Twist & Go Magazine

It's been so long!

Well, there hasn't been an awful lot of excitement lately. My job has moved to Winchester, so every day I get to do a 45 mile round trip to work and back. On a good day that can mean 45 miles of filtering along the M27 and M3. Great.

The NC750X has now clocked up13,000 miles and she's looking good. So good that I wrote a review for Twist & Go magazine - The January issue should be in the shops now - look for us on page 60.

Other than that, BMW drivers continue to prove that stereotyping works. Of all the prat drivers I encounter those in BMWs still score highest. Audi and Mercedes are starting to climb the charts, but they still have some way to go.

The daily commute

Well, not every day. Some days I go to other destinations around Hampshire, but this day I managed some particularly fine filtering.

Traffic was pretty much solid from J9 to J5 on the M27, and slow again on the approach to J3. I left the motorway at J2 and took the Totton by-pass in to the office.

I've edited the 45 minute trip to around eight minutes for my latest video.

Nip over to YouTube and take a look.

More miles on the NC750X

I've clocked up a few more miles on the new Honda, and she really is good fun to ride. Some of the reviews are not impressed with the power produced by the 750cc parallel twin, but it is ample for everyday use, and the engine delivers plenty of torque - which is what you need for overtaking - without revving the guts out of it. If I was doing a track day I would choose something else - but I ride to work in rush hour traffic. The NC750X is great for that.

The back wheel is exposed and in wet conditions sprays muck over everything in sight, so I have ordered a hugger from Skidmarx. It's due early in June. I'll post some pics when it arrives.

The weather is improving, so I've taken the linings out of my Rukka. Things were getting a bit warm. Anyway here is the next video - on my YouTube Channel, Scratch600. More miles on the NC750X 

New places to mount the camera

I've been out and about on the new bike, Honda NC750x, and I'm pleased I made the change. Back to big wheels and a gearbox - interesting. We've had the 600 mile service, the next one isn't for another 8,000 miles.

Anyway, there are different places to mount the camera, in this video I've used the mirror stem and the passenger foot peg. Have a look. Tell me what you think.

It's here, on my YouTube channel, Scratch600

To filter, or not to filter

Just added another video to YouTube.
Filtering on a motorcycle is what life is all about. Without it there is no reason to buy a bike for commuting. Here in the UK it is legal, as long as you do it with care and consideration for other road users - and, of course, your own safety.

I've included some bends, and lots of water, just for fun.

The last few seconds of this clip suggest that filtering is not always appropriate.

(Still on the Silver Wing, by the way)

Chaos avoidance

I thought I'd try a different route to work.

Since the Highways Agency have bridge repair work at Juntion 9  of the M27, the adjoining roads have been gridlocked most mornings during rush hour - not the the HA care.

The roads are choked, the tail backs then bring Segensworth roundabout to a halt, that in turn blocks the A27 back as far as St Margarets roundabout - basically it's chaos.

Anyway, I thought I'd try something different. So instead of heading to Junction 9, I decided to head for Junction 8, via the A27. I happened to choose the day that the A27, Bursledon Road qualified as the worst traffic jam in Hampshire.

I thought you might like to see it, here it is on my YouTube channel, Scratch600

Why not subscribe and catch new videos as they are uploaded?

Home movies

Though I have recorded many hours of tarmac and traffic, none has been completely newsworthy. But I have found it interesting to review a few situations and learn from what I see.

I have tried editing with Serif Movie Plus, Apple iMovies and Windows Live Movie Maker. iMovies has the nicest transitions, and Serif a pretty good work space, but the best results overall seem to be with Windows.

There are three clips on YouTube, so far:

Winchester to Bishops Waltham 3Apr13 - highlights of a run home from Winchester across Morestead Down

NewForestShortcut 28Apr13 - On a run to Bovingdon Tank Museum we took a shortcut across the New Forest using the B3078

Rush hour traffic 2May13 - A short clip of rush hour traffic, and how not to filter

All these clips a from the Drift attached to the side of my crash helmet, in wide angle at 1080p and 30 fps

Let me know what you think ...