Weather and being british

 What can I say, the only good thing that will come out of this is that the hose pipe ban might be lifted. But from a biking point of view it is totally dreadfull. I know last weekend was a huge improvement crikey it did not rain for nearly 48 hours, so a lucky few got out and had a bit of a ride around.

The only thing is, it cannot go on like this forever ( I hope ) lets be honest we did have an exceptional dry spell leading upto the rather exceptional wet spell we are currently experiencing. Therefore we must be due a bit of good warm and dry weather and my feeling is that will happen in June so make sure you are prepared, I still think a lot of you have not even got your bikes out yet and that is terrible.

So if you have not got your pride and joy ready for a good 2012 ride around it is time you did .... or better still call in and see us and upgrade to a new bike.  Would you believe it but we have a massive range of new Ducati's and Suzuki's just waiting for a new owner as well as a good range of used bikes.

The most important thing to remember is, this weather will break and we will have some fantastic riding weather over the next few months so do not worry.

The Eurozone might all be about to collapse the economy here is not exactly booming  Greece will no doubt be doing its own thing and the rest of Europe  -  well could we care, we have a Government that seems to be in another world, and are bickering amongst themselves other trying to pass the buck and blaming anyone that  they can think of..... 

Remember you ride a motorcycle we are above all of this garbage. ............    

All we need is a bit of good weather, and it is coming very soon.  Make sure the bike is ready and you have all of your gear out. Plan some good rides and believe me you can forget all the mess that is being caused by the bickering idiots ( our leaders ) .  

Life goes on and it will be a good summer maybe a little late but we are nearly there ......

Going off the point but if you have read this far I just came upon this little snippet .. it is worth a read but is rather worrying..

The BMF has written to Justice Minister Kenneth Clarke MP, QC, after the Court of Appeal last Friday overturned a judgement that had been made in favour of a motorcyclist seriously injured in a collision with a lorry. 

At a hearing at Cambridge County Court last year, motorcyclist Robert Whiteford of Soham, Cambridgeshire, who lost his right leg in the collision in April 2009, had won his case against a Lithuanian transport company, Kubas UAB, but now, despite what the BMF say is accepted as undisputed evidence that the lorry was over the central white line, the motorcyclist, while still on his side of the road, has been held to be riding 'too close to the centre of the road' and was therefore the one at fault. 

It has also been accepted by all parties that the lorry was too wide for its side of the road and when cornering at the time of the collision was over the white centre line, but simply because motorcyclist Robert Whiteford had agreed with the defence that he should have been riding nearer the centre of his own lane (something experienced motorcyclists know is not necessarily the case), he was held to blame. 

Jonathan Watt-Pringle, QC for the lorry firm, therefore argued that the judge 'was wrong to impose so high a standard of driving on the lorry driver' adding that: "The collision occurred for one reason and one reason only, and that is because the claimant was driving right close to the centre when he accepted that the course should have been a very different one." 

Allowing the appeal, Lord Justice Richards said of the lorry driver: "A finding of negligence in this case would, to my mind, be to impose an unacceptably high standard on the driver." 

In the letter to Mr Clarke, the BMF complains that the appeal judges in the case had decided bizarrely that the lower court was in error because it was "an unacceptably high standard", for the driver to stay on his own side of the road! 
,
In the light of the judgement, the BMF has asked Mr Clark, 'how it can possibly be right that a driver licensed to drive the largest and most dangerous vehicles on the road is not expected to stay on his own side of the road?' 

BMF spokesman Jeff Stone said: "There are far too many of these instances where justice for the motorcyclist is hard to come by. It's a sort of bikeism where it seems merely riding a motorcycle is taken as a contributory factor! This case especially really does beggar belief."

Interesting ......

German Ducati's ????

It is now official Ducati has been bought by Audi, this has to be a good thing it will combine a bit of Germanic sensibility to the incredible Italian design flare. I cant say it will make the Ducati product any better as I believe that Ducati has edged ahead of all other bike manufacturers in terms of finish and reliability, they also have some of the biggest service intervals of any other motorcycle manufacturer.

So I am hoping Audi will invest to further improve what Ducati have achieved in the last few years, Ducati has moved into the 21st Century with a fantastic range of motorcycles. When the VW Group bought Lamborghini it was a car company in dire need of money and serious investment, to modernise a product that had not moved quite with the times, the result is now a Super Car that is as good as any other. Ducati on the other hand has gone from strength to strength over the last few years just look at the Multistrada the Diavel and now the Panigale. These bikes have been built by a company that makes less bikes in a year then Honda makes in a week, then look at the Panigale what have we got to come in the future now..........wow watch this space.

1199 Panigale 4

I am sure most of you have heard our ........  sorry " my " lovely 1199 Panigale had a small whoopsy, fortunately it was only very slight. The good news is it is back up and running, as ever Ducati had all of the parts and other than one little plastic funnel ( to duct air from the Radiator) that initially was not on the price list and therefore could not be ordered but appeared on the list on Tuesday and is obviously now here. Now that is pretty damn good considering only a handful of the bikes have reached the UK but all parts are available that has to be a major 10 out of 10 to Ducati.

So it is now ready to go again we have tricked it up a little by fitting the full Termignoni Exhaust System and it is a very impressive looking exhaust, the pipes are massive it looks amazing and is still quiet, maybe that is a good thing but a thundering Ducati always gets the blood thumping round your body. I have yet to see if it makes a difference but I reckon it will give it a bit more mid range as well as a bit of extra punch at the top end it needs it, as it only had a rather meagre 195 BHP.

Testrides on the amzing Panigale are back on the list and it truly is one hell of a special motorcycle.

First Impression 1199 Panigale

Ducati has done it again this bike is just a whole new world, it is the new generation, I really believe this bike is the most incredible bike that has ever been made, there will be better I am sure but at the moment there is nothing to touch it.......

After a slightly longer ride you begin to see what Ducati have achieved the more I ride it , and I have only done about 40 miles it just gets better and better, the engine is just fantastic it feels so smooth and the power delivery is amazing it will really fly when it has been run in. It is nothing like the 1198 Ducati have made this new engine flawless, the clutch is light the gearbox is so slick, it is comfortable. I have yet to really push the steering but it feels so planted, you only have to see a corner and the bike just goes round it.

This is what we have come to expect from Ducati they now have the complete range of brilliant motorcycles. 2010 Multistrada is just marvellous such a brilliant motorcycle. 2011 Diavel a total departure from normal at first had Ducati gone mad then we rode it and again it was fantastic just so much better than we ever expected and now 2012 the Panigale just mind blowing. The question is what can possible come next. Can even Ducati top these bikes in the future. I cant wait to find out but in the meantime ............

THE PANIGALE RULES

So I would suggest you come and find out for yourself call us now and book a test ride........You know you want to........................................ 01243 782544 

1199 Panigale Its here

Wow Ducati as ever as good as their word its here and I cannot wait just to hear it run then i am going for a spin. Fantastic.  Watch this space for my first thought  ..... 

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