A61 Ring Road, Derek Dooley Way, Wicker Arches, Sheffield, S3 8GZ
All roads lead to SMC Bikes
Teknic Freeway Jacket
First things first, this jacket is stunning to look at, visually appealing in yellow or black, it even made me look good!!. I tested it over a weekend of bitter cold winds & frequent heavy showers & it didn’t disappoint me at all.
Most impressive was the warmth, I was well toasty inside this, thanks to the heat reflective silver liner & the wind / waterproof ‘Powerskin’ membrane.
I believe the range of adjustment straps on the sleeves & body help here too, allowing a snug fit to be achieved with no annoying flapping in the wind!
My two favourite bits though, the neck has enough adjustment to fasten comfortably over neck warmers and other layers & WATERPROOF POCKETS! Well done Teknic.
I’ve always bought a certain German make of bike jacket, but never again, the Freeway is superior in every way in my opinion & I will recommend it to everyone without hesitation.
Yamaha TDM 900
France, September 2007. Here I was on a borrowed Yamaha TDM 900
(Thanks SMC). Pulling up outside the Bielsa Tunnel & about to cross into Spain, it suddenly dawned on me, I’d just covered over 1200 miles in 3 days & my bum wasn’t numb, wrists didn’t ache & I felt fresh & relaxed.
The TDM does everything so well, Auto routes, fast ‘A’ roads & tight, twisty Pyrenean mountain passes........ No problem. I loved the twin cylinder engine, the huge torque allowed the bike to pull from low revs in top gear, smoothly & surprisingly quickly up to it’s 140mph top speed.
Everything about the TDM inspired confidence in the bike, tank range was impressive, whatever the throttle opening, ABS brakes guaranteed safe, predictable stops on any surface, it handled superbly, with suspension taut enough to hug a curve with no bounce or wallow, yet it was still supple enough to soak up the worst of the bumps & pot holes the French had to offer, with none of the wrist jarring thud of a sportsbike.
I had a real laugh riding the TDM 900 & a fantastic 3000 mile trip.
If you want a bike that can truly do everything, go try a TDM. I LOVED IT.
Yamaha 2008 FZ6 Fazer
Wow! I wasn’t expecting the FZ6 to be as good as this. Climbing onto the new Yamaha 600 for the first time I was amazed by how light & slim the bike was. I thought the bars may be a little to narrow initially, but they presented no problems at all, in fact they made perfect sense after a while, as I realised how well they kept me tucked in behind that superb half fairing.
I’d never ridden Yamaha’s FZ6 before, so I set off full of preconceptions, it would be vibey, revvy, noisy and hard work compared to it’s 1000cc partner. Well, I was wrong on most counts. This bike is not vibey or noisy at all. Of course it loves to be revved (14,000rpm redline) but this is sooooooo encouraging, egging you on to snick another gear in the ultra smooth box, thrust forwards enjoying the excellent linear power delivery, then snick, thrust, snick, thrust ............. Gimmie more hehe.
The handling is fantastic, very chuckable, flickable and leanable,
thanks to the firm springing, controlled damping and light weight, all of which inspire total confidence in the Fazer’s abilities. The Series 2 FZ6 is one of those bikes that will happily get you to work & back every day, then bring out the hooligan in you at the weekend when you feel the urge. I’d dare take bets it would manage a trip to Europe in it’s stride too! It’s comfy after all and certainly capable of knocking off long distances at high speed. Great fun, stunning good looks, slim and agile (Not me, the bike!!!)
Arai Condor Motorcycle Helmet (St. George)
I was so glad when SMC announced Arai as the latest addition to their clothing range for 2008. It’s not just the excellent quality fibreglass construction, or the choice of eye catching paint schemes. It’s not even the array of feature’s including the excellent ventilation, easy visor removal & pinlock inner visor system. It’s the fit, Arai’s hug my bonce like no other helmet ever can. It’s like your favourite pair of slippers on the inside combined with steel toe capped boots toughness on the outside!! TRY ONE and see for yourself!
Suzuki DL 1000 V Strom
I approached this bike as a sceptic. Personally, I've never believed that a V-
Setting off for Wales, I was looking forward to being cosseted by the wind protection provided by the adjustable screen & hand guards.
Clicking up into 6th gear I realised that this was in fact an Overdrive, indicated by the O/D symbol on the attractive dash. The revs dropped down and the engine settled into a steady, rhythmic pulse. So relaxing, no vibes like I expected and still able to accelerate easily with a twist of the throttle.
This all helps the DL 1000 to be economical on a long trip and to rack up the miles deceptively quickly. Well done Suzuki.
Handling is good, with little dive under normal braking, yet the suspension is supple enough to cope with most bumps, ripples and hollows found on our roads these days.
My only real criticism was that the clutch felt a bit heavy to me, especially in
traffic, maybe that’s because the bike only has 600 miles on it and things will bed
in, but otherwise, an excellent bike for touring, an excellent engine (I now know
that V-