Last month Olympia London played host to a wonderful gathering of like-minded people; motorcycle lovers, engineers, designers, fabricators, artists and artisans...

Inside the "loft" at Olympia Central - up on level two - 2,500 visitors examined, analysed and enjoyed over 60 masterpieces in the showcase and a further 80 rare classics, customs and stock specials placed on the dealer stands.

Below is a small selection of the creations on display at KICKBACK London. You can enter your motorcycle for the next KICKBACK which is to be staged at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire from 1-2 April 2017. Email good photos of your custom-engineered motorcycle or rare classic to [email protected]

KICKBACK Stoneleigh Park is also hosting the 2017 National Championships (for customised motorcycles) again email Lorne if you would like to enter. You can also download the registration form at TheCustomShow.com if you would like to enter your build.

KICKBACK 2017 is at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire from 1-2 April. Visit TheCustomShow.com for more information.

The schedule for the Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy will remain unchanged for the 2017 edition of the worlds most famous motorcycle race.

The 2016 event saw records tumble as the fierce rivalry between Englishman Ian Hutchinson and Northern Ireland’s Michael Dunlop saw the pair dominate proceedings, taking five race wins between them, with the outright lap record for the infamous 37 and ¾ mile long Mountain Course being obliterated in the process by both riders.

The Isle of Man’s population will swell by over 50% for two weeks again next June with an ever increasing number of motorcycle racing enthusiasts from all corners of the world expected to converge on the small Island in the middle of the Irish Sea to see Hutchinson and Dunlop continue their epic battle for TT supremacy.

However, with a host of former winners and up and coming hopefuls also expected to feature on the entry lists, they will not have it all their own way, with veteran campaigners John McGuinness and Bruce Anstey who have 23 and 11 wins to their names respectively, leading the charge against their younger rivals.

British Superbike Championship star Peter Hickman is just one of those looking to open his account in 2017. Still the fastest ever TT Newcomer, Hickman has built up his knowledge and experience over the past three years and is ready to fight for the coveted ‘Mercury’ trophies. Meanwhile, having recorded three podium finishes apiece during 2016, Dean Harrison and James Hillier will be serious threats in all classes.

Other star names in the mix include local favourites Conor Cummins and Dan Kneen, Australian challengers David Johnson, Cameron Donald and the returning Josh Brookes, Irishmen Lee Johnston and William Dunlop, two-time TT winner Gary Johnson, veteran campaigner Michael Rutter and Lightweight ace Ivan Lintin.

TT 2017 commences with a week of qualifying getting underway on Saturday 27th May. The race schedule will open with the RST Superbike TT Race on Saturday 3rd June and anticipation will be high following Michael Dunlop’s blistering sub-17 minute lap posted in last year’s corresponding race.

The opening race day schedule also sees the first of two Sure Sidecar TT Races with brothers Ben and Tom Birchall the team to beat having broken the outright lap record for sidecars. Five more recent race winners are expected to line up against the Birchall brothers with seventeen time TT winner Dave Molyneux, last year’s Sidecar Champion John Holden, multiple World Sidecar Champion Tim Reeves and the irrepressible Conrad Harrison all expected to feature at the front of the race.

Monday 5th June features the now traditional double solo race day, starting with the Monster Energy Supersport TT Race 1 followed by the RL360 Quantum Superstock TT Race. The Monday schedule holds good memories for Ian Hutchinson with the Bingley Bullet twice emerging victorious from last year’s competitive line up.

A packed day’s entertainment on Wednesday’s 7th June gets underway with the second Monster Energy Supersport TT Race, followed by the Bennetts Lightweight TT Race and concluding with the high tech, high spec, SES TT Zero Race for zero emissions machines.

TT 2017 will culminate with the ‘Championship Day’ on Friday 9th June, which sees the outright solo and sidecar champions crowned. The action gets underway with the second Sure Sidecar TT Race, followed by the traditional finale; the PokerStars Senior TT Race.

Last year’s dramatic climax lived up to expectations as a huge trackside audience saw the Birchall brothers take the sidecar race honours and firmly establish themselves as the crew to beat in 2017. Meanwhile, that man Michael Dunlop again turned on the style in the PokerStars Senior TT, destroying the field and posting new lap and race records in the process.

It was a truly spectacular end to a spectacular meeting. No wonder Murray Walker OBE describes the TT as the ‘greatest motor-sporting event in the world’. The Isle of Man TT sees fans line the 37¾ mile closed public road circuit looking for their own unique vantage point to watch the thrilling spectacle. Excitement, glory, disappointment; the TT has it all. For fans of motorsport in its purest form, the Isle of Man is the only place to be in 2017.

And there’s no better time to immerse in everything TT. With travel and accommodation options, brand new grandstand seating, a choice of special events to attend and VIP hospitality available every race day, fans can build their own TT experience, bringing them ever closer to the action and closer to their heroes.

Places for the most exhilarating motorsport event in the world are available to book at iomtt.com

In the UK there are up to 7,000 serious motorcycle accidents each year. It's a depressing thought.

The hour after the accident is critical as to how well a biker will recover, but there is something simple that you can do to help yourself, just carry the following information:

• Any current medication
• Any relevant illnesses, including allergies
• Any ongoing disability(-ies) suffered
• Language spoken
• Emergency contacts

The Sheffield Advanced Motorcyclists (SAM) have written about the advantages and disadvantages of different methods you can use. From a simple piece of paper to a scannable QR sticker, a biker can help emergency service staff to ensure the treatment given won't harm the casualty and who the biker wants contacted.

If you carry ICE then encourage your biking mates to do the same. After all the life you are helping to save could be yourself or your best riding buddy.

To find out more read the full article. 

Michelin saw the 2016 MotoGP™ World Championship draw to an impressive conclusion as Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) ended the season where he started it in Qatar by taking victory and recording a new lap and race record in the process at today’s Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana in Spain.

Lorenzo started from pole position after setting the best-ever lap around the 4,005m Valencian circuit, with a time of 1’29.401 yesterday. Using the latest edition MICHELIN Power Slick medium compound front tyre, which has a new profile and is aimed for the 2017 season, the Spaniard got the holeshot from the start and led at the end of lap-one. Lorenzo never came under any real threat at the front and held first place for the rest of the proceedings, setting the race lap record on the fifth circulation as he recorded a time of 1’31.171. He finished the 30-laps in 45’54.228 to set a new race record at Valencia, a feat which Lorenzo had also completed at Qatar during his – and the MotoGP field’s – first outing on Michelin tyres this season.

The battle behind for the remaining podium positions was as intense and enthralling as any seen this season. A five-way tussle soon developed behind Lorenzo featuring World Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda), Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team), Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP), Maverick Viñales (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR) and Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team). The five modern-day gladiators clashed at every opportunity with numerous overtaking manoeuvres making for exciting racing and positions changing hands regularly. As the race progressed Marquez broke the shackles of the remaining quartet and tried to chase Lorenzo, he set many fast sectors as his new for 2017 MICHELIN Power Slick hard compound front tyre worked perfectly in the latter stages of the race. Marquez managed to take a large amount of time out of what was now an unassailable lead for Lorenzo, and despite his late charge the five-time World Champion had to settle for second.

A huge and colourful crowd of 110,050 packed the grandstands around the circuit to witness Iannone secure the final rostrum position after a thrilling head-to-head with Rossi which saw the two change places many times. Rossi was fourth with Viñales following him over the line for fifth. Pol Espargaro (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) took sixth and the position of First Independent Team Rider, with Dovizioso a very close seventh.  Eighth place was secured by Aleix Espargaro (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR) and Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) was ninth. Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) rounded out the top-ten.

Michelin had a new profile front tyre available for this weekend that is a part of the plans for 2017. All the riders were given the option to use this latest version of the MICHELIN Power Slick and over 75% of the field chose to race with this new option today. Further evaluation of this tyre, plus some more of the latest front versions from the French company, will be tested at a two-day test in Valencia this week.

Michelin will be present at many winter season tests appraising the new tyres and gathering data in readiness for the start of the 2017 season, which is scheduled to get underway beneath the floodlights of Qatar next March.

Jorge Lorenzo – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP: “I want to congratulate the work done by Michelin during the year. We improved the front tyre so much that now the front is more able to compensate the grip of the rear. Little-by-little we have also improved the rear as well after the problems of Argentina and Sepang and now this weekend we have had very competitive tyres. This was demonstrated by breaking the record on Saturday, taking the lap-record on Sunday and getting the race record as well.”

Nicolas Goubert – Deputy Director, Technical Director and Supervisor of the MotoGP Programme: “This has been a very good weekend for us and we are extremely satisfied with the results we have achieved. We brought one of the new profile front tyres that we have for 2017 here this weekend and all the riders tried it, with many of them choosing to use it during the race. This is a clear indication that we are heading in the right direction for next year and the riders are happy with what we have to offer. Today we saw the lap-record and race record broken and yesterday the overall track record was surpassed, this also happened at the first race of the season at Qatar and at Misano, we are pleased to have gotten these results as it demonstrates that the progression has been throughout the season and not at just one race. We know we still have a lot of work to do and that starts on Tuesday with the first test for 2017. Overall we are quite pleased with how everything has gone in 2016, we have had issues to overcome and we believe we have faced up to all challenges and tried to find solutions for most eventualities. The whole Michelin team has worked very hard and I would like to thank them for their professionalism and dedication and we all look forward to more success next year.”

The 60th anniversary of the first 100mph lap of the iconic TT Mountain Course, one of the most historic moments in the Isle of Man TT Races history, will be celebrated at next year’s Classic TT presented by Bennetts, with the achievement providing the platform for a weekend of motorcycling themed nostalgic entertainment.

On Saturday 26th August, the clock will be turned back to the time when Scotsman Bob McIntyre made history, recording the first 100mph lap of the 37¾ mile TT Course on his way to victory in the 1957 Senior TT Race.

Appropriately Michael Dunlop, fresh from the first sub 17-minute lap at this year’s TT, which he improved to a remarkable 133.962mph later in the week, will pay tribute to McIntyre’s achievement with a celebration lap, complete with replica kit and on board an identical dustbin faired Gilera which has been meticulously recreated by Kay Engineering.

The tribute lap is set to be the highlight of a packed weekend of entertainment with a heady mix of Castrol induced nostalgia, ear-splitting noise and breath-taking racing, coupled with a packed programme of special events, retro entertainment and classic tunes.

After a week of qualifying which gets underway on Saturday 19th August, concluding on Friday 25th after the Classic TT Paddock Carnival, the race action kicks off with the curtain raiser – the Bennetts Senior Classic TT - on Saturday 26th August. The corresponding race last year memorably not only saw John McGuinness break his Classic TT hoodoo after four years but also saw Maria Costello MBE joining him on the podium in third place.

Saturday’s Race programme concludes with the distinctive sound of the 250cc Lightweight machines as they take to the Mountain Course again in earnest.  Last year’s race was dominated by Bruce Anstey and the New Zealander will undoubtedly be the man to beat again, although a number of rivals are expected to emerge in the coming months following the interest that 2016’s inaugural race generated. Saturday’s schedule will also feature a stunning parade of pre-1975 vintage machines.

Racing rivalries will then be put aside on Saturday evening as the riders mingle with fans at the Classic TT Party. Held in the VIP Hospitality Suite at the TT Grandstand, this year’s event will be all about vintage tea dresses, swing skirts, classic suits and nerd glasses, as the calendar goes back to the 1950s and celebrates the era of Bob Mac. Back by popular demand, the Blue Jays will be providing an authentic soundtrack guaranteed to have fans beating a path to the dance floor, playing all the hits from Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and many more.

Sunday sees attention switching from the Mountain to the north of the Island and the VMCC Festival of Jurby. Now firmly established as a highlight of the weekend, the Festival regularly attracts 10,000 fans, many astride a heady mix of unusual, iconic, long forgotten or instantly recognisable bikes as they put their machines on show alongside some of the greatest names in motorcycle racing history.

Held in the VIP Hospitality Suite, Sunday evening’s RST Classic TT Legends Dinner sees today’s leading TT riders joined by a whole host of legendary names from the world of motorcycling as well as Isle of Man TT history. With tickets now available for either individual seats or complete tables, this is perhaps the ultimate chance for fans to join with so many famous names for an unforgettable evening.

The action returns to the Mountain Course on Monday 28th August with two more thrilling races: the Okells Junior Classic TT Race and the Motorsport Merchandise Superbike Classic TT Race. Bank Holiday Monday also boasts the colourful Classic Racer Magazine parade of post-1974 classic machines, sure to bring back many golden memories, before the festival concludes with the closing party and prize presentation in the VIP hospitality suite.