Neevsey is such an oracle of riding experience, and such a sensible and modest style of presenting. I love his MCN reviews as they are always so spot on and on point without any entertainment nonsense for the sake of hearing his own voice . He is a motorcycling god . Thank you for these videos 👍
Back break has saved me so often when I've been just a little too excited to get back on the throttle, in the middle of a sweeper, and then have that sweeper get tighter. Just squeeze a bit and have the line become tighter and more controlled. Amazing for throttle actuation. Even better when combined with just feathering the clutch to apply a torque limiter of sorts. Amazing
Moving side to side approaching side roads, junctions etc can help as enough of distraction to a waiting driver to notice your cloaking device has switched off. Ducati Diavel with shad set is my perfect super tourer and it will definitely have a go if you think you hard enough even with chicken strips 😎
Re chicken strips: apart from the line one takes, yes, body position has a lot to do with lean angle. I used to push the bike under me, ie keep my body upright, until I did a california superbike school course, where they told me to lean with the bike. Nowadays I have about a quarter inch c.s. on the left hand side, and a tad more on the right. I ride a street triple, and the wide bars limit lean on right handers: at apexes, the right mirror ends up on the wrong side of the road with a lean angle of around 30 degrees, when apexing close to the centre line.
Michael is correct on Defensive Riding. For example despite making eye contact with a driver coming the other way, she still pulled into my lane to pass a parked vehicle despite it obviously being my priority. Don't trust what you don't control. Human stupidity has no limits.
Loved the dream ride, now semi-retired I get to spend 4 months of the year near Nerja, Spanish coast. Just bimbling around on my Himalayan, its perfect, go anywhere, enjoying the places it gets to and the view on the way. Have done enough interesting biking stuff over the years, the Police stuff allowed me to do legally some cool stuff and get paid. But that slow bike in perfect weather is the best.
riding defensively is the whole of road riding - reading traffic, recognizing dangerous/unpredictable environments/situations. there's really nowhere on a public road you can enjoy a bike to its fullest, get rid of chicken strips. once you start recognising where you're rolling the dice and you ride often it doesn't make any sense. i'm thinking of getting something small just so i can enjoy the average corner on the commute more
Track days the only way to go regarding getting rid of chicken strips safely,too many variables on road,tyres not up to temp,pot holes,diesel spills,gravel ect,list goes on,love your vids neevesy,top of the pops👌
Absolutely love watching these videos Neevesy! Thanks! On a platform where there are soooo many opinions and pointers from “experts” the cream always rises to the top…. And you are right up there mate! ❤
I ride my bike round corners like I drive an hgv round a corner…only as fast as I can stop in the distance I can see. I’ve sort of only got one speed on the corners I go round, doesn’t matter what bike I’m on. Which is how I know my body position is wrong on one of the bikes I’ve got which the last video made me realise Thank you again mate and well done for another great video
My favourite bike of the nineties is the NR750. Only ever seen one in the flesh, at the Birmingham bike show. It wasn't on the Honda stand, but on a small trade stand in one of the side halls. I spent about forty minutes just staring at it.
I'm approaching the end of my motorcycle journey that began in the early sixties...Bonnies, Beezers, Dommies and Tritons...During that time I've seen huge improvements in Frame geometry technology, tires and engines..l currently run Pirelli Diablo Rosso 2 tires on my 2014 Street Triple 675 R... they are more than adequate for road riding on Spains excellent roads ..(15mm chicken strip).. As for staying alert..... l was T-boned in 1979..now, l treat all Cagers as possible assassins ...''Sorry Mate l didn't see You''...being their usual excuse.. Inattentional blindness...is a real phenomena... those not aware of the condition, check it out...explains much about ..Sorry Mate l didn't see You.!!... Great content and advice as usual Micheal ... Motociclistas, el Ultimo de los Espiritus Libres
Thanks for making these videos, great stuff😊 This isn’t really about chicken strips, but more about body position. Todays track riders hang of their bikes much more than before, scrubbing both knees and elbows. Isn’t that to be able to get on the throttle earlier? The more upright the bike is,the more throttle you can apply?
Two questions: Are there any motorcycles that you didn’t like the look of at first that began to appeal to you later? What is the perfect amount of horsepower for the street? Both of my answers to these questions came in the form of my current 2009 Speed Triple. Used to not like the bug eye headlights but now love them. Also, that triple puts out just the right amount of HP/Torque for street and occasional track use.
Really interesting vid & thanks for answering my question. Favourite 90's bike is probably the RGV250 as I used to own a 1994 & it took my breath away when I first hit that powervalve. It was my first quick bike, didn't cost too much & looked gorgeous in the black & dark pink. Also never had any issues with chicken strips on that for sure as it would telepathically just fall in to the corners.
Interesting descriptions on CS. On the road, if you have some CS doesn't that mean you have "something left" for increasing your lean in an emergency to avoid something or an unexpected decreasing radius corner? These things happen on the road and not the track.
I enjoy your all work. I find it amusing that people assume that we didn't have the various riding techniques years ago. Admittedly, some track riding techniques have been introduced fairly recently, Doctor's Dangle comes to mind. Having been a DR in London in the early 80s, you quickly learnt the various techniques for quickly getting around the traffic, poor road surfaces and suicidal pedestrians (see MAD DOGS - Dispatch Riders) while keeping the cross-ply rubber down and no rider aids what-so-ever. So when people start discussing these "new techniques" like trail braking, the only thing that's new is someone has given a modern name to an age old technique. I smile inwardly when someone says the back brake is useless or they don't use it except at a slow stop as, like you, I use it a lot for a multitude of purposes like balancing the bike and not just slowing down. Do you feel that, in the UK, all the fun is being taken out of riding and driving on the public roads? Constantly having to watch the speedo rather than the road seems, to me, a retrograde safety step. Now, is it just a case of getting from A to B in the most mundane way possible?
I have no chicken strips on my Triumph Tiger 660 with paniers after a years riding. I still have chicken strips on my Triumph Daytona and ride it twice as much, 150% faster, and on much more twisty roads, etc. It would take putting it on a track or counter leaning (forcing the bike down vs the body) like the road goofs do to get them off.
Interesting take on the photo shoot riding style, I did a track day shoot for Japanese performance in my old evo 5. We had to follow a camera car , in first gear at 5mph. The photographer then made the shots look fast with editing
As usual a very thought provoking video Neevesy, always good, and some interesting thoughts on Chicken strips 😀 like you say a lot depends, also on tyre profile, etc, etc, re your accident at 24 and your thoughts on today, that my friend is just experience, one piece of advice my father imparted when I started riding at 17 back in the late 70's was.... treat everyone else on the road as though they are trying to kill you, that at the age I am now, did and has served me well.. over the years, Although I've luckily never had a really bad I:e bone breaking accident, like yours sounds like it was, I've been off a few times, especially when I first started, just pushing the limits sometimes a little too far.. but then how do you know how far you can push, if you never find those limits, was my reasoning, back then... but the one that I remember the most and was the most unexpected, after years of riding, was in 2002 when I put my Fireblade in a ditch at relatively slow speed probably about 35-40mph, on a down hill off camber left hander... and was unconscious for a few moments that made me sit up and think, quite literally... took me about 8 months to get my mojo back after that one on left handers, but these days well last year tbh, I've stopped riding for various reasons after about 50 years in the seat, miss it a little at times, but due to current circumstances, it is what it is sadly... and I miss those days when a bunch of us would ride down to the The South of France and hoon about for a week, or so on some of the best roads, mainly because of the Fast Bikes crew, and the PB video's doing that,... great times I really miss sometimes, but great memories. Interesting that comment about selling bikes you love for what ever reason... mainly in my case either because I've had to for financial reasons or I've seen something else I want more than what I have, but the ones I regret the most are not in any order, but 97 CBR900RRV Fireblade, Honda VTR SP1, my first GSXR1000K5, GSXR750Y and back in the 80's a Honda CBX-6
Tyre profile is a big one. My MT-09 came on Bridgestone’s excellent S22. They have a fairly flat profile and you will get close the edge without even riding the bike all that hard. I’ve recently replaced them with a set of Metzeler Roadtec 01 SE. The Metzelers are much steeper and I’m significantly further from the edge.
Great video really fascinating 👏 Road 5s by Michelin I ride a Kawasaki sx 1000 2017, I ride sensible mostly though Wales, dual carriage ways as little as possible A and B roads when out on the weekend ,but can hit road legal speeds, the last set I done 9000 miles, and this set is up to 3000+ miles, absolutely brilliant tyres, don't bounce any more so don't wish go down the road I'm 66 so try and ride sensible 😀
Best bike of the 90's? Has to be the humble CBR600F. I've been lucky to own some exotica over the years but the one bike that proved to me that for the road you only need 100bhp, decent comfort, handling and range was my 92 CBR600F in its shell suit black, purple & pink colour scheme. 54000 social miles in 18mths, not one issue, it stopped me buying more expensive bikes that weren't real world better. Now I want something similar but there just isn't the almost perfect sports bike, almost perfect touring bike, almost perfect commuter, almost perfect track bike, almost perfect pub bike package with just enough bhp and £ to it. I guess the market is more about categories for sales than true allrounders like the CBR600F was. What say you Neevesy?
The people bothering to check and comment if you're a fast rider or not (judging you, falsely, on 'chicken strip' size) ought to just open their minds a bit. It's OK to enjoy things at 'party pace'.
I think the answers to the first and second questions are linked. In my youth I had no discernable chicken strips as I went round corners not worrying enough about what might be just out of sight. Now I am always mindful of hidden dangers and leave a bit more of a safety margin. Funnily enough I never heard this phrase back in the 90s. Although I have to admit to checking out others tyre wear pattern at bike stops. Shame on me.😬
well, I don't make it a life goal to get rid of the strips however, I do feel a degree of satisfaction when I see them getting thinner and thinner :)) However they can be misleading. I ride a lot of hilly/mountainy roads with tight hairpins, decent inclines and off cambers. Take a couple of those ones at 20-30 kph and the strips will be almost gone. Does it mean I went faster if my strips go down from 1cm to 2-3 mms on the same roads, in the same weather conditions, with the same body position and so on? I guess ... or maybe I just leaned the bike more because whatever reason and I didn't realize.
Ha! The scooters are back! I bought a forza 300 when I samshed my hand racing an enduro..i ride it more thn my ccm supermoto or r nine t....a revelation just tremendously cheerful characters I only got it while my hand was in plaster but it was worth the injury to discover a another facet to biking....amusing is when 'bikers' dont nod....or say yeah yeah yeah im sure theyre great but I wouldnt be seen dead on one....makes me wonder why they ride...and if they nod whether theyre doing it to the bike or rider...
If the guy really cares about his pillion (I'm sure he does), maybe the gsx-s1000 gt would be the ticket. Suzuki seems to have a knack for ergos that are comfy but put you somewhat over the front wheel, and 150hp should at least keep the pillion entertained...what a world.
I am an intermediate level trackway rider on a 675, my right hand corners are really coming along now, good body position and knee always planted, my lefts are awful, I feel unnatural and don't get my knee down and just feel tense, is this normal? Is there a cure?! Love the vids keep them coming 😊
Hi Michael, loving the vids. I have a GSX-S1000 GT as my main bike and I'm looking for a fun Sunday blast style bike. Doesn't need to be mega powerful, just mega fun! What would you recommend?
Hi Michael, from across the pond I thank you for all the great content! I've become a bit of a track-day addict here in the States and run a 2022 BMW S1000RR (with the DDC). I love the bike, and other than exhaust, body work, rear sets, levers, engine tune, track tires, etc. have left it stock. As a fellow BMW rider, I'm interested in your opinion as to what is the best track-focused upgrade over OEM?
Great answers - Yoda for bikers, can't knock any of those answers. Question - I'm on a Blackbird, 3 years off, and come back to the old girl in the garage. She's still overkill for the road, and looking for something fun enough to track day, faired enough to commute (60mls) and chuck some panniers on, more usable and license safe and can do ULEZ. The newer VFR doesn't excite for me, Duc Supersport is a bit lovely but "belts" and I like more cylinders (had V twins). I'm struggling to find the bike, maybe Triumph Sprint ST or older VFR, what else is there?
Very well said re ‘chicken strips’ and all the nonsense talked about them. I have adopted an upper body lean in position over recent years (I’m 68 and I’ve been riding since 16). I ride reasonably quickly and I have chicken strips, not huge ones. Others sit upright and may have less. Who cares.
Hi Michael. Greetings again from chilly Melbourne, Australia! In the last 18 months I have changed from my Speed Triple 1200RR after 6 months, unbearably uncomfortable to a 1290SDR that i got rid off after 10 months due to chronic reliability issues leaving me with zero confidence to venture anywhere.....Anyway got myself a Street Triple 765RS Moto2 & got to say that in 35 years riding its the most fun bike i have ever had. so nimble & precise that I giggle just going round a roundabout & the perfect amount of power for the road & I have been asking myself why i ever felt the need to have a 180-200hp monster before? Even the clip ons are at a decent height & if only triumph had done the same with the 1200RR which are piling up in showrooms here with a whopping 30% less price tag compared to when the came out 18 months ago. Anyway my question is how much better do you think anybody can make a bike handle? Can things really get substantially better or have we reached the pinnacle?
Hi Neevesy Just a small tyre question Would it be safe to use say a pirelli rosso corsa 4 front tyre and a normal rosso 4 on the rear? So a softer sticky front tyre and harder rear tyre for a bit more longevity I ride a street fighter v4 and like spirited riding and go and ride in Spain for better quiet roads Hope I get the chance to hear your view Many thanks Ben
Following on from the shift cam Reliability, what do you think has been the worst bike in recent years for reliability issues. Personally my one year old BMW s1000rr has been a nightmare! from six months old it’s had nothing but issues most recent water pump failure at 1500 miles and still I’m waiting on parts ordered six months ago that are not available. Yet my 09 R1 has never let me down, is this a modern phenomenon or just bad luck?
Honestly, any rider who thinks getting ride of chicken strips - makes them some sort of riding god; is just deluded! I've always managed to scrub my rears edge to edge, but that's not come from chucking it into bends at top speed - but from just having confidence in my hoops - the S22s being the very best, as I hadn't realised how easy it was to get those fully scrubbed in. I'm in my 40s now and the desire to get my knee down on the road, or hang off the bike, have gone
Hi! I appreciate a lot all your work and videos which I find very inspiring. I have a question that might sound stupid but i didn’t found a clear and documented answer yet: i ride an S1000RR (2020) and on the street, specially in tight corners I feel the need of slightly pulling the clutch to get a better control of the power (like in slow speed maneuver) Is it wrong? Should I not touch the clutch?
Hi there Mate. I ride a Panigale v4 s 2022 , but im about to purchase one of two bikes Gsxr 1000 k5 or a ZX10 R- 2010. Purpose would be road but track days as well. Im 6'1 - 47 years old and would like to know what you think should be my choice out of these 2.
Do you think we'll ever get new sportbikes that's not overpowered (+200hp) or "underpowered" (~100hp). At the moment the only ones I can think of in the euro market is the Ducati V2 and Kawa 636. Do you think we'll see the return of something big displacement sub 200hp like the RVT, TL-R, etc? I currently own the latest model unicorn gixxus 750 from 2014, but that has also been discontinued. There's almost nothing in that middle marked now. The only choices are super track specialized and veery expensive with all the tech gizmos
Obviously Neevesy is a mature and sensible man these days. But I am pretty sure he was riding the tits off his bike and tires when he was a young lad, and you wouldn't see chicken strips on his tires back in the day :D
Great comments about chicken strips. As an ex Australian Superbike racer from the 90’s all of my road bikes have chicken strips. It’s simply a common miss-belief peps have that is just handed down, without peps having a true understanding (a bit like getting your knee down) another thing I don’t do on the streets. With the right technique you can go around bikes that are at full lean when you’re not. Also, I’m the same with the rear brake as it was something that I’d only use in the wet (even during racing), where now I tend to use it almost everywhere. 👍😎🇦🇺
One thing about chicken strips I've found in 30 years of riding fast bikes road and track (rear tyres). There are some quick road riders WITH chicken strips, but I've never found any slow riders WITHOUT chicken strips :)
If you’re that worried about chicken strips, just do what I do to scrub new tyres, go to a car park, find a quiet spot and do multiple slow tight circles with the bike lent right over, you can achieve this by leaning your body in the opposite direction to the bike lean!
Really enjoyed this one. Fat haggis question and your answer especially. I sold up mine - fed up with paying road tax for then all- but as you said , I regret not having one of them in particular. (998 Ducati) Sentimental attachment is a valid thing for bikes - helped my mate tinker with his 848 Ducati recently and it brought back memories of that attachment. Hey ho - at least I was lucky enough to have owned some crackers. Keep posting these chats. Great content. Thanks
I try to trail brake a little bit everywhere I go, even on blind corners. If something unexpected comes up and I need to change my line or add more brake, the bike is already as planted as possible and I'm maximizing my points of grip. The "more blind" the corner is the slower I go but I still try to trail brake.
Thank you Sir Michael Neeves. Please keep these coming. You are an encyclopedia, for those who remember what an encyclopedia was. I guess Wikipedia for the rest.
When I was a young lad living in London, my dad taught me to cycle behind his bicycle through the bustling, traffic-filled streets. I’ll never forget his advice, he told me: think of everyone driving as an idiot, i.e. they don’t know how to drive, they haven’t seen you, they don’t care etc. and you’ll be safer. Ever since, I just assume every care is going to do the dumbest, least-expected thing. This kept me safe throughout my cycling career, and into my biking career ever since; I’m likely only still here ‘cause of dad.
When I am going out on a ride I start to get into the 'right' state of mind as I start to put on my gear. By the time I get on the bike I am prepared for the ride ahead and prepared to be at 100% concentration. Great video, always informative and good fun. Thanks.
Another great video 👍 The mid to late 90s were fantastic, bikes became very capable, the roads weren't as busy ...although every other person seemed to have a cbr600 or fireblade 😀
Hi Neevesy, hearing the stories on this series is quite nostalgic for me. My first Superbike was a GSXR1000 K3 in March '03, which was bought after reading the MCN group test review! My current bike is the latest and final version of that bike the L9 R... not including the Phantom which was technically just colour difference. I've invested quite a chunk of money with a few choice modifications including a full Arrow system with remap, suspension setup for my 96kg frame, ABS delete with billet M/C, bitubo steering damper etc. but find myself wanting a more upright seating position to alleviate my lower back. Not wanting to spend another 18K out for possibly a Tuono, have you seen or ridden many super bikes with a Fatbar handlebar installed instead of the clipons for which you can share feedback on for me? There was a version of the GSXR1000R called the ViRus II made by Suzuki Switzerland but information on it is very limited, but I have found a company that can supply a top yoke conversion which could potentially save me buying a new bike! Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Michael for reading out my question 👌 Funny you mention the R1 as it comes up quite a lot with other channels. So that's one to consider. All the questions on this video i can relate too very well. For me the sc28(round eye) Blade is the one which has the most memories. Also id say that age of bike was the most comfortable for pillions. I never get attached, probably get accused of chasing rainbows or goldie locks syndrome. But the xk5 20th anniversary gixxer has a special place in my heart.been lucky to own 2.one i swapped for a zzr1400 and the second got destroyed last summer from somebody else's poor decision making. Which im still recovering from. Thanks again for sharing your stories, views and wisdom.👍
I sold my IT back in 93 and spent the next 30 years regretting it. Now lucky enough to have found and restored an IT 200. Would buy more but I’m limited to this and my daily. I also have a small garage and a nosey wife😂
R.E. various comments about Chicken Strips in this and previous vids........ Such as......that you don't need to lean over to the max to go fast....I get that! That keeping the bike more upright in corners is a safer way to ride than with big lean.....I get that! That having CS's doesn't prove you are a slow rider......I get that too! Comments that it's the people who have chicken strips who tend to get the most hung-up over the subject. I can see that. Therefore, I can understand and agree with the vast majority of opinons from both camps on the subject. But something that I haven't seen anybody mention about CS's so far is........FUN. I personally don't have CS's, as I REALLY ENJOY getting the bike leant as far over on it's ear'ole as I possibly can every now and again. I get a bigger thrill out of that than doing insane intergalatic warp factor speeds. I know it's not the safest or quickest way to take a corner, but getting big lean angle is Fun with a capital F, at least to me. So.......does my lack of strips mean I'm a faster or better rider than those who have big chickies? No, not at all......we all get our motahsicklin' kicks in different ways. Lets face it though, on the whole motorcycling is largely a dangerous pursuit, but it's those various elements of danger and risk which make riding a bike such an exciting and thrilling thing to do. If those danger elements were largely reduced or even taken away completely, then I'm sure it wouldn't be so appealing to many many riders. Thanks for the brill vids Neevsey, abso LOVE this channel.
I'm about to ride my first ever track day at Laguna Seca here on the Monterey Bay Ca., USA. on my new 2023 MT-09-SP. I see a lot of media test riders talking about turning off their ABS completely while on track because when it kicks in, it really throws them off balance. The MT-09 doesn't allow for dis-engagement with the controls; but only allows turning it down to its lowest intervention setting which is where I have it while practicing in the twisties. It only comes in when I go so hard on the front brake, while in a straight line, that I'm expecting to do a stoppie before I finally feel the ABS kick in. Should I worry about trying to pull the ABS fuse? Would you? I'll likely be riding harder than I ever have and I don't want any scary surprises if I'm braking hard just as I'm about to lean in. Please share your thoughts on ABS on a track day.
I love that some folk wear their lack of chicken strips with pride .... because being able to do 15mph loops in an empty carpark is 100% something to be oh so proud of .... 🤣😂🤦♂
Cheers for the reply. I enjoyed your response and I wasn't aware of the gentler mapping on the bigger bikes. On the chicken strip part, I didn't have them until I went to a 180/60 rear on the Daytona. Now I have little ones but that gives me great confidence knowing I have more tyre to use and I'm not near any limits yet.
Hi Neevesy. Thank you for your awesome content. A suggestion for the guy that was looking for a confortable sporty bike to bring his girl along... It's not the fastest and probably a bit older than what he's looking for but I've had a Suzuki RF900 from 97 and I believe that it would match his query. Enough power to have fun... Looked quite sporty (for the 90s) Really comfortable and a bulletproof engine... To top it off they're not too expensive to get your hands on so it could be worth having a look at it 😅
Hi Michael, really enjoy your videos, keep 'coming. My question. I am about to test ride 3 bikes for taking my partner and I on some big European tours from Corfu where we live. 1. BMW R1250RT. The ultimate 2 up tourer but perhaps a bit big physically for Corfiot roads? 2. Triumph Tiger 1200 GT Explorer. The patriotic choice but I'm a bit concerned by the reports of annoying vibrations at motorway cruising speeds. 3. Moto Guzzi V100 Mandello S. The least powerful of the trio for 2 up but the one pulling at my heartstrings. Have you any comments as you've ridden them all? Thanks.
Hey Fat Haggis! I always struggle getting rid of bikes and cars but when room becomes an issue (as it invariably does) then something has to give. A friend of mine has great outlook on this and helped me out by saying “don’t forget you are only selling the bike NOT the memories” That said we all have a favourite that will stay forever. Good luck. Gibbo
Question about helmets for you. I have shifted from race reps to a Speed Twin 1200 (for all the well know reasons) and it’s clear my RX-7V isn’t ideal for this style of riding (noisy, quite a lot of drag, etc) so wondered what the best type of helmet would be for me to get next? Retro (Rapide), Road (Quantic) or even an ADV (Tour X4 -without the peak?) - I have an Arai head as you can guess! When you buy a helmet you can’t try it out on a ride first, so any thoughts you have would be great. (we’ve spoken a few times when I’ve been racing my MZ with Bemsee 👍)
Im not sentimental..... saved up whilst at School to buy a brand new TS50ER, had it ready and waiting for my 16th birthday... Still got it my garage, Im now 58....
Great stuff as always, I really appreciate your tips and advice in the MCN and videos etc. So for have got the disposable ear plugs you recommend (the green ones) which are so good and just having some Angel GT2 touring rubber put on my GSXR1000R for its summer French trip 👍🏻👍🏻☀️☀️
