April 2020

At last, our winter seems to be leaving us and the roads are beginning to turn back to tarmac as opposed to looking like the top of a Victoria sponge…

The good weather brings the increase of two-wheeled riders and , unfortunately, this also brings us the sort of statistics we don’t like to read about, those of KSI (Killed or Seriously Injured) RTCs (Road Traffic Collisions).

One problem group that appears more often than not is the ‘rusty rider’ who emerges from the winter hibernation, hops on his or her litre sportsbike and carries on where they left off last summer… of course it’s not all restricted to sportsbike riders; young girls and boys on mopeds do the same, as do all types of two-wheeled machines and all ages of rider.

Common sense is sometimes the only quality you need to apply to keep yourself and others safe, but you can go one step further and take up further training or advanced rider training to get the most out of your ride…images associated with advanced group riders wearing pipes and slippers are long gone and these groups can actively improve your riding and help you get the most out of your bike.

I’ve seen many bikes and bikers on the road with the latest and most expensive aftermarket exhaust pipes, the latest, expensive off-the-peg leathers, top of the range helmets and ‘blinged’ up bikes imaginable… every bolt-on wonder describable!! Yet the best ‘add on’ I ever purchased was further training… it cost a lot less than much of the top equipment and I could transfer it to every bike I had.

With many bikes emerging from hibernation do give them the once over. A lot of you are enthusiasts and the very fact it is winter is why your pride and joy is away and salt-free, but for those of you who just lobbed the bike into the garage, give your tyres the once over, check your chains and fluids, check for damage and overall safety, including the viscosity of your brake fluids.