chiz

The Sub4 isn't as bad as it looks, it warms up and moulds to your back. I wear mine every time I ride. I don't bother taking it off when parked up at meets and suchlike as it's not intrusive at all.

Cracking review. Pretty much everything you say about the Mk2 can be said about the Mk1. For the record, the OE Dunlops are crap by all accounts.

Yeah, they're testing the cheaper ones next month, which will be interesting to compare against the pricey one's.

I quite like the Rukka stuff but a lot of the 'vanish-up-their-own-arse' BMW cliques wear it simply because it's so expensive. They'll be disappointed to hear that HG's top suit, the Master V (£1400 complete) wipes the floor with every Rukka suit, but it doesn't have RUKKA in big writing across the back so they'll never buy it.

Schuberth.

There was easily 500 bikes at Washington, didn't see anything daft going on. The police set up a road block at the finish, the A1 was brought to an almost standstill at times.

I was looking for you, quite a turn-out eh?

I've had an X-602, the design is starting to show it's age compared to what's available now. The top vents can open by themselves with enough wind pressure. On a positive note, the visor mechanism is excellent, far superior to the Arai TourX 3 I use now. A friend of mine has an XR1100, he says it's a great lid, I don't know much about it, he works for Hein Gericke and had his pick of every lid they stock, so that's testament to how highly he rates the XR. My friend hates AGVs, hates wearing them, hates selling them and hates having to work through the mountain of warranty returns they generate. My girlfriend has a Stealth SV, she picked it herself, if I'd had anything to do with it she'd have had anything but that.

Depends on the manufacturer I'm afraid. I've got five bike jackets, only two are the same size and that's only because they're both from Hein Gericke. You could look on the manufacturers website as some of them have sizing charts on their site somewhere.

When I passed mod2 my instructor escorted me back but without the daft earpiece in, he led the way and didn't hold back for me.

If you bought your lid from an Arai five star dealer then go back there and get them to look at it, they should at least give it a once over and diagnose the problem free of charge. Failing that, you need to dismantle it and give it a good clean and dry (I can't think what cleaning agent Arai recommend, it'll be on their website I'd imagine). When you put it all back together, pay particular attention to the pins, they rotate within the holes in the visor, because of the shape of the pins you can make the pinlock lens tighter against the visor. Word of warning; The lens needs to be tight enough to prevent any moisture getting in between it and the visor but not too tight as you risk breaking the pins, which are a f**k on to fit properly.

Hein Gericke 3D seamless. (Not on their website) EDZ all season. http://www.edzlayering.com/motorcycle/mens/baselayer/product_baselayer_one_piece_suit.html Helly Hansen Lifa. http://shop.hellyhansen.com/GB/products/men/baselayer/?f_men=Baselayer&fc_men&partner=6085 Amongst others that I can't think of.

It's a completely different category of vehicle! Do you honestly expect them to bring in tandem licencing arrangements that simultaneously affect HGV drivers, coach drivers, horse riders, taxi drivers, caravan towing drivers.... etc etc.... Motorcycling is dangerous. They are trying to reduce the 10% KSI figure. Is it just me that thinks their efforts should be applauded? HGV's (LGV's if you're European) have seen a few changes recently, as part of the LGV tests you must complete 35 hours additional training known as the 'driver initial Certificate of Professional Competence', in order to continue to hold a vocational LGV licence you must complete periodical training known as the 'driver periodical CPC', which is 35 hours every five years. The downside (or upside depending on your point of view) is that you can now hold a class one (Euro C+E) licence from the age of 18. I've held mine since I was 17, but that's always been the case for armed forces drivers. So effectively LGV licensing is going in the opposite direction to motorcycle licensing.

Believe it or not, a few years back when I used to attend local car meets, there was a 20 year old who used to turn up every Sunday in a McLaren SLR. He was a Merc salesman and his dad owned the dealership but f**k me, the SLR is a supercar!! Could I afford one? Not at £350k, no. Could I insure one now? No. Could I ever insure one? Probably not.

Look out for it at one of the BMF shows, that's where the warranty stuff ends up.