Hi
a brief resume of my motorcycling.....
Age 17, I got a Suzuki GT50 and rode it twice (too slow) so sold it and purchased a Suzuki GP100 for 175 pounds
 
This bike had been tuned by previous owner, went OK but frequently blew a hole in the piston
I became expert at stripping and rebuilding that motorcycle engine ;-)
1986 Aged 19 passed my motorcycle driving test - yippee!!
Forgot to put 2 stroke oil in the bike, it siezed, then got vandalised so that was the end of that.
Shortly afterwards I bought a 'modified' Yamaha LC
It started life as a 250
then the previous owner swapped over the top end from a 350
then they tried some dubious tuning
The result
You had to rev the nuts off it to get going
At 8500rpm it hit the power band, vison blurred, the front wheel went skywards and I was very scared!
by 9500rpm it was all over and you had to change up
It returned 20mpg
top speed about 85mph
Worst time:- a freezing ride to Bedford in mid winter
Most embarassing:- coming off while pulling wheelies in the camp site at Donnington Park
I sold it before I killed myself
Then I read about a group of people who were racing MZs
This sounded really stupid, so I had to have a go!
I purchased a TS250, drum brakes front and rear, but before racing it I rode it to a 500cc GP at the LeMans circuit, good fun.
Cadwell Park (circa 1988)
First race, first lap, crashed....big time
Awoke in Louth General convinced I was James Bond in the Soviet Block!!!
Severe concussion.
I was going to have to take this more seriously, and drum brakes were out
Acquire a front end from an ETZ, stiffer springs, disk brakes ;-)
I'd show em....
So off I went again Snetterton, Mallory Park, Seven Sisters, Pembrey, some place in Middlesbrough, Cadwell Park (again)
Always battling towards the back of the field, I needed better machinery
an ETZ250
a 'race' tuned engine from Burwins
Racing wets
 
In 2 seasons the best I managed was an eighth
But I did get rid of the orange bib!
Conclusion.....
The lightest guy on the fastest bike wins
It is very hard work to live on the South coast and race oop North!
Racing is expensive
Bloody good fun though with some great guys, 'Rancid' Tom Nelson, Colvin Eccleston, Mick Potter (he won everything)
Bought myself an MZ300 for the road,
wasn't keen so sold it fairly quickly and bought a Honda VF500
Good bike but too small for me, went to a couple of GPs on it but with children arriving sold it and went without a bike for....
12 Years, very very sad...
In April 2004 it all got too much for me and I bought a BMW K75RT.
I kept the K75 for 13 months, went on a tour of Wales then decided it was time for a change.
May 2005: I purchased an 18 year old VFR750FG with 30,000 miles on the clock and one owner from new.
Rode it around and about for nearly two years, servicing, renewing and sometimes cleaning.
April 20th 2006 went to Morroco on it, but that's another story (in the trips section).
 
From September 2006 my work moved to Basingstoke and my VFR became my main transport to and from work.
I was covering about 1700 miles a month in all weathers.
Come February 2007 I decided it was time for a change, I needed a practical commuter!
So a visit to the shop saw me riding away on my new 4yo Kawasaki ZRX1200S with 12,000 miles on it.
The 'REX' turned out to be a much better commuter than I had expected returning 50mpg and delivering buckets of torque that made riding it really easy
However it went through rear tyres at an alarming rate, I was lucky if I could eak 5,000 miles out of a rear touring tyre.
At that rate I was looking at £600 per year in tyres alone!
September 2007, I was browsing the bikes on ebay and I saw my next must have bike.
A 1987 Honda XBR500, single cylinder 64k miles and dirt cheap. A bit of bidding, 311 quid and a trip to the North coast of Kent saw me riding my new commuter back home.
In 4 months and 4,000 miles it's cost me about 120 pounds for a new chain, oil, filter and a battery.
 
It's a revalation to ride, top speed is only about 80mph but she returns 60mpg and is genuine fun to ride.
I've kept my 'Rex' but in the last four months travelled less than 200 miles on her.
April 2008 sold the XBR after six months and 5000 miles for 50 quid more than I pain for her.
Started a new job with a longer commute (100 miles/day).
I used my Rex for 2 months, but the cost of tyres is prohibitive so I took a big step and bought a new Royal Enfield Bullet Electra X.
Added a screen and a box on the back..everyday commuter..85mpg and pretty comfy
 
What's next? A trip round the new Europe perhaps, a diesel bike, maybe.
All good plans, but with the credit crunching around me, I'll put them on hold for a while...
I quite fancy a side car....
|