Bikers ?

Bikes are in my DNA i think!

Family holiday every year growing up was IOM for two weeks, same time every year for some reason? end of may.. Dad used to race sidecars at the TT. As soon as i was old enough (4yrs) i started schoolboy motoX. 16th birthday did my CBT, 17th Birthday did my test and rode home on my ZXR750!

Had loads of bikes since, lost my licence in 2000 so started racing, used to race in Endurance, so Uk championship was 6 or 8hr races from Snetterton, oulton park, pembrey, donnington, even made it over the water to NI and raced at Bishopscourt near downpatrick. (we hired a local "ringer" to ride with us, he was a complete nutter, Geoff Swann if any of you NI boys are local!!!)

Retired from that around 2006 when we had spent about £20k per year running the team as i bought a house and got married etc..

Dont own a bike now, and doubt i will again on the road, i am an idiot and i know i am, so wont put my family through me either going to prison or killing myself.

Still have the odd go though, my brother is the editor of a popular motorbike magazine, so quite often he has the latest exotic bikes in his garage for a quick spin.

Mum and Dad have now retired to the Mid Pyrenees and run a guided motorbike tour holiday business, www.bikers-lot.com if anyone is interested, lovely part of the world with some awesome roads!!

So yeh, could call me a biker..
 
Rooter said:
You damn right! lol actually very few talents, but the ones i have a cool ones like riding bikes fast. chicks dig a man in leather.
Click to expand...


I think you win the biker competition!! :thup: I bet your'e the annoying one that opens her up down the straight just as Im on my backswing on the 4th at Donnington in Newbury!!! :)

Personally Ive laways had a thing for green..... ZXR 750 ( nasty nasty devils bike!!) loved it and a more subtle Zx6 R Ninja in later years but with full green race leathers!! 3 kids and now its practical cars and cordroy trousers Im afraid.... :(
 
mikee247 said:
I think you win the biker competition!! :thup: I bet your'e the annoying one that opens her up down the straight just as Im on my backswing on the 4th at Donnington in Newbury!!! :)
Click to expand...

Not me gov! only noise i make on the roads these days is a gentle chugg from the diesel volvo :( I do love the noise of any sports bike on full chat though! plus dont get me started on the smell of a good 2 stroke running some castrol R in there! Hmmmm!
 
Rooter said:
Not me gov! only noise i make on the roads these days is a gentle chugg from the diesel volvo :( I do love the noise of any sports bike on full chat though! plus dont get me started on the smell of a good 2 stroke running some castrol R in there! Hmmmm!
Click to expand...

That's a good smell but I think Methanol & Castrol R just tops it.......
 
Had quite a few bikes over the years. Started "messing about" with them in my 20's, had a couple of smaller Hondas (CB200 and CD175) and then bought a Kawasaki KH250 (2 stroke triple). Loved that bike and kept it a good few years. When I got married I gave up, but still kept hankering after one. Got divorced in 2000 and decided to buy another bike. I had never taken my test during the early years so went on a DAS course, it helped a lot that I had ridden before. Passed my test within about a month and purchased (more out of nostalgia than anything else) an old Honda 750/4. Had it a couple of months but got fed up with continually having to clean the bloody chrome so bought myself a Honda VFR750. Absolutely loved it. Kept that about a year and then moved on to a VFR800i which was superb. Then bought a Honda VTEC version of the VFR. Stared doing a bit of touring but with the top box, panniers and missus on board decided I wanted something with a bit more oomph. In June 2006 I bought myself a brand new Kawasaki ZZR1200. Last of them (I think) and got it for a knockdown £6495.00. Only had it about 3 or 4 months, absolutely hated it. The most uncomfortable bike I had ever ridden, and handled like a pig. Then Kawasaki launched the ZZR1400 and I fell in love with it at first sight. The 1200 was quickly sold and I bought a 1400 which was like night and day compared to the 1200. It was absolutely awesome. Unfortunately, my brother Richard was involved in a nasty accident on his bike a couple of years later (which I witnessed) and then shortly afterwards a very good friend of mine was killed on her bike when she braked hard in the wet and slid off into an oncoming car. She was a police officer and had made a very elementary mistake, but it cost her her life. I attended her funeral in Ashford and this upset me so much that shortly afterwards I sold my beloved bike and havent' really looked back, although just lately I have been hankering after getting another VFR they are that good. But I don't think I will.
 
Smiffy said:
Had quite a few bikes over the years. Started "messing about" with them in my 20's, had a couple of smaller Hondas (CB200 and CD175) and then bought a Kawasaki KH250 (2 stroke triple). Loved that bike and kept it a good few years. When I got married I gave up, but still kept hankering after one. Got divorced in 2000 and decided to buy another bike. I had never taken my test during the early years so went on a DAS course, it helped a lot that I had ridden before. Passed my test within about a month and purchased (more out of nostalgia than anything else) an old Honda 750/4. Had it a couple of months but got fed up with continually having to clean the bloody chrome so bought myself a Honda VFR750. Absolutely loved it. Kept that about a year and then moved on to a VFR800i which was superb. Then bought a Honda VTEC version of the VFR. Stared doing a bit of touring but with the top box, panniers and missus on board decided I wanted something with a bit more oomph. In June 2006 I bought myself a brand new Kawasaki ZZR1200. Last of them (I think) and got it for a knockdown £6495.00. Only had it about 3 or 4 months, absolutely hated it. The most uncomfortable bike I had ever ridden, and handled like a pig. Then Kawasaki launched the ZZR1400 and I fell in love with it at first sight. The 1200 was quickly sold and I bought a 1400 which was like night and day compared to the 1200. It was absolutely awesome. Unfortunately, my brother Richard was involved in a nasty accident on his bike a couple of years later (which I witnessed) and then shortly afterwards a very good friend of mine was killed on her bike when she braked hard in the wet and slid off into an oncoming car. She was a police officer and had made a very elementary mistake, but it cost her her life. I attended her funeral in Ashford and this upset me so much that shortly afterwards I sold my beloved bike and havent' really looked back, although just lately I have been hankering after getting another VFR they are that good. But I don't think I will.
Click to expand...

That's very sad to hear man. Feel for your loss. First two dead bodies I saw as a child were the results of two motorbike crashes. Never forget those sights and feelings as long as I live. I got mangled myself around nine years ago in a head on collision, fractured skull, broken foot in five places which resulted in some toe amputation, total of 137 stitches... and a very large hospital bill. Onward and upward...
 
FInally! After MANY evenings work I have got the thing running again.
After she was layed up for a year with me working on the tail piece, the house, work and my swing she decided she didn't want to start. A blast of fuel in the inlet sorted that but she was only running on 2 cylinders and three from time to time. The carbs came off and were cleaned and reset, spark plugs were replaced along with the HT leads and caps. She still needed a little fuel in the inlet to get going but she did run better but not good and wouldn't tick over.
This time I took off the tops of the carbs and checked the springs, sliders and diaphragms. I found a pinhole in one diaphragm and replaced it with a good one from a spare set of carbs and found a set of four springs that all matched nicely when under pressure and without load on them. She was getting better!
With a good friend helping me and using our combined knowledge we got her running, sort of, and stuffed a rag over the inlet with the throttle fully open to draw fuel through all the little pipes on the carbs when she puffed out the side of one of the inlet rubbers on the engine. AGAIN the carbs came off and we found a chunk missing where the bolt goes holds the rubber in place!
All the rubbers came off, were cleaned, sanded and resealed. BINGO! She started and ran like a dream, not that my missus was very happy as it was 10 at night, and I have been out on a little test jolly.
Oh how I've missed riding without realising I'm missing it. MOT on Saturday, TAX on Monday and it's off to terrorise the highways and byways of Cornwall!
 
Andy808 said:
FInally! After MANY evenings work I have got the thing running again.
After she was layed up for a year with me working on the tail piece, the house, work and my swing she decided she didn't want to start. A blast of fuel in the inlet sorted that but she was only running on 2 cylinders and three from time to time. The carbs came off and were cleaned and reset, spark plugs were replaced along with the HT leads and caps. She still needed a little fuel in the inlet to get going but she did run better but not good and wouldn't tick over.
This time I took off the tops of the carbs and checked the springs, sliders and diaphragms. I found a pinhole in one diaphragm and replaced it with a good one from a spare set of carbs and found a set of four springs that all matched nicely when under pressure and without load on them. She was getting better!
With a good friend helping me and using our combined knowledge we got her running, sort of, and stuffed a rag over the inlet with the throttle fully open to draw fuel through all the little pipes on the carbs when she puffed out the side of one of the inlet rubbers on the engine. AGAIN the carbs came off and we found a chunk missing where the bolt goes holds the rubber in place!
All the rubbers came off, were cleaned, sanded and resealed. BINGO! She started and ran like a dream, not that my missus was very happy as it was 10 at night, and I have been out on a little test jolly.
Oh how I've missed riding without realising I'm missing it. MOT on Saturday, TAX on Monday and it's off to terrorise the highways and byways of Cornwall!
Click to expand...

This is useless without pics!! get some up!!!
 
Yep, had bikes in the past. Going to give away my age now, last bike I had was a Laverda Jota (just typing the name makes the hairs on my neck stand up). What a machine that was in it's day!!

Anyone old enough to remember them?
 
drive4show said:
Yep, had bikes in the past. Going to give away my age now, last bike I had was a Laverda Jota (just typing the name makes the hairs on my neck stand up). What a machine that was in it's day!!

Anyone old enough to remember them?
Click to expand...

Damn thats an old bike! My old man had one of those when I was a kid, stopped making them in about 1982. Weren't in production for that long either maybe 10years ish! I might be wrong on that though.
 
Spot on Fader, mine was a 78/79 from memory, the original 180* crank before they changed to the smoother 120* crank. First production 140mph bike. A modern 250 would blow it away now :confused:
 
drive4show said:
Spot on Fader, mine was a 78/79 from memory, the original 180* crank before they changed to the smoother 120* crank. First production 140mph bike. A modern 250 would blow it away now :confused:
Click to expand...

This'll bring back memories for you then Laverda_Jota1.jpg

My old mans one was the same colour he thought it was so cool!
 
Mine was orange also. I know there was a red Laverda at the time but can't remember if that was also a Jota. They also did a 1200 in a lovely green.
 
Fader said:
There does seem to be a lot in common!!! Perhaps some how strangley related! Are you the milkmans? Or are we going to end up on that Davina McCall show about lost relatives :whistle:
Click to expand...

Did you watch that relative thing last night with Minnie Driver? My mrs made me watch it, was pretty interesting actually! she found a cousin she never knew she had.. i would have been P'd off is she only turned up with a box of biscuits! bring cash!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Lucifer MorningStar
RUM
2 3
Replies
59
Views
3K
srixon 1
srixon 1
kp17
Glass panels
Replies
12
Views
595
Bunkermagnet
Bunkermagnet
Skytot
Inguinal hernia operation
Replies
7
Views
237
ManinBlack
ManinBlack
ManinBlack
Targeted advertising or what?
Replies
0
Views
595
ManinBlack
ManinBlack
road2ruin
Scott Readman Concepts
Replies
18
Views
600
road2ruin
road2ruin
Top