Mine below, that bloody 748 didn't finish a journey in 2 years of ownership. Eventually sold if after a mouse moved about 5kg of bird seed into it. Love to get another rs250 but no way i'm paying the 6grand plus that they seem to go for nowadays.
'75 Honda SL 125, passed test on it. '76 Honda CB 550 F1 1st big bike, loved it '73 Kawasaki 500 H1B Break '89 Yamaha FZR 600 '92 Ducati 900 Mk1 SL still have this as well as others.
It was my avatar, I don't have any recent pics of it. It's sat in the corner of the garage awaiting a strip down and refresh after not being used for approx5-7 years. ( I know, shameful) Every winter I say I'm going to do it, but something always gets in the way !!!
1976 Purple FS1E, drum brake. Pedal races in the school carpark. 1977 Gold Yamaha DT175, at least it didn't stop at the first sign of moisture. 1978 Red Honda CB400/4, I so wanted a KH400 or RD400 but was born to be dull. 1981 Poo coloured Honda CB750K7, 4 pipes and the colour was just soooo prophetic. 1982 No money, no house, getting married in 6 months. Brand new Laverda Jota 180 - how did that happen!
Honda C90 - red with white leg guards Honda CB250RS - blue, first version kick start only Honda CBR600F - White and red - no idea which model yet another Honda CBR600F - Black and red FY model last of the carburetted models with the Fireblade front end Honda NC750S DCT - Black and bronze.
Casal Moped. FSIE look alike. Unusual in their day. Hardly see them now. Suzuki X5 . Bought new, passed test. Suzuki SP370 Suzuki GT500 Yamaha XT550. Rode across the Sahara on this one.
My 1st five road bikes with the registration years, would have owned these mid to late 90's 77' Honda C50 86' Yamaha FS1E ?' Yamaha YB100 (Cannot remember the year) 86' Yamaha RD125 LC YPVS (Passed test on this in 96) 90' Honda VFR400 NC30 (UK Spec and wish I still owned)
1. Lambretta 'Silver Special' 150. Many years later (cars/life/jobs) 2. Yamaha TDR 125 3. Passed test and onto brand new Bandit 600 4. During a service tried a Bandit 1200 and she was mine two weeks later 5. Honda VFR-750 fv brand new - nicked and wrecked within 6 weeks.
1973, Honda SL125 1975, Suzuki GT380 1976, Kawasaki Z900-A4, (still got it ) 1979, Kawasaki KE175 1980, Kawasaki Z550
I passed my test in 2004 and am now on my eighth bike, which is my first Ducati (899 Panigale). Here are my first five bikes and their model year: Kawasaki ZX-6R 2001 Yamaha R1 2004 Honda Fireblade 2008 Aprilia RSV4 Factory 2011 Suzuki GSX-R1000 Stealth 2005
Suzuki ZR50-X1 (cable operated front disc... I mean why??) Honda 250 Superdream (Oh dear lord. And on Chinese 'Cheng Shin' tyres too, ask me why I remember that...) Honda NC30 - yay! Yamaha R1 - 2000 Ducati 1198S - 2010 (and bought a 2011 R1 now, will be selling the Duc when I have a chance to take proper photos!)
How do you rate the blade and the rsv4 on the living with it scale vs the 899? I'm eyeing both as the 848 is so bloody uncomfortable and temperamental.
I'm 6'1 and always felt too big for the Fireblade, like I was sat on it rather than in it. It looked nice and of course Honda reliability, but it never excited me and I've never missed it. Not a simple thing to remove the rear footpegs either, unless Honda changed this on later versions of that model. Whilst the RSV4 is compact for what it packs into the frame, I never felt uncomfortable on it and the sound of that V4 with just a slip-on is lovely. My 2011 Factory didn't have the aPRC and I've just come from my second RSV4, a 2014 Factory aPRC, to the 899. I found the 2011 RSV4 clutch hard work around town, even with an after-market lever where you can adjust the reach, and anything less than 40mph, it just didn't feel like a happy bike. I found the 2014 RSV4 easier to ride around town than the 2011, as the clutch didn't feel as heavy and the Race Map provided a smooth fuelling and throttle experience and perhaps the subtle engine refinements between models also helped, but there is a trade-off with the Race Map in that amongst other things, it affects the engine braking characteristics versus the stock map, but unlike the Panigale, you can't adjust this yourself. The clue's in the name though and the Race Map is intended for track use first. Ultimately, the talk of valve springs breaking and the hot start issue took the shine off owning it (it's not fun waiting around at a petrol station for 10 minutes while the starter cools down, just so you can start it again), so with the prospect of getting my first Ducati, it felt like it was time to move on. I was a little sad to see the 2014 RSV4 go, particularly as I hadn't built a long relationship with it and as I had a mint and sorted one with low miles, full Akra Evo 2 system and Race Map already installed, but like my first one, I just found it's not really at home on the road, perhaps even less so with the aPRC, and really deserves to be on the track, ridden fast with that frame and Ohlins and the V4 singing. The RSV4 is thirsty too, if that bothers you. Aprilia's answer to this was to fit a slightly bigger capacity fuel tank in 2013. I had a 2010 crossplane R1 before the 2014 RSV4 and dare I say it, but I thought the crossplane with decat Y-pipe and dual underseat Akras sounded better than the V4 with full Akra system. Arguably, if you want to live with the Aprilia V4, then the Tuono may be a better choice for a road bike (can't vouch for this, as never ridden one). I've always wanted a Ducati twin at some point in my riding life and the Panigale range has been the shortlist since it came out. I actually felt like stepping away from thousands for a little while as well, so with the 899 price now in reach, the time time felt right. At the end of the day, we're really spoilt for choice in the pre-owned market.
First five bikes..... XL125 RD125LC GSX550ES GSX600F GSXR1100N I've got pics but they really are pics, not digi... I'll see if i can get em on puter
Awesome write up, much appreciated. I have the same reservations about the Honda, seems like a sensible choice but i'm not sure I would be as excited to own one.
Honda C90 (step thru field bike shared with my two brothers) Suzuki AP50 Suzuki X7 Yamaha RD350LC (with 250 side panels till I passed my test!) Suzuki GSX-R 750
