Motorbikes
15 years ago, I lived in Asia for two years and rode a motorbike pretty much every day. No formal training, I basically just got on a bike and figured it out.
Then I came back home to Europe, and went 15 years without riding. But back in March of this year, I took a notion and went out and bought a Yamaha YBR125. I would always suggest to somebody, no matter how big a bike you rode in the past, if you go a few years without riding, always start back on a 125cc for a few weeks (or even just for a few days). It's too easy to crash a powerful bike if you haven't been on one in a decade or two.
So anyway I rode the 125cc for 6 months this year while I did all the stuff I needed to get my full bike license (i.e. compulsory basic training + theory test + off-road test + on-road test), and I passed my final test two days ago, so now I can legally ride any motorbike. I was all set on getting a Ducati XDiavel 1200cc, I love the riding position and feel of the bike, but I just simply couldn't justify the horrid fuel economy.
So I started looking for a happy medium between power and fuel economy, and I discovered the Honda NC750X. It's designed for fuel economy. The engine cylinders are actually wider than they are tall, meaning it has a shorter piston and shorter piston stroke, and overall this means that the engine can rev much lower. The end result is that you can get 70 - 80 miles per gallon if you ride like a granny (not sure if that's UK gallons or US gallons but anyway it's very very good).
So I'm enjoying riding around at the moment on my 750cc bike. I haven't got any proper riding gear -- some days I ride in just a vest and shorts if the sun's shining. In the Winter time here, the temperature goes a little below freezing, so I don't know yet if I'm man enough for that, but we'll see. The wind chill factor at 70mph in below-freezing temperatures must be interesting.
There's a ferry that goes from England to the USA, it's called the 'Queen Mary'. I'd love to bring my bike over to the USA and ride around for a bit, but the fuckers won't let you bring a bike on the ferry to America. So I might just fly into JFK and then rent a bike. I still need to go to a proper rodeo.
Reply With Quote
