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. Women;

    Three weeks before;
    • Book hair, nail, eyebrow appointment
    • Buy hair colour
    • Search e-bay for new outfit
    • Look at your womanly physique in the mirror... decide that you need to lose a stone in 3 weeks, so make mental note to do workout, sit-ups, squats, etc, every day
    • Save small amount of your favourite toiletries, face cleanser, toner, eye make up remover, day cream, night cream, eye cream, factor 15 for the face and factor 8 for the body (the sun WILL come out), body lotion, shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, hair product one (to give it body), hair product two (to make it straight), hair product three (to make it glossy) hair product four (so it does not frizz), hair product five (to keep it in place)

    Two weeks before;

    • Buy new outfit (two of just in case) off e-bay, found using searches such as 'Biker babe', 'biker rally outfit', 'black goth', 'black basque ladies', etc...
    • Start tan-tastic preparations, scrub flesh and moisturise

    The week before;

    • Dye hair, hair cut, buy new hair product
    • Eyebrows waxed
    • Manicure (and pedicure if its summer)
    • Apply self-tanning creams (if not goth) 
    • Look in shops for a new outfit (just in case you see one you like better than the two you bought last week)

    The day before;

    • Sort out the clothing you are taking into piles
    • The clothing you are wearing on a hanger
    • All other items hidden, so that your Victor Meldrew husband does not say "Do you think you are taking that lot for two days!"

    The day of;

    • Face pack, condition hair, shave armpits and legs, apply make up with no mascara (to avoid panda eyes on the way in gail force winds)
    • Try to pack 10 tops, three pairs of jeans, 3 sets of matching underwear, toiletries (as above), towel (the size of a small country) into small bag and squeeze shut
    • Text mates to see if they are taking hairdryers and/or straighterners as you realise you have gone over your allocation baggage allowance
    • Moisturise whole body, get dressed putting on extra layers of clothing that you could not fit into small bag
    • Put extra items you forgot to pack into coat pockets

    Men;

    • Put tent on bike
    • Take toothbrush if longer than one night
    • Moan at woman at the amount of luggage she is taking for two nights
    • Put on 'Rally' pants, club t and leather vest
    • Go...

    Of course those apologies to all women who are lower maintenance and men who are higher...

    Author - Sharon Rollisson-Slaughter @ THE BIKER GUIDE circa 2010

  2. The new Redverz Atacama Motorcycle Camping Tent is now in its second year here in the UK...Redverz Tent - A great Motorcycle Touring tent

    It has been well reviewed by much of the UK Motorcycle media including features in MoreBikes, Ride Magazine, MCM, Motorcycle Explorer Magazine and THE BIKER GUIDE.

    Available from Twistmoto UK shop with the full range of official Redverz accessories which included the useful Awning Kit and both garage and sleeping bay footprints.

    Due to popular demand Redverz also released the Redverze Solo Motorcycle Tent. Great for those solo explorers who want absolute minimum weight and pack size, yet still want the generous 6 foot tall garage and living area.

    Redverz manufacture the highest quality expedition grade motorcycle tents with top spec components and an incredible attention to detail.

    Checkout the Twistmoto store for more Redverz products and a full range of hand picked motorcycle adventure, touring and rallying travel products.

    www.twistmoto.co.uk

    TwistMoto, equipment for motorcycle travelling, rallying, touring

  3. One of the most successful Classic teams in recent years, Team Winfield, will again take to the Mountain Course in 2016, continuing with a strong two-man line up for the Classic TT Races presented by Bennetts.

    The team will concentrate their efforts this year on the Bennetts Senior Classic TT race with Honda Racing team-mates John McGuinness and Conor Cummins piloting Roger Winfield’s rapid 500cc Patons.

    It’s the fourth year in a row that 23-time Isle of Man TT Race winner McGuinness has campaigned the Italian machine and both he and the team will be hoping for a change in fortune having yet to complete a race since the combination came together at the inaugural Classic TT in 2013.

    The Morecambe Missile has shown his pace in practice, with his best lap to date coming in 2014 at 112.031mph, unofficially a class lap record, but on each occasion he’s been denied the victory he craves for.

    However, there’s no doubt that the combination of McGuinness’s skill and talent and Winfield’s engineering expertise is one to be feared and they will come into this year’s event as one of the pre-race favourites again. If it all comes together on race day, McGuinness and the Paton will take some beating.

    Cummins, meanwhile, will get his first taste of the 500cc Paton with the Manxman taking over the seat usually filled by Ryan Farquhar. With the Dungannon rider continuing his recuperation following the serious injuries he sustained at the North West 200, the Ramsey Rocket has a superb chance of taking victory around his favourite Mountain Course despite only having one previous outing at the Classic TT in 2013.

    Riding the Dunnell Nortons, he was out of luck in the 500cc race but took a solid seventh in the Okells 350cc Classic TT before going on to claim an excellent second place on the Team Classic Suzuki in the Motorsport Merchandise Formula 1 Classic TT.

    Farquhar took the Paton to victory in the 500cc Classic Manx Grand Prix on no less than five occasions between 2007 and 2012 and both McGuinness and Cummins will be keen to give Winfield his maiden victory at the Classic TT.

    Speaking about this year’s Classic TT, team owner Roger Winfield said:

    “We had some terrible luck with John at the Classic TT and we hope this year will see an end to that and we can enjoy watching him complete four fast laps. There is no doubt that if he crosses the finish line, he is going to be among the leading riders and his times in practice previously make him unofficially the fastest rider ever in this class.”

    He continued:

    “We are delighted to welcome Conor back to the team. He has ridden with us at the Island Classic in Australia for the past few seasons and always done a great job. This will be his first ride on the Paton for us and there is no doubt he has the speed to be one of the favourites for victory come the race.”

    Classic TT Grandstand tickets are available for Friday’s final qualifying session priced at £5. All prior qualifying sessions are free for the main Grandstand. There are also race day tickets available for both Classic TT race days on Saturday 27th and Monday 29th as well as VIP and Platinum hospitality tickets. To purchase tickets go to iomtt.com or phone Duke Marketing on (00 44) 1624 640011.

    CUMMINS JOINS McGUINNESS AT TEAM WINFIELD FOR CLASSIC TT

  4. TWO DAYS OF TESTS FOR BAUTISTA, LOWES AND DI MEGLIO ON THE NEW AUSTRIAN CIRCUIT

    The MotoGP riders had a chance to discover the Austrian Red Bull Ring circuit, one of the new additions to the 2016 calendar. Characterised by hard braking, fast acceleration and steep slope changes, the new track will host the next round on the weekend of 14 August.

    Only Alvaro Bautista was on the track for Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, whereas his teammate, Stefan Bradl, is still recovering after his crash during the warm-up session at the Sachsenring last weekend.
    Two more RS-GP machines available to the Aprilia Test Team were ridden by tester Mike Di Meglio and Same Lowes, the English rider currently on the Gresini Moto2 Team, on his second time out with the Italian MotoGP bike that he will ride next season. Sam is continuing his apprenticeship on the RS-GP that began recently in Misano, completing 58 laps on the first day of testing.

    Bautista focused on preparatory tests for the race, therefore working on the chassis and electronics setup, in addition to tyre choice. The Austrian track proved to be rather particular straight away. There are a lot of blind corners and the braking and acceleration sections become extremely important, just as much as engine performance that is put to the test on the long, uphill straight stretches. Alvaro also conducted some comparative tests with a new type of front wing and the lighter swingarm that had already been tested at the Sachsenring, two elements that will require further evaluation.
    The results in terms of times were satisfactory, with Alvaro taking 166 laps over the course of the two days.

    ALVARO BAUTISTA
    “On this new track you need a lot of engine and a stable bike in braking and acceleration. We worked with these goals, finding some interesting solutions in terms of the race. We still need to do some more testing on the lighter swingarm though. I'm still not certain that it provides an advantage. I should also point out that this is a rather particular track, so it is quite difficult to make comparisons. In terms of safety, on the other hand, I think there are a few spots with very little space and close to the walls. Before the race it would be good to think about a few solutions, especially given the high speeds”.

    SAM LOWES
    “After the first contact in Misano, I'm beginning to feel more and more at ease astride the RS-GP. It is a positive trend. I improved every time I went out and we began to work on the bike setup to adapt it to my riding style. We have more tests scheduled with Aprilia, but at the moment I am pleased with the level we have achieved. The track is very nice. There are some tight corners and flowing sections. Overall it's fun. It isn't very difficult to learn; you just have to remember the right reference points on the blind corners. Let's just say that, after riding the RS-GP, the straight stretches will seem even longer with the Moto2 bike!”.

  5. Lorraine Allaway lost her husband Bob, in a horrific head on crash with a drunken driver. She has started a petition to hopefully make changes to the law and bring in harsher sentencing that should deter others and save other families the distress caused by such lenient sentences.

    From Lorraine

    On Saturday 3 October 2015 at 12pm, My husband Bob (Drac) Allaway from Long Preston, Skipton was riding his motorbike along the A65 near Settle when he was involved in a head on collision with a Nissan Note.

    Bob sadly died at the scene, from multiple injuries. At the time of the accident Bob was only 46 years old and still had so much more to give.

    He could be counted on to join charity events when he would dress as his alter ego Freddie Mercury. He spent many hours collecting for Macmillan cancer support and the Love Leah fund.

    A roadside breath test was conducted on the driver of the Nissan Note and he returned a reading of 83ug per 100ml of breath – nearly two and a half times the legal limit (35ug/100ml). North Yorkshire Police conducted an investigation into the collision and found that whilst under the influence of alcohol, the driver of the Nissan Note had driven his vehicle across double solid white lines onto the wrong side of the road and collided head on with Bob’s motorbike.  

    The driver pled guilty and has been sentenced to four years and eight months in prison and served with a five year, eight month ban from driving for causing the death of a motorcyclist whilst being drunk behind the wheel. So this driver will serve approximately two and a half years of his sentence whilst my family suffer a lifetime of pain at the loss of my husband.  

    I know any changes to the law will not affect the sentence this man has received but I hope that it will save other families the distress caused by such lenient sentences. If I were to go out and kill someone with a weapon I would get a life sentence but you get in a car drunk and kill someone you get 4 years, where is the justice in that. It is a disgrace and an insult to those left behind.  

    Sign here

    Bob (Drac) Allaway