News, Offers, Discounts and Stuff
…A general page for, um, news, offers, discounts and stuff…really.
Zed’s Not Dead, Baby…
Early this year Dave, who owns BBM was diagnosed with a non-malignant brain tumour (that explains a lot..)
Some people would have taken to their bed (OK he did for a while) but Dave’s missus knew there was only one way to get him through the therapy – yup – she bought him the biggest, fastest bike she could find.. 2009 Kawasaki ZZR1400 in glorious Kermit Green (Candy Lime actually). Thanks to Colchester Kawasaki for a great deal.Now Dave’s getting better he’s up and riding..and posting some videos..
Hel Brakelines 25% Offer
Everyone knows that braking performance can be improved by fitting braided stainless steel lines – especially if your bike is more than 4 years old when all standard rubber hoses are getting saggy and should be replaced.
Now you can get HEL brake-lines at a whopping
25% discount. Bigbikemad.com. Simply contact Hel by phone and quote this offer. Any problems let us know and we will sort it for you.
Hel Performance: 01392 811 601 …or just pat the young lady’s bottom gently with your mouse to go direct to… er…Hel. Probably.
When Comfort is the Bottom Line…
We first came across Custom Motorcycle Seats a few years ago when looking for a long distance touring seat for a Honda Blackbird….
we eventually went for one of their ‘Bladerunner’ models as shown below, and for added luxury opted for their own Geltastic pad inserts, front and rear.
Over 2,000 miles of Irish roads on two tours the widened and re-designed profile proved to have been a wise choice. Incredibly comfy, no more numb bum and a good looking thing too, its sculpted shape offered lower back support at the same time as preventing the pillion from sliding forwards under heavy braking.
A brilliant piece of kit and not too pricey… between £170 and £400 depending on what you want done and whether you can supply your seat base.
CMS are a long-established family firm from Coventry and can customise any make or model of seat by post to a rider’s requirements. This includes height reduction, re-shaping, re-covering and repairs in a choice of colours & trims.
CMS are best known for their ‘off the peg’ seats – available in both ‘Bladerunner’ and ‘Basketweave’ styles. CMS are best known for their ‘off the peg’ seats – available in both ‘Bladerunner’ and ‘Basketweave’ styles.
For the ultimate in comfort try their geltastic pads (better than any standard gel we’ve ever tried).
For CMS contact Melvin or Ross on: 02476 665203 or INFO@CMSEATS.CO.UK and please let them know we sent you!
Lighten Up for Winter Safety
New to the UK – AdMore GIVI E52 and E55 Maxia Top Box Lighting Kits…
You get much more than a simple extra rear brake light with these new kits from Canadian company AdMore. On their E55 Kit, their easy to fit dual colour LED light arrays, coupled to an inbuilt controller mean that you have tail- light, brake light AND amber indicators available for the first time in a single integrated kit.
The E55 kit runs a red tail light all the time the ignition is on, changing to a flashing brake light for a few seconds and then steady brake light when brakes are applied. This clever dual action gets attention without annoying drivers in stop-start traffic. Indicators give a high level display in amber – far more noticeable than normal bike indicators which are usually fairly close to the ground and can be easily missed.
The E52 Kit only has Red indicators. However for this kit, these can be disabled if your country uses amber.
Great news also for BMW owners as all kits are guaranteed to work with no problems with the CANBUS electrical system.
Kits are now available in the UK from us here at Bigbikemad (< Just click on the image left) and also at Blackhedgehog7 – our E Bay shop. We ship world wide.
ZX-14R Forum
From time to time we give free publicity to bike forums on Bigbikemad. Often these can be great sources of advice and new friends.
One of the friendliest and best we have ever found is the ZZR Forum. Based right near us in Wiltshire, England.
It was started in 2008 by Simon who, wanting to buy a ZZR, found a surprising lack of on-line support and information.
Since then over 2000 people from the UK and elsewhere have joined the site which currently has about 100 active users. Simon eventually got his bike – from ‘Dan’, formerly of the BBC’s Rogue Traders programme – (not sure if that’s a good thing or not)!
The forum enjoys 4 or 5 main meet ups a year including ride outs organised by various members. This year saw the first weekend meet in Malton which included a Dyno day at Warrington Motorcycles.
Active members of the forum also have the benefits of Downloads and members discounts, available at various companies.
Check it out here…. http://www.zx14r.co.uk/phpBB3/index.php
Honda’s Finest Hour?
Cool, smooth and a pure bred classic….
Bikes don’t come much better than the legendary CBR1100XX Blackbird.
It’ll leave a trail of fire down the drag strip or tour in comfort. Doesn’t matter that they stopped making them in 2007 – thanks to bike- mad owners, the ‘Bird Lives on. Click pic to see owners review. Check out our technical section and video sections for more BB stuff….
Triumph Trophy Tourer
For Triumph there’s a lot riding on the new 1215cc Trophy, and we don’t just mean the mass of all-too-often-overweight journalists invited to throw legs over Hinckley’s latest offering. Having wowed the super-sport class with the delicious Daytona, seduced the nakeds with Street and Speed Triples, out-cooled the cool guys on their retro twins and even assailed the adventure market with the new Tiger Explorer,
Triumph needed to fill a noticeable gap in their range. Put simply, the company had to have a bells and whistles tourer with the gadgets and comfort levels that can cut it with today’s riders.
The Trophy attempts to do this by a fairly straightforward attack on BMW’s hugely successful 1200RT; bidding for BM buyers by matching the Beemer spec, but undercutting on price. But while this may be better than one of Baldrick’s cunning plans, it might not be enough to secure success. The Beemer has had decades to refine itself and Triumph needs to beat the competition without alienating their own die-hard fans. The bike needs to trade blows with the boxer, and karate chop oriental competition like the revamped FJR, while not forgetting its own unique Triumph DNA; characterful engine, great handling and epic fun levels.
That’s a tough call. Now the Trophy is here in the showrooms, the question is, have they managed it? Bigbikemad went to Fowlers in Bristol to pick up the bike for some unbiased, real-world testing.
NO LONGER RECOMMENDED
We used to really rate these guys – and its true they still do great priced batteries on their site and on E Bay. However with much regret we are having to withdraw our recommendation for this company.
They’ve let us down twice now on delivery (They use UK Mail). On the last occasion, despite paying £9,99 for next day delivery (a Friday) we got a text late in the day to say it now would not be delivered until the following week. No explanation or apology.
We urgently needed the battery or one of our bikes would be off the road and it was needed for tuition (one of us is an instructor).
We contacted Puredrive who were completely unsympathetic. Despite having paid for ‘Next Day’ delivery they said that this was ‘Not Guaranteed’ (??!). They also refused to compensate us by refunding any of the delivery charge.
Its not only the fact that we were let down not once but twice, leaving bikes stranded, but the attitude that really bothered us. As a result we cannot recommend them anymore.
ZZR 1400 Test
Time for a considered opinion on the Big Zed, which has been around in the 200bhp form now for a year or so. Its fast, but we all know that. Can it tour though? How about on the track? What’s ownership like? Is build quality any good? Is it comfy and does it drink the gas?
We rode the 2011 when itcame out and in performance terms that was fabulous almost beyond belief…. could Kawasaki actually improve on this 21st century lightship? We find out; answering all these questions and in the name of sheer gibbering fun, putting our hands where few men have set foot… or something.
S1000-RR and K1600GT
On a very cold Autumn day, we took to very hot bikes on a trip to Yorkshire; BMW’s blisteringly fast yet well mannered BMW S1000RR and their flagship tourer, the BMW K1600GT.
Two very different bikes, but they have something in common; both are brimming with technology from quick shifters to ABS, ESA suspension and clever traction control.
These things are fine on the track or at a sunny South African bike launch, but how does all that stuff actually work in the real world?
Can technology tame the awesome power of the S1000RR and steer the 320 kilos of K1600 over rough, muck splattered surfaces, narrow lanes and steep hill climbs ?
Can it cope with winter and the kind of conditions real riders have to contend with; are such bikes mere toys or can they be practical in every day life? We found out in the wintery Yorkshire Dales .. See Review.