I really like BVG, he's very entertaining and great to watch. I wish he would refer to his track bike as a track bike, rather than a race bike though
BVG clearly states in one of his vids that he is a fairly new rider. I don't see that he tries to tell anyone how to ride or be an educator to bikers, just his own outlook on riding and the bikes he rides. Whether people watch him to be entertained or because they value his opinion on bikes is up to them. Lets face it if motoring programs had to be informative all the time Top Gear would have been dead in the water long ago. The watch counts on his vids suggest he is doing a lot right and very little wrong.
All these old farts saying he has little experience. If he passed in 2009 then five years is plenty of time to get the hang of riding a bike. While I agree we can all continue learning, you are able to pick up the basics in five years! It would seem coming later to biking goes against some of the people who think unless you pulled a wheelie coming out of the womb then you're not in the gang yet. He is in danger of losing his independence and being seen as selling out, taking the KTM was clearly a deliberate choice when KTM had alluded to it being a lottery and I doubt I'd be leant a Pikes Peak if my own Pikes Peak went wrong so he is getting privileged treatment because he has video followers. It's a shallow world, he could easily get overtaken by someone else so I can't blame him, I just don't see his videos as independent any more. His videos were very entertaining and I always kept up to date on them, running around the West End on a disability scooter in full gear and buying a double bloody decker was very funny. Now, even as someone who's paid for the 1290 with my own money, I haven't bothered to keep up and watch his latest video on it as I know he can't be independent. He is talented at producing the videos and I would suggest he seems like a decent rider. I read that he came to biking late after a bad car accident and he wanted a different means of transport or something. Now, he's clearly an enthusiast and I'd follow suit if my YouTube videos lead the way to free metal. It might be he has a career in the business if he can overcome the anonymity and format that currently works well.
It's catch 22. People listen because he says what he really think. Companies want him to talk about their product. They don't want him to say bad things so he has the proviso that he must toe the line. Listeners spot the step change. People stop listening.
Agree with counts post,his target audience is changing. I have unsubsribed now. Best of luck to him, he did provide some great entertainment but if I wanted bike reviews....
The 1290 vid does say he is gonna be honest and he has some negatives to say about it. Whether he has an agenda to follow only he knows but until people see the opinion video's of the Pikes Peak etc it's somewhat jumping the gun to brand him as a sell out. If he is entertaining i don't really care too much what he says about the bike. I will never own a Ferrari or Porsche or care if they are good or crap but i luv watching the Top Gear boyz driving them. Lets face it none of the bikes he has tested are gonna be pants they are all nice bikes. If he says they are great (which they probably are) then he will be a sell out. If he has a negative slant he doesn't know what he is talking about (1199 vid ring any bells). He is in a no win situation as whatever direction his opinion goes in, someone will object to it. I know it is a British disease to luv a tryer but hate a succeeder (if there is such a word) but it would be nice to buck the trend for once. Would i want to walk in his shoes on a free bike in the IOM, you bet.
From the TT Twitter and FB coverage it seems Dainese sponsorship has appeared with the Pikes Peak. Hope the 'interview' footage with the TT riders will appear in some videos soon.
At the end of the day he's just a guy who loves bikes having a laugh. He's been entertaining enough for people to watch him and got attention from sponsors etc. I don't think there are many of us who would turn down free gear, bikes, or even a keyring just to mention a couple of names. Hell, I already rave about Dainese, Kriega and Sidi as it is, and I'm not getting free shit! I think people underestimate the amount of time it must take to record, edit and upload videos, and all for not much really. With regards to him being 'inexperienced', by my definitions I disagree. Commuting through London for years, trips across europe, dirt biking, greenlaning, track days, he's done a lot more than me. And he's not slow on the track either: 1:48 at Almeria apparently when he went in December.
Wow what a controversy. some ppl on here are really up themselves! keep up the good work bvg. As long as I continue to enjoy your vids I will keep watching. But 1.48s round Almeria. Really? If so that's not slow at all. I just met an entertaining lady with a flowery bike who was there with bvg. she has bought an 899 on the strength of your review so little wonder manufacturers are queueing up to give him free stuff and bikes to rant about. More power to u sir
why would you ride around villages and towns on a bike....pointless. Get outside and tear the as* off it, ride it on like your supposed to ( without being stoopid ! ). I dont have anything against him but his vids aint great imo. Talks too much, footage angles are rubbish etc. If you're gonna bother, at least make an effort. He seems bored.
Think most of his vids are while commuting to/from work in fairness, apart from the few reviews where he does ineed go to random places. He does give the bikes a fair bit of throttle a good few times if you watch the euro trip for example, no slowpoke on the track either! The problem i suppose is finding the balance between the chatting (and entertaining the masses) and just riding, which would make it just another 'watch how other people ride instead of riding yourself' video. Like the few mute vlogs out there on yt. Hard to please everyone I suppose. Let's invite him to Dubland and do a Gap run!
It's fairly safe to say... love him or hate him he divides opinion!!!! I don't have a problem with the camera work, or content of the video's. Would be amazing generally though if people found a way to stop wind noise on recordings.
