nigelwood1

Valencia at the weekend..... What was with the comentators... Never heard such a pair of useless 2hats ever.... Its nice to hear a bit of banter and off topic conversation when the racing is on (all hail Toby, Jules, Whitam and Barnacle) but the pair of dribbling idiots on sunday were just annoying.... The coverage was abismal... Too much talking absolute harrysacks and not enough information.... Warren Pole, Parrish and Tommy Hill whittering on about nothing and all the while we are wondering if brands hatch will go ahead and why is the supersport race delayed..... Stick to what works EUROSPORT UK and ditch the NO CLUE, Boring nutsacks from last weekend........ Rant level reduced to mild teeth grinding and swearing at the telly....

I'm 6 foot 5.... Used to ride an SV650s but it was a bit small..... Tried a few different bikes and settled on ZZR1200 as it was practicle, comfortable and went like a wippet with a thistle up its port hole..... Other bikes I fit on and enjoyed riding were the Triumph Sprint ST 1050 and Speed Triple 1050.... Comfort, Practicallity and a bit of oomph is most important..... I don't fit on any sports bikes.....

Would ALWAYS wear a helmet..... Anyone riding around without a helmet, like the scummer kids around our way on stolen bikes or mini moto's, should be stopped and twatted round the head with a 2 by 4..... They would get the idea after a couple of go's.... Also anyone who thinks its a good idea to ride without a helmet could be made to see sense by having a mate of mine pop round with his belt sander and randomly shave skin off parts of their bodies... He is quite vocal on this idea as he survived having his head run over by a car when he was thrown from his bike into oncoming traffic..... Suomy saved his life.........

Got em on me leathers in case I fall off... Extra protection.... Don't try to get knee down....Not something that I'm into....

Going on 28th....

Should have a number embossed on the dust shield... That will be the number of the bearing.. Yam parts stocker is probably the best way unless you have a local bearing stockist....

Only works on KTM's or specials... The Z1000 just looked wrong in orange... If ur gonna do an orange paintjob it needs a bit of somat special in it.. A bit of tribal shadow or metal flake flame job... Stew's has some other colour to break it up a bit which makes it work... Too much flat orange just makes it look like you've been tango'd...

Me n the missus are hopefully going on Wednesday 28th.. Going on the bike as parking is free.. Will put the full luggage on so's we can put gear in while we are inside.. Haven't been for a couple of years but as there are a few new things out this year I thought we'd have a look..

Only one word for chinese import bikes....BORROCKS... I knew someone who sold them and even they said they were crap... Cheap nasty death traps.. Someone local bought one and after a week the swing arm snapped... Could not get parts for it so scrapped it and bought something else....

Its a pants deal.. Big step backwards for a year.... He has got talent and should be given a WSB ride...

Got a nod from the plod when we were in Poland and a big wave and a thumbs up from the plod in Czech republic.. The German Plod waved to us as we went sailing by on one of the autobahns.. Got a wave from every biker we passed in europe.. Friendly bunch over there..

Been through europe and they are all a very friendly bunch.. Every biker that I came across would make the effort to acknowledge us.. Sometimes it would even be a frantic find of neutral so they could wave.. Not many nods but plenty of raised hands... I nod to all bikers and make special effort when it looks like they aren't in the mood for a high speed hello.. The more exagerated and silly the better sometimes...

Just got back from 2400 miles through France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, Luxemberg, Belgium and france again.... Yes it was a big loop... Ow my arse hurts still... The BT021's performed brilliant.. In 40 degree heat and pissing rain they were flawless.. On the amazingly bad, rutted, pot holed, cobbled and basically a 500 mile tarmac motocross track I had no problems... Scraping footrests with full panniers and top box and her indoors on it was hilarious... If your looking for a good sport/touring tyre then the BT021's are excellent.. They still look like new after 350 miles a day in 38 degree average heat and travelling at 90mph plus on the autobahns for best part of 1600 miles... Can't fault em....

They don't appear to be model specific like the 020's.. I was looking at prices of 020's and found that a standard front was £65 but an AA front 020 for mine was £92.. I know its rate for higher speeds but where am I going to be doing 160+ miles an hour for prolonged distance.. 021's seem standard ratings apply to all but the GTR1400.. Got mine for £202 fitted, balanced and it was ride in ride out.

BT021's are behaving nicely.. Used some rubber degreaser/rejuvinator to remove the release compound and they scrubbed in peachy and quick.. Look good and handle well with good feel..

The 208 was nearly new when I got the bike and has had 1500 miles of abuse.. It was well knackered.. Basically I killed it in 1500 miles.. I hope I get a better return on the 021.. The rear 020 was still in serviceable condition, But not great... It appears I'm a bit hard on tyres.. Might be my riding style as I still ride the ZZR like I used to ride my SV650.. Used to carry excessive corner speed to keep up with the bigger stuff.. It was good fun watching peoples faces when me and the missus would pull up behind someone at the pub who had been trying quite hard on a much faster bike and we would get off the SV and they would usually say its a 1000 isn't it.. I'd say no and they would say f@ck me!!! Made I laugh.. The SV was on 014's...2 fronts and 3 backs in 6 months Thought I'd better stick to sport touring tyres on the ZZR...

I got me a nice new pair of BT021's last friday. It appears the knob jockey who fitted the 208 on the front shouldn't have fitted it as it's not really rated for the bike and he also managed to fit it the wrong way round.. The front doesn't vibrate anymore and the back is nice and smooth too.. Got the thing over onto the footrests in 10 miles so they scrub in easy too. 2 weeks and 4 days til I go touring in europe so new hoops will be nice n scrubbed in by then...

Have tried Pirelli's on my old bike which were ok but not confidence inspiring.. However the bridgestone BT014 were fantastic.. I have a BT020 on the back at the moment and a dunlop 208 on front.. Front is basically fecked but the back has a couple more thou in it.. I like the dual compound Idea as I have got about 3500 miles to do in just over 4 weeks time when I do a circuit of europe for a week.. So plan to fit new rubber before I go and will most likely go for BT021..

Has anyone tried the new Bridgestone BT021 yet????? I'm going to need some new hoops soon and would like to know if anyone has tried em and what they are like...

Pity you weren't down near Gloucester. A mate of mine in the tyre business will fit and balance tyres for a tenner..

Off road, as in on a field I would still wear a helmet. Have done motocross and quad racing and it hurts more when you hit the deck on a field. You don't slide... You tumble...

Having suffered gravel rash on a number of occasions I must say that I would always wear one. Having ones head sandpapered with 80 grit or lumpier is not something that appeals. Have been hit by a few things in the past. One item was a wheel nut off a lorry which was flicked up by a car and "I hit it" at 80mph. Got me in the shoulder as I had turned my head away and sat up. Would have hit me square in the forehead I think. 2 years ago got hit in the left pectoral just above me nipple by a piece of stone from between the rear tyres of a tipper truck. That stung.... Thank goodness for armoured jackets..... The worst one was years back when I got hit by stones thrown up by a car and one the size of your average sprout hit me square on the knee cap.. That one made my eyes water and my knee cap turn yellow.. So much rather wear my helmet than take a hit on my bear head or face..

Get a nice new pair.. Damn the expense!!!!! But if you can get the same tyre as whats on there go for that if it was OK....

There are some seriously good deals out there for pairs of Bridgestone BT-020's as the new BT-021's are coming out. Found a place that will do a pair for a ZZR1200 for £139. Will be going to see my mate who runs his own tyre business and see if he can better that price. He usually does and thats fitted and balanced and ride in ride out. Its great having mates like that...

Used to subscribe to PB but it seemed to go down hill and now is little more than a comic book. Its TWO for me now.