Motorbikes



		I have been riding motorcycles since I was 16 and ever since have felt incomplete without one to hand. Riding a bike is much more exhilarating that driving a car, it's not just that your open to the elements and can catch fly's in your teeth, it's a special feeling when you and the bike become one and you know you are 'king of the road' (cue cheesy sound-track).

				My first 'bike' was a Honda SS50, which has to be in the running for the ugliest motorcycle ever competition. But at 16 I didn't care, I had freedom I was (cue that cheese) 'Daddy Cool'. The bike in the picture isn't mine, mine was yellow initally and suffered several juvenile paint jobs throughout it's time with me. This was just after mopeds were restricted to 30mph, so the discerning 16 year old would buy an older unrestricted moped and replace the legally required pedals with foot-pegs for extra street cred.

		The SS50 was the only unrestricted 4-Stroke moped so was not as quick as the 2-stroke Yamaha Fizzies (FS1E) or the Suzuki Apes (AP50) especially if they'd been skimmed and ported, but it still left the modern 'bikes' in the dust. I even saw 50mph a few times whilst going down particularly steep hills with my chin on the tank !! I learned a fair bit about mechanics with this bike as I couldn't afford to pay a garage to undertake maintenance or repairs, I stripped the forks, refurbished the carb, changed the gearbox (for the sportier 5 speed model), and undertook regular servicing myself.

		Before I passed my test I was very kindly given a CB200 by a friend, this was another bike that had been thrashed by the ugly stick, but compared to the moped it went like a (more cheese) 'Bat Out Of Hell'. Unfortunately I couldn't resist riding it to school to impress the girls (those without aspirations obviously). The friend who gave me the bike was evidently informed that I'd been riding it illegally and understandably was unhappy enough to ask for it back. I can't find any pictures of the model that I had (pre-Benley), I assume because any would be photographer was too busy retching at the site of the thing to take a snap.

		I then had a Honda CJ250, again before I passed my test. At this time I was attending an evening group for young lads who had a propensity to help themselves to other peoples bikes, I kind of got invited along with a couple of my mates to make up numbers. Those of us who had our own bikes were told how to repair them and those that didn't worked on project bikes. I totally stripped the top end of the 250, gave it a thorough de-coke, ground all the valves in and gave it a good overhaul. When I passed my test I had a good serviceable bike to ride, not sure the neighbours appreciated the straight-thru pipes though.

		My next bike was a Kawasaki Z250-T (pre-Scorpion) which my uncle Geoff sold me, my first bike that had enough poke to get to the 'magic ton' (100Mph) whenever I asked it to. I was very impressed with the Kawasaki's engine and have continued to be impressed with every 4-Stroke Kawasaki I've ridden since, they somehow manage to blend a usable mid range with a stonking top end that never fails to give you a grin.

		When I blew the Z250 up (dropped valve) I bought my first 2-stroke from my friend Anthony, his old Suzuki GP100u. Eventually I fitted this with a Micron expansion pipe which gave a nice performance boost and a much nicer sound (if you were riding it anyhow). Despite being only 100cc this bike would cruise happily on the motorway at 70Mph and with the expansion pipe didn't take too long to get there either.

				Determined to get some real 2-stroke lunacy I bought a Yamaha RD250 (air cooled) from a seemingly nice chap who explained that he'd just done a lot of engine work so I shouldn't rev the engine over 6000Rpm for a week. When the week was up I found that I'd been suckered and the bike was so knackered it wouldn't rev more than 6000 anyhow. It needed a total engine rebuild which I couldn't afford so I had to scrap it. This pictures not of my bike but is the same model / colour.

		At some point around this time I bought a Suzuki GT200-X5 with the idea of doing a total strip-down / re-build, I got as far as taking it to bits and that was it, I ended up giving it to my friend Anthony who had also recently bought an X5.

				My next and first new bike was a Yamaha RD350-YPVS, I loved these bikes so much that in the end I had 3 of them over the years. 0-60Mph in a little over 3 seconds meant you could put virtually any car driver in their place and could accelerate faster than most 4-stroke bikes under 750cc. This was my last YPVS and is being modelled by my 'Nan' who still has the grin on her face from blasting around Dartmoor at speeds a lady of her years shouldn't be travelling at.

		Of the 3 I had 2 were stolen which is not so much a testament to my laxness but more a testament to how these bikes were revered amongst the criminal fraternity.

		After the theft of my first YPVS I bought the second bike from my uncle Geoff, his Honda CB400/4. An additional 2 cylinders and 50cc but less than half the acceleration and 2/3 the top speed was a bit of a let down, but it was a solid reliable bike which I used to commute between Watford where I lived and Harlow where I worked on a daily basis. The fun ended with this bike after I got knocked off by a car driver jumping a red light, I couldn't walk properly for a couple of weeks but the bike was worse off.

				Next was a Kawasaki KMX200 which at the time was being raved about by the magazines for being a swift road bike and competent off-roader. This is my bike on the Dunstable Downs one winter. It was pretty nippy, handled well and was a good fit for my 6'2", but it was still a bit too tame so I sold it and got another YPVS :-)

				This was our first bike as a couple, I managed to persuade Carol that we couldn't afford a car and we bought a Honda CB450. This bike was our sole transport for a year we did all our essential journeys including our fortnightly shop on it whatever the weather. I decided o the CB450 because the engine was known to be bullet-proof, and it was a good sensible bike. What a mistake 'good' and 'sensible' are not words in a bikers vocabulary and this thing was as exciting as a train-spotters convention.

		Next up was a Kawasaki GPz550 which was a little more like it, that Kawasaki top end rush similar to a 2-strokes power-band but with usable power all through the range. By this time we had a car as well which made life a little more civilised.

				Next was this '85 Yamaha FZ750. Power delivery is very linear unlike the Kawasaki's with their top-end rush, but it has enough power on tap to get the adrenaline flowing. I tended to spend the winter servicing it and the summer riding it, it served me well for 6 years.


				This was my first Honda Fireblade a '94 CBR900RR-R. Honda's flagship sportsbike in it's early incarnation. Despite being quite focused sports machines Fireblades do make surprisingly good all-round bikes but definitely not for the inexperienced. This particular bike was fairly high mileage (55k) and a bit of a parts bin special (though it doesn't look like it in the picture) so when the finances became available I thought it a good idea to upgrade.


				And this was the upgrade a 2001 Fireblade. Main differences included a new fuel injected engine (929cc) upside down front forks and revised frame layout. Though it's more powerful and more sure footed through bends it seems too refined, somehow lacking the raw animal aggression that was characteristic of the early blades and which gave them their fearsome reputation. It seems the beast has been tamed somewhat but it's still a beast none the less.


				After a little while with the new blade I started craving something a little larger proportioned whilst still offering sportsbike performance. Kawasaki's ZX12R was often billed as THE sportsbike for taller riders so when a nice low mileage one popped up at my favourite dealers I bit the bullet. With over 160Bhp at the rear wheel the ZX12 is phenomenally fast in fact it didn't take too long before I realised that it really didn't make sense on the country roads that I like to ride. Having to consciously control all that power round bend after bend became more of a pain than a joy so it had to go


				Next up is / was a 2003 Triumph Speed Triple, with 120Bhp, sportsbike handling, less aggressive (cramped) riding position and a lovely engine it's pretty much ideal for the type of riding and roads that I enjoy. It has loads of character and every ride induces a grin at some stage.


				As they say all good things come to an end (I guess British engineering has had it's day) the Triumph's engine gave out and so now I have this.....A Yamaha Fazer 1000, not quite as much charisma as the Triple but an extra cylinder and about 20 more horses. At first I was disappointed with the handling but this has been sorted by fitting a jack-up kit and dropping the forks by about 10mm, so now it goes and handles very nicely indeed. Hopefully the Japanese engineering will prove true to form and I'll be keeping this one for a while.