Four yrs ago I was fortunate to find a good deal on a 2006 Bandit 650 which I grabbed and have been riding a bit here and there. When I got the bike, it had 9,000 kms or so....so I needed to break it in before getting comfortable on it, and mistake of all mistakes, I convinced Wendy to come along - she found out she trusts me and liked it. Well, after 5 sets of tires a couple of chain/sprocket sets and a few tanks full of gas, we arrived today at the mileage/kilometerage indicated on the image with the machine still looking reasonably fit. Onwards and upwards.......

Compared to Foz, I'm still in my youth.....

Unfortunately, my pride and joy;  Honda (1996) CB500RR Twin, decided to collapse on my leg and foot last month, (details and photo on the forum), causing me much pain and distress, that I am now relying on my very much lighter Yamaha (1983-1996) RX-S 100 (100cc) super-turbocharged*, 2-stroke single, (stored unused for 15 years), to convey me at hyper-sonic speeds to the furthermost corners of the World Herefordshire.... ...!
I must admit that whilst my Honda is now sulking in a dark corner of my house, I am having loads of fun on my spare Yamaha, with a big grin on my face!
With reference to my advancing age.... ....
Age maketh me weaker, (I'm only a little weed!), so its getting a bit of a struggle to manage heavyweight Motor Bikes now, especially pushing them around in awkward places (without dropping them!).... ...!
I'm keeping my big Honda for occasional long trips, but my daily trips to Sainsbury's and back, (and circumventing Herefordshire), makes much more sense in my little Yamaha!
(Its a Classic now, and draws much attention from an enthusiastic crowd)... ...!
..and, of course, no traffic problems on 2-wheels!

Paul...Meep, meep.... ...!

* ..or so it seems... ...!



P.S...Ken....One of my Lads had a Suzuki 1200cc Bandit for a while...that was a seriously SERIOUS Muscle-bike!...

Rifleman wrote on Sep 27^th, 2012 at 2:42pm:


I well remember one of my first Bikes (at 16 years of age) was a 1950 Sun Motorcycle, with a 98 cc, 2-speed, Villiers engine, with a maximum speed of 45 MPH....on a good day... ...!




My little Blue Streak Yamaha, above, will now propel me around the County at hypersonic speeds of <77 MPH!.... ...!
..not bad for 98cc, and 12 BHP...and modern (1983) technology!...5-speed, Energy Induction, and Autolube!..  (and I suspect an exhaust driven Turbocharger, somewhere!)......!
...that's progress for you!

She really is so much fun...which I fear it will soon be made illegal...along with the exhaust smoke!

Paul... ... ...!

P,S...I watched the Video, Ken.... ...
Scary!...I'm always expecting a Deer to suddenly leap out of the hedge in front of the Biker!..(It happens in the Forest of Dean)