In reply to Post #998
Hi Chris,sadly I had to accept my bike riding days are over, mainly down to my age and the length of time since I last owned a bike, I was looking at a Kawasaki Z900rs just for having some fun on through the summer, quick blasts to the coast etc… not made for distance, I was looking at around twelve grand for a new bike and when I started shopping around for insurance to get an idea I promptly gave up, almost a quarter of the price of the bike!!!🤣 I think they were sending me a message, getting old sucks😕
You take care mate👍

In reply to Post #996
Hi Chris, you’re more than right there mate, it’s no coincidence that the demise of the super fast sports bikes has come about at the same time as cctv camera technology, It doesn’t seem to stop the criminals mind you🤦🏻‍♂️, and like you say over 50 year olds now opt for sensible bikes like tourers, I doubt young people could afford the insurance these days and would end up losing their licences anyway. I was saying to a friend of mine that I very rarely see a sports bike on the road these days whereas once upon a time that was all you saw, not to mention the drop in car drivers driving standards, especially where I live it’s like playing Russian roulette going out on a bike these days!
And then there’s another issue which is unless you’re lucky enough to be able to store your bike in a garage you’ve got the angle grinder mob to deal with, £20,000 pride and joy in a container on its way to Africa or the Middle East coming to a town near you soon!😫
I’m glad I enjoyed my bikes when I did!!!
Stay safe mate👍

In reply to Post #991
Hi Vossy, i have to say i agree with you regarding the prices, i dont know why they dont reduce the prices at Silverstone to get more in, god knows how a family of four pay for their tickets at those prices. The last time i went to Silverstone was in 2008 and apart from Barcelona and Valencia before that was when it was the 500’s at Donnington and i dont remember it being prohibitively expensive back then, did you see Iwan Thomas walking around the campsite for TNT sports? £6.50 for an ice cream!!!
I used to work for a photo agency that photographed F1 back in the early noughties, I got some gratis tickets for the Silverstone race in 2002, if I had paid they would have been £95 for general admission and an extra £25 for the infield, that’s withno guaranteed seating and twenty four years ago!!!
I stick to Bemsee racing these days as my cousin races and I get free tickets🤣 with the odd BSB meeting thrown in, more my price range🤣
Me and a mate are thinking about Brno next year but they haven’t finalised dates yet, has anyone on here ever been?

In reply to Post #986
Oh and with regard to the Isle of Man, I can’t even watch that stuff, it’s too frightening and when I see a crash I feel sick, that’s why the likes of VR and the elite would never take it on, not at full speed anyway. Any road racing takes a special kind of loon, take Hicky for example, they don’t need to do it but I suppose it’s like someone who needs their next fix. I used to ride bikes and probably quite often took risks I shouldn’t have but that was every now and then and not at the speeds these guys do (although 175mph on my Blackbird in France a few years ago was fun, not that I’d fancy it going wrong😜) and they’re doing it every week, no matter how safe it gets, it’s NEVER safe!

In reply to Post #986
I have to say you’re dead right there, these machines are mental, and the riders even more mental, like you say 300bhp on a bike that light is crazy and it takes a special sort of rider to handle them ( although like I say the 500’s were pretty mad as well ) we’ll never know what the likes of Ago or even BS would have been like on these bikes as they’ve evolved so much, but I do think that once a motorbike racer always a motorbike racer and then it comes down to the finer skills which MM has more than anyone else, I mean it was probably him that got the lean angle to where it is now, elbow down, shoulder down even! How is that possible?!!! I think with the reduction in engine size and rider aids then it might be more of a level playing field but who knows, the manufacturers will always find a way to go faster and if they’ve got a Marquez or even a Martin on the bike then we’re all in for a treat, I have to be honest I didn’t watch it at all last year as it became a predictable bore fest but this year it’s become a lot more watchable, watching PA sort of reminds me of when Stoner was on the Honda and crashed a lot, then he went to Ducati and everything changed, maybe it’ll happen for Acosta as well, I can’t see MM going on for too much longer though, one more big crash and I think he needs to think seriously about his health, he can’t keep bouncing back (literally) he’s lucky he lives in Spain or he would have to do a Barry Sheene and move to a warmer country what with all his injuries, I reckon he’ll need more ops and lots of physio, even when he retires, either that or he’s not human!

In reply to Post #984
Hello Chris, whether people are in the VR camp or MM camp regarding the goat I think they all tend to forget what Valentino did for Moto GP. When I went to Catalunya in 2006 and again to Valencia in 2008, bearing in mind both Spanish circuits, I would say the overwhelming support was still for Valentino, and the concessions were probably a minimum of 60% VR with the rest divided amongst all the other riders, he was a marketing genius but not only that it was his shenanigans at the end of, albeit a winning race that made the sport ever more popular, like unfurling the long banner for his 100th win or signing a new ‘contract’ at a desk, they were what people loved to see, Lorenzo had a go with his guitar antics at (I think) Catalunya I’m not sure, but he was never really that kind of character, also VR probably should have won in 2006, he had more wins than NH ( who no one would begrudge a world championship, RIP Nicky😢 ) but Hayden was just consistent scoring a lot of podium places. I do think a lot of people tend to forget they owe a lot (especially in terms of earnings) to VR, I guess it will go on being debated but it’s like comparing Ali against Tyson or Pele against Maradonna, VR was well past his best by the time MM was at his best and to be honest, to be riding one of those bikes for over twenty years (especially through the 500 era) is pretty hard core, he obviously loved doing it, why wouldn’t you? Well ask Casey Stoner!

In reply to Post #30
Firstly apologies for taking the thread off topic and to those who don't want to read about hiking🤣
Hi Chris it's a sad fact of life that getting old isn't good on the joints, I get bad issues with my knees these days, spent a lot of years at work working under pub counters installing gear that's taken its toll on them, I love walking up there but not sure how many years of hiking I've got left, I enjoy spending a day with a decent challenge in front of me but always suffer so much more coming down than going up, luckily I tend to recover fairly quickly so can usually do a hike a day when I go, anyway mate you take care, let's keep our fingers crossed the Iran situation gets better soon or we're all in the crap!

In reply to Post #28
Hello Chris, apologies for the late reply, havent been logging on as much lately and got home projects on the go
Yes absolutely correct esim is not a physical sim card, not something that i believe is that common here, i had a nightmare when i first got the phone (brought over from the States for me] but once i got it sorted its been great, i did have a small issue a year or so ago when o2 did some jigging of their signals🤷🏻"â™‚️ but I just went into a store and they sorted it in no time at all, I'm not on the cheapest plan, £16 a month for sim only deal as the phone was bought and not on a plan, but for that I get unlimited roaming in Europe ( I go to Ireland a lot to visit relatives ) and it also includes roaming in the states, unlimited calls and I literally hardly touch the sides when it comes to data so my bills are never anymore than that.
On a different subject I'm back up to the Lakes in early May, might try Scafell again from Wasdale this time and possibly High St as when I hiked them both a few years ago the weather at the top was crap, i think you were there at the same time as me and the day I walked up High St (wet, windy and zero visibility) you went up Scafell from memory, last year when I went I had an itch to scratch ( Helvellyn ) I last hiked it in '84 in Doc Martens and with snow on the ridge, I wanted to see how my nerve was as I'm not a lover of heights😂, anyway it went well and had a beautiful day with a reward of a lovely pint ( or two! ) in the pub at the top of the village, I also wanted to do Blencathra ( not along sharp edge but from Threlkeld, I started late at two as I'd been to Keswick for lunch and wasn't sure I was going to bother but again it was a beautiful day so I thought what the heck! My knees are knackered though so coming down is always painful, that's not gonna get better anytime soon but knee supports help, I also drove through the Honister pass and walked around Buttermere ( busy but still one of the best walks in the Lakes), saw the Yank transport plane fly through twice, I think they often fly through Honister with the back door open, I'd do that again and combine it with a hike up Haystacks, I saw loads of jets but always in the distance, it's so exhilarating when they fly through.

In reply to Post #22
Not sure if this helps Chris but im on O2 which includes roaming in Europe and ive also got free roaming in the States as i occasionally visit friends there ( not sure when ill next be going with the way things are though🙁) anyway my phone is acyptually an iPhone I bought over there and operates with an eSIM as they did away with physical SIM cards a long while ago, I think I can buy extra esims and swap between them ( not that I've bothered as like I say my plan includes Europe and the states and isn't that expensive, hope that helps👍

I was in Mousehole when they were filming it back at the end of Sept, must be a bit strange doing all the Xmas stuff at that time of year, I noticed the cameraman and the drone operator at the end of the harbour wall and when I looked down to the harbour entrance they were coming back in, they were quite happy to have a photo taken although i'm sure it must be a pain if a lot of people are asking, they both seemed pretty chilled, what a great life but at the end of the day it's work and I expect they have to do multiple takes, the house they were staying in had lots of crew hanging around on the steps outside so quite a few people involved, I asked about Ted and he was in the house so I never got to give him a gentle pat, I think the show is as much about friends and life as it is about fishing