Hello everybody and welcome to Front End Chatter, the semi-regular spoken word salad that refuses to stray into nostalgia (other than to remember when nostalgia was better than it is today). Episode #62 continues to be supported by the wondrous website known as Bike Social (that’s www.bikesocial.co.uk) where you should definitely go to check out all the latest motorcycling news and reviews. And get an insurance quote. Go on. In this 90-minute natter extravaganza, Simon and Martin discuss: MotoGP...
Aug 10, 2017•1 hr 30 min
Hello everybody and welcome to Front End Chatter – Britain's best biking podcast, powered (and empowered) by the wondrous two-wheeled website known as Bike Social (that's www.bikesocial.co.uk – and you should definitely check them out). It's episode 61, which as everybody knows is the **must remember to search Google for an obscure name of somebody who once raced a motorcycle with number 61 here** episode. Which, ironically, has very little racing at all, being mostly composed of: Chatter about ...
Jul 21, 2017•1 hr 39 min
Welcome to Front End Chatter E60, sponsored as always by our good friends at www.bikesocial.co.uk and backed by Bennetts, the bike insurance boys and girls. And what a scandal-laden FEC we have this week: • despite a truncated MotoGP/racing section we still manage to disrespeculate on Lorenzo’s future at Ducati and compare his debut season so far to Rossi’s disaster in 2011... • get into the financial fall-out from the shambles formally known as the Circuit Of Wales... • details of the new Ducat...
Jul 09, 2017•1 hr
Welcome to Front End Chatter E59, brought to you in association with our good friends at www.bikesocial.co.uk, sponsored by Bennetts, the bike insurance specialists. AND! What an episode we have! Just in time for the Assen MotoGP race this weekend, Front End Chatter recaps the previous round at Catalunya (apologies for the delay, delay, delay and don’t worry, because it was so long ago we keep it brief) – and it’s worth reminding ourselves what a hilarious, thigh-slapping sit-com of a race weeke...
Jun 25, 2017•1 hr 15 min
Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter Episode 58, supported by www.bikesocial.co.uk and sponsored by Bennetts – and a very special, fully employed episode it is too; featuring, as it does: 1) Mugello MotoGP goss including Rossi’s motocross crash a worrying resemblance to a CGI character from Lord Of The Rings a bad case of the shlitz fast Ducatis how to celebrate a win Mattia Pasini’s odd riding controls and his clutchless downshifts Triumph’s Moto2 deal 2) TT goss including – in fact almost en...
Jun 09, 2017•1 hr 27 min
Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter episode 57, which is really episode 69, powered by the mighty online juggernaut of two-wheeled infotainment that is Bike Social (that's www.bikesocial.co.uk). This time round Martin and Simon chatter in their front-endy style about: Nicky Hayden: the man, the talent, the achievements, the infectious passion, the generosity, the tears at Estoril, the tears at Valencia, the incredible strength of character, the smile. MotoGP from Le Mans, where General Zarco ...
May 27, 2017•1 hr 22 min
Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter, and episode 56 brought to you in association with our pals at www.bikesocial.co.uk. This week, between blackbird interruptions, we look back at the fallout from the spectacular Jerez MotoGP race – which isn’t the same as the Corby Grand Prix – including: race weekend perfection from Daniel Pedrosa Yamaha’s asymmetrical grip the world’s least safe safety car a last corner clash that failed to materialise the closest championship since 2009 do the riders, pr...
May 14, 2017•1 hr 39 min
Welcome to Front End Chatter episode 55, powered by the good people at Bike Social (www.bikesocial.co.uk), where Simon and Martin discuss: MotoGP from Texas, where we got the first mouth-watering tease of a proper Marquez v Vinales MotoGP scrap during qualifying, only to have all our hopes and dreams cruelly snatched away during the race in a massive shower of disappointment. The great GP lost-and-found phenomenon, including Lorenzo losing his temper and finding it caught on multiple HD cameras ...
Apr 25, 2017•1 hr 36 min
Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter E54, brought to you as is our wont, by our friends at www.bikesocial.co.uk . Subjects for discussion in E54 include: • MotoGP from The Hot Springs Of the River Hondo circuit in Argentina – who won, who fell off, who thought they should've won, how many miles per gallon Cal Crutchlow gets from his RCV, and a whole bunch of nerdy stats including some so nerdy we can't actually work out what they mean • World Snoozerbike from Aragon where • British Superbike f...
Apr 10, 2017•1 hr 14 min
Welcome to Front End Chatter 53b – made possible by www.bikesocial.co.uk; go check them out! – and it’s a special FEC dedicated to answering, or failing to answer, your emails. Topics up for Front End Chattery include: what’s happened to the UK sportsbike market? do ex-police bikes make good winter hacks? why a BMW K1200LT is the best-value used bike out there the best set of one-piece leathers for under £600... ... and what should be worn under them? more headphone chat (that’s quite enough of ...
Apr 08, 2017•55 min
Welcome to Front End Chatter Episode 53a, powered yet again by our friends at www.bikesocial.co.uk – and yes, it’s the first of two FECs; 53b will be along shortly. Or at least soon. In the meantime, feast your ears on the will they, won’t they two-wheeled soap opera of Qatar MotoGP – including: how recording BT Sport in hi-def when you haven’t upgraded your package can result in missing the race the argument for and against remounting a crashed bike how Tech3 Yams (pronounced ‘Trois’, but don’t...
Mar 31, 2017•1 hr 3 min
Welcome to Front End Chatter, episode 52 – and it’s a very special episode of Britain’s least regular but much-loved motorcycling podcast because this is the first to be brought to you by the lovely people at Bike Social (www.bikesocial.co.uk)! Front End Chatter is a podcast spoken at length by us, a right pair of motorcycle writers called Martin Fitz-Gibbons and Simon Hargreaves, and we chatter about every and any subject with two wheels and an engine: racing, news, new bikes, old bikes, and th...
Mar 15, 2017•1 hr 36 min
Say hello to Front End Chatter Episode 51, a numerically insignificant episode that nonetheless contains much chatterage about: the opening round of World Super Brits from Phillip Island – although if you haven’t seen the racing you’ll be none the wiser afterwards because we watched it and still manage to get the race result wrong not once, but twice... MotoGP testing from the very same Phillip Island at which, it seems, “They’re all going really fast...” Plus! how Ducati’s new SuperSport is les...
Mar 04, 2017•1 hr 27 min
Welcome to Front End Chatter Episode 50 – yes, you’re not imagining it, it’s really real, and only a week after Episode 49. Anyway, with next to no racing to chatter about, we’ve finally got round to answering all your emails (at least, the ones that had a question) – some from as far back as last September; sorry about that. So, in some particular order, we natter about: Sportsbike luggage systems What will happen to production racing when there are no more production sportsbikes Why sports 600...
Feb 09, 2017•1 hr 50 min
Welcome to FEC49, finally – at least in the sense it’s been a long time coming, not in the conclusive sense. And, despite no actual racing to talk about, we find enough to fill half a podcast: • Why MotoGP team launches are fake news – and, worse, they even have fake soundtracks • Why testing is a pointless guide to the outcome of the season, but it’s worth taking notice of because it’s some motorbikes going round a track • Crazy new World Superbike rules • How BSB should fill a Supersport-sized...
Feb 03, 2017•1 hr 24 min
Hello and welcome to Front End Chatter E48, which you'll be pleased to hear has no racing at all apart from a brief discussion about the merits of being called Danny Kent but not actually coming from Kent, unlike Danny Webb who does come from Kent. Anyway, this one's all about 2017's new bikes you *can* buy, and 2016's bikes you can't any longer. Thanks for listening, hope you like it, and see you at Motorcycle Live at the NEC. Email: anything@frontendchatter.com Twitter: @SimonHbikes and @Mufga...
Nov 17, 2016•1 hr 2 min
Hello and welcome back to Front End Chatter E47 - it's been a while, so we've come back with an episode purely about racing – who's won what, why, how, and what will happen next year – and we introduce a new word to the English language: disrespeculation. Thanks for bearing with us – more episodes will follow soon, about 2017 new bikes, and reading your emails and answering your questions. Email: anything@frontendchatter.com Twitter: @SimonHbikes and @Mufga FB: www.facebook.com/FrontEndChatter/...
Nov 08, 2016•48 min
Welcome to Part Two of FEC's Summer Special, featuring your emails and assorted chatter about: • the pros and cons of riding at night • the ethics of washing bikes and bikinis • the truth about new tyres • how best to listen to music while riding • is the future electric? • have electronics spoiled racing? • is Ducati's new Supersport a Monster in drag with the wrong engine? • what's the best adventure bike for a tall Hamburger? • why buying a Crossrunner is a good, good, good thing • why sports...
Aug 18, 2016•59 min
Hello, and welcome to Front End Chatter, Britain's original... most original... oh, whatever. It's a podcast mostly about bikes, with added swearing. This is the Front End Chatter Summer Special Part One, which is only special by virtue of being a) shorter than usual and b) accompanied almost instantly(ish) by Part Two. So this half is the usual racing chatter, including gossip from the Austrian Red Bull Ring Pull MotoGP round, followed by mini-reviews of a couple of bikes we've ridden recently,...
Aug 18, 2016•36 min
Welcome to Front End Chatter E45 featuring not much racing, shock, partly because there hasn’t been much since E44 but mostly because we didn’t actually watch what there was. Which, as it turns out, was a wet Assen MotoGP (always a pleasure, never a chore). So we talk about a race we didn’t see, plus wings they aren’t going to use for a safety concern (or issue) they may or may not have. It’s just like actually being there, only with your eyes closed and with fingers in your ears. We also find t...
Jul 11, 2016•1 hr 19 min
Welcome to Front End Chatter #44, in which Mufga and SiH talk about a couple of MotoGP races that happened ages ago – and including the tragic loss of Moto2’s Luis Salom at Catalunya, the slightly unedifying fallout, the race itself with torpedoes and last lap thrills, and a very necessary handshake to cap it all off. We also natter about TT racing – and in our excitement over the difference between letting a MotoGP bike race in the Superbike class but chucking out a rider for coated cam buckets...
Jun 23, 2016•1 hr 7 min
Welcome to Front End Chatter E43, brought to you in association with the enjoy-while-it-lasts British summer. In this episode, Simon and Mufga chatter about: • results and matter arising from Jerez and Le Mans MotoGP including Brad Binder's hooky software issues in Moto3, Rossi's lauded flag to flag win, Lorenzo's flag-to-flag win that no-one cares about, synchronised crashing, more wings and things, being beaten up by a tangerine, and even more about who goes where, and who's talking about who'...
May 09, 2016•1 hr 30 min
I dunno, you wait ages for an episode of Front End Chatter, and then two come along at once. Welcome to FEC#42, which is (almost) solely devoted to reading your emails and answering your questions on subjects as wide-ranging as: • riding the B500 in The Black Forest Gateaux, a nice road in Croatia, and what's the best off-road bike for a father and son (like we'd know) • why a 2 x British world champ is doing a bit of half-naked Turkish oil wrestling on TV but isn't coming across as a nob • choo...
Apr 08, 2016•1 hr 7 min
We're back! After a prolonged absence, which we find is the best kind, Front End Chatter returns with post-Argentina MotoGP gossip – and, let's face it, it had the lot: tyres, crashes, more tyres, boo-ing, early silly season, and some highly ill-informed nonsense about reverse-spinning cranks. Plus, Martin (him) and Simon (me) natter about some new bikes we've ridden, and where you can read about them. Ish. Thanks for listening, and thanks for remembering we exist. The next episode will be along...
Apr 07, 2016•1 hr 10 min
Episode 40 of Front End Chatter, the Finger On The Pulse episode, comes not so much hot as slightly tepid with gossip from MotoGP testing (at Sepang, Malaysia, not Phillip Island). Fortunately, the big issues are still the same: will Casey race in 2016? Will the new Michelin tyres and retro-spec ECU mix results up this season? Will Lorenzo win the title by mid-season? When will someone first say ‘silly season’? There’s also plenty of FEC-ing tittle-tattle about: Guy Martin’s no-show at the TT th...
Feb 19, 2016•1 hr 6 min
HelloAndWelcomeToEpisode39OfBritain'sFavouriteBikingPodcast! And breathe... In the first FEC of 2016, Simon and Martin discuss: - The Dakar Rally, who's winning, who isn't, and who's paying any attention? - All the new rules for MotoGP, whether we can predict anything before anything has happened, and whether that feller who said he doesn't want to race again will, in fact, race again. - What's going on with WSB's barely comprehensible new format, and whether it will detract from what otherwise ...
Jan 22, 2016•1 hr 6 min
Front End Chatter E38 looks back at 2015: the best bikes, the best races, the best racers, the biggest losers, and Martin and Simon's personal fave moments – plus the absence of British world champs on BBC Sports Personality Of The Year and FEC's New Year Resolutions. Have a merry Christmas, you FECers! Thanks for listening, and please get on touch on email: anything@frontendchatter.com or Twitter: @Mufga @SimonHbikes ...and try our Youtube channel! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgeS_FcXLqwZg...
Dec 17, 2015•1 hr 4 min
Welcome to Front End Chatter E37 in which, now the dust has settled, Martin and Simon discuss the ramifications of that race from the point of view of someone who was in the grandstands at Valencia, and someone who had the benefit of replays on the TV (*SPOILER ALERT* hardcore Rossi fans probably shouldn't listen to this). Oh, and there's something about the NEW BRITISH WORLD CHAMPION... but we sort of forgot to mention it at the start... There's also a load of chat about 2016's most interesting...
Nov 26, 2015•1 hr 18 min
Welcome to Front End Chatter, Episode 36 – the Scoop/Meltdown episode – in which Martin and Simon reveal details of Triumph's 2016 range of Bonnevilles, Thruxtons and Street Twin – what they are, why they are, why they've taken so long and why there's no Scrambler. The second half of the podcast is all about who said what to whom at Phillip Island, and who subsequently rode into who at Sepang, and why Keith Huewen had better cut down on his meals for a few days and get used to the taste of Arai....
Oct 28, 2015•1 hr 10 min
Welcome to Front End Chatter E35, which contains details of Kawasaki's forking-great 2016 ZX-10R, BMW's gravity-defying G310 concept bike (and why, if it really does break the laws of physics and hover, it also breaks the law in Britain), the ramifications of the technology-sharing pact between Honda, BMW and Yamaha, and the usual wild MotoGP speculation and gossip. Thanks for listening, and please get in touch: @SimonHbikes @Mufga anything@frontendchatter.com And visit https://www.tshirtstudio....
Oct 15, 2015•1 hr 3 min
