2007 May blog

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Breakfast at 08:00, then a short briefing and off we went on the Shiver's into the mountains by Cison di Valmarino. The route included a steep climb with numerous hair bend corners. Even hair bend corners inside dark and moist tunnels with one way drive. Nothing the SL750 couldn't handle though. Shortly after this we stopped for the first photo session. Milagro usually know what they are doing with motorcycle photography, and this Aprilia gig was no exception. However the background seems to be very green and similar on most of the shots. Everyone sort of agreed that the Shiver was not a true wheelie machine, so had to settle for a few shots that will look very similar to everyone else's. But it doesn't matter, Aprilia have bikes based on this model for the future with a more aggressive power band. Time and time again I scratched my knee sliders hanging off with only one foot on the footpeg. I didn't notice until I got to see the pictures and that tells a story of a very stable chassis! I thoroughly enjoyed cornering with the Shiver, but I had the Ducati Hypermotard fresh in mind and the Shiver could never completely live up to that machines ability in and out of the corners. The SL750 Shiver still appealed a lot to me and is definitely a motorcycle that I would happily own myself. I was riding with the complete corps of UK journalists today and no one crashed! That's just brilliant because most places on this route would have been very dangerous to crash. Headed back to the Castle Brando for lunch and a press conference and then out again for a second session on faster roads. I did see around 207km/h on the fastest stretch of road and there was a little bit left. I reckon around 240km/h as the real top speed. I am staying in Italy until tomorrow so after a shower and a change of hotels (to a 3 bedroom beautiful flat!) from the Castle to Villa Marcello Marinelli. I had dinner with the Aprilia staff until ze Germans started to arrive. Did my interviews in peace and quiet and got some very interesting information. Tomorrow morning I will ride the Shiver on my own through the mountains until my transfer to Venice airport in the afternoon. Great! TS 

Turbo tourism and travelling today to get to the 2007 Aprilia SL750 Shiver international launch in Italy! The usual story, 10 minutes late for check in to my 06:30 flight to Venice from Liverpool. Looked around and found two other flights to Italy that morning, Milan and Pisa. So ran to the Ryanair ticket desk and asked to be placed on the Milan flight instead for a £50 extra. No places left... Pisa then? 1 place left and I bought it. So the order of the day would be travelling from the West coast of Italy to the East coast and Venice. Final destination was Castel Brando about one hour north from Venice and I had all day to get there. So arrived in Pisa and bought a train ticket from Pisa, via Florence to Venice. I am actually glad it worked out this way rather than my original plan because I got to see a few places that I haven't seen yet. It was 35 degree Celsius by the way so preferred to stay in the shade. Arrived in Florence and had about an hour to piss about until my Eurostar train journey to Venice was due. Was quite tired after getting up so early for nothing, so slept for most of the 3 and a half hour train journey, but woke up in Bologna. In Venice I spoke to Aprilia on the phone and decided to hook up with the UK group of journos that would arrive at the Marco Polo airport a few hours later for my transport to the castle-hotel. Grabbed a bite to eat and a drink in Venice watching the gondoliers bringing tourists around on the canals. Arriving at the Castel Brando in the mountains north from Venice night time is a bit of a fairytale-like experience. Particularly when it's for a bike like the Shiver. Riding time and action tomorrow! Can't wait! TS

Venice is a place you might have been with your girlfriend or boyfriend on a romantic holiday. It also happens to be close to Noale and the Aprilia factory. I have a date tomorrow in Venice that makes me Shiver in anticipation. You're right, it's Shiver time this week. More later after I arrive in Venice tomorrow morning. The bike features a brand new V90 engine that produces a claimed 95bhp @ 9.000rpm and 81Nm @ 7.000rpm.  The frame is a mixed trellis/aluminium construction and dry weight 189kg. The Shiver is aimed at getting new customers to the brand and fills a big hole left by the RS250. Triumph are launching the first official picture and the UK retail price for the Street Triple these days. The embargo is for Friday the 25th, but somehow certain markets have disregarded this embargo against the Triumph factory's will. I'm still waiting until Friday though. Tor

Returned the Bandit 1250 to its rightful owners today. The soft suspension is really good and forgiving over uneven pavement and road surfaces, but not the best for feedback when going really fast. Its a definite upgrade compared to earlier air-cooled Bandits, but still part of a budget package. Very acceptable though. Also pictured today the 2001 Bandit 1200 that I tested in 2001. TS

Hello everyone! Celebrated the Norwegian national day in Manchester yesterday with friends. Today I headed out into the Peak district with photographer Martin from North Wales (you'll see from the pictures...) The weather varied from West to East, but a bit grey when we did the shoot. Rode the Cat & Fiddle road through Buxton to Tideswell (Cathedral of the Peaks), Castleton and Edale before heading back to Chorlton in Manchester. In Edale, in lack of Welsh sheep, Martin did something horrible to the 2007 Suzuki GSF1250S Bandit (see pictures of mad Welshman) The Bandit will never be the same again and after this crime to motorcycling the fuel injection was not the same. All coughing as if to simulate a crying motorcycle. The Bandit is now in need of professional help and I shall return it to Suzuki on Monday to attend an appointment with the Exhaust doctor. Apart from the molestation, the Bandit has now proven to be a brilliant roadbike. The 1250 handles all sort of roads safely with or without a pillion. The seat is comfortable for many miles and there are almost no vibration whatsoever from the big torqey engine. I also feel that the new Bandit is sporty enough to be a lot of fun even with ABS brakes. The Suzuki is also stable at speed even in the very windy conditions in Edale today. So even if the Bandit S is not the prettiest motorcycle to look at, it's got some inner strength that is crucial for a good roadbike. Try one before you disregard it. The new Bandit is more than just a cheap, sensible 1250cc motorcycle. TS

Did a static shoot of the Bandit 1250 in town today. NQ in Manchester is the perfect backdrop for a Bandit, but soon I'll take it into the Peak District too weather permitting. I love the torque this new liquid cooled big in-line four develops at low rpm. TS

Did a quick action shoot this morning on my way down to Milton Keynes to swap the K7 Suzuki GSX-R1000 for the 2007 Bandit 1250S. The weather was ok to start with and I needed my leathers on for the shoot anyway, but I was running out of time eventually as I had to be in MK by 4:30. In the Peaks the GSX-R1000 has got too much power as you never get to use any of it properly. There's the occasional small straight, but nothing that excites the GSX-R too much. And I can't honestly say that the K7 out handles the K6 even though the balance is better. It's a great bike regardless, but something tells me that the K6 was a more entertaining motorcycle to ride. Anyway, with the limited time I had on my hands to reach MK it would be a very exciting day for me. All I am willing to say is that I arrived one hour before I should, and then lost all the time saved on the filtering manoeuvres on the motorway by getting the wrong exit on one of a million roundabouts in MK. How stupid! Was dead worried Suzuki would be closed when I arrived at quarter to five, but luckily for me I was still able to swap bikes. So went home on the Bandit 1250S. And now it started raining too. Me in my leathers, on the motorway with 200 miles to go again! Half dead and a few hours later I was home and only a hot bath saved me. The new liquid cooled 1250 has got all the muscle in the right places by the way. It rides much better than it looks and is a much better roadbike than the GSX-R. I am not sure whether I have ever seen a bigger muffler on a standard bike ever before. Obscenely big and frankly, ugly! More on the Bandit soon. TS

Woke up this morning fully rested (as I was a beach bum yesterday) and after breakfast and another safety briefing I headed directly out to Mores circuit on a bus. We would start the riding on the circuit and then ride the standard Hypermotard 1100 back to the hotel from Mores. It was an absolute treat by Ducati bringing Ruben Xaus to ride with us humble journos today. I am not sure if I will ever again ride on the same track at the same time with a professional World Superbike and ex MotoGP rider! An absolute privilege it was. Ruben did give me the low-down on his power-slide technique, but if I tell you I'll wake up with a horses head in my bed in the morning! No, just clutch, full throttle at max lean and some rear brake! Easy (not...)! You can read everything about the track time that I had with Ruben here, but I can tell you that there is a lot of time to kill in between sessions. I spoke to Xaus, Ducati press officers, my journalist colleagues, did the walk around videos etc. Don't you think Ruben looks great on that Hypermotard by the way? My thanks to Bruno Mastroianni for taking those shots of Ruben and me at Mores. After our two sessions on track I did a few wheelie shots and tracking around the track. The tracking shots did not turn out great and the photographer had not cleaned his lens properly. But the other shots from the track riding turned out really good. On the way back to the hotel Ducati CEO Federico Minoli joined us for the ride. We were strictly forbidden to do any wheelies or other antics on the road. So had to settle for some fast riding up and down the mountains in gorgeous Sardinian nature. Got back to the hotel, had a shower and a nap before dinner. Red wine was the name of the game whilst waiting for the photographers to finish my disc with images from the day. Old Blighty tomorrow afternoon. TS

My day started just after midnight today really. Because that's when I set off down to Stansted airport for my direct flight to Alghero in Sardinia. Alghero is the place where Ducati have chosen to launch its new Hypermotard 1100. I can't wait to ride it, but first I have to dry my leathers as it was chucking down with rain in London just around 4 O'clock this morning. It took me three hours to ride from Manchester to London Stansted on the GSX-R1000 this night/morning. Due to the weather I stuck the GSX-R into C mode a lot. First I thought it would be more fuel efficient too, but it isn't unless you chose full throttle in A mode compared to full throttle in C mode. When I arrived at Stansted I noticed that my bag had made some scuffs to the pillion seat cover on the Gixxer. Too late now to do anything about that I thought and headed into the terminal building. Whacked my wet leathers and boots into the bag and arrived in Sardinia just after 09:00 local time. Then off to Hotel El Faro where I got a chance to dry my leathers and gear in very hot sunshine on my veranda. Whilst waiting for my leathers to dry Dan van Epps appeared from the neighbouring room. Dan's the Commercial Director for Ducati based in Bologna and he used to be the Director for Ducati North America. We had a chat and Dan told me that on the roads around Bologna guys on the 1098 was always surprised when he could keep up with no problems on the Hypermotard. Dan is the Commercial Director for Ducati, but I have no reason not to believe the Hype on this one. My kit was as good as dry in no time and I decided to head into Alghero to kill some time as I was not due to ride until next morning. Got the T-shirts, a pizza and then slept on the beach as I was knackered riding through the night on soaked English motorways. What a contrast to Sardinia. To my delight I was told it had rained for the previous two groups of journalists. Meaning I would get better pictures in the sun! On the beach in Alghero in Sardinia listening to tunes on my MP3 player, watching topless Italian ladies and dreaming about tomorrows ride on the Hypermotard. Life could be worse than this! In the afternoon it was the usual welcome bubbly and briefing before dinner with the other journos that had arrived. This time I spent time with the American and Australian contingency as well as journalists from Eastern Europe. Tor

Toured the Triumph Factory today and then went on a rideout where I opted to ride the Daytona 675 and Speed Triple 1050 again. I made my way down from Manchester to Hinckley on the super fast Suzuki GSX-R1000. parked it in front of the reception at Factory 2 as an inspiration for a new Triumph Superbike. Then it had to be moved close to the bins outside the factory. I thought that was funny and there was no ill intention from Triumph. Anyway, it was interesting as ever to visit the motorcycle factory in Hinckley that carries one of the oldest most respected names in the business. I must tell you that I now have a wealth of Triumph material to be released and published during the summer. I am looking forward to publishing it and hope that Triumph fans out there will enjoy reading it. I have created a dedicated page to Triumph where I will add all the Factory pix and the history of Triumph. After the factory visit we (4 journos all together this day) went for a lunch rideout with Triumph Product Manager Simon Warburton. It was a very nice rideout that took us to the Canal Bank pub in Derbyshire. Shardlow was the name of the village and it's just a click North from Donington Park. On our way back after lunch we stopped at Melbourne Hall for a short session of static shots of the bikes we rode. I concentrated on the roulette green Speed Triple. Gorgeous place and gorgeous weather. Then we headed back to Factory 2 and I went back to Manchester through the Peak District on the Gixxer Thou' and stopped at the Cat & Fiddle pub for a drink. Chatted to the landlord as I usually do. A few months back he sold his Suzuki DR650 and bought a Triumph Tiger 955. He really likes it but he doesn't like speeding bikers. Specially not if they're born againers on bikes such as my K7 GSX-R1000. Take it easy up the Cat road this summer, it's too easy a place to draw attention to yourself and Police are regularly present. But do visit the Pub for a nice meal and a drink. The Cat & Fiddle pub is a great resource in the middle of the Peaks where bikers should meet and relax. See you there! TS

Action day on the GSX-R1000 today. Some shots here and many more here. I'm not done or happy by any means, but as an insurance for bad weather we shot some action today. Went to Chorlton-Cum-Hardy for lunch today with the photographer for some healthy food and drink before hitting the road. More action shots in the Peaks next. When I return the GSX-R1000 (not sure if I want to...) I am picking up the Bandit 1250S by the way. Tomorrow I am heading down to Hinckley for the Triumph press day. It's a nice ride down on the GSX-R1000. Tour Factory 1 and 2, then rideout for lunch using the 07 Triumph press fleet and then I'll chat to Simon Warburton about everything concerning Triumph. Yet another good day in the sun me thinks. TS