Riding behind cars can be very dangerous as they are like moving brick walls and obscure your view. I take the attitude of what car drivers call being a hooligan by overtaking everything I can. Cars hurt when they hit you so I try and stay as far away from them as I can.

As for street presence, well that's why I bought an XTX. It's tall so I can see over the cages (most). It's got plenty of grunt to overtake. Very manouverable and the most important thing, it's loud and scares the crap out of car drivers. Nice! I'm a great believer in loud pipes save lives.

As for your riding Fran, I like ya style. It also helps when you know London better than the cab drivers. Quick thinking and committed riding is good. You have to stay one step ahead of the car drivers all the time and predict what they are going to do next and always plan where your escape route is if a car suddenly does something stupid (a very common thing). When I went to Soho with you I could see your confidense very clearly and you definately made your presense known even if it was after you had overtaken someone. Sometimes it's better not to be seen as car drivers often freak out if they see a bike behind them.

My motto is avoid cars, they will hurt you.