bay towards Wigtown where we stopped and had a look around. We could see the clouds were once again getting dark and heavy so water proofed up in preparation for the next part of the ride.

Along the A712

Carsluith Castle

We mostly avoided the rain only seeing a few seconds worth just before we reached a town called Newton Stewart, we headed through Galloway Forest along the twisty A712 until we came across Clatteringshaws Loch where we stopped for a few minutes to admire the views. Then we headed towards the village of New Galloway where we found the A702 and followed it as it again twisted and dipped and climbed its way through the landscape. The route made it into our list of ultimate roads.
We arrived at Thornhill not seeing any rain from the again threatening skies. Drumlanrig Castle was only a few miles away so we went off route to go and have a look.

Drumlanrig Castle

Clatteringshaws Loch

Once getting back on route (A702) we followed the road up through the valley which was Cols favourite section of road and then the heavens opened and it absolutely threw it down for the last 20 minutes of the ride, we headed back to the Hotel and parked the bikes back under cover and left the water proofs to dry out. Luckily the radiators were on in our rooms so all the wet clothing got dried overnight.

The next Morning we awoke to more rain, that got heavier as we ate breakfast. We were heading to Kendal after dinner for the 2nd part of our trip, to the Lake District.
David from the Buccleuch Arms had talked to us about a short route he used that went around an area known locally as The 3 Locks and The Devils Beef Tub, we thought it sounded an interesting route and long enough to give us something to do before heading off to Kendal. We put our now dry clothes on, packed our bags to collect later and set off along the A708 towards St. Mary's Loch and as it rained all the way we stopped at Glen Cafe for a drink.

Glen cafe looking towards Loch of the Lowes

The rain carried on as we set off along the A708 and took the first road on the left heading towards Meggets Reservoir and Talla Reservoir linking the A708 to the A701. The road was steep, windy, slippery from the covering of a mixture of sheep dung and slime, had loose gravel, puddles and was flooded in places, not really a sports bike type of road at all, but the scenery was beautiful.
At the end of the road we turned left onto the A701 and rode through the forest, a winding fast section of tarmac, it felt good to be back on an A class road again, even if it was soaking wet.

The water proofs brigade!

We had been told that the Devils Beef Tub is so called as it was a place that Scottish cattle rustlers used to bring the cattle from England too. The English used to chase after the cattle to get them back and the Scotts then attacked, killing the English and keeping the cattle. We stopped in a layby and looked down the valley at the Beef Tub and could see how the natural shape of the land played a part working in the favour of the Scotts.

The Devils Beef Tub

We went back to the Hotel and collected our luggage then set off to Kendal.

2012 EDSBK Road Trip. Part 2 (Kendal)

2012-07-31T23:57:00.000+01:00

We were already soaked from the ride in the morning around Moffat.
As I got on to the motorway my feet, collar and gloves felt damp, and I thought if this rain would stop then they may dry out enough to stop me thinking about how soaked I was and wondered if the others felt like I did? As soon as we entered England the sky was lighter and the rain stopped, thank goodness for that I thought. Forty minutes later the rain was back, but harder than the mornings effort. My drying boots, collar and gloves gave up any water proofing they had left and left me with soaked feet and hands and I could feel the water occasionally dripping down the insides of my Jacket on the inside of the water proof over suit.
We arrived at the services ten minutes after the rain had stopped for a rest, Jon and me took our boots off and rang out our soaking socks, while Col and Rich talked up their boots that hadn't leaked at all.
I didn't bother to put my socks back on, it wasn't worth it.
We left the motorway at the next junction after the services and followed the A684 into Kendal which turned out to be an unexpected bit of road offering some fun for the last 12 miles of the journey.

Just after a soaking on the services at Shap

Sundial Guest House

We had stayed at the Sundial Guest House before and were made most welcome by Sue and Andy the owners so stayed there again this year. (Everyday Superbike Recommended) We arrived at the Sundial dried off then found The Miles Thompson for some food. Rich has relations in the area so went for a visit, leaving the rest of us to drink too much beer and talk about who has done the best in the Eco challenge, the best of the roads we had ridden so far, leading into the 5 pints later who of us is the biggest biking hero conversation which normally arises, with tales of who's seen the biggest speeds, who's had the most air, who's got the best cornering lines, endo's, wheelies, other shenanigans and who had had the closest of close shaves, all story's to be taken with a pinch of salt and have a laugh over!

The following morning we awoke to some hope of dry weather and blue patches of sky. Unfortunately the heating in the Sundial was off so our damp boots, gloves and leathers had stayed damp so hoped the wind as we rode along would dry them out for us. We set off with water proofs bungied to the rear seats in case we needed them.
The route was made from a list of recommended roads that we had strung together, being mindful of the few dark clouds towards the north we did the route backwards and headed south. Rich knew the area reasonably well so led for a while until we came across the A5804 which became a most entertaining bit of road that twisted a lot and eventually went along the side of lake Coniston.
We turned left following the A593 and A595 both roads were fun to ride, until I gave my bike a big handful of throttle and the exhaust came apart. We stopped in a layby and assessed the problem, nothing major just a screw clip had come loose, so I did a roadside repair and we carried on eventually reaching Penrith as the A686 and the Hartside Cafe was not far from there. We arrived at Melmerby the start of the climb up the Hartside Pass and the clouds were dark and meaningful, looming above the hills. I think we had all guessed that the road was going to be damp. Luckily the rain didn't start while we were there, however there was a lot of water running off the hills and across the road, more than enough to spoil our fun, limiting us to a more careful accent. The menu in the cafe was the same as last year so we had Mars Bar cake and a coffee, Mmm yum!

We set off back down and the roads were still covered in water but Col and I exchanged the lead on a few occasions as we dropped back into Melmerby. Then finding the A6 towards Kendal we hit our next problem. Col pulled over and thought his chain was slapping as it went over the swing arm, he adjusted the chain, but it made little difference, we stopped again and re adjusted the chain but again it made little difference but Col said it seemed better than the first time we had stopped, also his Fireblade felt strange when braking and a warped front disk was suspected. The A6 turned out to be a nice route offering some good fast sections and some good corners. I passed Jon who seemed to be messing with something on the side of his bike and about a mile later pulled in to wait for the others in another layby. Col turned up shortly after still with a problem from the chain, then a few minute went by and Jon and Rich turned up. Jon informed me that his Mini DV camera had come off at 70 mph and he had had to go back to fetch it, luckily it still worked but looks battered!

We returned to the hotel and messed with the bikes, and I discovered my exhaust end can had rotted through around the area that meets the pipe, it was wobbling around but was not going to drop off.
The following morning we headed home and 2 of us were contemplating some unexpected repairs.

Once at home I changed my exhaust can and now my R1 has the standard can refitted until I can afford to replace it. Cols Fireblade had crushed bearings in the rear wheel and a warped front disk, both problems have been repaired and our bikes are back on the road.

Flaming June

2012-07-02T20:41:00.001+01:00

I am not sure that anyone's told the weather that its June and we expect to see some sunshine and warmer days, so last month has had us dodging rain clouds again for most of our Sunday morning runs.

We decided as so far in 2012 we hadn't all been out at the same time to all book a Wednesday off work and decided to do an all day route over the B4391 to Bala, a lap of the EVO-Triangle, the Ponderosa and the Horse shoe pass.
As usual we headed to the caravan in the lay-by just outside Wenlock Edge where we all enjoyed a coffee and a sandwich to help us on our way. The A458 to Shrewsbury is a bit boring and when it meets the A5 it gets worse with only the islands/roundabouts/rotaries to break it up which can be fun when your trying to out brake and out accelerate the others.
We turned off onto the B4396 that takes you past the Knockin shop then crossed the A483 and headed to the village of Llangynog where we normally stop to off load any extra liquids we don't want to take over the hill.
Col pulled off the car park first and we headed for the excellent climb up the mountain along the B4391 only to find the road was closed for resurfacing and had to find another way. Damn.

Proof, all 4 bikes out at the same time

Rich knew the area the best out of the 4 of us so led a route that took us along the side of lake Vynwy, the roads were narrow and covered in grit in places but had some impressive scenery and it got us to Bala and back on track and then I led the way to the Evo Triangle.

The EVO Triangle
Not to be confused with our own Ashwood Triangle or the more famous Bermuda Triangle, the Evo Triangle is so named as its the test route that Evo magazine is said to use when doing a car test. As far as we know no one has gone missing when entering the triangle and all our electrical devices still functioned when we were in the area. Lots of car clubs use the route which covers about 20 miles, 3 roads and a village. We joined the route at the village of Cerrigydrudion and followed the twisty B4501 to the twisty but busy A543 then back along the straight A5. Heading in an anticlockwise loop of this circuit, starting from the village the B4501 has some great bends as it climbs its way up through the trees towards the lake. The time we went the local council had recently laid some chippings over the tarmac, so our cornering was without much pace for a few miles, or a few more KMs. The road straightens out before joining the A543. Everything became busy as we went along the A543, but again the road was good in places with some nice sets of open sweeping bends which provided some smiles. Unfortunately the boring straight A5 is the sober friend at the party, offering nothing, no beer, no pumping tunes or dancing girls, nothing to make you smile, or talk about! Well apart from a petrol station.
Click here to find it in Google Maps
The area has some nice scenery and a its easy to see why so many people go there.

The Evo Triangle not to be confused for the
Bermuda Triangle or even our own Ashwood Triangle!

Its a nice circuit but we preferred the A483 for our style of riding. We could see the rain approaching so headed towards Denbeigh where the sun was out.
We went through Denbeigh and Ruthin and came across the A525. This road had the makings of EDSBK ultimate road, unfortunately there was so much traffic in the way we didn't have chance to ride the road in the way we would have like too, but it has bend after bend as it climbs the 5 miles up the Nant Y Garth Pass.
We arrived at the Pondarosa all in need of refreshments then headed back home down the Horseshoe pass, through Llangollen, Oswestry and along the A5 back to Shrewsbury, covering a total of over 240 miles and using 2 and a bit tanks of fuel.
Good day, good company, good ride. Looking forward to our next few days out in July.

Kawasaki ZX636 Ninja

2012-07-01T22:50:00.000+01:00

This is Rich's Kawasaki ZX6R. This the 2003 model has the slightly bigger 636cc engine than the previous version of the ZX6r. The engine sounds great, its sporty with the noise from the ram air intake and gives a good midrange and top end, offering speeds of up to 163MPH. If ridden with less gusto then fuel from the 18 litre tank can last into the 40-50 MPG range, however the manufactures figures of an average 39MPG is a reasonable figure to live with.
Looks wise the 2002-2003 model pictured dosen't look out of place with the newer machines when parked on a Sunday morning at the cafe carpark with its pleasant paint scheme.

Controls
The Instruments are of the Analogue type, having a speedometer, rev counter and temperature gauge in a nicely layed out dash. On the speedo is an odometer and a trip gauge and the usual lights for indicators and neutral. The bars are positioned quite low and the pegs quite high giving an aggressive riders position but feels roomy. The seat is comfortable enough for touring and the rear seat can come off to allow access into a small storage space or be swapped for a seat cowl. There is room under the seat for the tool kit a chocolate bar to eat and a drink. There is twin headlights on the ZX636 that can be switched on or off.

Riding it
As it has a 636cc engine you would not expect it to keep us with the 1000cc sports bikes on the track, but on the road it can hold its own, though you have to give it a lot more throttle and drop a gear more often than when on the bigger bikes.

Stats

Engine Size - 636cc
Top Speed - 163mph
Power - 116 bhp
Weight - 172kg
Fuel Tank - 18ltr
Average MPG - 39 (we have regularly seen over 40mpg)
Tank range - 150miles
Insurance group 14
Tyres - Front 120/65 17, Rear 180/55/17
Suspension - Rear fully adjustable, Front fully adjustable

Rich after a long day in the saddle

Brit Breaks Record Around Nordschleife

2012-06-14T19:44:00.005+01:00

Click the picture to watch the video
(Source Visordown.com)

British Rider Andy Carlise has broken the motorcycle lap record of Nurburgrings Nordschleife, which is the north loop of the track in a time of 7min 10sec. Andy has spent many hours and done thousands of laps of the circuit and now all the practice has paid off. He claimed the record on a public day which means there was other traffic on the circuit at the same time making this time even more incredible.
During the 2010 Everyday Superbikes trip to Germany we stayed at a Guest House by Nurburgring where Andy was building his Yamaha R1 especially to do fast laps of the 13 mile racing circuit / unrestricted oneway street described as the Green Hell by ex Formula 1 driver Jackie Stewert.

He really knows his stuff around bikes helping guest with bike repairs and was doing everything possible to his own bike to make it as lite as possible at the time we visited.

Nice one Andy :)

Andy pictured in the garage doorway helping repair a bike

Phill