Front End Chatter

29/07/2024

Hello Geeks and Nerds, and welcome to Front End Chatter, Britain's Bestular Biking Podcast with him, me, and me, him. Or is it the other way round? Stick to the script!

Anyway, your erstwhile hosts Simon and Mufga are, as always, indebted and in balls-deep with Bennetts, Britain's Bestular Bike Insurers, as voted for by the residents of Mavis Enderby for the fifth year running – and the quietly awesome bikesocial.co.uk, populated with over 6000 pages of news, views and reviews.

On the pod this fortnight we have words on:

• Ducati's new V4 Panigale and the absence of a singularly-sided swingarm

• possibly Ducati's final V2 sportsbike, the Panigale V2 Superquadro Final Edition (the clue's in the name)

• the ongoing KTM cam drama

• the very quickly and efficiently executed Suzuki V-Strom 800DE recall (that's how ya do it lads)

• Bennetts BikeSocial new Bike Club (don't call it a forum but it is, no shame in that, I use them all the time)

• Kawasaki's hydrogen-powered prototype, and why we shouldn't take it too seriously because a) it'll never be practical and b) it's probably a corporate vanity project anyway

• Yamaha's decision to put their new auto-transmission on an MT-09, and will it wheelie?

• ...which we discover Harley's LiveWire Costa Del Sol is more than capable of...

plus loads of your FECsack emails containing thoughts, musings, amusing, ponderances and preponderances – sent in to the usual address!

Thanks for your ears, and if you fancy two days riding around with Simons H and Weir on the Road Test Experience, go to roadtestexperience.co.uk and sign up!

https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-views/features/podcasts/fec-episode-194

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11/07/2024

Hello one and all, and welcome to Episode 193 of Front End Chatter, Britain’s best motorcycling podcast and winner of the coveted Wooden Microphone at the 2015 International Podcast Awards.

Thanks as ever to Bennetts, Britain’s Best Bike Insurers – hey, “It’s insurance by the people, for the people!” (you can have that for free, Newbs) – and bikesocial.co.uk, the website with all the news, reviews, twos, blues and clues. For youse. With lots of lovely YouTube content to digest too.

Right, on this episode of FEC we have:

• deets of BMW’s R1300GS Adventure including its built-in coffee cup stand

• riding impressions of Yamaha’s blingy MT-09 SP hooligan compared to Triumph’s Street Triple 765 RS

• Kawasaki's rad new Z7 Hybrid with the acceleration of litre sports, the performance of a 650 and the fuel economy of a 250 (it says here)

PLUS a deep dive through the FECsack where we chat about all things great and good, such as:

• should you buy a bike with your heart or your head?

• are auto transmissions the future and can motorcycling be *too* easy?

• our thoughts on the KTM chocolate camshaft issues, and can history teach a manufacturer how to manage a reliability problem?

• how much do bike videos cost to make?

• is there any point to wings on road bikes?

…and much, much more.

Please like and subscribe, tell everyone you know about the pod, and if you want to ask us a question, comment on any of the issues we’ve raised, start a new topic, ask for bike buying advice – get in touch and send us an email!

https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-views/features/podcasts/fec-episode-193

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04/07/2024

Hello one and all, and welcome to a freshly squeezed episode of Front End Chatter, Britain's most absent motorcycling podcast featuring him, Simon Hargreaves, and him, Martin Fitz-Gibbons.

We are, as always, indebted to and inebriated by Bennetts, Britain's best bike insurers, and biksocial.co.uk, the place to get all your news and views on motorcycling.

And on this return to some kind of form, we have:

• What we've been up to (most of the episode, to be fair) including: the FECspagna tour of France and Spain on Suzuki Bikes UK's GSX-S1000GX+ and BMW Motorrad UK's S1000XR TE, Suzuki Live, the ABR Festival, and a chat about the sudden appearance of auto gearboxes (including what, exactly, the definition of 'auto' is).

Thank you for persevering and more episodes will be along shortly.

https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-views/features/podcasts/fec-episode-192

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03/07/2024

Couple of familiar faces (and voices) in Bennetts's latest group test video!

📺 NEW VIDEO | put these FOUR mid-sportsbike's through their paces to narrow down which one is BEST and worth every penny of your investment! 😀⤵️

WATCH NOW >> https://youtu.be/kBXqaeADw0o

11/05/2024

Greetings, podcast pilgrims, and welcome to Front End Chatter - just like having a fun chat down the pub with your mates about bikes, only without the drinks, or the ability for you to say anything back, or your actual real-life mates being involved. Or the fun, come to think of it. Alright, so it's nothing like having a fun chat down the pub with your mates, and much more like earwigging in on a pair of motorcycling mid-life crises unfolding in real time, mixed in with the odd history lesson pinched shamelessly from Wikipedia, half a badly photocopied GCSE maths exam paper, and a few swear words. Still, after 190-odd of these things it's somehow gathered enough momentum that neither of us knows where the handbrake is.

And so in episode #191 of this moss-dodging rolling stone, Simon and Mufga cover:

• KTM's return to building sportsbikes, in the thinly camouflaged guise of the new 990 RC R, heading to a Supersport race series near you
• MotoGP's plans to drop two dress sizes by summer, slim down those aero love handles and give their saggy rear ends a long-overdue lift
• Yamaha's XSR900GP, which proves it can delight everyone from Rose-Tinted Racers to Portuguese school kids
• Husqvarna's Svartpilen 801, which also stirs together dollops of the past, present and future like a timeline trifle
• BMW's new Automated Shift Assistant tech and, perhaps more intriguingly, which as-yet-unannounced (but possibly already-photographed) bike it'll debut on
• Whether one bike exists that could possibly replace a listener's pretty awesome-sounding three-bike garage
• What motorcycling experiences you'd want to experience if your body had just a few years of riding left in it
• Why tyres dare to demonstrate so alarmingly little respect for mathematical consistency
• Whether hip replacements and motorcycles go together like a femoral head and an acetabulum

If you get through all that and are thirsty for more, don't forget to like and rate and subscribe and leave a comment and tag a friend and all the rest, but most importantly do remember the great and benevolent Bennetts the next time your motorcycle insurance is due. Go on, they're Britain's best bike insurers, and if you get your insurance direct from them you'll also get free BikeSocial membership, which is statistically possible to make your motorcycling year both better and cheaper by virtue of its capacious catalogue of discounts, deals, experiences, offers, opportunities and more!

As always, if you're on the X-stagram socials you can find us lurking at and

And if you're reading this in May 2024, it's not quite too late to join us on our incredible Viva FECspana tour - head to bit.ly/fecspain

Peace, love and understanding x

https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-views/features/podcasts/fec-episode-191

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24/04/2024

Hello everyone, two, three here we go and welcome to Front End Chatter episode 190 in series one of Britain's best (or at least longest-running) podcast-flavoured semi-occasional long-form motorcycling nattertainment, no thanks to him, Simon Hargreaves, and even less to him, Martin Fitz-Gibbons.

FEC has been FECing for a whole FECing decade now, mostly thanks to two things: not knowing when to quit; and the tireless support and encouragement and assistance of Bennetts, easily Britain's best bike insurers. You need some of that motorcycle insurance they have these days? Actually, that's not really a question. You need some of that motorcycle insurance they have these days! And you should head directly to Bennetts.co.uk to get it, or at least get a quote for it. Not only are they wonderful people who put back in the bike industry (like, cough, this load of free ear-muck), but if you buy your policy direct, you'll get a year's free BikeSocial membership, which unlocks all manner of exclusive discounts, competitions, offers and experiences like some kind of cheat code for your wallet.

And in this episode, we have:

• Honda's new E-Clutch, ridden and rated - have Honda finally figured out a way to overthrow the manual transmission after nearly 70 years of trying?
• Triumph Tiger 1200 - only two years old and already updated, well a bit, but also a hell of a lot.
• BMW R1300GS - what's it like compared to the R1250GS, and what will BMW do with the Adventure?

And a hearty shuffle through the bulging FECsack, including

• Street Triple - standard or R?
• Guess the shaft-drive, garage-wood inducing tourer
• How long do helmets really last, really?
• The Biking Ladder - is it a load of tosh?
• Fun bikes for occasionally taking a pillion (who may or may not be fun)
• Best tyres for a Ténéré
• Credit where Viva FECspana credit is (over)due

And it's not too late to join us on a 10-day biking tour of a lifetime! Viva FECspana takes in amazing best roads in France and Spain, fab company and lush hotels. Don't miss out on the highlight of your summer - bit.ly/fecspain

👇
https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-views/features/podcasts/fec-episode-190

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20/03/2024

Welcome ladies, gentlemens and ornithologists, to Front End Chatter – episode 189 of Britain's favouritest motorcycling podcast presented by him, Simon Hargreaves, and him, Martin Fitz-Gibbons.

This pod is, as ever, nurtured and natured by Bennetts, the gorram best bike insurers in 'verse, with their wealth of offers, discounts and competitions – and BikeSocial.co.uk, the website & YouTube channel with all the latest news, views, road tests and consumer info.

And on this episode of FEC we have:

• Martin's experience riding the Triumph Daytona 660 at its recent launch
• Simon's experience riding the Moto Gutzi V85TT at its recent launch
• Norton victims get some of their money back
• KTM assume control of MV Agusta

and lots more – I mean, if I list it all here it's a bit of a plot spoiler so download the pod and have a listen, is the idea.

And please have a think about coming on tour with us: Viva FECspaña will be a glorious ten-day ride across France and Spain with a select group of FECers riding the finest roads, tasting the finest wines and eating the finest food. We'd love to have you along. Go to www.bit.ly/fecspain for more info.

Listen to FEC #189: https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-views/features/podcasts/fec-episode-189

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01/03/2024

Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter, the motorcycling podcast presented by Simon Hargreaves and Martin Fitz-Gibbons, a pair of bike journalists who've been riding and writing about dem motorbikes they have these days for bleedin' ages.

The pod is, as ever, supported and enabled and ennobled by Bennetts, the bike insurance gods, and BikeSocial – the brightest and best biking website and YouTube channel rammed with motorcycling goodness content. Including lots of new bike reviews. Oh yes.

So on this long-awaited return to pod action, Martin and Simon talk about the new bikes they've been riding, such as:

• BMW's R1300GS
• Honda's Africa Twin Adventure Sports
• Triumph's Speed & Scrambler 400s
• Suzuki's GSX-8R
• Yamaha's MT-09
• Moto Guzzi's Stelvio
• Harley's Road and Street Glides
• Kawasaki's Eliminator 500

Phew! No wonder there's not been a pod for over a month!

Plus, the lads natter about Yamaha's defunct-or-is-it R1, what is Euro5+ and why World Superbike might be making a comeback to a podcast near you soon.

Please like and subscribe, no, hang on, that's videos innit, getting me content mixed up... please download and tell your mates about the pod, what do you mean you haven't got any mates, tell your mum then, I dunno.

On this episode: we’ve ridden bikes from BMW, Honda, Triumph, Suzuki, Yamaha, Moto Guzzi, Harley-Davidson and Kawasaki…phew!

23/02/2024

10 years ago today. Happy birthday to us 🎂🥳

09/02/2024

Mufga's thoughts on Triumph's new 400s 👇

15/01/2024

Hello and welcome to episode 187 of Front End Chatter, the UK's most flexible motorcycling podcast, featuring:

• All the deets on the new Triumph Motorcycles Daytona 660 brought to you from a meeting with the bike itself – listen here, or watch us wrestle with words in realtime on FEC TV – search Front End Chatter on YouTube or go to bit.ly/fecdaytona

• Simon's been to Scotchland on a Suzuki Bikes UK V-Strom 800DE and mighty cold and mighty comfy it was too

• He's also still chuntering about a bike he'll never buy, and now can't decide between not buying a BMW R1200RT or a Triumph Trophy 1200 SE – but is leaning towards the Triumph at time of recording...

• Plus a pile of FECers emails including not watching racing in 2024, whether fast, fun, lightweight bikes are gone forever, will anyone be building specials with engine swaps in the future, and much much more.

We are supported in our endeavours as ever by the estimable Bennetts, the UK's most bike-friendly bike insurers (a higher standard than some meet), and their multi-media wing on the web at bikesocial.co.uk.

👇
https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-views/features/podcasts/fec-episode-187

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10/01/2024

In case you missed it yesterday, Si & Mufga had a poke round the new Triumph Daytona 660 and made one of them new-fangled videos they have these days: https://youtu.be/18PoUUmXtwc

09/01/2024

Hello and welcome to yet another very special vodcast of the podcast. Front End Chatter is delighted, nay positively tumescent, to bring all the details of Triumph's new 2024 Daytona 660 – straight from the Hinckley's mouth...

https://youtu.be/18PoUUmXtwc?feature=shared

Triumph Motorcycles

Hello and welcome to yet another very special vodcast of the podcast. Front End Chatter is delighted, nay positively tumescent, to bring all the details of T...

24/12/2023

This has happened! First launch video on FEC TV is the Triumph Motorcycles Tiger 900 GT Pro and Rally Pro.

Be grateful if you could have a gander, like, subs, all that guff & spread the word if it suits 🙏

https://youtu.be/lQkWyP5IY8k

Welcome to Front End Chatter – the motorcycling podcast – and our first-ever YouTube video of the first ride on Triumph's 2024 Tiger 900 GT Pro and Rally Pro...

22/12/2023

Icymi...

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21/12/2023

Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter, the UK’s most flammable motorcycling podcast with him, Simon Hargreaves, and him, Martin Fitz-Gibbons. This is episode 186, a gentleman’s agreement of an episode, in which we thank Bennetts, Britain’s best bike insurance experts, and BikeSocial.co.uk, all your two-wheeled needs and nerds catered for on the web and on YouTube – before once more diving into a couple of hours of chatter.

And on this episode we bring you a FEC first – our inaugural (but not last) new bike launch – yes, Front End Chatter was privileged to be invited to the first ride of the Triumph Motorcycles 2024 Tiger 900 range in Spain – the new Tiger 900 GT Pro and Rally Pro, on road and off. The fact the bike's a corker is entirely coincidental, and we can confidently state the launch gift of a dose of Covid didn't sway our opinion even it it ruined Xmas at Chatter Manors.

In this episode we also sling a leg over the Suzuki Bikes UK GSX-S1000 GX which at a slightly compromised launch that didn't let us really get under the skin of the bike and left us with more questions than answers – which gives us an excuse to put more miles on the bike later in the year, and which is no bad thing.

Also in this episode, Mufga and a crew of ne'er-do-wells win a historic trophy by riding a pair of Zero Motorcycles electric bikes through thick, but mostly thin, the length and breadth of Britain.

Thank you very much for listening, please email your thoughts and musings and questions to the usual address, and get us on the socials (when we're feeling up to it).

Have a splendid Christmas and see/hear you/us in 2024.

https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-views/features/podcasts/fec-episode-186

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02/12/2023

That beardy one on the end looks a bit dodgy...

It's been emotional...

We set off on our Auto Cycle Union Ltd Maudes Trophy attempt to prove that electric motorcycles are more than just commuters and that they are capable machines in all conditions. And we've certainly done that.

The trophy is given out to manufacturers for feats of endurance, taking their bikes well beyond the parameters most riders will ever consider.

Snow and ice was always a possibility, but the sub-zero conditions took the challenge to another level. Our team showed incredible spirit, riding in shifts of up to two hours at a time, and despite some blizzards in Scotland, we have arrived in Liverpool.

We suspect the riders are feeling it more than the bikes right now, but their reward is a place in history, making Zero only the 11th manufacturer to receive this prestigious award and, of course, the first to be powered by electric ⚡️

What an achievement 👏

| |

22/11/2023

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20/11/2023

Hello and welcome to FEC185, the new-bikes-for-2024 special version of Front End Chatter, Britain’s fave motorcycling podcast with him Martin Fitz-Gibbons and him Simon Hargreaves.

But WAIT! Before you move on, thinking “Oh, I’ve already endured that pair of idiots nattering about the new bikes for 2024 in their EICMA Show review on the Bennetts BikeSocial YouTube channel they have these days,”...
..well – yes, that’s what you’re getting here; the audio version of the video, but one you can take on your travels while you’re raking up fallen leaves on the lawn, walking the dog (or dogs if you have two of them), spannering in the garage (not heard it called that before) or even do***ng on the treadmill in your local gymnasium. Jogging. I meant jogging.

But there’s more! Because we’re also revealing details of something far more important than the tired old toot the manufacturers are trying to foist on you in 2024. Because dear FECers, we have details of not one, but TWO FEC Tours in 2024 – both flawlessly organised, as always, in conjunction with Paul from MCI Motorcycle Tours.

Only after putting up with all that – hope you enjoy the FEC Guide To 2024’s New Bikes (well, the ones we’re really interested in!) 👇

Plug in your headphones & have a listen

14/11/2023

Icymi... FEC on film 👇

The dust has settled and almost 60 new or updated bikes have been announced, many of which can be seen and sat on at (18th – 26th Nove...

13/11/2023

FEC on film!

Mufga and Simon recently "borrowed" the Bennetts BikeSocial studio while nobody was looking for a not-quite-as-brief-as-we-were-hoping-for run through the 2024 new bike landscape, in particular the bikes that are getting us most excited.

Click, tap, watch, share, like, subscribe, comment and all the other stuff you're supposed to do these days 👇
https://youtu.be/9SHRFacSB2E

The dust has settled and almost 60 new or updated bikes have been announced, many of which can be seen and sat on at (18th – 26th Nove...

30/10/2023

Attention Front End Chatterers attending Motorcycle Live – due to factors, Simon & Mufga WON'T be on the Black Horse Stage with James Whitham on Thursday 23rd Nov – but we WILL be there on Tuesday 21st Nov.

Tues – YES!
Thurs – NO!

17/10/2023

£5k for a commuter to handle motorways AND city filtering

17/10/2023

In case you missed it!

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16/10/2023

Hello and welcome to Episode 184 of Front End Chatter, Britain's Bestest Biking Bodcast with him, Martin Fitz-Gibbons, and him, Simon Hargreaves – with thanks as ever to our patient and perfect partners Bennetts, the bike insurance specialisms, and BikeSocial.co.uk, the most informative and entertaining motorcycling website on the, er web. Is it still called the web?

Anyway, check out the offers, discounts and competitions available should you choose to become a BikeSocial Member (free to Bennetts customers, £60 a year if not) – seriously, if you're planning on spending a few quid this year on tyres, kit and accessories, chances are the shop you'll buy them from has a discount offer with Bennetts – so sign up, ya fool!

Right, on with the show and today it's a bit of a FEC-sack Special because we're getting a bit behind with your emailed questions and queries – so it's all you today:

• whose leathers are on the wall of a hotel near the Nürburgring?
• great biking reassessments, such as Harley are technically advanced and Honda do think they can change gear better than you after all: with mandatory DCT and, now, Honda's Eclutch – another auto transmission. Honda really don't like manual gearboxes, do they?
• plus, Martin recalls having to reassess adventure bikes after it became clear they were taking over the world
• how to regain a biking mojo
• how will BMW's front collision warning cope with 'progressive' riding in traffic?
• best bike for long range commuting?
• is the SWC300 any good?
• do we grow out of modifying bikes?

And much, much more...

Thanks for listening, please spread the word, please ring-fence a couple of dates in your diary – we have a FEC tour of Spain coming up in early June 2024, and a FEC tour of the Borders in late July 2024! YOU HAVE TO BE THERE! It's such a good time.

Download the latest episode here 👇
https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-views/features/podcasts/fec-episode-184

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11/10/2023

Inside your November issue of RiDE we crown the best of the UK’s new bikes, chosen by RiDE’s readers.

Pick up a copy from any good newsagent, or try our Digital Subscription from just 99p for your first month. Subscribe here - https://bit.ly/48LBLxb

11/10/2023

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10/10/2023

Following on from some FEC #181 chatter, here's a few words Mufga wrote on doing a 300-mile day on a Zero DSR/X, where it's faster than a GS and more. Click the link & scroll down to the second opinion bit.

£24k electric adventures

09/10/2023

Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter, Britain's most foresighted motorcycling podcast and, as regular listeners, you don't need to be Nostradamus to know what we're going to say next. So no surprise it's a massive thank you to Bennetts, Britain's best motorcycle insurers, who continue to amaze and astound with a litany, nay, cornucopia of offers, competitions and nice things – one of which is BikeSocial.co.uk with all the biking news, new bikes, consumer features and BSB info fit to eat. And check out Bennetts' YouTube channel coz it's amazing. And become a Bennetts BikeSocial Member and get access to all the above, for a paltry £60 a year – and it's free if you're insured with Bennetts.

Right, after all that, onto the pod. And it's a Knobbly News kinda week, what with BMW Motorrad UK's R1300 GS getting the full nerd-out in-depth detail – what's the motor/frame/suspension/styling, and how's it different, why's it different and will we like it? Plus Honda Motorcycles have nibbled at the Africa Twin and ruined the Adventure Sport by not importing a manual gearbox version (we love Honda, we really do, but blimey they make it hard sometimes). Meanwhile Suzuki Bikes UK unveil the V-Strom 800RE, possibly the most useful motorbike of 2024, and Triumph Motorcycles announce some prices. And in the green corner, literally, there's Kawasaki UK letting slip a small trump of details about the "Strong Hybrid Ninja 7" - a half battery, half petrol-powered 451cc parallel twin with what Kawasaki say is the fuel economy of a 250 combined with the performance of a 750 and the 0-60 of a ZX-10R, yeah right chinny chin chin (that bit wasn't in the press release).

And after all that, we FECsack about CX500s, commuting 100 miles a day and cramming a lifetime of motorcycle choices into a few years as you work out what kind of biker you are.

Right, that's all for now. We should start a newsletter. Hey, that's a good idea…

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02/10/2023

In case you missed it...
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