Motorcycle Live opened its doors on day three to another huge crowd of bike fans, their family and friends – all hoping to catch a glimpse of their racing heroes, see all the latest machinery on show and take the chance to get on two wheels in one of the show’s interactive features.
 
For newcomers to biking, the industry-backed Get On campaign is offering free 20-minute taster sessions for anyone over the age of 16. Over the past three days, hundreds of people have taken advantage of the feature, learning the basics of riding in a one-on-one briefing with fully qualified instructors. 
 
For those already fully fledged on two wheels, a range of the latest models from the leading manufacturers are available to try out in the Test Ride Zone supported by Shoei, Sidi and Spada. Wannabe off-road riders can sample life on the dirt in the Yamaha Off-Road Experience, while kids are catered for with My First Honda Licence and the Suzuki Off-Road Experience. 
 
After all that exertion, today’s visitors took the chance to rest their feet and enjoy the entertainment on the Blackhorse Stage, which included a bumper edition of Fast Bikes Question of Bikes with double World Superbike champion Troy Corser, British Superbike champion Tommy Hill, BSB contender Josh Brookes, BBC commentator Matt Roberts, SBK star Sylvain Guintoli, World Supersport riders Sam Lowes and Gino Rea and eight-times world champion Phil Read.
 
The action at Motorcycle Live continues until 27 November and the ticket price is completely all-inclusive, meaning visitors can enjoy everything the show has to offer at no extra cost. Tickets are £19 for adults, £12 for seniors, £8 for children aged 6-16 and  kids under five accompanied by a paying adult go free. Visit www.motorcyclelive.co.uk or call 0844 5812345. For the latest news and updates, visit www.facebook.com/motorcyclelive or follow @motorcyclelive on Twitter.

Motorcycle Live 2011 roared into action today with the awesome sound of Cal Crutchlow’s MotoGP machine filling the halls of The NEC, Birmingham as part of a grand opening ceremony. The Yamaha rider – who is the only Brit to compete in MotoGP – was joined on stage by a whole host of stars in a celebration of the best of British racing talent to open the UK’s biggest motorcycle show.
 
The Brits were out in force with 125GP contenders Danny Webb, Danny Kent, Taylor MacKenzie and Harry Stafford, Moto2 stars Bradley Smith and Scott Redding, World Superbike challengers Leon Haslam, Leon Camier, James Toseland and Tom Sykes, current World Supersport Champion Chaz Davies and current British Superbike Champion Tommy Hill all taking their turn on stage. 
 
The highlight was the grand finale with Crutchlow appearing fully clad in his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 leathers to start up his M1 machine live on stage – much to the joy of the waiting crowd. The resulting roar kicked off nine days of the very best that motorcycling has to offer.
 
Adults and kids alike can enjoy a whole host of interactive activities – including two-wheel taster sessions in the Get On Arena, off-road experiences, on-road test rides, trials riding and of course, the experts will be doing their thing in the Ramp’d Up Freestyle Motocross Arena. This is all accompanied by non-stop entertainment and appearances from racing stars and biking celebrities.
  
The ticket price for Motorcycle Live 2011 is completely all-inclusive, meaning visitors can enjoy everything the show has to offer at no extra cost. Tickets are £19 for adults, £12 for seniors, £8 for children aged 6-16 and  kids under five accompanied by a paying adult go free. Visit www.motorcyclelive.co.uk or call 0844 5812345. For the latest news and updates, visit www.facebook.com/motorcyclelive or follow @motorcyclelive on Twitter.

Day two at Motorcycle Live was one for the race fans as stars of track and road racing flocked to The NEC to entertain the expectant crowds. British MotoGP contender Cal Crutchow and World Superbike rider Leon Haslam returned to the show for a second day, joined by Castrol Honda SBK star Jonathan Rea and Isle of Man TT racer Guy Martin.

BBC star and fan favourite Martin whipped the crowds into a frenzy on the Suzuki stand as he appeared for an autograph signing and meet and greet, while Rea made dreams come true by helping youngsters get to grips with two wheels at My First Honda Licence. 
 
At 12.30, the crowds gathered at the Blackhorse Stage for the chance to get hold of some of the one-of-a-kind racing memorabilia on offer in the Riders for Health Auction supported by Arai. This year’s lots included a VIP trip to the Day of Champions at the 2012 Silverstone MotoGP and a set of Alvaro Bautista’s REV’IT leathers. The auction raised over £4,000 for the Riders for Health charity. 

With autographs and memorabilia in the bag, visitors headed to the manufacturer stands around The NEC to see all the world’s leading race machines on display. The brave could then climb aboard the Silverstone simulator and attempt to beat the lap times set by various racing stars around the famous circuit. 

Motorcycle Live runs until 27 November and the ticket price is completely all-inclusive, meaning visitors can enjoy everything the show has to offer at no extra cost. Tickets are £19 for adults, £12 for seniors, £8 for children aged 6-16 and  kids under five accompanied by a paying adult go free. Visit www.motorcyclelive.co.uk  or call 0844 5812345. For the latest news and updates, visit www.facebook.com/motorcyclelive or follow @motorcyclelive on Twitter

Castrol Honda riders Jonathan Rea and Hiroshi Aoyama took some time off during their test at the Losail circuit in Qatar last week to visit the local Honda distributor and assist in launch of the 2012 version of the CBR1000RR Fireblade.

It’s the 20th anniversary model of this iconic sports bike which will act as the base for the machine on which the Castrol Honda duo will contest next season’s World Superbike championship.
 
The riders were joined by fellow racer Glen Richards, who had competed in the 8 Hours of Doha World Endurance race with the Honda TT Legends team the previous weekend. All three riders answered questions from local fans and media, signed autographs and posed for photographs.

Jonathan Rea said: “The guys tell me that the local market is growing for Honda and, having met some fans here and listened to their knowledge and passion, I can see why!”

At Right To Ride we welcome the inclusion of motorcycles in the new Bus Lanes introduced in Belfast.
 
They will be on the Shore Road, York Road, York Street, and Victoria Street.
 
The lanes will be available to buses, motorcycles, bicycles and Belfast public hire taxis and will be in use from Monday 2st1 November 2011.
 
Drivers urged to take care
 
The bus lanes are clearly marked with white lines and the associated signs.
 
Drivers should take extra care when travelling on these roads until they are familiar with the new lanes.
 
On the Shore Road, York Road and York Street the bus lanes will give priority to buses between Whitewell Metropolitan Tabernacle to Mount Vernon Road and North Derby Street to Midland Terrace inbound between 7.30 am to 9.30 am, Monday to Friday.
 
Travelling out of the city centre, buses will be given priority between Midland Terrace to North Queen Street and Mount Vernon Road to Whitewell Metropolitan Tabernacle Monday to Friday, 3.30 pm to 6.30 pm.
 
The bus lane on Victoria Street will give priority to buses between Chichester Street and Queen’s Square from 7.00 am to 7.00 pm, Monday to Saturday.
 
This additional four kilometres of bus lanes will bring the total length of bus lanes in the city to 46km.
 
Roads Service would urge drivers to take extra care when travelling on these roads until they are familiar with the new traffic management arrangements.
 
Read this article on Right To Ride – Includes advice from GB on using Bus Lanes.