Bikeography

[f90x]

OK, this won't take long.

1981.. Yamaha FS1EDX 1976 vintage. A right snotter with ace bars and the loudest expansion pipe in Bucks.

1982.. Yamaha RD250DX 1979 white with red speed blocks. Beautifull. I'd like another.

1982-3.. Kawasaki AR80 1982 vintage. I failed my test and had to sell the RD. I don't know why, the examiner ummed and arred for ages before telling me it was lack of rear observation. I HAD NEARLY TWISTED MY NECK OFF WITH REAR OBSERVATION! He couldn't fail me on anything else as I answered the whole book of highway code questions without fault and made no physical riding mistakes. This was in the days when there were lots of accusations about the amount of people allowed to pass in any given time frame. You may have noticed that I still harbour some anger about all this.

Smacked the AR80 very hard into the front of a lorry and was very lucky to survive so went the four wheel route for a very long time while still wanting a bike. I was 19 at the time and hadn't bothered with a car license up untill the crash. Took my test again in '95 and a few years later bought a...

1998.. CBR400RR NC23 babyblade 1989 vintage. This thing was so minty it was unreal. Wish I still had it.

2001.. CBR600FW 1998 vintage, last of the steel frames. What a bike, took me to Spain and France earlier this year. Still have it. Finding it hard to part with it even though the old man wants it out of his garage.

2007.. Fireblade RR2 954 2002 vintage. White and Blue. What a thing, utterly awesome but too uncomfortable for my long trips and dodgy knees, and too damned f*cking fast for the roads. I like to wring a bike out and as this thing did 105 in 2nd gear and was always eager for revs it wasn't for me. Still miss the brakes though and HOW beautifull.

2007.. A new dawn. BMW R1100S 2002 vintage. Liked it straight away but am only now really getting into it after 800 odd miles. Taking it into France in a couple of weeks. Can't wait.

What next. Well lets see what the new VFR1000 looks like and if it doesn't have vtec or abs I might be tempted in a few years time. C'mon then, flame me baby.