Front End Chatter Podcast Archive - Episodes 80 - 89

We've had a rummage in the back of the cupboard and pulled out all those old editions of Front End Chatter that get pushed back there when the new one lands, brushed them down, tidied them up a bit and put them all together into one bumper page - the Front End Chatter Archive (Part 4 of… er lots).

Front End Chatter – Episode 80

This week, chatter topics for your aural entertainment are:  

• Romano Fenasti – the hot-headed ex-Moto2 rider is definitely cracked, but should he be sacked or backed following his Misano misdemeanour?

• Mufga’s been riding BMW’s new, enlarged, Shiftcam (careful!) R1250GS...

• ... and Simon’s had a go on Yamaha’s NIKEN with some BikeSocialists (and a FECer; hi Dan)...

• ... and they’re not the only ones; other FECers who’ve tried the Niken let us know what they think,

 Plus loads more of your emails, including 

• Harley out-selling Triumph, Ducati and Suzuki in Europe last year, 

• is MotoE going to be any good, 

• why V4s don’t sound like inline fours, 

• is it possible to ‘see’ grip, 

• best mods for Aprilia’s RSV-R

• advice for smaller riders 

• ...and lots more.

Front End Chatter – Episode 81

Oh my lordy lord, here’s Front End Chatter E81, hot on the heels of E80 and ploughing an ill-informed furrow through the field of motorcycling podcasts, supported and upheld as ever by the munificence of www.bikesocial.co.uk and Bennetts, the top bike insurance people. And this time out we have topics as varied as:  

• Jonathan ‘Nice’ Rea’s fourth consecutive World Superbike title – and which previous WSB champs congratulated him...

• Ana Carrasco and her maiden – literally – WSSP300-on-a-400 world title 

• Jorge Lorenzo, who crashed at the first corner of the Aragon MotoGP race by sheer will power alone

• New bikes from Royal Enfield, yes, that’s Royal Enfield, with Simon riding the Interceptor and Continental GT at the launch...

• ...and even more new bikes, from the Intermots they have now including, er, well, not all that much, really – apart from Suzuki’s GSX-S1000-in-a-frock Katana and Indian’s FTR1200 flat-tracker, Moto Guzzi’s V85 TT, Kawasaki’s 125s, Triumph’s Street Scrambler & Street Twin, and Yamaha’s Tracer 700GT...

• FEC listeners’ emails including: 

• making engines ‘emulate’ other engines 

• what to do in the Isle Of Man instead of riding motorcycles

• should Gore-Tex be waterproof after two hours in heavy rain? 

• are paddock/pit-bikes any good? 

• is feeling for grip affected by suspension set-up? 

• is a cheap track bike a bad idea?

• best winter hack for £1500

• do we wear different kit for different trips, and should we get upset about riders choosing not to wear appropriate protective clothing?

Front End Chatter – Episode 82

Here we are again with a marathon podcast to make up for lost time, and we have:

• a teeny bit of MotoGP gossip, including why Lorenzo should not be henceforth be known as 'Sicknote'

• all (most) new 2019 bikes fresh from the EICMA show they have now, including some detail on BMW's R1250 GS v R1200 GS, as seen on BikeSocial.co.uk and Ducati's Multistrada 1260 Enduro

• listeners' emails, on subjects as varied as new Chinese v used Japanese 125s, which new bike to buy if you don't want to lose too much money, are Royal Enfield's new twins better than an old Bonneville... and much more. 

Thanks for listening, thanks for downloading (feel free to subscribe on iTunes or your Android pod app, but if you download from BikeSocial.co.uk we'd be very grateful!), and please email us on anything@frontendchatter.com

Front End Chatter – Episode 83

And wow! Scoop! Front End Chatter has a world exclusive interview with none other than the youngest man-child ever to win a grand prix – fresh from his Valencia Moto3 victory, we present Mr Can Öncü, fresh from his crib, literally. But apart from that, this week we waffle interminably on the following: 

• winners and losers from the final round of MotoGP from a predictably, or not, sopping-wet Valencia...

• ...and happy bunnies and sad hedgehogs from MotoGP testing at a largely dry Valencia

• will Triumph enter a factory team in Moto2 at some point, like, 2020, maybe to coincide with the launch of a Daytona 765 road bike?

• hits and misses from that 2018 Motorcycle Live they had then

• Triumph’s new Street Twin and Street Scrambler, ridden at the launch in Portugal (in case it’s unclear)

• comparing the sound of BMW’s R1250 flat twin v the R1200 engine, and what it can tell us about the development of the new engine

• Renthal’s chain expert gives his opinion on dealing with burst O-ring seals down a ropey phone line

• what’s the best road sport tyres for a Daytona 675 for less than £200?

• what bikes can you buy now that will only increase in value, effectively giving you free biking? And is it worth buying a bike as an investment when you’re 50, anyway?

• why does no-one make a great touring naked bike, in the mould of BMW’s Rockster?

• what’s the best small-capacity bike that commute, do a bit of two-up and cope with a more generously-proportioned rider for less than £1000?... 

• ...and, in contrast, should a man, who isn’t the bass player in the Foo Fighters but could be, sell his already exotic bike collection and then buy something truly, fabulously, exceptional? It’s a tough one.

Many, many thanks for all your emails; please keep ’em coming to: literallyanything@frontendchatter.com

Front End Chatter – Episode 84

And this week, Simon H and Mufga present, for your consideration: 

• Moto2 testing from Jerez, and the lap record-shattering debut of Triumph’s 765 engine, plus the emerging sibling rivalry of Marquez and Rossi brothers (ish)

• MotoGP testing gossip from Jerez, including Nakagami’s pace (who?) and the size of Johann Zarco’s... task

• Lewis Hamilton testing gossip from Jerez, including how slow, or not, he is, or isn’t, on a WSB-spec Pata Yamaha R1

• the rights, and wrongs, of police officers hitting scooter-riding criminals with their cars (contentious, this), and what has all this got to do with the Met Office?

• and, speaking of teenager hoolies, a few details from the launch of Kawasaki’s Z125 and Ninja 125

Plus, a selection of your amazing emails, including: 

• should I sell my Ducati SportClassic to buy a new Moto Guzzi TT85? 

• is PCP better value than buying a bike on a credit card and bouncing it between 0% cards for the life of the repayment?

• is a lightly tuned R1200GS likely to be as chippy as a new R1250GS?

• will JLo and Marquez pinch points off each other in 2019, making a Dovi world title more likely?

• which will be the best naked hyperbike if they end up with a racing class at World Superbike?

• what makes the Kawasaki ZX-10R the winningiest World Superbike?

Thanks for listening, please email your thoughts, musings, questions and anything else you want to us yammer about to: anything@frontendchatter.com.

Front End Chatter – Episode 85

In episode 85 of FEC Martin and Simon turn back time to August 1993 and re-live the fags, mags and bags of a classic British Grand Prix at Donington Park when:

• Doohan played skittles with Schwantz and Barros

• Yamaha’s Luca Cadalora followed team orders – Suzuki team orders

• Foggy needed a reserve tap

• Mackenzie needed no invitation

Also in this week’s FEC:

• Guy Martin’s Irish driving licence

• Triumph’s Scrambler 1200 XC and XE ridden (and crashed)

• more on police scooter crash tactics

• how to accidentally spend £18k on a winter bike, and how to protect it

• more advice on PCP v credit cards

• why there’s life in magazines yet!

Front End Chatter – Episode 86

And this month, FEC sinks its teeth into:

• the Greatest Grand Prix Of All Time, aka the 1990 Australian 500cc Grand Prix, feat. Sir Mick of Doohan, Lord Wayne de Rainey, Baron von Gardner and the Marquis of Schwantz going at it hammer, tongs and forceps• the 125cc side-spectacle of Hans Spaan aiming a punch at Fausto Gresini and Loris Capirossi winning his first world title

• the year of 2019 in review, as FEC jumps into the Chatter Tardis and zooms 12 months into the future – including the best bike of 2019, the Brit GP from Donington, and some shocking new Suzuki news – yes, you read that right

• a deep dive into the FECsack with contributions on topics as varied as

• buying used instead of a new bike on PCP,

• the mechanics of trail braking and why it’s a good (and bad) idea,

• how tightly controlled the Triumph 765-powered Moto2 series will be,

• the reliability of KTM electrics,

• how odd is it that Marc Marquez’ dad is STILL hanging around his pit box,

• bike community garages in the US,

• a FEC track day in August,

• how to make MotoE more of a spectacle by using an accountant from Bromley,• why is insurance so bloomin’ expensive?

Front End Chatter – Episode 87

This week we have:

• why Suzuki Hayabusa mirrors remind Simon of Rosa Klebb’s shoes• a timely review of the 2002 Assen MotoGP, back in the days when races could be won by a two-stroke or a four-stroke, and when one four-stroke in particular appeared to be so much faster than the others it was like cheating...

• ...and how a last lap manoeuvre foreshadowed a more notorious coming-together 13 years later...

• a mini-review of the new Honda CBR650R and CB650R and is it a ‘new’ CBR600F? And how does the CB compare to a KTM 790 Duke?

• ...and why does no-one make a Dakar replica?

• effective anti-rain visor solutions

• why do we wear the kit we wear?

• more on police/scooter tactics

• an inverse game of ‘what bike should I buy?’, with ‘what bike have I bought?’

• have some bike magazines may have lost their sense of humour, and is there a correlation with the demise of sportsbikes?

• ...and much more natter chatter...

...and if you’re interested in attending a FECstravaganza in August in Lincolnshire, let us know!Many many thanks for listening, please continue to download FEC from www.bikesocial.co.uk.Email your thoughts, queries, questions, observations and comments to: anything@frontendchatter.com

Front End Chatter – Episode 88

And for your aural delectation this week we have gossip on:

• Andrew Iannone’s jawline

• Maverick Marquez and his pants

• Dave Bautista’s Rea-beating form at Phillip Island

• the perfect Franken-racer

• unfeasible plum-o-meters in the BSB paddock

• why is bike gear so expensive?

• what bike did Nev buy? And is a BMW R1250RS better than a Z1000SX?

• how do we know when not ride a bike but take the car instead?

• tips for touring in Alaska

• why there are no exotic small-bore race replicas and how to get more young riders on bikes

• and much, much more (but definitely no chat about motorcycle magazines; well, a bit...)

• ...plus! Super-really-very-exciting news of the 100th episode FECstravaganza at... <drum roll> Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire, Tuesday August 13th; a Bennetts/BikeSocial/California Superbike track day – and at which we’ll be recording FEC’s centenary episode in front of an eager audience of grass and air. You’re welcome to sign up to the track day, or just come along and have a listen... more details of the 100th episode FECstravaganza in the next FEC!

 Meanwhile, thanks for listening and supporting what we do, keep the emails coming to anything@frontendchatter.com – don’t listen to Mufga, you write what you want to write – and catch us both on Twitter: @SimonHbikes & @Mufga, and on Insta/FB/the usual.

Front End Chatter – Episode 89

This week we’re chattering about:

• Andrea Iannone’s smelly secretions

• Jonathan Rea’s Book Of Excuses

• first ride of KTM’s new 790 Adventure and Adventure R

• how practical and fun is Enfield’s Interceptor?

• which bike can renew the sense of fun in your biking

• is £200 for a one-piece leather race suit on Ebay worth buying?

• should we feel guilty about NOT riding our bikes much?

• what’s the best non-sportsbike for track days?

• does Fairy Liquid work as an anti-misting visor coating?

• how to find the right people with whom to tour Europe

• ...and much much more...

Thank you once more for listening to our nonsense, and contributing with your thoughts, queries and opinions: You can get in touch via email at  anything@frontendchatter.com

Simon H and Martin are also on Twitter:@SimonHbikes and @Mufga ...and you can also fund us on various other social media platforms...

If you’d like to chat about this article or anything else biking related, join us and thousands of other riders at the Bennetts BikeSocial Facebook page.