Biker News - Regularly updated

Welcome to our News section, where articles are listed below and if relevant within the categories on the right, just to make it easier for you to find what you wish to read...

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  1. Vote for your favourite cafe

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    Where is your favourite Biker Friendly Cafe in the UK, that you head to for coffee & cake, mugs of tea, posh coffee and bacon butties, along with bike nights, where you are sure to meet like-minded folk, for lots of lovely motorbikes and where Biker banter is ensured...

    To cast your vote for your favourite cafe, simply go to (join) our facebook group, then tick or add your favpurite place to the poll below -  Go vote

    We have lots of places popular with Bikers included on THE BIKER GUIDE website, from the south... to the north of Great Britain, into Wales and even on Shetland.

    Please note, the extensive list is mainly put together from visitor recommendations as we encourage visitor feedback and recommendations, so if there is somewhere you have been and would like to tell others about it, then please do. (see link to form below)

    See THE BIKER GUIDE website for extensive listings.

    www.thebikerguide.co.uk/bikerfriendlymeetingplaces.html

    The Poll will run until 3rd May. Pubs with meets can also be added.

    We have lots of places popular with Bikers included on THE BIKER GUIDE website - If your favourite place is not included then send us a recommendation!

    There are lot of cafes on THE BIKER GUIDE


    Update 3rd May


    The votes are in for the favourite cafe/meet voted by members of THE BIKER GUIDE group!

     

    The winner with over 50 votes is... Lynn's Raven Cafe (Lynn Mills will be happy!)

     

    2nd place goes to Squires Bikers-cafe

     

    We have a joint 3rd for the burger van @ Devils Bridge and a new place which has fast become a favourite place to head to - Good Fillers in Rochdale*.

     

    Other places voted for were Ponderosa Café, Dom's Bike Stop, Super Sausage, Jacks Hill Cafe, Wessons Cafe, Whiteways Café, Chequered Flag, Loomies Moto Cafe, Pennys Beach Cafe, Route 59, Manor Bikers Café, H cafe, Knott End, AJ's Dinner, Whistlestop Café rhuddllan, Hartside Top Cafe, The Spitfire Cafe Biggin Hill, Rykas Cafe Boxhill, Oakdene Cafe and Ace Cafe.

     

    Thanks to everyone who voted.

     

    See an extensive list of cafes, pubs and meets to visit on THE BIKER GUIDE here

     

     

    * By taking into account the votes made on different titles for Good Fillers

     

  2. How to prepare for a track day

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    This article from Superbike-Coach Corp will give you and idea what rules you're facing, what to bring, how to prepare and even a bunch of tips to make it as safe as possible for yourself and others. 

    • Check for oil moist or leaks under the bike and see oil filter and drain bolt are tight with a proper wrench. Consider to make a oil change before your track day anyway, and go with the best… Bel Ray Oils!
    • Check your chain slag and set it right according to your manual
    • Check your brake pads (no go for 50% off lifetime) and worn rotors. Also consider the age of your braking fluid
    • Check rest life of your tires (no go for 60% off lifetime). If you are worried about your tires: GO CHANGE THEM BEFORE YOU HEAD OUT (we have no tire service in the paddock). Besides knobby tires, we allow all tire types, because you should know best what they and you are capable of. Inform yourself for recommended tire pressures, because we don’t know. New Dunlop motorcycle tires are highly recommended.
    • Bring rain- or street bike tires if it supposed to rain. All track day events and organizers are- like ours- rain or shine! Oh... and some socks to change as well :)
    • Tape over all glass and lights AND tape over the speedometer. You do not need the speedometer on the racetrack. It is an unsafe distraction
    • Suspension setup: Don’t waste time and money on this too much. A better rider would make 10-20 seconds less on your bike with the same setup. Come out and have fun!
    • Safety wire your action cameras to not hurt somebody else!

    Read more here

  3. Bigben interactive announces agreement to produce new Isle of Man TT races video game

    Posted on

    The Isle of Man Government Department of Economic Development has reached an agreement with leading French based publisher Bigben Interactive to exclusively produce, under global licence, a new motorbike video game dedicated to the TT Races, titled ‘TT Isle Of Man – Ride on the Edge.’

    The new TT Isle of Man video game is being developed by Kylotonn Games, a French racing games development studio already known for WRC 5, the 2015 official World Rally Championship video game, acclaimed by the gaming industry and Ping Award winner in the Best Console Game of the Year category.

    Bigben Interactive and Kylotonn have already begun a programme to assess, record and digitally map the iconic 37¾ mile TT Mountain Course, which is run entirely on closed public roads. The TT Races is widely recognised as one of the world’s leading motorsport events and has run on the Isle of Man since 1907.

    David Cretney MLC, the Department of Economic Development’s political representative for Tourism and Motorsport commented: “The partnership between Bigben Interactive and the Isle of Man Government represents an opportunity not only to generate additional commercial income but also to increase the profile of the TT Races and broaden the event’s appeal to a wider, younger demographic working alongside a world class partner in the gaming world.”

    “For several years now, our team has worked together with Kylotonn’s developers to create and offer the best depictions of some of the most spectacular racing events like the Isle of Man TT races or the World Rally Championship.” says Benoît Clerc, Head of Software at Bigben Interactive. “By creating 1/1 the iconic 37¾ miles of the race, we already know that all the motorbike fans will feel the speed and the excitement of being part of the Isle of Man TT races,” concludes Benoît Clerc.

    TT Isle Of Man – Ride on the Edge, which will be released in 2017, will feature many of the leading teams and riders who will be recreated digitally to accurately represent their team liveries and bike manufacturers. The game will be available for Playstation®4, Xbox One, and PC.

    Big Ben Interactive representative Regis Fontenay with John McGuinness and

    Big Ben Interactive representative Regis Fontenay with John McGuinness and Ian Hutchinson on the Isle of Man at the launch of the 2016 Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy

  4. New motoring series for the BBC - Search for bikers

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    A television production company based in Camden, London, is looking for Bikers to watch and react to amazing viral videos for a brand new television series for the BBC called ‘Motorheads’. The series features the most entertaining motoring web clips from around the world combined with interviews, challenges and other segments.

    They are looking for outgoing, talkative and opinionated people who will react, laugh and enjoy these funny clips, found on the internet from around the world. As the clips are Motorbike/motoring related, they are looking for Bikers to hopefully offer some expertise/opinions on the motorbikes and incidents featured.

    This will take part on Saturday May the 7th, at their offices in Camden, London, for a maximum of 3-4 hours. Attending on your Motorbike, you will watch a selection of viral videos (approx 5), refreshments will be provided, travel expenses are covered and there is an appearance fee. 

    If you are interested in taking part in this brand new series, for a fun morning/afternoon of filming then contact Jonathan Dutton ( [email protected] ), with your contact details and why you would like to attend. 

    Jonathan Dutton
    Motorheads - Researcher
    [email protected]

     

    October FilmsOctober Films, produce a range of exciting and innovative factual based programming for broadcasters globally, you can find out more at www.octoberfilms.co.uk

  5. Adventure travel books by Chris Scott

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    After 25 years in print, the 7th edition of Chris Scott’s legendary Adventure Motorcycling Handbook (AMH) was published recently, including contributions from world travellers like Lois Pryce and Sam Manicom.
     
    Set in the late 1970s and following decade when Thatcherism polarised the nation, Chris’ ‘motobiography’ The Street Riding Years describes his start on bikes and his subsequent dozen years as a London motorcycle messenger. London motorcycle messenger, Chris ScottBy the end of the 1980s Chris had owned nearly 40 bikes, despatching on everything from classic Brit twins and thundering Italian street racers, to demented dirt bikes and nitrox-injected dinosaurs.
     
    Using a backdrop of major events and films as well as the great bikes and music, Chris recalls was golden era when badly behaved messengers got rich quick during London’s 80s boom, before Gatsos, the internet and even mobile phones. Street Riding is most definitely not a handbook but if you were riding at that time, you’ll get it. The Street Riding Years was voted RiDE magazine’s ‘Book of the Year’ and has been an Amazon best seller since publication. 

    Desert Travels
    is also set in the 1980s but covers a more conventional type of adventuring: Chris’ early biking forays into the Sahara, initially on a clapped-out XT500, then on a series of better prepared Yamaha Teneres. But most of the book covers Chris’ first Sahara tour, an ambitious expedition to the very southern edges of the Algerian Sahara. Six hopeful young riders met up in Marseille port on a selection of trail bikes – only one came back riding.
     
    Desert Riders dvd, Algeria, Tenere desert, Dakar RallySome twenty years- and at least as many Sahara trips later, the Desert Riders dvd describes Chris’ most adventurous expedition. Capitalising on his vast experience, and with the aid of fuel and food drops buried in advance, Chris and two mates rode their XR650Ls across southern Algeria’s rocky plateaux and deep into Niger’s Tenere desert to the Lost Tree,
    where the Dakar Rally founder Thierry Sabine had his ashes scattered in 1986. The dvd also includes a shorter version broadcast on National Geographic Channel, as well as other riding films from the Canadian wilderness on KLRs and the Australian Outback aboard BMW GS twins. 


     
    See more on the websites -