Wed, 12 July 2023
Hello everyone and welcome to episode 179 of Front End Chatter, Britain’s Chattiest Motorcycling podcast with him Martin Fitz-Gibbons, and him, Simon Hargreaves – underpinned, as ever, by Bennetts, Britain’s best bike insurer and BikeSocial.co.uk, the place to go for your biking info. And on this week’s FEC we have: Yes, we’ve teamed up again with our friends at MCI Tours to bring you a FECin Welsh Weekend. When’s that, I hear you ask? I’m glad you did – the FECin Welsh Weekend is taking place from the afternoon/evening of Friday 22nd September, riding on Saturday and Sunday, departing Monday 25th September. JOIN US – on the best roads in Wales, officially selected by the Cannes Jury Of Mint Roads in Wales, Bach. Visit bit.ly/fecwales and get involved. Also in this honestly massive episode of FEC (because bigger is better, right?) Plus!
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Tue, 27 June 2023
Hello everybody and welcome to a Front End Chatter FECsack special. Special you say? Yes, very special indeed, thanks for asking. Why so special? Special because in a change from FEC's (un)usual format, we've devoted a full hour to answering one single, solitary, lonely, individual question sent in by a listener. Well, you know, after 170-odd of these things, we figured it's about time we did one properly... And as such it is the unbelievably enormously magnificently humongous pleasure of Britain's best bum-lickingiest biking podcast to welcome the one and only Adrian Morton - Britain's best bike designer - to the deepest deep dive (too soon?) you'll ever hear on:
We hope you love this detour from our usual FEC waffling as much as we do. And if you'd like to contribute to our bulging FECsack of listener questions, please fire your ponderings through to anything@frontendchatter.com
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Sat, 17 June 2023
Hello and welcome one and all to Front End Chatter, Britain's cakiest motorcycle podcast with she/him, Martina Fitz-Gibbons and it/blimey, Simone Hargreaves. As the country's leading formerly employed but subsequently jettisoned motorcycle journalistas, now freelancing for anyone with a gold sovereign and a glint in their eye, we're proud to be supported and stimulated by Bennetts, Brian's leading bike insurers, and BikeSocial.co.uk, more motorcycling news, reviews and blues clues on the web than the web really deserves. |
Fri, 9 June 2023
Hello everybody, and welcome to a quick but exciting FEC cordially inviting you, dear FEC listener, to the Bennetts Snetterton Track Day on Thursday 13th July. We’re going, and we’d love you to be there with us for a chin-wag and a cup of coffee. Bennetts BikeSocial trackdays aren’t like other trackdays – they’re WAY better. As well as 7 x 20-minute track sessions, with novice, intermediate and advanced group options, you’ll also get FREE action shots taken by a professional British Superbikes photographer, and be able to meet and ride on track with Mr John McGuinness. An onsite BSB mechanic will offer set-up advice, a team of instructors will offer riding tips, and Yamaha track hire bikes are available to book. If you’re a novice, this is the perfect introduction – there’s an extended safety briefing if it’s your first time, plus two free classroom sessions offering advice on body position and circuit riding. And all of this costs just £139 – an absolute bargain. Normally Bennetts trackdays are only available to BikeSocial members, but we’ve swung a deal to allow FEC listeners to come along too, even if you’re not a BikeSocialist. We'll be there, and we’ll have a garage put aside exclusively for the use of FECers. Obviously you will need all the usual trackday safety kit (ACU approved full-face helmet, full one-piece or complete zip-together two-piece leathers, proper boots and leather gloves and all the rest) plus a full length back protector, and a front brake lever guard or hand-guards, and your bike will need to meet the noise limit (102DB static / 92DB driveby). To book, you’ll need to head to the link below: https://rewards.bennetts.co.uk/rewards/snetterton-trackday-13072023-discount-voucher-code You’ll find all the info you need, the terms & conditions, plus a link to take you through to book your place, at Snetterton, on Thursday 13th July. |
Sat, 3 June 2023
Hello, good morning and welcome to Front End Chatter, Britain's best general-purpose biking podcast (apart from racing podcasts, of which there are many and excellent). This is Episode 177 of nonsense, the first since the FEC Grin Up North tour. And it's been a while because Simon and Martin have been busy eking a living from the dry, dusty soil of freelance motorcycle journalism. |
Tue, 9 May 2023
Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter E176... Yes folks, after a lengthy absence due to life, the universe and everything, Front End Chatter is back – and not only back, but back LIVE. Recorded in front of a hand-picked audience of FEC friends from a hotel in Lancashire, your hosts Simon Hargreaves and Martin Fitz-Gibbons talk a load of nonsense including: • guff about the new Suzuki GSX-S 8S and why it might be better than Honda’s Hornet • guff about the new Yamaha Tracer 9 GT+ and how it helps you brake • Mufga goes trials riding with Inch Perfect Trials • plus questions from the audience, including: • why pillion seats are so small • who will build the last petrol engine ever And a bit more. Thanks as always to Bennetts and BikeSocial.co.uk for their enduring and endearing support. Thanks also to Paul at MCI Tours (www.mcitours.com) for organising and managing the FEC Grin Oop North Tour. Thanks to the staff of Crooklands Hotel, Kendal, for their hospitality. And, more than anything, thanks to our friends on the FEC Grin Oop North Tour 2023: @SimonHbikes
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Tue, 21 March 2023
Hello and welcome to Episode 175 of Front End Chatter, Britain’s funkiest motorcycling podcast, presented by Simon Hargreaves and Martin Fitz-Gibbons, supported as ever by Bennetts, the bike insurance specialists, and BikeSocial.co.uk, the best place to get your motorcycling news and other two-wheeled resources. And on FEC175 we have:
• KTM and MV Agusta re-organise their dealers (which only matters to the half of the podcast who owns an MV Agusta) • Irish road racing is back on after securing £90,000 from crowdfunding and a renegotiation of their insurance premium, which is good news – although is this now going to be an annual issue? • the first two races from World Superbike at Phillip Island and Mandalika • plus more of our emails, including: - the when and where of throttle snatch - why can’t I go round right handers? - how come Sikhs don’t have to wear helmets? - recalibrating quickshifters – urban myth or actual thing? - why does my bum ache? ...and much more... Thank you very much for listening, and please send your thoughts, queries and random comedy motorcycling moments to anything@frontendchatter.com @Mufga
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Tue, 21 February 2023
Dearest FECers, welcome to episode 174 of the long-running – well, it's our ninth birthday, apparently, Happy Birthday to us etc – motorcycling podcast brought to you by Simon Hargreaves and Martin Fitz-Gibbons, and ably, nimbly and elastically supported by Bennetts, the bike insurance specialists (and if you haven't yet, you really should) and bikesocial.co.uk, the world of wokecycling on the web. |
Sun, 12 February 2023
Hello & welcome to Front End Chatter with him, Martin Fitz-Gibbons, and me, Simon Harararargreaves. This is episode #173 of a long-running saga, in which we are as ever indebted to Bennetts, the only bike insurers who actually invest a shed-load back into British motorcycling culture to promote the British Superbike series, create an ocean of free content at www.BikeSocial.co.uk, planted the seeds for a rich and fertile YouTube channel, and allow FEC to come in your ears once a fortnight. That's gotta be worth the entry fee. |
Sat, 28 January 2023
Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter Episode 172, hosted by Simon Hargreaves and Martin Fitz-Gibbons and supported in their noble endeavours by Bennetts, the bike insurance gurus, and bikesocial.co.uk, the world wide web of wokorcycling. Bit of a special episode of FEC – c'mon, keep it light – as we visit the Motorcycle Industry Association annual conference and speak to the head of the MCIA, Tony Campbell, to find out what the great and the good of the British motorcycle industry are doing to prepare for the UK government's proposal to ban the sale of new petrol-engined bikes in just over a decade from now. It's not all bad news, but some of it might be. |