less than the standard silencer, plus I've junked the brackets which supported the old header pipes and collector box. Centre stand has gone too - not because it had to, it just looks loads better. In all the bike's 11 kilos lighter. That's a noticeable

at the end of their life too and after a quick chat with Dunlop a set of their Sportmax Qualifier RR’s replaced the now fairly squared off Scorpions.Day of departure and the sun gods greeted me as I loaded up and attempted to swing my leg over the bike

and sounds sweet. Running a bike in properly isn’t about sticking to some rpm limit, it’s about using the gearbox, letting the motor buzz up and down its rev-range and not labouring the engine or loading the pistons.On the R1 it’s impossible to tell when

tarmac.Part of Ian’s problem is the Harley’s geometry, which is alien to him as a sportsbike rider. By contrast, on a virgin pair of Dunlop Roadsmarts, the GTR feels fantastic. Loaded like a packhorse the ride quality is fantastic, its sharp edges

. An exotic Italian bike loaded with trick components and graced with such delights as Ohlins forks and Brembo brakes for four-cylinder Jap money? Rob Hoyles - on it. (Dole queue not pictured..) The sixty-degree vee-twin motor common to both bikes has received

, even where we went on honeymoon. They were listening to me talk and I was thinking, 'why are they interested in talking to me? I'm just some girl from Texas.' Have you done loads of photoshoots like this before?Well, I did a couple of shots topless once

it pointed in the right direction it has loads of torque and pulls well but it understeered really badly through fast corners like Craner and the Old Hairpin, and you end up chasing the front everywhere, as though it's too light on the front and heavy

. They even take a fair bit of luggage. The baby-eating ZX-10R has a metal tank for magnetic bags and loads of bungee hooks for tailpacks, while the GSX-R has a metal tank, although no rear bungee hooks, and integrated indicators mean you have to get a bit

swamp donkey.I hung out there every night for a couple of hours, the only SV there. got a bit of interest as I don't think there are many around there at all. Loads of trick Harleys, big dirt bikes, flash cars and some quads.Spent 4 nights at the camp

the dog is hairy, loses a lot of hair and the hair is thick and black. So .... when I picked them up to fit on the bike today I found loads of dog hairs stuck to the paint work. 2 Hours later I had removed the hairs, sanded down the panels and sprayed