A welcome return to the main stage on Friday Night for Dr Feelgood.

Dr Feelgood, with their no-holds-barred style changed the face of rock'n'roll. Without them, punk wouldn't have risen.

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After contesting the first two rounds of the Endurance World Championship as an all-new outfit, the Honda TT Legends team heads to more familiar ground next week for its namesake event – the Isle of Man TT.

Fifteen-times TT winner and outright lap record holder John McGuinness and teammate Keith Amor are both bike fit and mentally prepared having completed hundreds of superbike laps a piece during the Bol d’Or 24-hour race in France in April, and more recently at the Albacete 8-hour in Spain.

McGuinness’s 15-year knowledge of the circuit cannot be underestimated as he aims to defend his title as the fastest man around the Isle of Man TT lap. Relative newcomer Amor is hoping that his EWC experience, combined with the unrivalled knowledge of the Honda TT Legends team and the dynamic capability of the CBR1000RR Fireblade will help him bring home some solid results.

Following a week of practice sessions from Monday 30 May, McGuinness and Amor will compete for the Honda TT Legends in the Dainese Superbike race on Monday 6 June and the Pokerstars Senior Race on Friday 10 June.

Neil Tuxworth, team manager

We’re sticking to basic principles for the Isle of Man TT – a proven formula for preparing the bikes as we always have, with performance and reliability in mind. The specification of the bike is virtually the same as we ran in 2010. Under the new Honda TT legends livery, we are of course aiming to win both superbike races and have both our riders on the podium.

John McGuinness

Endurance has been really good for me – it’s completely different and it has definitely improved my fitness – but I am so excited to be back at the TT. There’s a buzz about it that you just don’t get anywhere else. I think we have all the right ingredients this year – the team, the bike, the tyres – it’s all there. There are some very competitive riders though and you just never know what will happen – what will be will be but of course I want to win!

Keith Amor

Racing in the endurance championship with the Honda TT Legends means that I have spent more time on a superbike than ever before this year. It has not only provided great experience getting to grips with a superbike but it’s also increased my fitness level. I have the benefit of a brilliant team with years of TT experience behind them and a bike that is a legend in its own right so everything is in place. I’m not stressing about getting my first win, but hopefully we can get on that podium.

For further information on Honda TT Legends visit the website www.hondattlegends.com.

We have recently attended a seminar on how Google ranks a website and lots of interesting tips. We just thought we would share...

What Google likes on your website*

The content - To get higher on search results, relevant words or terminologies which people would use as their search terminologies to find you should be included within the web-site and within the text. However, over usage of such words, i.e. no more than 4% of the total content of the website can results in Google thinking you are dishonest or a spammer.   

Site navigation - All areas of the website should be in an easy to use format ideally with most areas of the web-site being found in 2 -3 clicks 

Page names - Pages (urls) should be named with relevant words which relate to the searches you want people to use to find you. For example if you have a hotel in devon, you could name a page - hoteldevon, for example:  (yourwebsite).co.uk/hotelindevon

Meta data - should be relevant and informative in an easy to read text

Domain Age - the longer you are running the more you are liked

Site Evolution - what you update and how many times.   A simple rule to follow would be Content is King and Simplicity is Queen...

Links:

Quality and related links coming in and out of your website, which have been built at a steady rate.

If you build links at an excessive and quick rate then Google can penalise you for this. Ideally links to your site should be now and then rather than 20 in one week. Do this and they can mark you as a spammer. Be careful of also putting your web-site as a link on a dodgy, spammy or even non-relevant site, as again you can be penalised for this. Quality rather than quantity on this. If you can get a link from a government body then this is good.

For example is you are a Environmentally friendly hotel, you would aim to get a link to relevant websites such as Environmentally Friendly Hotels.  

For accommodation providers useful links to include on your web-site could be to Visit Britain (http://www.visitbritain.com), Discover Ireland (http://www.discoverireland.com), Visit Scotland (http://www.visitscotland.com), English Heritage (http://www.english-heritage.org.uk), The National Trust (http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk), B&B News (http://www.bandbnews.co.uk), Foreign Perspectives - aimed at ex-pats (http://www.foreignperspectives.com) ... in fact any web-site you deem is of interest to your guests and people viewing your web-site - just ensure they open in a new page!

* The above will add value to how Google rates you and positions you for searches

Page Rank

Named after Larry Page, to measure the relative importance of the web-site on the www. Pages that receive a higher PageRank and are more likely to appear at the top of the search results and that is why we, as owners of websites should find this important rather than as some sort of web status!

Recently Google has cleaned up on Content farms, where people just put info on to get the website around and to try to dupe Google and get themselves a higher ranking and exposure. This process has meant that lots of websites have lost their Google ranking (approx 12%) and on the proverbial naughty step we would guess.

Check here to see what yours is: http://www.prchecker.info/check_page_rank.php.

Admittedly PageRank is not as important as some think, hence why its not on the Google Webmaster Tools section anymore, as some thought it was the most important metric to track, which is simply not true, however it does give you an idea of how the web-site is ranked or viewed with the gods @ Google.

THE BIKER GUIDE summing up...  

We hope this article will help you in certain areas of your website and hopefully to help you choose wisely what information is included, where you exchange links and how your web-site is developed.    If you already knew all of the above, please accept our apologies and welcoming you to our world of seo geekness!

Resources  

Google Analytics

PR checker

Three click rule

Environmentally Friendly Hotels

Environmentally Friendly

Alexa

THE BIKER GUIDE - With over 1,000 visitors a day ... Hits -  no comment!   Bringing the Biker Community together!  

www.thebikerguide.co.uk   

follow and join us on www.facebook.com/bikerguide

An exciting new smartphone app designed to reduce the number of motorcyclists killed or seriously injured on the UK’s roads is now available.

The ‘iBiker app’, which has been funded by the DfT (Department for Transport in Great Britain), is available on the iPhone and Android mobile phones. In addition to featuring ‘myth busting’ equipment and maintenance videos with James Toseland, the former double World Superbike Champion, the app enables bikers to:

·         Plan, plot, and save their rides/routes.

·         Highlight points of interest including pubs, cafes, cash points, petrol stations and meeting points.

·         Rate routes.

·         Connect with the biking community by sharing information about their rides/routes via Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and other social networking sites.

The ap also highlights ‘the most risky roads and routes in Britain’ and provides interactive information and advice on how to ride safely and responsibly.

Similar to Ride It Right, iBiker is community driven and focused on the community it serves - riders can take ownership of the app and populate it with information that can be shared across the biker community. Users can get in touch with ibiker via www.twitter.com/ibikerapp. or visit www.facebook.com/facebook.

Gurminder Marwaha, who manages the app, says, “In terms of our plans for the app, we are very open to suggestions on how the app can be improved and what new features users would like to see. This app is for bikers and to remain a biker app it's important that the community tells us how it wants the app to develop. We will listen to all ideas.”

What About iBiker For Northern Ireland

Ride It Right has been in touch with the iBiker developers to see if iBiker works in Northern Ireland and the answer is yes!

So apart from on your travels outside Northern Ireland riders here can, add their own routes and places, plan, plot, and save their rides/routes and comments on others’ routes and places.

You can also highlight points of interests, including pubs, cafes, cash points, speed cameras, petrol stations, meeting points and much more.

However one application that is missing is the provision of video run-throughs of known collision hotspots, these provide commentary illustrating potential dangers, enabling riders to prepare for a ride on that route, and spot potential danger before actually riding it.

Early days yet but Ride It Right is looking at bringing iBiker here, to add to the 90 different routes videoed in the rest of the UK. Our own routes on the Ride It Right website highlights, The Antrim Coast Road – The Ards Peninsula – Newcastle and the Mournes.

To get iBiker here we are looking for sponsors/funding, a race “celebrity” to promote iBiker and for the support from Road Safety agencies.

Information

www.ibikerapp.com

www.facebook.com/ibiker

www.rideitright.org

A stylish tribute to the singer-songwriter legend Johnny Cash is the latest motorcycle to be showcased in the new Customising, Culture & Harley-Davidson exhibition at MOSI (Museum of Science & Industry, Manchester).

The Get Rhythm motorcycle, named after Cash’s 1956 hit about a shoeshine boy beating the blues through music, is painted a sleek and understated black, in reference to the famous ‘Man in Black’, and includes musical details such as an oil tank in the design of Cash’s Gibson guitar, a custom leather seat dedicated to Johnny Cash and a vintage style fuel tank.

Get Rhythm is displayed in MOSI’s Customising, Culture & Harley-Davidson exhibition for the next month. The rhythmic sound of its v-twin engine also earned the motorcycle its name. Get Rhythm was customised from a 2004 Harley-Davidson 1550cc and is on display until the end of June as part of a rolling monthly programme of customised motorcycles from Shaw Speed and Custom of Sussex. Get Rhythm was commissioned by Johnny Cash fan Julian Grindall and was built by Neil Sefton of Shaw Harley-Davidson.

Owner Julian Grindall said: “For me & the creation of a Johnny Cash tribute bike was quite simple: the love of motorcycles, especially Harley-Davidson, and the music of an iconic performer and song writer. The title of the bike "Get Rhythm" was an obvious choice. This great song describes the rhythm of the shoe shine boy betting the blues and the rhythm of the Harley V twin, perfect.”

Customising, Culture and Harley-Davidson, which runs until 11 September, spans early Harley-Davidsons to the very latest in customised motorcycles, many of which have never been displayed to the public before. The exhibition is created by the Claridon Group and MOSI. It is the first time ever that an exhibition has showcased the historic and radical customs of Harley-Davidson® motorcycles, and the culture surrounding them. 

Over 30 motorcycles are featured in the exhibition, including models from the UK, Germany, Japan and the US. Each bike has its own story, from a rare 1909 model built in the first decade of Harley-Davidson’s production heritage,  to motorcycles used for the US military and police in the 1930s and 1940s, to the 1948 Ice Road Panhead, which defied motorcycle capabilities in conditions of minus 53 degrees, to complete an expedition to the Arctic.

The exhibition includes a section on customised Harley-Davidsons, such as the incredible Jaguar Bike, built by Polar Cycles/Massow, the Air Bike by Richard Taylor and the High Roller Trike (Abacus Studios). It also looks at the distinctive culture of Harley-Davidson, including the tattoos, music and film associated with this of this iconic brand.

All Harley-Davidson motorcycles are manufactured in Milwaukee, USA, but the almost endless array of available aftermarket parts and accessories worldwide provides radical customisation opportunities and enables owners to realise their own personal dream machine. A full list of all motorcycles in the exhibition is available.

Exhibition organizer Chris Scott of Claridon said: “We are delighted to have the “Get Rhythm” motorcycle grace the exhibition and are extremely grateful to Shaw Speed & Custom for not only loaning some of their amazing motorcycles but also working with us on the monthly rolling bike programme which will bring added enjoyment to visitors of the exhibition.”

Customising, Culture and Harley-Davidson runs until 11 September at MOSI, Liverpool Road, Castlefield, Manchester M3 4FP. Get Rhythm is on display until the end of June.

www.mosi.org.uk