Merry Christmas!

To anyone reading this blog, many thanks and have a Merry Christmas and happy biking New Year.

Arai Helmet pod removal

With the inclement weather I took the opportunity to give my Arai helmet a good cleaning. As I wanted to give the helmet a mini service I needed to get the side pods off of the helmet. For those who don't have Arai helmets the side pods cover the workings of the visor. It isn't immediately obvious how to get them off. So a quick search on the Internet came up with a corker of a YouTube clip:

This makes it really clear on how to remove them and re-install them. Why take them off? On one side when I had mine off there was a small collections of bugs (eww).

Another clip (from the same guys) shows what to do if when you put the pods back on and they don't go exactly right.

Overall a great guide if you want to get the pods off for a complete clean. It also helped me understand how the visor actually works, now I am much better at putting the visor back on because of it. That said when I come to replace the helmet I will be going for another brand. The visor system is a complete pain in the backside, not to mention I feel that the pods actually increase the amount of wind noise, although that is only my opinion.

Free tickets for 2011 NEC?

According to MCN the organisers of the 2010 NEC Motorbike show have offered all those who were not able to attend the show this year free tickets for next years show. When I say free tickets, it means that this years tickets will be valid for next year.

There is no official line on this as far as I can see and I have contacted the organisers to find out if this is true. Once I know I will get up on here. If it is, then great as I wouldn't have wasted my tickets from this year. It is also a nice gesture as they really don't have to do it, they aren't responsible for the weather after all; though I would say it would be better to move it to a warmer time of year then and of Autumn!

Top speed run - ZX10R

Well, although not available in Europe yet, one lucky American has taken his new ZX10R and gone to see how fast he can go. Firstly not the most legal thing to do and secondly may not be the best way to run your brand new engine in! That said there are rumours that the recall of the bike by Kawasaki is due to "accelerated engine wear", so doing this probably is best left until you know the engine won't die quickly on you. Still, amazing to watch!

Source: MCN

Mobile Template

New feature to Blogger is a template for mobile devices. Having had a look on my Android phone the format is much easier to read. The videos and maps I have don't reformat so there is a small amount of side scrolling for some posts. However it should make reading any Blogger based blog (assuming the owner has opted to activate the template) much easier.

Kawaksaki Z1000SX Review

Just how good or bad is the Z1000SX? Apparently quite good according to MCN. They also have a full review in this weeks paper too. So if, like me, you like the idea of a supersports but want a more upright riding position then this could be the bike for you.

British Superbikes - Map and Dates

The new calendar for 2011's BSB racing is now online. As I wasn't able to get out to the NEC as the weather conspired against me, I am looking to going to some of the more local BSB races. I have made a Google Maps layer for the locations and the dates. If you spot an error let me know in the comments.

View British Superbike Race Tracks 2011 in a larger map

Snow

Well the snow here has stopped play on the bike for a while. I know I am an all year rider buy even I have limits! The only concern I have at the moment is if the weather improves for going to Motorcycle Live this weekend. Really hoping so, come hell or high water I am going, just how hard will it be to get there!