Is the MT07 Y-AMT an automatic fit?

That was a question I asked myself after I took a phone call from my local Yamaha dealer, Flitwick Motorcycles, inviting me to come in and test ride a new automatic in the MT range.

Automatic bikes with top flight features are no longer the stuff of the far flung future – and for Yamaha it probably makes sense that it should be fitted to their MT range which covers their most in-demand bikes. In their newly created automatic pool are also the MT09, the Tracer 9 and Tracer 9 GT+.

What does the automatic bike offer? Well the basic stuff is that it has no clutch or gear lever. It’s a bike that simply uses the power or lack of in the throttle to determine the gear you are in.

But of course there is so much more – a switch so that with the flick of a finger forwards or backwards you can manually change your gears if you wish, even whilst in automatic mode. Two automatic modes, D and D+ which I’ll go into. Also the ability to stay in manual transmission and only use the bike as a geared bike – using that switch of course. And a little bit of luxury – with cruise control.


Flitwick Motorcycles very thoughtfully arranged a circuitous route to the Oakley Motorcycle Club night, for myself and the other five riders trying out the range, led by one of their team, Paul. It took in some lovely countryside with sweeping bends which tightened up nicely with a few sharp turns, dual carriageway, town work and a fair few roundabouts.  This gave me the opportunity to put the MT07 through its paces.

So what did I think?

To start the bike the sidestand must be up and the bike in neutral and then just hit the start button. To make the bike go you simply flick the bike into 1st gear (the finger switch is on the left of the handlebars and conveniently situated so your forefinger doesn’t have to travel far. Once I was ready to go I tested the throttle with a little twist and this little bike pulled away, eager to go. A very quick and responsive throttle.

As I pulled away and up to the roundabout I was amused to see the gear indicator going up as I moved along the road and then down as I approached the roundabout. Personally you’d have to be pretty deaf not to hear the gears thumping through either. It’s a tad clunky sounding especially when pulling away in first gear – but this is the budget version bike so am sure it will be smoothed out as more bells and whistles are added to models.

I won’t lie – it was initially very disconcerting not to have a clutch as I automatically wanted to pull it in for my slow work but by the time I’d been riding about 20 mins I was finding it very useful indeed not to have to think about it. You just concentrate on approaching roundabouts and turns and it’s quite liberating not having to divert your attention to anything else.

In the D-mode the bike pootles along – if this was your first big bike I can see why you’d enjoy it, but working as Marketing Manager for White Dalton Motorcycle Solicitors I always ride my MT09 Tracer, so the 07 did feel a bit tame which is understandable with that smaller engine. With smaller engines you do need to wring their necks to get going up hills – and I’m not too old to recall the fun of that 😉

When I hit the twisties I found the down side to the D mode. As an engine braker I roll off for corners and don’t need back brake unless I’ve really misjudged it! The bike felt really odd and when I looked at my dash I discovered it was trying to take my corners in 5th gear. Rolling off just wasn’t making those gears drop quickly enough. Initially I was forced to brake mid-corner to force the bike to get down to a reasonable 3rd gear but then of course the power wasn’t there. Thankfully it was at this point I remembered that gear switch and how to use it, which worked well as I could force it to go up and down prior to the bend without having to use the brakes.

Fortunately when we stopped for a break and I relayed this to David Linsdell, who owns Flitwick Motorcycles and was Tail End Charlie on the ride, he concurred and told me he prefers to ride in D+ mode which is more receptive. So I gave that a whirl on the way home. And it’s like riding another bike!

Sooooo much more fun. The D+ range keeps the bike in lower revs and is far less sedate for country roads giving you the power and smoothness you need to flow through those bends far more safely. In town I found that mode was too racy – the bike wants to stay in low gear and those revs are very vibey at 4k in 2nd when it should have flowed quickly up to 3rd gear like it does in D mode.

However as soon as you flick the gear switch to what you need, the bike settles down nice and quiet. I will say that means there’s a lot more finger flicking to compensate in this mode. But, since I like gears I’m not complaining. If this was my bike I’d not hesitate to stay in D when in town then switch to D+ as soon as I hit country roads and bends. Incidentally you don’t have to be stopped to move between the modes – just roll off the revs completely.

On the dual carriageways I tried that lovely invention of cruise control – and wondered what on earth I should do with my right hand! 🙂
It’s very relaxing and allows you to stretch or alternate hands and give yourself a rest. It’s a left handed control for this and gives you the option to set it and either return to the same speed if you’ve braked and it cuts off, or to reset it completely. I found it made the dual carriageway less work which makes it an ideal feature if you’re doing long journeys or on roads were there’s not much action. Definitely worth it.

Build wise this little bike seems pretty solid. The colour scheme I rode was called Ice storm and is light grey with bright blue wheels. It’s a fun combination. It’s also available in a deeper blue and of course a beautiful and very stylish black. The front, like a lot of modern bikes, has that Transformer look to it and with the central light has an added touch of the Cyclops. I wasn’t riding at night so not sure what the levels of lighting are like.

There’s no screen at all but on the dual carriageway I didn’t feel any excessive buffeting of my body or helmet. The brakes work well and will have you stopping when and where you want – can’t ask for more than that.
You could spend all day playing with the dash. It’s clear and bright and comes with different templates for you to choose from on how you want things to be displayed which adds to a personalised feel for your bike. For the test I kept it on a simple one with a higher focus on revs.

The MT07 has a seat height of 805mm. I am 5ft 6 with a 30.5” inside leg measurement – so not a shorty by any means. But given the wide seats on most motorcycles I lose quite a few inches and usually end up on tip toes. I’m not one for bum shuffling every time I want to stop so I’ve had my Tracer, which was originally 845mm, lowered, also bought the low-seat, and use it on the lowest setting yet despite all that I can only get about 3/4s of each foot down.

On this ride out I was the only rider who couldn’t flat foot their bike. But the seat is fairly narrow (and actually quite comfortable), so as I could get 3/4s of each foot down I did feel happy. (If you’re a shorty and wear the Daytona M or LadyStar boots with the increased internal height, which I need when I use the higher seat, you won’t have to worry with this bike about getting your gear lever adjusted so your boot will fit! – IYKYK!)
Add in a weight of 186kg and I found the bike lightweight and manageable to manoeuvre too.

So what didn’t I like?

If you haven’t learnt how to use your pegs and get your bum off your seat you soon will as you’ll notice that when you hit the worst of the bumps the suspension really does feel like you rather than the bike are absorbing them.
The self-cancelling indicators sound such a fab idea but in reality they stay on far too long (in town you’ll pass several side streets before they click off). You do have a “soft cancel” where with a light touch the indicators will only come on for three seconds. Or you could just do the old fashioned method of cancelling them yourself 😉.


But I actually found there’s very little to dislike with the MT07 – yes it has a clunky gearbox and its suspension is harsh, but neither of these are deal breakers especially bearing in mind that I feel this model is gen 1 and may be a lower entry level.
And a quick check on the specs shows that the rear shock has some adjustment if one knows (unlike me!) what one is doing.

I think this little bike has a big place in the market. If you’re suffering from arthritis in your hands and feet, or perhaps have other injuries such as partial paralysis, or just don’t like gears as they do make heavy work in traffic, then this bike may appeal with lots to offer like cruise control. Considering the AMT is just £350 more then the normal manual transmission version that’s quite a lot you get for that money. It’s a nippy little thing, and apart from those just beginning their big bike life I think it will also greatly appeal to riders who just don’t want or need a bigger bike.

Yes – I do like the automatic gears – (it takes the pressure off working the clutch and allows for a relaxed ride) – with the key point of added ability to switch to manually changing the gears if the automatic doesn’t quite give you what you want. The combination is a good one.

My thanks to the team at Flitwick Motorcycles for inviting me to test ride their MT07 Y-AMT. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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When you need to beat a numb bum!

As a happily married woman I don’t normally get the urge to kiss anyone other than my husband. (Unless it’s Jason Statham … but can you blame me?)

But after I got both my Tracer seats back, which I recently had remodelled by Fred at A&R Pound, I wanted to smoother the poor man with kisses!

Fortunately for him, I managed to restrain myself, but the man is an abserloot darling and both me and my bum thank him lots.

I’m 5ft 6ins with an inside leg measurement of 30.5ins. I’m not one of those girls who are comfy flicking their bodies every which way, as they get a leg down ready to steady their bike. I need and want to have at least the ball of each foot down to be a happy bunny.

When I bought my MT09 Tracer back in 2015 I had it lowered, bought the lowered seat and have always ridden it with my Daytona Ladystars, which have an internal lift (and I have an additional Daytona lift in there too!). Even with all that I’m still not flat footed – the built in lift makes it look like my foot is closer to the floor but my heel is quite off the ground, but I manage much more easily – and probably have toes which can bench press loads from having to push me and the bike backwards!!

Seated wearing my Daytona Ladystars

However, having lost 2 stone, my derriere has been noticing that it’s more of a plank of wood masquerading as a seat than a comfy place to plonk my substantial rump! I can tell within 5mins of when I’ve reached 50miles riding because I start fidgeting trying to get my poor bum comfy.

I’ve been riding regularly again since last Summer, and my comfort levels of handling my bike seem to have improved – to the point where out of the blue I popped the original seat back on the bike wondering if I could now cope better with a higher seat. Miraculously I was unfazed by it and happy with my feet/groundwork when wearing Daytonas – but it was still a block of wood.

(I truly love you Yamaha but why do you make seats so awful and uncomfortable???)

Fred was recommended to me by one of my ladies in the South Central group of the Evo WMCC – so off I toddled with my main seat. Fred is greatly in demand – and having got my seat back I can certainly see why.

He told me it might take up to 3 weeks but he’d do his best to get it ready as soon as possible, and true to his word the turnaround on this was remarkably much quicker.

Fred scoops out the “brick or concrete” call it whatever it feels like, replaces it with some better quality stuff and then wraps it in memory foam. He replaces the original seat cover, (or can do a different colour if you want to buy that as an extra) and all for the grand sum of £35-40.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Or in this case, in the riding, so I ventured out on a 2.5 hour trip over to Stratford-Upon-Avon, had lunch and back again. And when I got home, that’s when I thought about kissing that wonderful man!

I realized I’d forgotten to even think about my bum after the first five mins and I never noticed when we got past the 50 mile mark. That was a trip with just one petrol stop, so it was even more remarkable how comfortable I was.

I was so delighted I decided to get the lowered seat done too and Fred ensured he maintained the lower level I wanted to keep.

Both my seats have now been transformed into comfy ones

That way I can use it when I want to wear my new “normal” motorcycle boots. I treated myself to a pair of  Falco Viky Ladies boots. Waterproof and with reinforced toe and ankle protection, they look much better with my MotoGirl and Richa jeans than the Daytonas. The jeans (a blue and a black pair) were also a recent purchase and are for attending Summer events where I want to be able to walk around in comfort without my temperature going through the roof, which it does even with textiles.

Am pleased to say the boots are not only perfect in height, with the lowered seat, but, along with the jeans, are also comfortable for walking around in after testing them out at the Ladies Day gathering at the John Bunyan.

On the left is the normal height seat with the Falco boots. On the right is the lowered seat with the same boots.

So if you’re literally feeling the pain in your bum and your pockets won’t stretch to some big name comfort touring seats, then I can heartily recommend A & R Pound as a cost-effective alternative which delivers 100%, along with the good nature and great customer service of this small business.

By the way – I know some people think A & R Pound ceased to exist after the fire on the business estate which destroyed their premises. But I can assure you that they are very much alive and kicking, having found a niche of a cubbyhole to work out of so it’s well worth dropping by. They’re at The Baldock Industrial Estate, London Road, SG7 6NG, 01462 862704.

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BikeSafe – Building a great foundation

I’m telling you IPSGA is fascinating!
BikeSafe, run by police forces around the country, has now been standardised so that it’s the same wherever you are.

Before I begin let me just apologise as I forgot to take pics as it was classroom stuff and then I was concentrating hard on riding on a wet and cold day. Therefore all the pics here are of me enjoying an actual day of sunshine this week when I decided to ride to Bourton-on-the-water for a pasty and a cup of tea. As you may have noticed – almost all my bike rides are centred on food😊

I attended BikeSafe many moons ago, at London’s Ace Cafe, first on my GPZ500 and then on my FZ6s. Both were a one day event by the Met Police with some theory work based on Roadcraft followed by mainly a day of riding.

On the way to Bourton on the Water, close to Stow on the Wold

I learnt a lot but it’s some time ago, so I felt it would be a good way of re-learning about the road system and reading hazards better, as well as assessing how far I’d come since I got my mojo back last year.
I chose to do mine with Bedfordshire Police as I’m now more countryside based. To begin with there are now e-learning modules you need to complete before you attend. These prepare you for a day of theory before you return the following week for an hour and a half of riding assessment.

This way of doing things greatly appeals to me as I do love a bit of theory – I like to know why I’m doing something and what its purpose is. The IPSGA system (Information, Position, Speed, Gears, Acceleration) is something I thought I was doing anyway. But after the e-learning and classroom theory I realised just how little, or rather how short-sighted my vision was. This really does open up your world, raise your vision and really makes you think about hazards and just how much information is really out there to help you be seen and stay safe.

My theory was run by PC Mark Fairclough at Bedfordshire Police HQ in Kempston. A guy who was a biker before he was ever a copper, he’s retained his sense of fun, and acknowledgement of the joy of biking. He was succinct, informative, and answered all questions as honestly as he could. I know he’s never had anyone tell him the IPSGA system makes for fascinating reading – but I stand by it😁, especially when it’s properly brought to life by people like him.

My beloved bike Cassius basking in the rare and wonderful sunshine after a weekend of rain!

My riding assessment day dawned dark and wet yet I wasn’t put off asI rode over to Shefford Fire Station for the meet. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that anyone can ride in the dry, but can they keep it together for a bit of the wet stuff?

I used to be fearful of wet conditions until the day I did Bikesafe on my FZ6s and whilst dry in the morning, it hurled it down in the afternoon – to the point where the closed pockets of my waterproof jacket collected water! I was on Bridgestones back then and the officer taught me just how much I could still “lean” and move with a lot of flexibility in my ride in the wet.

Since then I’ve moved onto bigger and more capable bikes – and better tyres. My weapon, or should I say armour, of choice is Michelin Roads (used to be called Michelin Road Pilots) and am currently running 5s on my boy. I LOVE these tyres.  They hold to the road like glue, come rain or shine and they STOP when you need them to so the wet stuff holds no fear for me – although I have a healthy respect for it.

It’s picture perfect round here.

My observer was PC Emily Ingle from Cambridgeshire’s Force. (This BikeSafe covers three areas: Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Constabularies, who come together to support each force and run it jointly.)

I’m a modern woman and fully accept equality for all regardless of gender/non-gender, or a preference for non-disclosure. But to have a female biking cop, – well that’s a high five right there and I won’t let anyone tell me different👌

I was pretty chuffed to see a fellow female biker in such a position. There’s nowhere near as many women on bikes as men and certainly a female police motorcyclist isn’t an everyday sight so it was great to meet her.

Emily was precise, gave a briefing and we headed out. I was pretty nervous to start with, as she expected, but was able to relax into it – and thoroughly enjoyed the ride. I rode as I ride normally, albeit since the theory classes I’ve been putting IPSGA into practice in much greater detail – and I promise I did try to keep an eye on my speeds😉

Did I mention how pretty it is? Must visit the museum – home of Brum, next time!

So I was really pleased with the very positive feedback I got regarding my riding. Emily said I “gave a systematic ride, progressive where safe with good anticipation and planning.” And that I “plan overtakes well and showed good discipline for when the overtake was not on.” (I think she meant I used my common sense and didn’t try an overtake, in the rain, on painted lines, just as the road speed signs were changing too😂).

Best of all, she commented: “Prendy was comfortable on her motorcycle in all road, and traffic situations, the weather was wet and overcast but this did not affect the application of the ride.”

As you may know from my previous posts, I’ve had a break from biking as I’d lost my mojo and when I came back to it, it was as if I was a newbie. Feeling unsure, wobbly and insecure meant as a consequence I was extremely unhappy. Thanks to some one to one training with the legend that is Paul Mostyn and then practice, practice, practice, I had reclaimed my joy of two wheels and felt much more confident, so it felt great to get this extra input from Emily that I’d returned to my happy place, in command of my machine.

Fancy a spot of lunch? Can recommend a hot beef pasty😋

Emily also gave me some pointers to develop such as mirror checks for speed limits, tips for consistent smoothness in the bends, and polishing my ride to make it the best that it could be. We spoke about advanced rider training of both RoSPA and IAM. This was a useful addition to the short talk Elise Allen, a motorcycle observer with HBAM gave at the theory day.

A goodie bag from BikeSafe

So all in all a grand course, and one I was very glad that I had taken part in. BikeSafe has a set fee of £65 no matter where you are in the country and I think it’s great value for money.

My thanks to both Mark and Emily for their commitment to making the course informative, interactive and full of good tips and pointers for improved riding.

As they say in BikeSafe “Be skilful, be safe, be seen”.

Prendy

Confidence builder extraordinare

Mostyn is indeed a magician!
“There is no harsher critic of myself than me”- I think those words would be etched on my gravestone if I hadn’t already decided I was being cremated. Added to which the grammatical use of “me” rather than “I” would probably make me roll in my grave😂

But you get my drift – I am and always have been incredibly hard on myself. I keep pushing to see what I can achieve. So when it comes to riding my motorcycle I want to get it “right” which, for me,  boils down to being smooth, riding corners well, making “steady progress” 😉 and without crashing. Not much to ask really!

For those who don’t know I came late to riding. I was 32 before I rode a bicycle and then two weeks later took my CBT. I’m not naturally gifted at all – as can be shown by the amount of times I fell off during training, including ending up on crutches. But I’m fascinated by biking and when I want to learn something I really do persevere until I feel I’ve got it right!

So what’s with the confidence problem? Let me paint you a picture. At the time I’d been biking for more than 16 years (now 18), which involved four bikes, the odd tour abroad, a track day, three accidents (numpty drivers not me!) and all kinds of weather except snow! I lost my mojo back in 2016. Between that and the lost Covid years, I barely rolled the bike around the garage yet I couldn’t part with it.

Then 2023 hit and I had a moment when I thought “What the heck! time’s a wasting!” Of course by then I literally had seized up, second guessing everything I did so I could barely get out the driveway – we’d moved to a house which was now a hazardous (to me) deep pit of gravel rather than a tarmac’d drive😱. It was a small celebration to get down the driveway, but every ride ended in overwhelming relief that I’d got back safely rather than enjoying the ride. I’d really lost my love for it and felt like I was wobbling on CBT again rather than the many years of experience I have under my belt.

But that little imp of stubbornness that resides me in was not giving in. At first I tried my local RoSPA but unfortunately after covid they were a bit thin on the ground with instructors/observers. But they very kindly pointed me in the direction of a man who shall forever be considered by me to be a magical being – Mr Paul Mostyn of Paul Mostyn Training.

I learn best with one to one training, so I don’t have to feel like an idiot for asking questions everyone else seems to know the answer to. I also don’t have to worry about monopolising the attention of the trainer whom other people have also paid to teach them.

As a trained police motorcyclist and driver Paul is extremely experienced, having ridden and driven in the UK and abroad for more than 33 years and has over 30 years of policing experience. That includes an impressive 28 years of driving and riding at police response and advanced levels. His pedigree is high, having been trained by the Hendon Driving School, worked in advanced training with the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) and BMW.

As if that wasn’t enough Paul was the creator of BikeSafe, something I’ve attended twice in my years when I was a London biker, first on my Kwak GPZ500 and then on my Yamaha FZ6s.

Meeting Paul was probably the best thing I’ve done for myself and my biking, – along with a relaxing hypnotherapy session for the gravel. From the moment we spoke on the phone, he had my measure – apparently I think too much!!
When a man, other than your husband, tells you to “stop being a Princess Prendergast and just get on with it”, you know he understands you😂😂

On the plus side apparently I also ride quite well!  He reassured me he was going to stay behind me at all times and would guide me through any tricky situations, so I could just concentrate on riding.
After some time watching me as we moved through built up roads to country ones, Paul told me: “Prendy, you’re a good rider – I’d ride with you without hesitation, whereas there are people I do take out for training and have to tell them they’d be better off not being on a bike!!” High praise indeed from the Master.

My problem is that I don’t just accept a thing is a thing, and go with the natural flow. I want to know WHY is a thing a thing AND a thing? Yes I was that irritating child that constantly asked that question and I still do it today.
Paul calls a spade a spade which is a relief and keeps his language short, sweet and to the point so I completely understand.

For a woman who’s ridden round France, Slovenia, and Italy quite comfortably, it’s clearly a case for me of “if you don’t use it, you lose it”.
Food for thought is that I drive regularly and often do things in different ways to which I was taught, and don’t bat an eyelid about it. But for some reason, I treat as gospel everything I was ever taught during my motorcycle training. I think this is possibly because I never had a bicycle as a child so was never fully aware of what you can physically do/not do on one.
But as Paul points out – that DAS training is to get you through training to pass a test and do so safely. From then on it’s about real life and experiences and adapting until you feel comfortable and safe with it.

He took a guiding hand where needed, and using (single way) intercom guided me, tweaking my road positioning,  explaining the mysteries of easing off and pushing on the gas for different types of corners (I never properly understood that apex thing until now), and above all reminding me to RELAX. After just one three-hour session with him, I felt more in control, understood where my bad habits had crept in, and had a handful of things to practice before our next meeting like the approach to roundabouts and preparing/looking far far earlier than I had been doing which then made it soooooo much easier to ride them.

That weekend I went out on my bike with my husband, and led the way. About 40 mins after setting off we rolled into a petrol station for a fill up. Chef parked up beside me and the first thing he said was: “Well that was money well spent. It’s like chalk and cheese between now and the last time we went out on our bikes”.
To say I was pleased was an understatement.

I’ve had several more sessions with Paul just to focus on things that were annoying me, like turning right out of a junction. Been doing it fine for years but all of a sudden I’m all over the place as if I’d forgotten what to do. ( Turns out it was a combination of not enough power, too much back brake and above all not looking where I wanted to go – proper newbie stuff!).

Being given permission by Paul to relax and trust in my own experience has set me free – nowadays every ride is actually a disappointment to realise I’ve got home as I want to keep riding. I’ve recalled my love for biking, the open road, the twisties and the joy of it all. In the last seven months I’ve put just over 3000 miles on my bike having fun. That compares to the previous two years when I barely did 900 miles in total!

Now I can’t stop grinning whenever I ride!

So if you want one to one training, whether IAM, RoSPA, tackling bothersome issues, or just someone to hold your hand, I can thoroughly ONE HUNDRED PERCENT recommend Mr Mostyn to you.

Ride safe, I’m off to enjoy some biking😉

Prendy

“Hear ye, hear ye! – Listen up if you want to protect your hearing”

16 years ago I bought my first pair of custom made earplugs from Ultimate Ear and as I’ve taken delivery of my fourth and latest pair, I think it’s safe to say I think they’re an awesome product and I’m a devoted customer.

One of the first things I was ever told on CBT was that I should wear ear plugs on the bike to protect my hearing. Otherwise before I ever got to be an old lady I’d either be as deaf as the proverbial door post or worse, develop tinnitus. Ok maybe the instructor was exaggerating, but it wasn’t a risk I was willing to take and duly found myself buying shed loads of squidgy plug things trying to find comfortable ones.

The trouble with those is they always seemed to pop out of place if I even so much as yawned and definitely came out when I pulled my helmet off. So I moved onto ear phones from various websites including ones you cut down to fit your own ears. These were a disaster as I have never felt anything so painful.

Fortunately I was introduced to the wonders of custom made ear plugs from Ultimate Ear by someone who had bought them to sleep at night as her son snored the house down! On researching their product they also did various products for bikers including for listening to music/intercom use.

Modern tech for these SoundEar Pro custom made earplugs

I love listening to music when I’m on my bike. Yes I can see the shaking heads and hear the comments now and it’s nothing I haven’t heard before: “It affects your concentration, It distracts you from the road and other drivers, You can’t possibly hear emergency vehicles” etc etc.

All I can say is I’m not stupid enough to have volume levels up so high that I can’t hear my own bike or the world around me. Listening to music keeps me relaxed and in turn adds to a great biking experience.
If you’re against headphones on a bike, why are they made for training, hearing your satnav, conversing with your pillion, or even to answer the phone? (although taking phone calls on my bike is not one of my sins as I’m not interested in talking to people when I’m riding😂)

There are several companies which make custom ear plugs and prices can vary greatly. The ones from Ultimate Ear are not cheap but there is a good range depending on your needs and budget. The bottom of the range starts at £70 with a simple squidgy to cut wind and engine noise, to a filtered plug which does the same but aids comms with a pillion, to the SoundEar which allows you to plug into your satnav, then the SoundEar Pro with its dual speakers for better bass and the best sound experience.  The bluetooth version of the Pro is the top of the range and comes in at a whopping £339.

I was very fortunate in that I was able to buy my latest pair as part of my safety kit for work. As Marketing Manager for White Dalton Motorcycle Solicitors I spend a fair bit of time on two wheels carrying out my role and my firm likes to ensure I am comfortable and happy😁

As ears continue to grow and change shape over the years, Ultimate Ear recommends you have your moulds redone every 4-5 years. I had my second done because I noticed after four years one ear wasn’t fitting right anymore as I’d had a whopper of an ear infection that seemed to affect the shape of my inner ear. Coupled with that I managed to stand on one in my heavy motorcycle boots and this was also shortly after zipping the cord up into my jacket and shredding it.🤦‍♀️

Over the years I have had at least one of each ear plug stop working, long after the warranty period was up. Ultimate Ear can repair your earplugs, but what with the change in ear shape, and their age, I’ve just lived with it until I decided to get new ones made. Fortunately for me Ultimate Ear continually improves it’s products too – for example the cords are much thicker and well protected now so I no longer fear catching them in a zip.

You can see the difference between my second pair and my latest pair. (Sorry about the photo quality but that’s a very old pic.) The black pair is the older set and is the SoundEar and the light blue set is the SoundEar Pro. I also chose to have white/clear wires simply because it helps me to see where the cords are so I further reduce the risk of zipping them into my jacket!

What a difference 16 years makes!

Getting the moulds made is a simple process and I have either travelled to their office in Sidcup, Kent to have it done on site, or had the moulds made at shows, like the last Bike show at the NEC. The best thing about the shows is that they usually have good discounts so this pair which should have set me back £289 were reduced to £260.10.

My ear moulds being made at NEC bike show

And the finished pair – What the well dressed woman is wearing these days!

The moulds are sent to you, but thanks to new technology they also now keep a scan of your earplugs. Which is a bit of a godsend if, like me, you’re prone to putting things in a safe place – and then forgetting where that is!!

My pair arrived with instructions on how to pop them in and remove from your ears, antiseptic wipes, a lotion to make it easier to put them in, a cleaning tool and a 10% off your next order. The storage packs have changed too, over the years. My first was a handy pocket size container – the latest is some what larger, for unknown reasons. I can’t see myself using it, but then I usually leave my earplugs in my inside jacket pocket so they’re always ready for use.

Super big container – I’m sure you can use it as storage for something else!

The ear plugs are firm but not hard or uncomfortable, and they don’t budge at all when I yawn, or remove my helmet. The sound quality, as you’d expect for such a fee, is very good and I thoroughly enjoy listening to my ipod as I go about my business.

I plan on a trip to France this year, and have to decide what to do about my ear plugs because I just found out that it is illegal there to use any kind of in the ear device, capable of communication, resulting in an on the spot fine. I’ve been reading about people being stopped for using them with their sat nav, which you would have thought was a safer option, than trying to map read!

I think as long as they’re not attached to my iphone – and that’s not in the same pocket, I should be fine but we’ll see.
Riding abroad can be fun, but it certainly gives you pause for thought, as it’s your responsibility to read up on laws to make sure you don’t break them as ignorance is no defence.

In the meantime I shall be enjoying my tunes and less wind noise, as I use my new plugs.

By the way, in case you were wondering if listening to music was illegal or not, then you might want to read the latest column by Andrew Dalton, Senior Partner at White Dalton. In the UK it most definitely isn’t illegal – but you need to make sure you are not distracting yourself with loud music!

Happy riding!

(Just to add – these are my own thoughts on the Ultimate Ear SoundEar Pro and I have never been gifted any of mine or had them reduced in price in return for any of my reviews.)