The Classic Motorbike Show, held at Birmingham’s NEC from 13-15 November, has welcomed Comet Classics as sponsor of its popular Pride of Ownership competition. Around 25-30 motorbikes and scooters will line up in the hope of being awarded ‘best in show’.

Comet Classics, making its NEC debut, will also be bringing a selection of classic and vintage motorcycles from its Hampshire showroom and global distribution centre along with three American trucks including the 1951 Ford F1 pick-up from the latest series of Wheeler Dealers.

Owned by Martin Webb and Ray Waller, Comet Classics started as a private collection is now a three-year-old business with over 100 classics motorcycles and petrol pumps in stock. Between them, Martin and Ray have over 80 years of automotive and motorcycle experience. Martin said: “We’re delighted to sponsor the Pride of Ownership competition and can’t wait to see the bikes at the NEC. There’s already a diverse line-up of entries submitted so the final display should be very exciting indeed.”

As well as the Pride of Ownership, around 30 clubs will be fantastic displays of motorbikes plus the National Motorcycle Museum returns with its ‘Where Are They Now’ feature including special guests. There will also be a BikeJumble, the Ace Café and the ever popular vintage Wall of Death.

Event Director Dan Nwaokolo added: “We’re thrilled to have Comet Classics on board. Martin and Ray’s passion for motorcycles is clear just by looking at the standard of their amazing showroom. I’m sure this year’s Pride of Ownership display will equally reflect the passion for classic motorbikes.”

The 2015 Classic Motorbike Show will be held from 13th to 15th November at Birmingham’s NEC with tickets also offering admittance into the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show.

www.classicmotorbikeshow.com

On 28 November, former racer, current MotoGP commentator and Motorcycle Live’s resident stage host Steve Parrish has described the moment he first came alive on a motorcycle.

Parrish reveals that he “borrowed” his brother’s 250cc Ariel Arrow and took it for a spin when he was just 11 years old. Despite running out of petrol and having to push the bike back home, he was hooked, and by age 22 had turned professional, winning the 1976 ACU Solo title in the British Motor Cycle Championship. He went on to win the Shell 500 title in both 1979 and 1980, and a Superbike title in 1981. To view the video click here.

Parrish hosts the Black Horse Stage in the British Eurosport Entertainment Zone at Motorcycle Live, which will once again occupy the heart of show. Alongside James Whitham, he will keep the crowd entertained with interviews and chat shows, along with a variety of interactive games and quizzes such as the ever-popular ‘A Question Of Bikes’.

Motorcycle Live 2015 will run from 28 November to 6 December. Advance tickets are on sale now, at just £17.50 per adult, £11 for Seniors and £7 for children aged 11-16* (kids aged 10 and under accompanied by a paying adult go free). There is also a £20.50 advance ticket, which includes entry to the show and a choice of Oxford neck wear worth £15. To book, call 0844 581 2345 or visit www.motorcyclelive.co.uk

Michelin-sponsored racer, Daley Mathison, has been crowned champion of the 2015 MotoE series with his electric motorcycle, UoN-01, built by an expert team from the University of Nottingham. Having competed at rounds across Europe, Mathison, famous for his road-racing success, took the final win of the championship at the Portimão circuit.

The MotoE series is a five-round European Championship Cup for electric motorcycle racers with teams from across the globe competing against each other. Constructors come from a variety of different backgrounds, from technical colleges to commercial engineering specialists, and traditional motorsports professionals to privateer inventors.

The bike that Mathison rode to victory was designed and built by a small, highly-talented team within the University of Nottingham’s Power Electronics, Machine and Control Research Group, part of the university’s Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. Daley Mathison was appointed as the team's rider, based on the recommendation of senior officials from the Isle of Man TT.

With a maximum speed of over 180mph and power in excess of 265hp (200kw), the UoN-01, is certainly not your average motorcycle, although it does share some standard superbike parts such as Öhlins suspension and Brembo brakes that sit alongside a purpose-built frame and swing arm.

Riding on Michelin tyres, Daley admits that the demands of racing an electric motorcycle are different to a petrol bike: “The electric bike performed fantastically for me throughout this championship. A lot of it is down to the fact there is not as much to do whilst you are on the bike. With a petrol machine you’re constantly thinking about gears and engine braking, while on the electric bike you’ve just got to brake and accelerate, which allows you to really concentrate on hitting the apex and getting the drive out of the corner.”

Daley’s team had a range of Michelin’s high-quality performance tyres to choose from such as the new Power Slick Evo, Power Cup Evo and Power Rain. The Power Slick Evo is designed to provide optimum power on the track, and when racing in the heat of Portugal’s Portimão Circuit, having rubber you can rely on makes a big difference.

For more information about Michelin’s range of motorcycle tyres visit moto.michelin.co.uk or to follow Daley’s racing success check out www.daleymathisonracing.co.uk

SIXTH AND SEVENTH ROW FOR BAUTISTA AND BRADL

Alvaro Bautista finished the qualifying sessions at Phillip Island,, riding his Aprilia RS-GP to the eighth best time in Q1 (in 1’30,147), just a half second behind the leader) which earns him 18th overall place and therefore the sixth row on the starting grid for the Australian GP tomorrow. In this decisive session that determines the starting order the Spaniard once again proved to be, as he has been throughout the weekend, faster than Bradl, his Aprilia Racing Team Gresini team mate. Already in the last two free practice sessions, dedicated to finding the best possible race pace, Alvaro had shown progress compared to the Friday sessions. It was more of an uphill battle for Bradl who, although making improvements, struggled to stay close to his team mate and finished qualifiers with the eleventh best time (1’30,634) which places him on the 21st spot and the seventh row of the starting grid for tomorrow.


ROMANO ALBESIANO (Aprilia Racing Manager)
“The team worked above all on improving grip, trying different geometries and chassis setups. Bautista was feeling more comfortable although we still need to work on his race pace. With Stefan, on the other hand, we had a bit more trouble from the start, more than expected I'd say. But even with him there are still a few things to test in order to try to improve for the race.”

FAUSTO GRESINI (Team Manager)
“Bautista did well today, performing well in qualifying. If we are able to get off the line well when the lights go out tomorrow he has the potential to stay with the group of riders in front of him. Alvaro still has a bit of difficulty, especially in the last sector of the track, so tomorrow morning in the warm up we'll focus mainly on trying to be more effective in the last two turns. Stefan has been struggling from the beginning of the weekend, so we'll try to help him for the race, also comparing his data with Alvaro's and testing some more adjustments in warm up.”

ALVARO BAUTISTA
“I'd say that these were good qualifiers which we finished just a half a second from the time that would have gotten us into Q2 - not bad. If anything there is still some room for improvement on race pace that I would like to make. Today in FP3 and FP4 we lapped well with worn tyres. Up to twenty laps I'm able to maintain a fairly consistent pace and then there is a bit of drop. I can feel spinning so I struggle a bit. Tomorrow we'll use the warm up specifically to work on improving pace. Then in the race it will be important to start well and push hard in the first laps to stay with the group ahead of us.”

STEFAN BRADL
“Up to now the weekend has been more difficult than we expected. Today we made some more changes on the bike, looking for more feeling with the rear tyre, but without actually making much progress. All we can do now is keep analysing the data more in depth to find a solution that allows me to be more competitive in the race tomorrow.”

A British company specializing in reinforced denim motorcycle jeans, designed for improved comfort and extra protection, fully lined with a softer, cooler and more breathable K-tech lining protecting the whole jean, back and front from the waistband down to the shins.

Set up by Chris and Julie in 1998 with a history of designing and manufacturing jeans which goes back to the 50’s, where dad Tom set up Falmer Jeans. Owner Chris met his future wife Julie there, before eventually leaving to set up their own design and manufacturing company.

They set up Hood Jeans after working with a motocross team to design and produce their race kit. At this time they were given fabrics such as Cordura, Ballistic Nylon and Kevlar to use within the kit and gained much knowledge about their strengths. From this they thought to combine these fabrics with their background in denim Jeans and the seed for Hood Jeans was planted.

The Hood K7 jean was one of the first motorcycle jeans launched in the UK and has become one of the best and most respected on the market. Since then they have added the B15 (inspired by the jeans worn by Steve McQueen in The Great Escape), Cargo and G8evo jeans to the range. 

Their business philosophy is quite simple; make the best product they can and sell it direct to you, cutting out the middle man. This enables them to sell a top quality, British made motorcycle jeans at a very competitive price, with a high level of service! They also offer a leg lengths altered to size at no extra cost.

Customers are welcome to visit the premises in Norfolk to buy direct, where jeans purchased can be altered to length whilst you wait.

where: Web store and @ Unit C, Orchard Business Units, Maurice Gaymer Road, Attleborough, Norfolk, NR17 2QZ. Free UK and worldwide delivery.
tel: 01953 861166

www.hoodjeans.co.uk

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