Ahhh, as a biker, there is a definite reason to take advantage of a Bank Holiday Monday. If you manage to get out early enough, like pre 08:00 early, there is some good riding to be found on nearly deserted roads.
With Carolina off to work early and with the sun already shining outside, I suited up and wheeled the Ducati out of the garage. After a good few goes, she finally started and this hesitation is starting to concern me as I'd hoped the stronger battery would cure these issues. Clearly not. 
As regular readers will know, there is some great riding to be found in my neck of the woods and I headed out with the intention of getting out and back before any resemblance of tourist traffic turned up. What's that they say about best laid plans?
Getting up beyond Blandford, the glorious sunshine near the coast gave way to misty conditions. Not enough to ruin the ride, but certainly enough to affect its pace. Enjoying the A30 I eventually pulled up to one of my favourite coffee spots in Salisbury and sat down to have some breakfast.
Thinking about it, I probably stayed there a little longer than I should, but after leaving, most traces of the mist had gone, leaving beautiful riding weather and a little more traffic behind.
As I was enjoying myself, rather than heading straight home, I decided to loop back around to Shaftesbury and then head onto Sherborne and Dorchester before picking up my old commuting route for the final stretch.
When I got back on the A30 to Yeovil, that delay in the coffee shop started to take its toll as traffic levels really started to increase. To make matters a little worse, Sherborne Castle was hosting a country fair, with cars forming long queues into the car parks. Looking at the faces of the poor people stuck in their cars, I'm really rather glad I was going the other way.
Again out in the countryside, I was still able to make my way past drivers and when getting to Dorchester, I found myself in tourist traffic heading back home after spending the weekend in either Dorset or Devon.
I haven't had a good four hour ride, just for the sake of riding, in a long time and getting back on the Ducati after taking out two of the latest sportsbikes on the market last week, I found the Ducati not wanting at all. With no electronic aids, the 1098s is still a very pure motorcycle. Its fast, still looks amazing and is a dream to ride. Now, if I can source the starting problem, she'll be perfect.

Before I get started on today's update, I just wanted to thank everybody who was involved in the David Pilbro memorial ride. The ride and subsequent event raised an amazing £1555 for the Docbike project, which will help save lives on our roads.
So, onto today's update. Another day, another sportsbike. This time its the turn of the Suzuki GSX-R1000 graciously borrowed from Crescent Motorcycle in Verwood, Dorset.
The last Suzuki I rode was a GS500E on the day I passed my motorcycle test so this has been long overdue.
The first thing you always notice is the colour. Nobody does blue like Suzuki. Yamaha try, but they just miss the mark. The second thing is that exhaust. Ahhh noise regulations; keeping aftermarket exhaust manufactures in business for years. As is so often the case, you approach any experience with a preconception and I'd heard that Suzuki sportsbikes all had narrow bars and that they were fast. In short, only one of those is true. A little hint, it's not the bars.
When riding at slow speed, the bike is pretty much the same as anything else I've ridden. Its fairly civilised with only a slightly lumpy response off the throttle in the lower gears. Having ridden a Ducati for so long, I'm used to slipping the clutch should it be needed, so its not the end of the world for me.
Heading out of town and picking up speed I was a little surprised by an apparent lack of serious acceleration when twisting the grip. I soon realised this was just me and twisting a little further revealed the real reason you would own a GSX-1000R. This is a seriously fast motorcycle!

The riding position is roomy, with the bars feeling, well, fairly normal. Its reasonably thin too, so some Stomp grips would possibly help, and the mirrors are fairly decent. The real star of the show is the factory spec quickshifter. Its faultless both up and down the box. Accelerating hard out of and through the bends, riding the gearbox, the bike felt stable and just kept on pulling. When slowing for some tighter stuff, a few clicks down and we were ready to go. Super easy, super effective and a super addition.
Its a fabulous bike to ride. Beautifully balanced and easy to turn. I had the front go light on me a few times over the bumps, but it quickly regained it composure as I pushed on. The controls are easy and right where you expect them to be as well. The dash has lots of information and in an age when the competition is rolling out full colour displays, this did seem a little behind the times. In reality though, the only information you need to see if your speed when you see those big yellow boxes on the side of the roads. For that, its perfectly easy to read.
As I mentioned previously there is no mistaking this bike for anything produced by somebody else, but its design left me a little cold. Suzuki have stuck with their tried and tested design and you can see all the design cues that hark back to the K3 bikes, especially the style of the nose. Both Yamaha and Honda have introduced radially different looking flagships, but the Suzuki does feel like more of the same. If I had one I'd spend a few extra quid changing the exhaust, which when on song, actually sounds okay, and fitting a tail tidy. There is a very smart looking bike under here and it won't take too much to find it.
I'm not saying this is a bad motorcycle. Far from it, its pretty flippin epic actually. Civilised and easy to ride in town and extremely easy to get into trouble on when out in the wild. If Suzuki were able to introduce a bit more character, or have made the bike stand out from its predecessors a little more, for me it would really be pretty faultless. 
This is without a doubt, the quickest bike I've ridden so far and if you're after a bike to ride and enjoy, the GSX1000R is certainly worth spending some time with.
A huge thanks to the world famous Crescent Motorcycles in Verwood. You can find them online at www.crescentmoto.uk Their two storey dealership is full, and I do mean full of some great stuff, including some WSBK machinery. Well worth a visit. The staff are knowledgeable and friendly and they have a great range of clothing and accessories in stock. This is how you do a bike dealership.

Released last year (2017), the latest incarnation of the Honda Fireblade seemed to have a less than stellar year. High profile problems during the road racing season saw the race versions cripple John McGuiness and scare Guy Martin. It wasn't that much better in National and International Superbike racing either, with the bike seemingly under performing. However, a road bike and a race bike are two totally different animals and thanks to Honda of Bournemouth (01202 541220), I was able to finally take the new one for a spin yesterday.
Getting off my 954 onto the new bike was interesting. The new bike is certainly thinner and has a much smaller, compact cockpit. Friends had mentioned that they felt the bike was small, but it didn't feel that much smaller and certainly no thinner than the 1098s. The riding position felt familiar, but with a fraction more weight over the bars than I was expecting.
Before I started the ride, I felt my 954 was a lovely smooth easy to ride bike. Even when pulling away I could tell just how smooth the new bike felt under acceleration and the 2017 bike really shows what 15yrs of progress has done. I know reading that back, that it sounds strange, but the 954 has been seen by many for so long as the perfect Blade.
The bike I tested came with an optional quickshifter and a Yoshimura after market exhaust, making it sound extremely angry, even at tickover. This, dear friends, is not a bad thing.

Riding through town was as easy as you would expect, with the only real thing of note was just how hard the bike felt to turn at slow speed. Out on the fast sweeping bends of my local area, this problem disappeared as quickly as the traffic behind me as I got the bike out into its natural hunting ground. The bike fell into turns beautifully and predictably and when selecting full power from the options menu (something, as an analogue rider, I still find equally amusing and baffling) the bike felt sharp and effortless.
Unexpectedly the bike demonstrated a few little quirks. When at 'below walking pace' the engine would pulse like I was tweaking the throttle, but this didn't transfer into forward movement. The engine breaking felt artificial as well and this all depended on the modes and the settings. Being used to two bikes, one with loads of engine breaking, the other with little, I really noticed this and it took a little getting used to. The mirrors are okay, but nothing to either make or break the deal.
What was cool though was I was able to change through these engine modes when moving, or so it seemed. I tried out the different settings after stopping the bike to see how it effected the whole experience, rather that relying on changes while on the move. I'm sure there is a real sweet spot for every rider on this bike, however, you don't look to own a bike like this, only to cut it's legs out from underneath it. I can understand altering the level of traction control you are getting, but being able to alter the engine characteristics is, well, a bit unnecessary in my opinion. If its wet or you want to be cautious, you just don't twist as hard surely. I do however understand that from a manufacturer point of view its a good thing though and every new bike on the market has a similar option so this is a problem with me and not the bike. 
So would I buy one? I certainly wouldn't be unhappy with one in my garage. Its a lovely, lovely thing. I know that a test ride is miles away from the feeling and experience of ownership, but with the development cycle of sportsbikes now being closer to ten years than two, Honda have got an amazing base setting for what will surely become something truly special.
A huge thanks to Honda of Bournemouth for letting me borrow their bike. The team were friendly and very helpful and their showroom is stacked full of lovely goodies to have a look at. Go check them out www.hondaofbournemouth.co.uk or 01202 541220

Readers will know that I'm not really a fan of mass ride outs. The groups I've been out with can feel very restrictive and/or dangerous at times with riders either riding far too close to each other or taking too many risks to impress their mates. 
However, yesterday I took part in the David Pilbro memorial ride to remember David, on what would have been his birthday, who was tragically killed last year on one of my counties major routes.
I never knew David but the organisers of the day were using the event to raise awareness and funds for the Docbike project, which I continue to volunteer for.
The group was made up of a good range of bikers, some young and very inexperienced, to couples on Goldwings and sportsbike riders. It really felt like a community coming together to remember one of their own.
The ride itself rode past the site where David is buried as well as the site where he lost his life. Riding up the stretch of road in a convoy of some sixty bikes all there to pay their respects, was quite emotional and a fitting tribute to a young man taken so soon.
The ride culminated at the Sammy Miller museum in the New Forest, where there were stalls and a very good atmosphere. The museum itself, although a fraction expensive to get in, is actually always worth a visit. The grounds are very pleasant and the collection itself if worthy of any riders time. A recent addition sat proudly in the foyer and it's not everyday you can get within inches on a 1982 NS500 GP racer, ridden by Freddie Spencer. 
More information about the Docbike can be found at www.Docbike.org and details of the Sammy Miller museum can be found at www.sammymiller.co.uk 

Having let it slip a little and with my Spanish holiday finished, I took the Ducati down to Bournemouth Bikes this morning for its annual MOT. I knew the rear tyre was on the way out, so that wasn't a surprise. She passed but with an additional advisory for the front pads. 
The guys there was great as usual and getting there a fraction early, allowed me to be on my way nice and quickly. 
With the fresh new MOT certificate in my bag, I headed on over to see Dean. He's been putting a lot of time and effort into his 1098s, converting it into something a little different. In the flesh, it does look very tidy, but I do prefer the more classical look of mine, but then I am biased. It's a real work in progress and I'm looking forward to seeing where he goes with it.
With beautiful weather and some time on my hands, I spent the next hour or so riding around to a couple of local dealers to book some test rides for next week. Now that it's well established, I'm keen to expand the footprint of this site and would like to get some more information and thoughts on other bikes. I'm going to start with the latest versions of the Fireblade and the Suzuki GSX-R, which should be interesting.

I've just got back from a week in the south of Spain, the first day of which saw Carolina and I head to Jerez for the fourth round of the 2018 MotoGP season. 
The Jerez circuit was recently renamed after Angel Nieto, the 13 time, or 12 + 1, Spanish world champion who died in August 2017 following a quad bike accident, a giant bust of whom, now welcomes visitors into the circuit.
The atmosphere was electric, with the first European round drawing huge crowds. Having learnt from previous races, we got there nice and early to beat the traffic and took full advantage of the circuit hotel who were serving a lovely breakfast for just over 10 Euros. Great coffee too.
While eating, Herve Poncharal, the team principle for Tech 3, who was clearly staying in the hotel, wandered in. As it was only the three of us in the restaurant at the time, we decided discretion was the better part of valour and didn't interrupt his meal.
Stopping for food meant we had to queue a while longer to get through the security, but once through we strolled around the circuit to take our seats at Nieto Corner and watched some cracking racing.
In a beautiful tribute to the man who's name now adorns the circuit, between the races, Gelete and Pablo Nieto rode their father's title winning Garelli 125cc and Derbi 80cc bikes around the circuit, receiving a rapturous response from the home crowd. The reactions really made the hairs stand on the back of your neck and it was truly a special moment.
We also got to see former 125 World Champion, Nico Terol take the new Moto-E bike for a spin. Watching from the sidelines, he really didn't look comfy on the bike, but electric racing is certainly the future for the sport, even if it is several years away.
During each race, the 13th lap was dedicated to the late Nieto. I'm not lying when I say that every spectator at the circuit, stood in respect to the national hero. 
For anybody vaguely interested in bike racing, Jerez is a must visit. It's a beautiful part of the world anyway and as I mentioned, the atmosphere was electric and unlike at Misano, the crowd loves every rider out there, be they Spanish, Italian, British or wherever. A truly iconic place. 

Well hello there. Apologies for being away from the blog for several weeks, but as is often the case, life gets in the way and other things have to take priority.
With this in mind, the amount of riding I've been doing these last few weeks has really been limited to little short runs into town and back. Nothing special sadly.
Poole bike night has returned, which to those who aren't local, is one of the biggest regular bike meets in Europe. Annoyingly though, so far the weather on each day has been less than desirable, which dramatically effects the attendance to the event.
In personal bike news, I finished the work Dean and I started on the Ducati in readiness for its MOT in a few weeks. The main bulk of this was upgrading the battery to a Yuasa YT14B-BS which I got online from Sportsbikeshop making use of a voucher I had. 

With more power, the battery is a little taller than its predecessor which means I had to take out the little branded battery tray. Knowing the Italian factory's love of inflated parts pricing, I could probably sell the tray for the cost of the battery. 
Arriving dry, filling the battery with the acid was a really easy, albeit, slightly smelly experience. After leaving it to settle for a while, I hooked it all back up and tried to remember where all the wires had to be routed. I'll say it here now, if I had the funds, I'd rewire this whole bike to make it much neater and easier to work on.
The difference the new battery has made is plain to see, with a much healthier start up procedure. It still doesn't fire at the first push of the button, so I think there is something else going on, which I'll investigate as the year progresses. In the meantime, I keep it hooked up to my CTEC charger to keep everything topped up.
The other minor jobs on the bike have consisted of checking lights etc. and I'm finding the 1098s has a tendency to eat the little bulbs in the front headlight. I replaced one and it then blew within two days. Hopefully its just a run of crappy fragile bulbs that suffer quickly. In reality though, they do nothing in terms of visibility or light projection. They are frankly annoying and more likely a tick box exercise in the same way the original rear light cluster clearly was.
I was able to take advantage of some of the warmer mid April weather and was taking the Ducati to work. It always makes me smile when I experience the difference between the 1098s and the FireBlade. With the new gearing, the Ducati is much more aggressive under acceleration. Nothing like an 1198 or Panigale, but it's certainly noticeable. How anybody could need more power for the road I don't know, but saying that, I'd happily have a 1299s in my garage. You know, just to look at.

Regular readers will know that I'm an XCP Ambassador. Bennetts, the insurance company, ran a extremely detailed and in depth test on their Bike Social site during this past winter to find out just how good the current range of anti corrosion sprays were. Included in this test was the XCP Rust Blocker spray. Well after several months of work the results came in and the XCP product led the pack, out performing the well respected ACF-50 by some way.
​You can read their full review here: Bike Social XCP Rust Blocker which includes the detailed film John Millbank put together.