2006 June Blog

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Picked up the missing link in the GSX-R series today and returned the 600. I would have been a bit sad to see the 600 go if it hadn't been for the fact I swapped it for the 750. The two bikes feels exactly the same to ride, however with different engines. The 600 has got a slight flat spot just around 8.000rpm but there is no such thing on the 750. There is no doubt that the 750 has got more go straight away than the 600 and maybe that's just the little extra that makes perfect? We shall see as I have around two weeks to find out. Please invite me to track days! Carlos and I have planned to visit Donington on Saturday. If you see us come and have a chat! Now I am hearing about Ducati Multistrada 1200's and tomorrow I will try to get some more meat on that bone. MV Agusta press officer Daniele Torresan will as from tomorrow not be working for the legendary and exclusive Italian firm anymore. Good luck in your new job Daniele! TS

Life goes on. Went to the Police station today and produced the insurance documents. My back feels ready for some GSX-R action now and tomorrow I will swap the 600 for the 750. Someone called me and left a message yesterday where the guy said he owned a Suomy Extreme helmet and was not able to put the visor on. I'll do a video instruction on how to change visor on the helmet soon. You must have seen by now that loads of work has been done on the site lately to make it more dynamic for the future. The most popular pages should load at least twice as fast now as I have split them up. All bike tests will get its own page so that it's easier to bookmark just the link about the bike that interests you the most. It will also enable me to use even more pictures. Feel free to send me an E-mail to comment on the changes. Tor

Did that bike hit that wall with some force or not? A broken Paralever is not everyday stuff! When the huge GS Adventure hit that wall it was almost like a big explosion and the bike went with more momentum than I did luckily. Whilst I was hugging the tarmac ripping up my Scott pants and gloves the bike just disappeared twice as fast as me into the ditch and then the wall. Not a scratch on my helmet and no traffic coming against me so I was very lucky to be able to get up straight away. Before I had had a chance to call the insurers and recovery the local farmer was on the scene. He was not there to help or assist getting the bike off the wall, he was there to make sure he got compensation for the broken stone wall. Are these people on tractors the same that will string cheese wire to catch offroad bikers in their fields? It just makes me wonder. Police and ambulance arrived shortly thereafter whilst I was on the top of a hill to find network to call the insurers on my mobile phone. Then went down and had a chat with the Police and exchanged details with the farmer. Police was great by the way and around here they have seen it all before. The PC on a Pan Euro showed me a picture on his mobile phone of another GS on its head after one of his mates had had an accident offroad. Since it is a dangerous spot on the A54 for recovery PC Lafferty from Cheshire constabulary stayed with us waiting for the recovery controlling traffic that passed. Cheers for that and thumbs up to the Police for the way they handled this one. I was also invited to attend and write about the Bike safe programme they are running here. I suppose I feel that I am obliged to do that now. Today I got a lift with the recovery crew back to Thorne close to Doncaster with the sad looking GS Adventure to pick up the GSX-R and ride home. Due to the broken Paralever the GS had to be manhandled into position and then fork-lifted into a steel cradle. I also have video of the bike being winched off the stone wall. If you're a R1200 GS Adventure owner the video will make your eyes wet. A tiny spider had found its way under the fairing on the GSX-R600 whilst at Thorne. Shaken after high speed vibrations on the motorway it hoisted itself to the ground when I arrived home. I noticed and followed the little spider with my eyes until it reached the stone walls of my house. Then it started crawling up the wall until it got close to a small hole in the wall. Out came a bigger spider and within a second the smaller one had been brought in to the small hole to become the bigger spiders lunch. I believe I read in the Bike safe brochure at the Cat & Fiddle that most motorcycle accidents with a deadly outcome happened by coincidence. It was a coincidence that this little spider was taken 60 miles from where it was born only to be eaten within seconds by the big daddy spider in Buxton. It was only coincidence that made sure there was no oncoming traffic when I was sliding on that road the other day too. But I live to ride another day, some don't, so stay safe and for fucks sake put your gloves on at least! TS

I am quite beaten up at the moment after sending the big GS Adventure through a stone wall minutes before the kick off between England and Ecuador in the World Cup finals today. The bloody farmer that owns the stone wall was the first on the scene and those guys care more about their sheep and walls than people. Anyway, can't sit down for long as my backside hurts. More details and pictures later. TS

I have now picked up BMW R1200GS Adventure, based on the best selling R1200GS. It's a big beast particularly with those huge petrol tanks, one on each side just as wide as the boxer cylinders. More later. TS

I am not going to try to wind anyone up today. Instead I'll talk about the World Cup that has ruined so many sunny days on the bike lately. Not that I haven't been out, but only for short trips in between matches. I can honestly say that I am not a true football fan as I haven't watched 90 minutes of football in two years. I only follow the big tournaments and couldn't care less about what happens in between. I am naturally supporting England as I happen to live in England. Brazil didn't impress much so I guess I'll have to keep Italy and Argentina as reserves. Sweden gets some of my sympathies even though they were crap in their first match. Other than that I hope that one of the African teams goes through as well. But much more interesting there is the Catalonian MotoGP round next weekend and it will be a dog fight between Rossi, Gibernau and Pedrosa. Next week I'll be riding both the GSX-R600 and BMW R1200GS Adventure and no it's not a comparison. I will do some of the same routes on the GS as I did with the HP2 Enduro just to see how all that extra weight plays on my confidence or maybe more correct to say my forearms. It will be hard work and I know it. The Suzuki GSX-R750 test was postponed and has created a bit of a mess as I was set to ride only big adventure bikes from next week and three weeks ahead (BMW R1200GS Adventure, Buell XB12X Ulysses and Honda XL1000V Varadero). So I think the solution might be to cut the Beemer test slightly short to return the GSX-R600 and pick up the 750. Then the Buell Ulysses... One date changes in the calendar and the whole thing becomes complicated. The worst bit is that BMW actually asked to change the date of the GS test before I knew the Suzuki would be late. Hmm, still thinking about how to make this one easier. GSX-R600 is a cracking piece of machinery, fast and furious. Perhaps it would be good to get some time in between the 600 and 750 after all. Watch this space to see how the puzzle works out in the end. In the meantime I am enjoying every single mile on the GSX-R600 and every minute of nonsense from Germany on the TV. TS  Todays entry was sponsored by:

Spent most of the day out in the sun today. Went out with Carlos (Kawasaki Z750) and Andy (Yamaha FZ6S) later in the afternoon and got some action shot that turned out too grainy for magazine stuff at least. Meaning I'll continue shooting but tomorrow I'll get up really early in the morning to get that knee down-shot by the Cat & Fiddle done again. I have also posted a couple of pictures of last generation GSX-R 600 so that you can see just how different the two are. Other than that I have finished a piece for UK Bike magazine this week and FTP'd pictures to a mad Hungarian journalist that I helped out at the Bimota world launch last month. He rode from Hungary to Rimini carrying both leathers, two different full face helmets, two pair of boots and God knows what else on the back of his 2006 Yamaha FZ1S! I was chatting to Simon Roots of Superbike when the Hungary guy left the Bimota factory and we both had a good laugh. Remember where Hungary is? It's east of Austria so not too far away from the North of Italy but still... That World Cup starts this weekend and I am not really a football fan, but have watched every World Cup since I was able to walk so will watch as many matches as possible again this time. On Saturday the highlight is Paraguay versus England and I'm watching it at a mates house in Didsbury and he's from Paraguay. The World cup is a good excuse to drink a lot of beer. I've been off the heavy beer drinking lately to make sure I don't turn into this grotesque Moby the whale figure in custom made leathers (oops, did I just once again make sure no one from that Not so fast minded mag never buy any of my stuff ever?) and save at least one cow from loosing its skin. What did I see in Fastbikes last time I was stupid enough to buy the mag (only to read what Polish Pete is saying as he's the best Polish guy I've met) about Test Idol? It reminds me of what another motorcycle weekly (slightly more quality, but testers are illiterate Fastbikes refugees or bleeding Pop idols, apart from Phil West which is a good man) did a couple of years ago. It's the best way of getting someone to work their arse off fulltime with life and limbs on the line and extra hours literally for free. Hope you find someone rubbish that is moving up the career ladder from selling the Big Issue. Bear in mind I might be selling it one day too when I've pissed off enough people blogging and moaning and bitching. All for your entertainment of course. In a few weeks time I'll be testing Americas big surprise for this year, Buell XB12X Ulysses. I might be able to persuade Erik Buell and his mate Court Canfield to play some moody blues guitar on the Ulysses videos. That'll be a treat to Buell fans. TS

060606 today and on the GSX 6 I nearly did six rounds on the Cat & Fiddle road. Loads of 6 today. Got some better statics today as the light was better than yesterday. By the time my photographer was ready the light had gone today for action shots and it might take a couple of days before they are safely on my hard drive. I found a glitch around 8,000 rpms in the fuel injection today and I only noticed because I had to tackle some traffic a few places. Nothing much to talk about as it does not seem natural to ride loads on those rpms. The GSX-R600 seems a little less hectic on top compared to the R6 I tested earlier this year, but compensates by having a stronger midrange. Not as strong as the 675 Triple though. The most impressive features so far is the rock solid chassis, how light and nimble it feels and the strong brakes. The new slipper clutch is nice too. Tomorrow will be even warmer than today apparently so I will spend tomorrow out in the sun with the smallest Gixxer. TS

In glorious sunshine I headed south towards Hinckley and more specific Windy Corner in Barwell to return the Rocket III Classic, pick up my own Cagiva Raptor 1000 and ride 50 miles further south to Milton Keynes to pick up the K6 Suzuki GSX-R 600. Not a bad day by all means and after 10 days of careful cornering with the big Rocket I am now more than ready for a small, light and nimble sportsbike. That's just what the GSX-R 600 is. No fly-by-wire or 20.000 rpm redline, but a neat new exhaust system that has moved all the weight from one of the sides to under the engine. Clever stuff from Suzuki (and Yamaha R6) and it should make for a ultra balanced chassis. It was quite windy on the motorway on my way back to Buxton today, but I have plenty of time to explore the chassis of the new GSX-R600 as we have to wait a little bit longer for the 750. TS

Got the last Triumph Rocket pictures today by the help of the lovely Claire McHugh. Yet another gorgeous day in the Peaks and all the pictures are taken on the A54 between Buxton and the Cat & Fiddle this time. Returning the big Triumph tomorrow and picking up a small sportsbike from Suzuki. The K6 GSX-R600. I have always had fun on both the K1, K4 and K5 600s and have no reason to believe the K6 will not have loads to offer. The big question really is how it compares to the 2006 R6 and Daytona 675. TS

What a day! Desmosedici RR launched in Mugello and brilliant sunshine in the Peaks! We're lucky to be bikers! TS