Kickback Motorbike Show - Stoneleigh

Hi all!

So for a last ride out before I head back to uni (for those who don't know, I have nowhere to store my bike at uni so I can only ride it when I'm back home), I headed to Stoneleigh with 3 others to have some breakfast followed by a wander around the Kickback Motorbike Show on Sunday.

In the past, the Kickback Show has been larger but on the same weekend it was on, there was a show in Paris and if you had a choice between Paris and Coventry, which one would you choose? Some people like Down and Out Cafe Racers and Triumph were missing but it was still nice to go to and the weather was absolutely gorgeous so I can't complain!

The route we took was quite a nice one despite only being about 35 miles long! Firstly we followed the A511 before taking the A447 through Ibstock and Stapleton. We then went on to the A47/A5 to Hinckley and rode past the Triumph factory which bizarrely is only signposted as "Motorcycle factory" on one sign, there are no "Home of Triumph" signs anywhere!
After leaving the A5 which is a nice, flowing road, we joined Fosse Road (B4455) which is a Roman road so is pretty straight but flows well apart from the two crossroads you pass over which are indicated by giant signs with a checker board background you can spot miles off (but I guess it's no bad thing if it stops accidents).
We then diverted off Fosse Road and headed through Wolston towards Stoneleigh and the National Agriculture Centre where the show was being held.

If you are ever in that area, the cafe at the NAC does a really lovely breakfast and the staff there are also super friendly! My bacon sandwich and hot chocolate went down a treat as did the rocky road I had.

After breakfast, we entered the show and had a look around. There were some lovely custom bikes at the show and also some of the first skinny Kevlar-lined jeans I had seen which are next on my wish list.

An old Triumph done in a very popular green colour

There were quite a few Honda C90s at the show but I thought this one was the best

I loved the detailing on this otherwise really simple, clean cafe racer

Possibly my favourite bike at show, this matte blue finish looked gorgeous

This old FTR 223 Street Tracker was finished with a funky headlight with the indicators to match

Once we'd finished walking around the show we had a look at some of the bikes other people had come on, unsurprisingly, there were lots of choppers! We then headed back home via the same route making for a fab 70 odd mile ride out with beautiful weather. A lovely goodbye ride to my bike for 2 and a half months.

I will try and post whilst I'm back at uni but it will be exam season so bare with me!

As always, until next time - ride safe
TFB

MCE BSB Test Day - Donington Park

Hi everyone!

Sorry I haven't blogged until right at the end of the month, uni work once again is going mad! But on Thursday (31st March), I got the chance to go to the MCE British Superbike test at Donington Park and with free entry, why would you not go?

I arrived just after the first lot went out on track at about 9:10 and decided first to have a wander around to see what was going on where. After having a quick look at the bikes on track down at the Melbourne Loop (my favourite place for photos as you'll see later on!), I headed to the Paddock Suite where lots of the riders were having promo photos and team shots done. There was even an ePayMe Yamaha bike in there along with a JG Speedfit Kawasaki one.

In the Paddock Suite

One of the ePay Me bikes

As that area started to get busier, I went over to the garages where a lot of the teams had the garage door open and some even had the back shutters open so people like me could have a nosey and take some photos!

The team trucks all parked up by the pit garages

 A quick visit to the main grandstand before the BSB/Superstock 1000 riders took to the track for the first time of the day and for that, I went back to the Melbourne Loop.

The start-finish straight from the grandstand

83 - Danny Buchan

7 - Michael Laverty

99 - Filip Backlund

24 - Christian Iddon

20 - Jenny Tinmouth

94 - Sam Hornsey

2 - Glenn Irwin

After grabbing some lunch, it was back into the Paddock Suite where James Rispoli was having his photo taken with his bike before heading to the pits ready for the pit lane walk. This was an amazing experience for me, having only been in the pits on open track days and it was also a really good opportunity to have a look at the teams working on the bikes.

James Rispoli and his Anvil TAG Yamaha bike in the Paddock Suite

Be Wiser Ducati Team Garage

Tyco BMW Team Garage

Two mechanics working on Dan Linfoot's bike in the Honda Racing garage

Quattro Plant Kawasaki Team Garage

Team WD-40 Kawasaki Team Garage

Tarran MacKenzie's bike in the Team WD-40 garage

Having a nose inside Quattro Plant Kawasaki's garage

For the third BSB/Superstock 1000 session, I moved to the infield and set up at the entry to the first corner of the track, Redgate. After fiddling with some of my camera's settings, I managed to start taking some decent shots!

94 - Sam Hornsey

67 - Shane 'Shakey' Byrne

24 - Christian Iddon

99 - Filip Backlund

71 - James Rispoli

After the session restarted (it was red flagged), I moved back over towards the exit of the Melbourne Loop to see the riders on their final few laps, racing to finish top of the timesheet for the day and the test. A flying lap from Shane Byrne put him squarely at the top only to be knocked off in the final two laps by Tyco BMW's Michael Laverty who went on to finish top of the test.

By this time, it was nearing the end of the day and a lot of people started to go home but I decided to stay for the 600s final session of the day which saw Andy Reid take the top spot after some fantastic riding.

I didn't get any photos after the session restart as I decided to put away my camera and live the experience by watching the bikes rather than looking through a viewfinder! I had an absolutely fantastic day at Donington and my only regret is not really getting any chance to speak to the riders or their teams. I'm not sure if this was because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time or they weren't really speaking to people! Maybe next time, eh?


Until next time, ride safe
TFB

3 years later and still no licence!

Hey everyone!

For those of you who follow me on Twitter (@ThatFemaleBiker if you don't!), you will have seen that two days ago (the 22nd) marked the third anniversary of me passing my A1 licence and getting rid of my L-plates after a year of being on a scooter.

22nd February 2012 - one very happy and newly qualified biker chick!

Now, if we were talking driving a car, that would be the end of the conversation as there are absolutely no restrictions on driving other than what you can afford insurance-wise. But we aren't talking about cars, we're talking bikes and so I passed my theory, Module 1 and Module 2 three years ago but I was restricted instantly and the government put some more hoops in the way for me to jump through before they let me go..

Quick recap of the law for those who weren't aware.. In the EU, as of the 19th January 2012, if you take your test aged 17, you are then restricted for two years to a 125cc motorcycle. Which is the same as before, right? Wrong.
Under the new law, after two years, you have to take both your Mod 1 and your Mod 2 again on a bigger, but still restricted, bike. This is the A2 licence and where I am currently at, aged 20. I can ride anything up to 47 bhp which makes the range of bikes I can choose from something like a 600-700cc bike fitted with a restrictor kit.

In about a months time, I will have been riding on an A2 licence for a year meaning that I have just over one year left before I jump through the final few hoops laid in front of me by the government.

Looking practically identical to 2 years before except for being on a bigger bike

Aged 21, after passing yet another Mod 1 test and Mod 2 test, I will finally be the holder of an A licence allowing me to ride any bike of any power. By this point, I will have been riding for 5 years (having started at 16) and will have completed a CBT, a CBT Plus, a motorcycle theory test, three Module 1 tests and three Module 2 tests in addition to whatever training I have completed to get me through said tests at the cost of who knows how much.

Comparing this to a car, I passed in the January of 2013, aged 18, so by the age of 21, I will have been driving for 3 years and will have completed about 15 hours of lessons, a car theory test and a practical driving test. With no restrictions anywhere along the way other than the ability to tow a trailer. Where is the balance of logic in this?

I understand that motorbike riders fall under the category of vulnerable road users, and I'm not denying that we are but why are the young riders like myself being punished for this classification? I would much rather go through the rigorous 8 hour training day to move up a licence like they do in other EU countries and I think that that is a more sensible way of doing it but our government just seem to want to discourage people from biking as that apparently reduces the amount of bike accidents on the roads.

Quick note to the UK Government: IT DOESN'T! What would reduce the number of accidents involving motorbikes on the road is more likely to be having more of them on the roads and teaching people during their driving lessons to spot bikers coming. An increased number of bikers would increase awareness of them and would actually lead to an increased safety for us. We all know the famous saying: there's safety in numbers, and it's so true!

If you were used to seeing this everyday, you wouldn't be surprised when one appeared

I'm lucky that I have been able to go through and afford all of the training and tests and I absolutely love riding my bike and wouldn't change the experiences I have had for the world but I do wish it was just a bit easier with a few less hoops to jump through along the way.

Finishing on a bit of good news though, bike sales are up by about 17% from this time last year!

I'll try and make it less of a gap to the next post but until then, ride safe!
TFB

Best Biking Moments of 2015

First of all, I hope you've all had a good Christmas and New Year! I thought I'd start the new year off by reliving some of my best biking moments of 2015 as it was a relatively big year for me in terms of biking.

I started 2015 only being able to ride a 125cc motorbike as I only held a category A1 licence but in March, the opportunity finally arose for me to be able to complete my category A2 training and practical tests. As I had been riding for about 3 years at this point (having completed my CBT at 16), the on-road training was cut down as my instructors thought I had plenty enough road sense but just needed to be reminded of the test routes I could be taken on.
I'm happy to say that I passed both my Module 1 and my Module 2 tests without a hitch and with that, I could finally ride the Suzuki SV650 that had been sat in the garage since September!

Passing my A2 licence Mod 2 test

In August, I went on my first trip abroad on my own motorcycle so that was a great experience for me and also helped me with my group riding skills. We travelled to Ireland, partly to see the Ulster GP, the fastest road race in the world, and partly so I could get some miles down on my SV and who doesn't love a good family biking trip! Unfortunately, I didn't get to see Guy Martin due to his crash but the day at the races was enjoyed all the same. If you want to read more about my trip to Ireland, the link to Day 1 of my tour diary is here. I absolutely loved that trip - the people, the roads, the scenery and best of all, the weather were all great and I'm honestly not sure if it'll ever be beaten.

Riding through the gorgeous sun in Ireland

The next of my best biking moments of 2015, unsurprisingly, I have also written about. This year, I was extremely lucky and got to go and watch the British MotoGP in Silverstone (I'll leave the link to that post here). The atmosphere at Silverstone was wonderful and definitely something I will remember for a long time to come.

Bradley Smith and Scott Redding racing at Silverstone

Cadwell Park was another biking highlight as it gave me a whole day to really get to grips with the feel of the SV650 and how it rode in different conditions with grip and things like that. As I mentioned in the post I wrote about the day, I did learn an awful lot and I'd like to think it improved my riding also!

A damp session but my SV still performed brilliantly

 

So they are my top 4 best biking moments (not in any order other than chronological) of 2015 and I'm hoping for many more this year too. I'm currently trying to plan a trip to Germany for this Summer and so far that is shaping up to be a good trip!

What were your best biking moments of 2015? Or do you have any big plans for 2016? Let me know in the comments, via email or on twitter, links are on the contact page if you need them

Until the next time, ride safe
TFB

Round-Up - EICMA Releases

Hi,

So as I'm sure you've all seen, lots of dealers have been releasing their bikes new for 2016 and they were all on show for the first time at EICMA in Milan. Here is a round-up, with some pictures, of some of the new releases from BMW, Ducati, KTM and more.
Unfortunately, I haven't got pictures of everything but I'm sure if you search for some, there will be plenty around by the end of the week!

KTM: 
KTM have released a new 1290 Super Duke GT and have also updated their Duke 690 and 690R

1290 Super Duke GT

Ducati:
959 Panigale, XDiavel, Hyperstrada 939, Multistrada 1200 Enduro, Scrambler sixty2, Scrambler Flat Track Pro

Scrambler Flat Track Pro

Multistrada 1200 Enduro

959 Panigale

Scrambler sixty2

BMW:
R nine T Scrambler, R nine R, G310 R

R nineT Scrambler

G310 R in white

and the G310 R in blue

Suzuki:
SV650, GSX-1000R, GSX-RR

The SV is heading back towards it's old shape

Yamaha:
MT-10, MT-03, XSR700, XSR900

XSR700, based on the MT-07

XSR900, based on the MT-09 in Yamaha's 60th anniversary colours

R1-M

Kawasaki:
Ninja 300, ZX6-R, ZX10-R Winter, ER-6n, ER-6f, J125, Sugomi Edition Z1000/Z800

Triumph:
Thruxton, Thruxton R, Street Twin, T120, T120 Black, Tiger Explorer XC/XR, Speed Triple R/S

Thruxton R with a custom kit fitted

The new Speed Triple

Honda:
Africa Twin, CB650, CB500F, CB4, CBSix50

The long awaited Africa Twin

Concept adventure-styled scooter

Other notable ones that look to be nice looking bikes include the Aprillia RSV4 RFW Misano, the MV Augusta Brutale 800, the MV Dragster 800 RR LH and the Moto Guzzi V7 Scrambler.

Will post up again as soon as I can but until then, ride safe
TFB

MotoGP - The Final Round, Valencia 2015

Hi guys,

Hope you are all well! As I'm sure many of you know, it is the final round of the 2015 MotoGP World Championship this Sunday at Valencia and there are only 7 points between the top 2 in the championship standings so I thought I'd make a bit of a post about that.

Following the explosive race from Sepang, tensions are almost definitely at an all time high in the MotoGP paddocks this week and with Valentino Rossi only 7 points ahead of Jorge Lorenzo and starting from the back of the grid due to the penalty points he received as a result of the Sepang Clash, it's sure to be a battle right down to the last corner!

The usual Thursday press conference has been cancelled following all riders and teams being called into a meeting by the Permanent Bureau. Part of me believes it was a tactful arranging of the meeting so that no repeats of last week's press conference with accusations being thrown about can occur.

I don't think any of the boys can be discounted from this with the tight nature of the track meaning that the raw power of the bike is not going to be a dominating factor, giving the Open Class riders such as Jack Miller and Nicky Hayden a chance to get involved in some battles as well as racing for competitive finishes.

So, I think we all know this is going to be a highly competitive race with lots of action and for an idea of who is going to win the championship, these are the permutations of where Rossi would need to finish in relation to Lorenzo for him to take that elusive 10th World Title:

Lorenzo 1st -> Rossi 2nd
Lorenzo 2nd -> Rossi 3rd
Lorenzo 3rd -> Rossi 6th
Lorenzo 4th -> Rossi 9th
Lorenzo 5th -> Rossi 11th
Lorenzo 6th -> Rossi 12th
Lorenzo 7th -> Rossi 13th
Lorenzo 8th -> Rossi 14th
Lorenzo 9th -> Rossi 15th

With the free practice sessions starting tomorrow, I think all eyes are going to be on the differing pace of the various riders but Valentino Rossi does have a tough weekend ahead of him as he has got to battle his way through all of the other riders before he reaches the front riders who will undoubtedly be Lorenzo, Marquez and Pedrosa in one combination or another.

Moving away from the Rossi vs Lorenzo showdown now, I feel that it is important to mention the fact that Danny Kent, a Brit, only needs to score 1 singular point in Sunday's race for him to win the Moto3 Title. He has raced fantastically all season and definitely deserves the title so let's keep our fingers crossed for him on Sunday that he can fight a good fight and gain that championship.
In Moto2, Zarco has already wrapped up the championship so now there are only battles for the other positions in the standing - congrats to Johann!
Also, Maverick Vinales has taken the title of Rookie of the Year in MotoGP after a fantastic season where he has been battling almost solidly within the top 15 if not the top 10.

Sunday not only marks the end of another season but also the end of an era as Nicky Hayden leaves the MotoGP paddock for the last time after announcing his move to World Superbikes. Hayden, coincidentally, was the last rider to beat a points deficit entering the final round to go on to win the Championship and it was also a battle against Valentino Rossi. Foreshadowing perhaps...?

Who are you rooting for? Are you #ForzaVale or #VamosJorge - let me know in the comments or on Twitter! Whatever happens though, it's sure to be an exciting end to a brilliant season.

Ride safe,
TFB