It’s not every day a young nurse rips your clothes off while your wife’s at your side, but this was no ordinary day – this was a big crash day. We’ve all been there, it’s an unfortunate part of motorcycling, but I’m not here to labour on how dangerous our crotch rockets are, or how the world would be a better place if we all took up knitting and made one another cotton wool cardigans – not a chance. I’m here to say thank you to the brilliant medical services we have in the UK and to highlight just how far rider protection has come. Crashing is nothing new to me, but airbags are still something of a novelty that have fast become an essential part of my riding kit. Admittedly, I was unable to walk away from my 90mph highside, but thanks to my Alpinestars Tech Air system my upper body escaped perhaps my biggest ever crash without so much as a bruise (… full test report and data coming). The rest of me, well, that was a bit knackered and the main reason I wasn’t able to swan off with Carl and Boothy for the finale of 2019’s Ultimate Sports Bike test. While I was hobbling about on crutches, they were banging in hot laps under Spanish sunshine, whittling down the definitive winner of our most comprehensive sportsbike test ever. It’s a great read and a clear identifier for those wondering what the top three scoring bikes from USB part 1 have to offer, on slicks against the clock. I’m just gutted I couldn’t be a part of it. Were you on the No Limits Parcmotor trackday with them? It’s that time of year where many track riders head overseas and keep the two-wheeled dream alive. If you’ve never indulged in the opportunity, you’re assured to find them the perfect tonic for the autumnal weather that’s now hitting our shores. Luckily for me, as soon as I could bin off the crutches I hopped on a plane and headed to Jerez to spin some laps on Yamaha’s new Euro5-spec R1s. Whatever pain I was in quickly vanished the minute I left pitlane and threw back the throttle. You’ll get no spoilers here, but if you flick on a few pages you’ll get a full grasp of what I made of it.
While I’m on the topic of new models, it looks like 2020 is going to be full of exciting fresh faces, but if older bikes are your thing you’ll want to read Boothy’s exploits on his £600 ZXR750. How the hell that thing made it around the Classic TT is beyond us, but he did everyone proud and had a top laugh, too. Is that somewhere you want to head next year? Now’s the time to get planning 2020’s shenanigans, and if you’ve got any suggestions for us, get in touch. Enjoy the mag and the last of the good weather.