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16/05/2015 NW200 Saturday Race Day

June 12, 2018May 24, 2015 by TomBoyNI

After a great Thursday night racing and the weather being exceptionally kind, Saturday rolled up. When I left the house it was glorious! So sunny it was almost hazy. I had to stop half way there to put my waterproofs on as it looked like it was going to chuck it down, and by the time I arrived although it hadn’t rained it looked like it was going to, big time! It was dark and there was some proper big ass black clouds floating menacingly over head. It did not take long for them to burst! And so began the theme for the day, sunny, windy, cloudy, raining, heavy ass raining, sunny, warm, windy, cloudy… and repeat!

The first race of the day had to be cancelled after a couple of restarts but from about 1.30 -2.00PM we did get some more continuous according to plan racing, it even looked like, for a short while, that the road closure contingencies would be used to get the final race in however as the winds had picked up again the riders and management decided against that.

So all in all it was a great days racing and thankfully, ultimately no one was fatally injured. A rider was critically injured as was a spectator when a bike left the track and hit her in a garden, a tragic freak accident, however thankfully and mercifully all involved and injured people are now well on the mend, and all are expected to make a full recovery.

See you next year! Onto the TT!

14/05/2015 NW200 Thursday Night Race Night!

June 12, 2018May 18, 2015 by TomBoyNI

With Thursday now being the 1st Official Race Night of the NW200 I am happy to bring you the official results and the a nice photo gallery of some of the action from the Juniper Hill Chicane near Portstewart. This is a decent vantage point for taking some decent photographs as the bikes are well slowed down for reaching the chicane, something the riders aren’t to fond off! Guy Martin for example started a bit of controversy for being ‘Bored to the back teeth!’

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58uR6X7a6J4]

Unfortunately tonight we only got two of the three races completed, a red flag halted the 3rd race, thankfully no one was injured badly, however following consultation with the riders a low evening sun (as pictured), and time constraints meant the third and final race could not be run and was postponed until Saturday’s racing.

It’s Race Week… Vauxhall International 2015 North West 200 – NW200

May 12, 2015 by TomBoyNI

Just a quick note to all the riders, teams, and spectators, have a great and safe Race Week! Keep an eye on my twitter where I should be live on Thursday and Saturday!

It’s gonna be great. And if you can’t get down there check out the BBC for live coverage of ALL practice and race sessions!

Let’s go Tyco BMW!

http://www.northwest200.org

Vauxhall International 2015 North West 200 - Race Week — Vauxhall International 2015 North West 200 – Race Week

Dakar 2016 Routes and Stages Unveiled… The Odyssey!

April 28, 2015 by TomBoyNI

Some day I will be doing this! Until such a time all I can do is follow it, and here is what I / we will be following in January 2016!

★OFFICIAL 2016 DAKAR ROUTE★

Today, the stages of the 2016 edition have been unveiled in Argentina:
3/01 – Stage 1: Lima – Pisco
4/01 – Stage 2: Pisco – Nazca
5/01 – Stage 3: Nazca – Arequipa
6/01 – Stage 4: Arequipa – Lago Titicaca
7/01 – Stage 5: Lago Titicaca – Oruro
8/01 – Stage 6: Oruro – Uyuni
9/01 – Stage 7: Uyuni – Salta
11/01 – Stage 8: Salta – Belén
12/01 – Stage 9: Belén – Belén
13/01 – Stage 10: Belén – La Rioja
14/01 – Stage 11: La Rioja – San Juan
15/01 – Stage 12: San Juan – Villa Carlos Paz
16/01 – Stage 13: Villa Carlos Paz – Rosario
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#‎Dakar2016‬

Grip Puppies Installation – BMW F800GS Adventure

March 31, 2015 by TomBoyNI

Grip Puppies are a well regarded, and cheap, addon for your bike that is designed to increase grip and improve comfort mainly by cutting down the vibrations that travel along the handlebars, through your hands and into your arms, often leaving you with that horrid tingling feeling when you get off the bike.

Coming in at a mere £15 they are definitely worth considering. I have had them on my bike for about 1500 miles and at this stage I can confirm that they absolutely increase comfort and decrease shaky hands at the end of a trip (or even earlier). For me they don’t eliminate the sensation completely, but they definitely cut it down and ‘recovery’ time is far less. That has to be a bonus!

There is one negative, if you have heated grips these will decrease the efficiency of them. The heated grips will still work but it will take noticeably longer for the heat to reach you and they will appear to have a reduced temperature.

TomTom Rider V5 Hardwiring to BMW Can Bus Port (Aux Port / Sat Nav Port)

February 18, 2015 by TomBoyNI

BMW very kindly supply you with a Can Bus Supported Auxiliary Port on a range of their bikes that means you can easily wire your Sat Nav into the bike, meaning it will be powered from the battery of the motorcycle, however when you turn the bike off the Can Bus System then shuts down the power to the sat nav a short time later resulting no power going to the sat nav cradle and no battery drain.

Well that is the theory anyway, however some users have experienced battery drain and blame this set up, claiming that the Can Bus System isn’t compatible with their Sat Nav. That may be and BMW won’t say officially if that may be the case, stating only that their ‘Sat Nav’ port is for use solely with their Navigator System, and why not if you want to be 100% sure that everything is going to work beautifully together then you need to hand over £700 for the privilege.

2015 Adelaide Motorcycle Festival – Belfast

February 6, 2015 by TomBoyNI

It has been a year or two (2013 actually) since I have went near this show, but I ventured back today for a look with huge hopes that it had improved since my last visit.

Thankfully it has. I will address the 2 bad points firstly that I came away with today – firstly £12 entrance fee is just crazy. That is only slightly cheaper that the NEC’s Motorcycle Live which was simply outstanding. This show is more like a gathering of dealers, with a range of their bikes that they want to sell you. Nothing new, nothing revealed, just a load of nice and shiny bikes all in one place to tempt you out of a few hundred quid for the next 36 – 48 months, therefore I think it is a bit cheeky to be expected to pay such a high entrance fee to essentially enter a huge multi-manufacturer’s show room.

Secondly, on your way in you will pass by the ‘Jumble.’ Make sure you go in because there is simply some stunning vintage bikes and cars in here and a few interesting vendors. However Bad point 2 is also in here. Some of the vendors are just selling junk, and they genuinely don’t seem bothered.

My eye was taken by two quaint little signs, neither of which held any real world value, I just thought they would look rather cool in my garage. Heres’ how the conversation went….

TomTom Rider V5 Unboxing Gallery :

January 27, 2015 by TomBoyNI

Having recently purchased a TomTom Rider V5 as my sat nav solution for my motorbike I became very aware that whilst browsing for the product it was hard enough to find out exactly what came in the box. To level the playing field a little I have made the following Unboxing Gallery. And just to be sure, to be sure, that any perspective buyer is completely aware of what comes in the box the contents are as follows :

TomTom Rider (V5) Sat Nav
Ram Mounting Kit (Non locking) for Mounting on bars (includes rubber to protect bars)
EU & UK Plug Options (For Wall Charging)
TomTom Rider Charging Dock & Mount (For on bike charging)
TomTom Rider Mounting Base Plate (&mounting screws, washers and bolts)
TomTom Wall Charger
TomTom Rider Wairing Kit for Hard Wiring to the Battery (see my next posting for how to hardwire to the CanBus system on a BMW Motorcycle)
USB Lead (For Syncing, Map Updating and Charging)
Documenation

At this stage I have had no real use of the satnav but when I do I will update with any thoughts and a short review. As I have already stated I will be commencing some Motorcycle VLogging Soon, so I may well cover the sat nav on one such journey.

One point I feel I must raise at this stage is that with the supplied mounting kit the use of a locking kit (approx £55) is a must unless you are very disciplined in removing the sat nav each and every time you are getting off the bike. With the system supplied with the device it could be taken off your bike within 5 seconds with no trouble. It could easily be gone during a quick stop at the ATM or whilst paying for fuel. There are many other mounting systems available that will give a little more security for a quick stop but be prepared to take your kit with you for any stop that is going to be more than a few minutes or when the bike is out of eyeshot. These devices are so expensive and so appealing to scumbag thieves that you have to be aware they are vulnerable and should never be left unattended.

Enjoy your exploration!

TomTom Rider V5 UnBoxing Gallery :

Rugged Roads Headlight Protector for BMW F800GS Adventure

December 30, 2014 by TomBoyNI

Like all motorcyclists and adventure motorcyclists we all love tinkering and new bits of kit. ABRs more than any I believe love protective stuff, little farkles that protect more expensive items on the bike, are reasonably priced but look mean! Let’s be honest the look of the kit is probably its biggest asset, of course in this case we have a £40 unit protecting a £500 unit, but it looks cool and makes everything else look a bit more serious! And that is half the fun!

Don’t forget the other half though! This is after all a serious piece of kit, it does have a purpose, namely to guard the headlight from stones and debris, and this piece of kit is serious enough to do it! From the second you take it out of the packaging you will feel how sturdy it is, it is obvious that this will protect your headlights from impact of flying debris and it will only have to do it once and you will be very glad you spend the cash!

For your info here are the details from www.ruggedroads.co.uk

Protect your headlights from expensive damage due to wayward stones and other detritus with our heavy duty polycarbonate guard.

We have redesigned our headlight guard to give even more protection to your headlights without defusing the effectiveness of the lights.

This polycarbonate headlight guard has been designed by us at Rugged Roads and is manufactured to the highest quality here in the UK. We have made the fixing brackets out of Stainless Steel – and the guard itself from Makrolon®

Colour – Clear polycarbonate.

This item fits the following models:
– BMW F800GS – 2008 – 2012
– BMW F800GS – 2013 onwards
– BMW F800GSA – 2013 onwards
– BMW F650GS (Twin) – 2007 – 2012
– BMW F700GS – 2013 onwards

Installation is simple…

Motorcycle Live 2014 – Birmingham NEC

November 22, 2019December 30, 2014 by TomBoyNI

This year I took myself over to Birmingham for what is meant to be one the best Motorcycle Shows in the UK. It was my first time over and without doubt I will be booking my tickets ASAP for the 2015 Show.

With a great variety of manufacturers present along with pretty much all the accessories you could safely carry away the show has a lot to see and do.

This year the show piece, in fact the show stopper was the Kawasaki H2 and H2R, and when the track ready version was put on the dyne the show literally did stop! The ear defenders they were handing out were actually a requirement, if you had any sense! This bike is deafening, more importantly this bike is impressive!

You can check out my YouTube Video of it on the Dyno below :

Here is a Gallery showcasing some of the other outstanding machines on display – and check out that Honda ‘Prototype’ – is this the new soon to be released Africa Twin! Hell I hope so!

Disclosure :