May 22nd, 2013 by Phil @ FullChatter
We’ve just been fortunate enough to have a few days over on the west coast of Ireland.
We started out from family in Belfast and on the evening of our return we headed back through Coleraine just in time for the Thursday evening racing from the NorthWest 200.
We managed to get the back way in to Portstewart and finished off a great week with some fine viewing of the action.
Watching any racing live is brilliant but, watching road racing and seeing what the guys do on ordinary roads (rather than short circuit stuff) is, but for being there and seeing it, unbelievable!
I wish we could get over to Ireland a little more often as they have a great road racing calendar: Cookstown; Armoy; MidAntrim; UlsterGP; Kells; Killilane … and more (most dates, I think, are on the FullChatter Calendar).
Up next though (on tv only for us this year), it’s over to the Isle of Man and the pinnacle of road racing … the TT.
Watch-out for all the action on ITV4.
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April 24th, 2013 by Phil @ FullChatter
Price drop … yes, you did hear correctly!
We recently spoke to the Manager of National Tyres, Barnsley (Stuart). We were looking for a price, as you do.
Stuart told us quite a few motorcycle tyres had actually come down in price for this year.
We were quoted £132 fitted to a loose wheel and £137 fitted to the bike, for a Michelin Pilot Power 2CT 190/50ZR17, a rear tyre for a GSX-R 1000. Sounded quite a good deal to us, we were expecting £160+
National Tyres at Barnsley do a lot of bike tyres and are very popular with riders in the area. If you are close enough to take a ride, they are often worth it. Give them a ring on 01226 284 653 to get a quote.
No, we’re not advertising for them (well I suppose we are !?) … but we are about sharing good/useful info.
Leave a comment below regarding the best tyre prices in your area.
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April 13th, 2013 by Phil @ FullChatter
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April 3rd, 2013 by Phil @ FullChatter
Check-out the video below for the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2013 press dinner and Dougie Lampkin’s entrance.
Soon to be copied on ‘Come Dine With Me’!
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April 1st, 2013 by Phil @ FullChatter
FullChatter member Peter Francon runs motorcycle ‘tours’, (though I’m sure he prefers the description ‘adventures’), both guided and self-guided, throughout the Indian sub-continent and more.
Check-out his latest post from India and the ‘Roof of the World’.
If it’s something you fancy for yourself then click on one of the links within the post to go to Pete’s site – ‘Free Spirit Adventure Tours’ …
if all you fancy is checking out some great motorcycling photos from this part of the world, then the site has some great tour galleries.
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March 31st, 2013 by Phil @ FullChatter
Wherever you are, hope you get chance to blow off a few cobwebs this weekend.
It looks as though it could be dry pretty much UK wide but, thermals will probably still be the order of the day!
Have a good one and send us a copy of any photos of you take … particularly if you have been on one of the many Egg Runs taking place.
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March 22nd, 2013 by Phil @ FullChatter
The Manchester Bike Show should be on this weekend.
A two day event held at EventCity, Manchester, billed as the No.1 Bike Show in the North of England.
I hope it goes ahead as it sort of signals the start to a new biking season!
Good luck with the weather guys!
If anyone goes, leave your comments below … or if you have any snaps from the day email them over for us to publish.
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March 20th, 2013 by Phil @ FullChatter
We all like our freebies and in this week’s, excellent issue of MCN there’s a handy little ‘Face The Fear’ publication …
Yes, sometimes these sort of booklets can be a little too simplified, sometimes condescending and nearly always re-vamping some old stuff, regardless, I found this a pleasant enough read and motivating for the forth-coming biking season (said he, typing whilst a snow blizzard going on outside!). Plus, old stuff isn’t old stuff to everyone and we all need a little reminding every now and again of some of the basics, especially as most of us start to come out of our winter hibernation.
There’s also a very readable interview with Rossi the GOAT and, who doesn’t want him to do well this MotoGP season.
Well done MCN !
Posted in Monthly Column, Press News | No Comments »
March 6th, 2013 by Phil @ FullChatter
A decade after pioneering the successful, high profile return of Triumph to Supersport racing, the vastly experienced and well respected Jack Valentine is taking MV Agusta back to the Isle of Man TT under the ValMoto banner.
Team Owner Jack is spearheading the Supersport project – which also includes the North West 200 and Ulster GP – in partnership with the Italian marque. TT winner Gary Johnson will pilot the Pirelli-shod MV Agusta F3 675 and will be supported by a highly experienced team of technicians.
The team will work closely with the ParkinGO World Supersport MV Agusta team to share development and set-up knowledge and Jack will be bringing his wealth of road racing experience to the team. Having masterminded victories on the Island course for David Jefferies and Bruce Anstey, Jack is returning to the course this year with his mind set on a successful TT result with Johnson.
Team Owner, Jack Valentine, said: “This is a project that I’m extremely passionate about and I am only embarking on it because I’m confident that victory is within our reach. Having spent the last few years working for manufacturer teams in BSB and WSBK, it feels good to be bringing ValMoto out of retirement and returning to the roads seems a fitting and high profile way to make our return.
“Gary is an extremely talented rider and the F3 675 is a great bike – I’m sure the pairing of the two will be a recipe for success and a reason for me to celebrate another successful TT.”
Gary Johnson said: “I’m really looking forward to this year’s road racing season running the MV Agusta F3 675 under the ValMoto banner. Jack is one of the most experienced team owners in the industry with a first class reputation and a proven success record on the roads. I’m honoured to be part of the team and am confident that together we can achieve some positive results this year.”
Team sponsors and livery have not yet been revealed, but further details will be released shortly.
For details about ValMoto’s racing credentials, please visit www.valmoto.com
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February 17th, 2013 by Phil @ FullChatter
Generally I ride right through the winter but this time the grey, wet, miserable stuff got to me, that and three weeks away over Christmas 
, so today was my first ride for nigh on 10 weeks and guess what … that’s all it’s taken to turn me back into a car driver !! … no anticipation, short range vision, wandering brain, no road positioning and that’s just for starters … clunking gears, on/off throttle for a couple more.
Beautiful day today though, so decided on a quick blast up to the Dales, where was everyone else though?
We saw only a handful of other bikes, what’s happened? … has everyone gone out and bought a pushbike? … certainly there were swarms of cyclists around.
I guess they were all out there doing the Tour De France route.
Being serious for a moment though, cyclist numbers have increased many times over the last two or three years, surely we’ve all noticed, particularly since last year’s Olympics. Just a ‘watch out’ warning, not necessarily for the cyclists, on the whole they’re not a problem, no it’s more the motorists, who have absolutely no idea what to do when they meet a cyclist!!
Take care out there, there’s a few cyclists and bikers going to be taken out this summer, make sure you’re not one of them!
What do you think? Leave us your comments below.
Posted in Day to day, FullChatter Rides Out, Monthly Column | 1 Comment »
We’ve just been fortunate enough to have a few days over on the west coast of Ireland.
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