10 escapes
Great biking things you can do at home this week
Ding dong! Your latest delivery of 10 fresh boredom-busting ideas is here to see you through lockdown. Be it pure entertainment or a bit of self- or bike-improvement, you can indulge your passion for two wheels from the comfort of your own home…
1 Get a Simoncelli fix
Three years before his life was cruelly cut short, Marco Simoncelli made his mark on the racing world in the 2008 250GP championship and was crowned world champion – which, given the fierce competition from young hot heads like Alvaro Bautista and Hector Barbera, was no easy feat. The season review DVD from Duke (£4.99) is full of all the close finishes, high-speed slipstreaming and insane fairing bashing which made the class so great.
2 Fit new wheel bearings
Sod spending hundreds on a new exhaust to give your bike a couple of extra bhp. Bag some free(ish) speed by ensuring that your bike’s rolling as freely as it can be. Notchy old, worn wheel bearings will create drag and rob your bike of performance as well as creating potentially dangerous handling issues. Order yourself a fresh new set and get them fitted. Ceramic bearings provide the ultimate in friction reduction – but cost a bomb!
3 Racing legends’ twominute Twitter stories
Search #robmacmemories on Twitter to enjoy candid tales from Rob McElnea, Terry Rymer, James Whitham, Steve Plater, Simon Crafar and others. There’s revelations like Rob Mac admitting that he ran an oversize OW01 in the British champs, Rymer bullying his way into tracks with no pass and getting into fights... Colin Wright not signing Scott Smart for the Ducati ride because he didn’t like his haircut... and much more.
4 Do an online rally
Rally series organisers, RallyMoto have introduced The Stir Crazy Desktop Rally Series. After signing up for that week’s event, you will be emailed a roadbook and map each day. You need to follow the instructions and work out the roadbook route on the map and then make a note of the village, town, pub, church where you end up then send your results in at the end of the week. Prizes include tyres, stickers and T-shirts. Every entrant is asked to make a donation to the NHS. Go to www. rallymoto.co.uk
5 Read Road Racer: It’s in My Blood by Michael Dunlop
A startlingly honest and open account of 19-times TT winner Michael Dunlop’s career, family life and inside story. The 31-year-old isn’t known for courting publicity or giving interviews, so this 2017 book gives never-before-read insight into his life history and motivations. Grab it for as little as £5.
6 Detail your paintwork
After you’ve given your bike the mother-of-all washes, why not treat your paintwork to a bit of specialist care? Run your hand over it to see how it feels – contaminants on the surface will make it feel rough; you’re aiming for paintwork with a smooth, glass-like feel. Meguiars
Quik Clay
(£22.50) is a combination of a special detailing spray and a clay bar which will lift microscopic ming away from your paint and make polishing easier and more effective. Be warned, it’s addictive.
7 Do a biking photoshoot with your phone
Spend a bit of time taking some arty shots of your bike. You don’t necessarily need a proper
camera; your smartphone will surprise you. Don’t rely on the zoom function - get in as close as you can. Always remember to tell it where to focus (usually you tap the screen) and use its functions like HDR (High Dynamic Range) mode, which adds more detail into the image. Experiment and have fun.
8 Watch The World’s Fastest Indian
Treat yourself a slice of feelgood by plonking yourself somewhere comfy and spending two hours watching Anthony Hopkins as Burt Munro – the plucky New Zealand pensioner who, in the early 1960s, packed his self-built 1922 Indian Scout streamliner into a crate and travelled to the other side of the world to take part in Bonneville Speedweek in search of 200mph glory. Pick it up on DVD for a fiver, or stream it through Amazon, BT or Sky.
9 Brush up on Roadcraft
Motorcycle Roadcraft: The Police Rider’s Handbook is the definitive guide to better, safer road riding. To get the best out of it, you need to put your biking ego to one side, absorb the evidence-based theory, then complete the self-assessment at the end of each chapter. Go to safedrivingforlife.info.
10 Get a bill credit for BT Sport
If like us, you signed up to BT Sport for the MotoGP coverage only to now be paying for a service that you’re not receiving, be sure that you make the most of their two-month bill credit offer at www.bt.com/sportsupport. You can choose to get the credit back on your bill or have them donate the money on your behalf to the NHS Charities Together Covid-19 Urgent Appeal.