FullChatter News

NorthWest 200 … 2012

May 17th, 2012 by Phil @ FullChatter

Race Week Details & Official Promo Video :-

*Check out the FullChatter Calendar for a link to the NW200 website.

*We think the highlights may be on ITV4 on the 31st May. Please check, we don’t know for sure.

Saturday 12th May

10am-5pm “Roads of Renown”, Ballymoney Museum. Exhibition celebrating local motorcycle road racing heritage, including leathers & helmets, memorabilia, trophies and photographs. Admission free

10am-5pm Mini Moto Racing Club of Ireland Championship Round 3. East Strand Portrush

Sunday 13th May

11am Charity Walk, Run & Cycle of NW200 circuit. Registration from 10am at Hospitality Marquee

3pm Pre-Race Chaplain Service at Hospitality Marquee. All welcome (Performance by Britannia Concert Band, Londonderry from 2pm)

Monday 14th

9am-5pm “Roads of Renown”, Ballymoney Museum

4.30pm Car boot sale at finish area

8pm-late “Brown Sugar” live at the Hospitality Marquee. DJ & host, Brian Moore

Tuesday 15th

9am-5pm “Roads of Renown”, Ballymoney Museum

9.30am-2.30pm ROADS CLOSE FOR OFFICIAL PRACTICE

10am-5pm BikeSafe NI at the start area

10am-10pm Vintage & Classic Bike Display. Portstewart Town Hall. Admission £3, OAP £1.50, no charge for children accompanied by adult

3pm-8pm Charity Fun Evening in the Paddock. Face painting, balloons, stilt walkers, puppet show, story tellers and craft stalls

8pm Miss North West 200 competition at Hospitality Marquee with Adrian Logan, plus “The Untouchables”, DJ & host, Brian Moore

Wednesday 16th May

9am-5pm “Roads of Renown”, Ballymoney Museum

9.30am-6pm BikeSafe NI at the start area

10am-10pm Vintage & Classic Bike Display see Tuesday

1pm-3pm Riders Meet & Greet – Coleraine Town Centre. Get close to the top riders and grab a signature. Plus the arrival of the Charity Ride Out with Jeremy McWilliams

4.30pm-7pm Veteran, Vintage & Classic Vehicle Display plus Cavalcade at the Start area

5pm-7pm Paddock Walkabout

6.30pm-8pm Family Motor Fest, Lansdowne Crescent, Portrush

Bolddog Freestyle Motocross Stunt Team
Mini Moto Demo
Trialstar – Motorcycle trials demo
Children’s show and activities

7.30pm-late “A Question of Sport” celebrity quiz, hosted by Adrian Logan followed by “The Illegals featuring Niamh Kavanagh” at the Hospitality Marquee. DJ & host, Brian Moore

Thursday 17th May

9am-5pm “Roads of Renown”, Ballymoney Museum

9.30am-2.30pm ROADS CLOSE FOR OFFICIAL PRACTICE

9.30am-9pm BikeSafe NI, at the start area

10am-10pm Vintage & Classic Bike Display see Tuesday

5.30pm-9pm ROADS CLOSE FOR RACING (SUPERSTOCK AND SUPERTWIN)

9pm-late Charity concert with “Otis & The Elevators” at the Hospitality Marquee, to benefit Action Medical Research. DJ & host, Brian Moore

Friday 18th May

9am-4.30pm “Roads of Renown”, Ballymoney Museum

9am-9pm BikeSafe NI at the start area

10am-3pm Vintage & Classic Bike Display see Tuesday

10.30am-12noon Family Entertainment at the start area

4pm NW Vintage Motorcycle Club Display at Paddock (Cavalcade leaving at 7pm)

4pm-7pm Charity Fun Evening at the Paddock. Face painting, balloons, stilt walkers, puppet show, story tellers and craft stalls

4pm-7pm Paddock Walkabout

8pm-late “Ronnie Greer Band”, This country’s finest exponent of blues and soul featuring special guests Anthony Toner, at the Hospitality Marquee

8.30pm Free concert with “Creedence Clearwater Revived” at the Promenade, Portstewart, followed by….

10.30pm Giant fireworks display at The Promenade, Portstewart

Saturday 19th May

9am-5pm “Roads of Renown”, Ballymoney Museum

9am-6pm BikeSafe NI at the start area

10am-6.30pm ROADS CLOSED FOR RACING

11am-6.30pm The Relentless International North West 200

6.30pm-late NW200 Wrap Party with “Rio!” live at the Hospitality Marquee

Sunday 20th May

1pm-5pm “Roads of Renown”, Ballymoney Museum

Dunlop Memorial Gardens – Castle Street, Ballymoney

The beautiful Dunlop Memorial Gardens commemorate the achievements of the late road racing legends, Joey Dunlop ‘The King of the Roads’ and his brother Robert Dunlop ‘The Mighty Micro’. Open every day; admission free.

http://www.vimeo.com/34120481

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Whatever next ?!!! …. a fazerman rant!

May 4th, 2012 by Phil @ FullChatter

FullChatter laptop latest ….. a rant from fazerman -

Hi Phil,

Just got my copy of the bike trader mag about new regulations for bikers/drivers under the EU directive’s, changes for riders who wish to pass their test and get a big bike will have to be over 24 instead of the present 21 rule.

But in the same stroke a driver who wishes to drive a HGV class 1 (44 tonne) had to be 21, but this now has been reduced to 18 years olds, where’s the sense in that.

Who do they think will be most dangerous on the roads.

As for the new on road test, who the hell wants to do a figure of 8 on a road as part of a test, never mind the hassle it would cause to learn how to do it on a real road.

Just having a bit of a rant at how stupid the powers that be, can be.

Glyn.

We agree. Leave your views below.

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River Dancing Bikers … the Aroma Crew!

April 18th, 2012 by Phil @ FullChatter

Michael Flatley eat your heart out, you’ve got nothing on this lot … the Aroma Crew!

Thanks to ‘ukbiker’, for the Youtube clip.

Posted in Day to day, Special Features | 2 Comments »

Take it away, Mr Sulu …

April 17th, 2012 by Phil @ FullChatter

MOT time for the GSX-R the other day, which, due to the annual expiry date means it is usually the first ride of it since the previous summer.

This year I thought getting back on the sports bike would not be quite as much of a shock. The reason being, for the last 5 years the step has been from my reliable, steady, fun, workhorse, otherwise known as a DL650 VStrom (a bike I would thoroughly recommend, by the way)

No, this year, having just laid out a dollop of brass to swap the DL for a new Versys 1000, I thought there wouldn’t be a shock factor, just a step up.

S**t, was I wrong. For all the improved performance of the Versys over the DL, and it is a big step, the GSX-R is of another world.

The Versys is a quick, nimble, comfortable, adventure-styled road bike. The GSX-R (Blade, R1, Ninja etc; included) comes with the ‘Supersports’ tag , a tag that is warranted, taking you into another world, galaxy even, at hyper-drive and warp factor speeds.

Where the Versys and the likes are great fun, the Supersports are about sheer exhilaration.

No question, if I could only have one bike it would be the Versys, or something from similar stock. It’s ultra comfortable, enough performance surely for all. It will make a back road, country lane into a hoot and take you and your squeeze, with luggage, away for the weekend or cross Continents, keeping you with a smile on your face.

But, if what you want is dose of tourettes, then climb aboard a Supersports.

As a mate once said, ‘Aye, and mine gets quicker the longer I leave it in the garage!’

Posted in Day to day, Monthly Column | No Comments »

GT3RS Vs R1 ….. On Ice!

April 10th, 2012 by Phil @ FullChatter

Another youtube vid sent to us by FullChatter member Trevor.

This time a 450bhp Porsche GT3RS against Yamaha’s 180bhp, R1.

Racing on a replica version of the Paul Ricard circuit, marked out in the ice! somewhere in Lapland.

We reckon the R1 rider, Serge Nuques, must have big ones!

Sorry, the commentary is in French.

Posted in Day to day, Monthly Column | No Comments »

Test Rides Available …

April 9th, 2012 by Phil @ FullChatter

Ducati have just announced the dates and venues for their 2012 Roadshow.

Test ride your favourite at a dealer near you on Roadshow Day.

For details, see the Ducati FullChatter blog, click here.

Posted in Day to day, Events | No Comments »

Industry comes together to support e-petition to increase awareness of motorcyclists

April 8th, 2012 by Phil @ FullChatter

Three of the industry’s most influential organisations have added their support to the Motorcyclists Matter e-petition, which is now one-third of the way to reaching the target of 100,000 signatures. The MCI, BMF and MAG have publicly voiced their support for the campaign, launched by Bennetts, which urges the government to help increase awareness of two-wheeled users on UK roads by ensuring that bike-related questions are made compulsory in the driving test.

Whilst motorcyclists account for only 1% of road traffic they fall victim to almost 20% of fatalities and the current system of random selection means that some road users are able to pass their driving test without ever answering a question related to motorcycling.

Karen Cole, Director of Safety and Training for the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCI): “This is a very simple and sensible change that will make a difference. Many road casualties could be avoided if drivers were more aware of motorcyclists and other vulnerable road users. Even the addition of just one mandatory question in the Drivers Theory Test specifically about motorcycles will force drivers to ‘think bike’ from a very early stage, encouraging good driving habits, which can only be a good thing for both drivers and riders.”

Motorcycle Action Group Campaigns Manager, Paddy Tyson: “MAG continues to work very closely with the DSA and the DfT, because as training continues to improve for riders, there are very simple, cost effective procedures which could be in place to help avoid the nearly 2/3rds of motorcycle accidents caused by inattentive driving, such as ensuring questions relating to bikers are a compulsory element of the driving test.”

BMF’s Government Relations Executive Chris Hodder: “Since inattentiveness by other road users causes the majority of motorcycle accidents, the BMF has consistently called for further initiatives to raise the awareness of all vulnerable road users. With over 1.3 million motorcycles on Britain’s roads it’s incredible that prospective drivers can currently pass the test without answering a single question relating to motorcyclists. We would encourage all our members to sign this petition.”

Hannah Squirrell, Associate Director, Bennetts: “We’re delighted to have received support from the three main industry organisations. The campaign has all motorcyclists in mind and can only be beneficial to every rider and everyone associated with the industry.”

More than 31,000 people have already added their signatures to the petition, which has been approved by the government and is now live at www.bikerpetition.co.uk. All two-wheeled road users are urged to add their support to the campaign to reach the target of 100,000 signatures.

Posted in Day to day, Events, Monthly Column, Special Features | No Comments »

Biker Bubble …..

April 4th, 2012 by Phil @ FullChatter

Biker Bubble – celebrity bikers Suzi Perry, Darren Gough and James Toseland unite at the Elephant and Castle North roundabout, London’s biggest accident hotspot for motorcyclists, to campaign for the inclusion of compulsory biker-related questions in the current driving theory test ahead of the most dangerous day for bikers to ride this Spring (5^th April).

Set up by Bennetts, the UK’s No.1 bike insurance specialist, visit www.bikerpetition.co.uk to support the campaign and petition the government to make the change and help reduce the number of biking casualties in the UK

Posted in Events, Special Features | No Comments »