Any motorcyclists on here as well?

[EmilysDad]

Had a panic call from a mate last week who`s 17 yo son was adamant that he was wanting a bike to go back and forward to Rosyth dockyards as he had just got an apprenticeship. .....

K

That's quite a journey in itself ...... especially for a novice rider. Not a journey you'd want to do in winter.

 

[Blobcat]

 

[KennyN]

which is why my parents didn't want me to ride back to Rosyth ..... my Mum is still happy that I don't ride my bike anymore

I was 16 when i started in Rolls Royce , public transport was a faff from our house so a nifty fifty was on the cards to get too / from Hillington. The machine for the job was an awesome Suzuki X1 , then the bug bit and it was two wheels from then on.

K

 

[KennyN]

That's quite a journey in itself ...... especially for a novice rider. Not a journey you'd want to do in winter.

They live in Dunfermline so not too far from the docks.

K

 

[Abb]

Lovely and clean! Looks like it will be ready to hit the road without much to do.

What stand is that?

Lovely C43 too


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you for the comments. Gets cleaned after every ride out, so always look well, despite it being a 5 years old now.

Re the stand, it is a warrior spider stand, excellent bit of kit once its set up, brilliant for getting both the wheels off the ground and being able to move it about like that.

The 43 is in full hibernation too, after the full bare shell, glass out resto it underwent.

 

[EmilysDad]

They live in Dunfermline so not too far from the docks.

K

my mistake .... I was thinking of where you are in Paisley.
Dunfermline was where I passed my bike test .... Nov 1980

 

[coxyhog]

In 2003 I decided to get a bike for my 50th.I had a Commando in the 70's and a Bonneville,a Honda CB900 & a Suzuki DR500 in the 80's.I'd also rented all kinds of bikes in Thailand in the 80's.I had one nasty - trying to ride my DR500 to work in Oman the night after a pre Xmas party was not my brightest idea.Broken wrist,5 bones broken in my right hand & 35 stitches in my face were the result.It didn't deter me,the best physio once I was out of plaster was using the throttle & brake on my CB900.
So in 2003 after 18 bikeless years I bought my Harley.I figured I was too old for a crotch rocket & looked at things like the Ducati Multistrada & other tourers before deciding on this.Since then I've done a lot of work on it both to make it go faster & stop better. After I had the heads gas flowed around 4 years ago I got it dyno tuned & it's about 50% more powerful than it was out of the factory.
I've done over 20k miles since new but I'm using it less & less each year so will probably try to flog it in the spring.

 

[ajlsl600]

I had a Suzuki 550GT 1972 model it was 6 years old when I bought it (well swapped it for my 1967 MK4 Zephyr) it was my first bike and I had never ridden a ride before , all my mates rode it around, so one day I plucked up the courage jump on it a away I went. Holly molly, it certainly went in the straight line, but then I came to a bend in the road, you don't try and turn handlebars like on a bicycle I found out I went across the white line and was heading to the kerb on the other side of the busy road and my only saving grace was I started leaning away from the vision of be catapulted off by the high kerb and before I knew it I had manage to just scrap the tyres in the gutter before the bike started pulling back onto the roadway Once I learned all about the lean I road it a bit more then sold it a few months later for twice what I could have sold the Zephyr for
I have had a series of small engine bikes since then biggest being 600 Bandit with was a great bike, covered 15000mls in the first 6 months off ownership, rode right through the winter of 2004 in snow and ice The next 6 months the bike was in the workshop with a running problem no one could fix, so sold the bike. The Missus found me a bike which was for sale on the side of the road so I went a bought it. GPZ500S with 30000mls on the clock, up until 5 years ago I had increased the mileage to 90000mls It hasn't been used since and sits in the kennel covered in dust......What has amazed me is there are more than 4 people wanting to buy my bike I started to find it harder to ride because of my left knee issue where by I can't bend my knee enough to get my foot on the peg, I did modify another foot peg further up front which helped then changing gear got to be a problem Maybe I will get it going one day and restore it

The gt 550 was a grand bike and just burbled along. I would love one now.

 

[Nigel Hewitt]

After years of doing silly things like racing F2 I have now admitted my age and settled down with a nice respectable Honda.
OK a Dynojet tuned 1000cc Honda that thinks the national speed limit is not yet really time to use the quick-shifter to put it into second but I'm sure it's very respectable.

Everybody really needs a motorbike. Once you have admitted that then the E300 is ideal for going shopping.

 

[Jimbo1959]

After almost 30 years of riding, this was my last bike.

I loved it, I had wanted one of the non VTEC VFR800i's almost from the day they first came out.
I was besotted with it because it was fast, comfortable above 65mph and the handling was fantastic.

I got it mainly because my job location had changed and getting there and back in the car some 35 miles away was taking nearly two hours each way, Glasgow city traffic is a pita. On the bike I could make it in forty minutes each way, even less on a Saturday morning.

It was widely acknowledged as the bike that could do everything, tour, scratch and commute and with that Micron exhaust tailpiece on, it sounded awesome.

It was almost successful in killing me, I know I was not going too fast when I came off as the police incident team worked out I was doing approx, 20mph at the time.

I suffered a brain haemorrhage, partial sight lose, and almost total numbness down my right side. I received the last rites while the Dr's struggled to stabilise me, and my wife was told to prepare for the worst. I still have no memory of the week prior to, of the accident and the best part of a month after.

It took the best part of two years to return to some semblance of normality say....90%, and almost six years till you wouldn't know, if you didn't know me before that is, how much that I'd lost and changed.

I'd have another in an instant but, I couldn't put my wife and children through that pain and hell of wondering if I was going to have another accident and survive or not again.

I love bikes but now I only look from a distance.

I've done a couple of off road experiences at the Hyper Trax site in East Kilbride on their electric trail bikes and they were great fun but, that's as close as I want to get, mainly because they had medical facilities on premises if you had "an off," there was always help available unlike having a roadside accident.

I am very jealous of those who can still enjoy a fast road bike.

 

[EmilysDad]

....
I suffered a brain haemorrhage, partial sight lose, and almost total numbness down my right side. I received the last rites while the Dr's struggled to stabilise me, and my wife was told to prepare for the worst. I still have no memory of the week prior to, of the accident and the best part of a month after.

It took the best part of two years to return to some semblance of normality say....90%, and almost six years till you wouldn't know, if you didn't know me before that is, how much that I'd lost and changed.
.....

Ouch! Bl00dy hell!

 

[Jimbo1959]

Ouch! Bl00dy hell!

The funny thing is my children have both told me, in private moments, that I am a much nicer person now and that they like me much more since the accident, apparently I have changed significantly in the personality department for the better, lol.

"As one door closes another opens", it wasn't such a bad thing to learn/find out, after a fashion.

 

[DSK]

@Jimbo1959 - that's sounds horrendous and a very lucky to be alive situation. Family always comes first and there's always rentals available on track days to scratch the itch etc. The roads are not a place that I would want to be forced to ride a motorcycle on these days. Glad you're with us!!!

 

[Jimbo1959]

@Jimbo1959 - that's sounds horrendous and a very lucky to be alive situation. Family always comes first and there's always rentals available on track days to scratch the itch etc. The roads are not a place that I would want to be forced to ride a motorcycle on these days. Glad you're with us!!!

Me too!

My biggest joy has been watching my two boys grow into fine young men, and due to the personality change in me, growing closer to them too.

You are totally correct in that family is the most important thing in one's life.

I appreciate them and my wife so much more now and treasure every day.

Before hand I was so wrapped up in my career and getting ahead that I rather took them for granted.

I'm glad my eyes were opened it's just a shame that it took such a painfull life changing experience to bring it about.

 

[sonic]

I am 70+ still riding between 3 & 5K miles a year, currently riding a FJR1300. Six years ago the wife decided she want to tour with me again so the FJR was the ideal bike. Its a great bike but I think the VFR800Fi I had just has the edge. I was fortunate to have been trained in the police, I was a part time rider for 18 years.

 

[EmilysDad]

... I was fortunate to have been trained in the police, ...

I wish I was a little more confident on 2 wheels ....

 

[sonic]

I wish I was a little more confident on 2 wheels ....

There are quite a few retired police bike instructors running courses.
My son passed his test via a direct access 4 day course. I paid for him to go on a weeks advanced instruction with a retired police instructor colleague. He said the course was outstanding & found so much applied to car driving.

 

[EmilysDad]

There are quite a few retired police bike instructors running courses.
My son passed his test via a direct access 4 day course. I paid for him to go on a weeks advanced instruction with a retired police instructor colleague. He said the course was outstanding & found so much applied to car driving.

and I was a stereotypical 'born again biker' ... 20 yrs+ after last riding a bike, I bought my TDM. Got on it, set off down the road & thought f*** me .... !

 

[sonic]

and I was a stereotypical 'born again biker' ... 20 yrs+ after last riding a bike, I bought my TDM. Got on it, set off down the road & thought f*** me .... !

You never forget it, & modern bikes really do handle.

 

[DSK]

If its of any use to anyone, 0.95ltr of ACF50 - delivered for £25! Just ordered mine.

https://www.nippynormans.com/f650st...-50-anti-corrosion-treatment-095-litre-bottle

I use the stuff on cars and works just as well.