Biker News - Regularly updated

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  1. SHARK Vision-R Series 2 now available

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    Now available in UK SHARK dealers is the new Vision-R Series 2 helmet. Designed with touring riders in mind, the helmet sits in the brands Discovery division. Taking features from the original Vision-R, the Series 2 has received some upgrades to make it even better.

    The helmet as the name suggests, still benefits from the largest panoramic vision field available on the market. The visor aperture is 25% larger from top to bottom and 10% wider horizontally, compared to that of a standard visor aperture. The extra 10% given to peripheral vision increases lifesaver visibility, which makes the helmet ideal for learners or those new to motorcycling.

    The Series 2 has an upgraded ventilation system with improved airflow and bigger vents and operating switches. Noise has also been reduced in the new version and its auto-seal system makes the visor adhere to the helmet, ensuring a better seal and insulation. The visor can also be opened and set into a de-mist position.

    For glasses wearers it has SHARK’s Easy Fit system where glasses can sit comfortably into a recessed partition of the helmets lining, which is fully removable and washable. There’s also a handy pocket to fit a SHARKTooth Bluetooth system.

    The Vision-R Series 2 is available in a variety of styles and colours, with an RRP of £219.99 for the Blank and Blank Matt versions. The RRP for the Syntic, Synctic Matt, Escapade, Inko, Diekel, Smoke and Smoke Matt is £249.99.

    The Vision-R Series 2 is now available in UK dealers, to find your nearest dealer visit www.nevis.uk.com or call 01425 478936.

  2. Keep on riding – and get money back – with Michelin

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    Michelin is encouraging bikers to ‘Keep on Riding’ by offering a £25 gift card when they buy two Michelin tyres, and a £10 card when they buy one.

    The gift cards can be redeemed against a whole host of items, including fuel, from thousands of outlets across the UK.

    After buying their new tyres, customers simply register online at KeepOnRiding.michelin.com, click on “Take Advantage of the Offer” and follow the instructions.

    The Keep on Riding website also allows visitors to star in their own animated film, which will see them go head to head with friends in a fantastic biker adventure game.

    Users control the on-screen rider as he races away from the evil tarmac monster, using various bikes for the different terrains.

    Gaining points for every road obstacle avoided and for particular riding skills, this addictive game allows users to share their highest score online and is sure to be a lunch-break favourite when there isn’t time to get out on the road for real!

    The ‘Keep on Riding’ offer applies to any purchases from an authorised Michelin dealer, made between March 3 and April 30, from the Pilot Road 4, Pilot Power 3, Anakee III, Commander II and Power SuperSport ranges.

    James Dimmock, Motorcycle Marketing Manager for Michelin in the UK and Republic of Ireland, said: “Many motorcyclists know only too well that Michelin tyres deliver in terms of performance, longevity and safety – now they can get gift vouchers as well.

    “The game is great fun so we’re confident our customers will enjoy it.”

    For more information and terms and conditions, visit www.KeepOnRiding.michelin.com

  3. OVER 100 PRE WAR CARS GET READY FOR A MIDLANDS SEND OFF ON NEW FLYING SCOTSMAN RALLY ROUTE

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    Over 100 pre-war cars will be on the starting line of the Endurance Rally Association’s sixth Flying Scotsman Rally on Friday 4th April 2014, following a new route that starts in the Midlands, allowing the drivers to experience more of the Scottish Borders and Scotland before finishing 600-miles later in Gleneagles, Perthshire.

    The ‘Great Northern’ edition starts at 8am on Friday 4th April from the Forest of Arden Hotel and Country Club, ten miles south of Birmingham, where Bentleys, Lagondas, MGs and Jaguars will be followed by Ford Model As, Rileys and Rolls Royces as they motor towards the north.

    After an overnight stop near Blackburn, the journey takes in remote routes through Lancashire and Yorkshire. The second day will see the car cross the border into Scotland, reaching Gleneagles, north of Edinburgh, on Sunday 6th April at around 5pm. The rally is composed of timed sections, test and checkpoints and is the only long-distance rally purely for vintageants. To add to the atmosphere of the rally competitors are encouraged to dress in period, matching the Pre-war style of their cars, with a trophy to be awarded at the gala dinner at Gleneagles.

    Philip Young, Endurance Rally Association’s Rally Director, said: “We have entrants coming from all over the UK and Europe, with even Americans, Canadians and Australians taking part, making it a truly international celebration of pre-war motoring. 

    “But don’t let the vintage dress they will be wearing fool you. There are plenty of teams who are definitely in it to win it. Entrants will be judged on their performance and reliability and will have to maintain certain average speeds over set distances along the route. Once we hit the road, that's when the competitive spirit will be seen in all its glory.”

    Amongst those taking part is the winning team from the 2013 Peking to Paris Rally and the 2012 Trans-America Rally, Phil Garratt and Keiran Brown in their 1932 Alvis Speed 20 who will be hoping to complete a hat-trick of wins.

    The oldest car in the Flying Scotsman is the 1912 Chalmers 10 driven by last year’s ‘Pioneer’ division winners Robert Abrey and Brad Webb from the UK, while fellow British team Vincent and Victoria Fairclough claim the youngest motor in action with their 1948 MG TC.

    Scrutineering takes place between 12noon and 5pm on Thursday 3rd April where the vehicles are given a final inspection. However supporting the rally is a team of experienced rally mechanics that can cope with almost anything these special cars can throw at them.

    The Endurance Rally Association has a track-record of over 60 major international events behind them including the new Alpine Trial 2014, the Road to Mandalay 2015 and the Peking to Paris Motoring Challenge, next held in 2016.

    For more information on the Alpine Trial or any future Endurance Rally Association event – call +44 (0) 1235 831221 or visit www.endurorally.com

  4. Fancy doing something different in 2014?

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    What about coming to see a large collection of engines, running... exactly as they used to, many years ago!

    Old engines, ranging from a massive 500hp Allen, to the humble Lister that was used on farms many years ago. Bring your children to see the engines being started, and the grand parents who will remember using, or seeing them, in their youth. A visit to the museum provides an opportunity to see, and remember, British machinery as it used to be. Large engines of vertical or horizontal construction will be running, some ticking over quietly and unobtrusively, providing an opportunity to experience the evocative sounds and smells of a working engine museum.

    Whether you come on normal open-day, or during one of the special weekends, it will be a memorable occasion, an enjoyable day out, providing a chance to see something different.

    From the small Lister (made at Dursley) remembered for its use on concrete mixers, generating sets, and use on farms, to Petter (made at Yeovil)—watch the You-tube clip of the 1912 (5-ton) 50hp Petter being started with a blow-lamp (for the first time since the 1950s) and slowly being brought up to speed. See if it doesn’t massage your enthusiasm. If it doesn’t then the start of the 4250hp Proteus (Bristol Siddeley) industrial gas turbine engine certainly will! The resonating roar echoing across the nearby valley will be memorable.

    The museum is a popular venue for enthusiasts with many travelling from all parts of the UK, and even from overseas. 2014 marks the 10th Anniversary year of the opening of the museum, an important milestone in any calendar, as it provides a unique opportunity to look back and thank those who have supported the museum since day one, as well as taking in what has been achieved. This year is very special; you are guaranteed to receive a very warm welcome.

    A visit presents a wonderful opportunity to see engines made by once famous British manufactures. Evocative names like Tangye, Petter, Crossley, Ruston & Hornsby, Lister, Allen, Blackstone, National, Bristol Siddeley, Pelapone, and many others, will be on view for your entertainment. Internal Fire Museum of Power provides, for the younger visitor, an educational glimpse of our industrial past, while older visitors can enjoy a trip down memory lane.

    Museum Opens 12th April.
    First Event: Petter VJ Day, April 12th (see website).
    Second Event: A full Easter venue.
    Club Visits Wednesday to Sunday inclusive.

    Further details with opening times: www.internalfire.com

    The museum is on the A487 Cardigan to Aberystwyth road, 8 miles north of Cardigan just beyond the village of Tanygroes.

  5. GRAND OPENING OF NEW HAYNES INTERNATIONAL MOTOR MUSEUM – WEDNESDAY 16 APRIL 2014

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    · Culture, Communications and Creative Industries Minister, Ed Vaizey MP, to open new Museum

    · £5 million modernisation project hosts new exhibits, including over 400 cars and motorcycles

    · Three new exhibition halls; two modernised halls; interactive displays and virtual reality interpretation; Haynes Motorland Children’s adventure play zone, suite of function rooms, Café 750 and Museum shop, all to be opened

    Haynes International Motor MuseumOn 16 April 2014 Guest of Honour, the Hon Ed Vaizey MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries, will officially open the new Haynes International Motor Museum, in Sparkford, Somerset showcasing some of the greatest cars from around the world.

    After over ten years of planning, two and a half years of building work and a privately funded £5 million investment, the new Museum, which is an educational charitable trust, will be one of the UK’s top visitor attractions.

    Three new exhibition halls

    With three new exhibition halls – Minis and Micros, Century of Supercars, Motorcycle Mezzanine – the Museum offers a tour through time and geographies, with each room themed, from the American Room, Dawn of Motoring, Veteran, Vintage & Pre-War Classics, the famous Red Room, to some of our own classic British family cars in ‘Memory Lane’, the British Motorcycle Collection and the world’s largest collection of Speedway Motorbikes and memorabilia.

    As well as having capacity to further grow the collection, the new Museum is increasingly interactive and modern with more functionality and displays than ever before, including a leading edge reality experience where visitors can ‘virtually’ re-spray a real Mini motorcar. The new façade gives an impressive glass s-shaped entrance foyer leading into the Museum where, beyond the exhibition halls, there is the new Haynes Motorland Children’s adventure play zone, and the well established workshops where the cars are kept in full working order. Off the new entrance foyer lies Café 750 with private dinning space and the ‘Engine Rooms’ suite of function rooms.

    Speaking about the new development John H. Haynes OBE, Chairman of Haynes International Motor Museum, commented: “I could never have dreamed when I started out that, nearly thirty years on, we would be in a position to unveil what I believe is one of the greatest motoring collections. Now space is no longer an issue, I am looking forward to continuing to build the collection with more iconic cars and motorcycles from across the globe, shared with all age groups and backgrounds, whether enthusiasts, families or tourists. I hope the increased facilities will encourage guests to spend a day here and really enjoy the range’s breadth and the story behind each exhibit.”

    Marc Haynes, Managing Director of Haynes International Motor Museum, added: “It is very exciting to be launching our new Museum. The whole Museum team is delighted with what has been achieved in this major project and looks forward to continuing to grow the interpretation and collections. This is also good news for the economy. We have used local contractors during the course of construction, already been recruiting new staff and expect the new Museum will bring additional tourism, not only to the local area but to the South West as a whole and even to the UK, not to mention making a great venue for a function, wedding or memorable event.”

    www.haynesmotormuseum.co.uk

     

    A life time dream

    First established in 1985 by John H. Haynes OBE with just 33 cars, the new Museum will now house over 400 cars and motorcycles from around the world. These date from a remarkable exact working replica of the first production car ever made - an 1885 Benz - to the present day, from the mighty AC Cobra, elegant Rolls Royce Phantom Two Sedanca Deville, 1930 Morris Oxford Six Saloon to King Edward VII’s 1905 impressive Daimler Detachable Top Limousine.

     

    As a charitable trust, John Haynes’ original goal – to share his private collection of historic cars for the enjoyment of anyone from anywhere in the world be they fellow enthusiasts, families, tourists, or schools alike, whilst also continuing to have an educational value giving insight into the historical development and evolution of motorcars and engineering – has remained at the forefront of this project.