Im a bit 50 50 with Henry Cole....kind of a useful idiot (he just holds the spanners while the grown ups do the work) that being said....his heart is in the right place and, he's very chilled out which is relaxing to watch which im guessing is a good thing... The thing with bikes....is you have to try them...and thats the key thing IMO. Ive got 2 groups of mates...one group, not interested in bikes, i never talk about them mention them dont even visit them or see them on a bike, they wouldnt even know i had one if it werent for my lids by the front door... The other group...well thats obvious...non stop bikes...has been for the last 30 years..... A couple of times theres been a cross over....only twice but...its been interesting... First mate which ive known since i was 8 (now 56). Never had a bike, never thought about it and i never mentioned it...over covid he said "im gonna get a scooter to get into work...traffic's fucking shit and i cant do it any longer" - a few months later we were chatting on the phone [ i never mentioned bikes, scooters etc etc as i never do] at this point i assumed he didnt get one...then he said..."i bought a 125 in the end" so i said "how you getting on with it" to which is got a "fuck me why didnt you tell me about this before, theyre fucking brilliant - i should have got one when you did [ 21 when i got my first bike] " - within 6 months he passed his test and hes on his 4th bike (street triple R) his second one.... Second mate....[ known since i was 16 ] - same as above in the epiphany/a-ha moment. He's now got a Versys 650 but plans to get a liter bike...he passed his test about 6 months ago... Honda, Suzuki, KTM, whatever should rent out an airstrip....have something better than a 125 for people to ride with some instruction/instructors so they cant get a decent go on something.... I always remember being with my mates on my MTX125 (we were all on 125's at the time) bar one that took his test on the quiet and turned up on a mk2 gamma 250 - we were on the lights (about 10 of us and him on his 250) he took off at warp speed and left us all standing...i thought....fuck i need some of that...! Pretty well the way its been ever since...
I was late to it myself - 46 (54 now). Not through want of trying. Mum wouldn't let me have one, neither would first wife. In 2015 I got a 30’s Harley single and that was restored, after which I had to take a test - it was a 350 and DVLA went on that rather than it’s whopping 12BHP (or probably less given age/wear). My wife suffered it, then once I had my licence I bought all sorts, up to current 2098 and Triumph Scrambler 1200XE. Most of my friends couldn't care less - they might see me in the pub with a lid and ask if I came on the bike (errrr yeah!). So I have separate bike mates, except one who off the back of me passing, decided to do it too and we ride a fair bit together. He rode a lot (illegally) as a teenager so has kind of come back to it. Anyways, every opportunity I get when I see youguns on scoots or they ask about my bike, I encourage them as much as possible to take a test and get their A/A2 licence - we deffo need fresh blood.
Things can change pretty quickly... Who would have predicted a couple years ago that Guinness would become a trendy drink with young women? Now demand for Guinness has outstripped supply. I figure sooner or later, some 'influencer' will do something that will get a chunk the youth population interested in biking... perhaps Taylor Swift will swing a leg over a Harley or maybe some professional footballers will start to ride bikes instead of tacky sports cars?
Guinness being trendy is off the back of some daft social media craze to try and drink one gulp which leaves the head halfway up the G of the logo in the glass. As a result, stocks are now low. Im sure like all the other internet trends it will be over soon.
I heard somewhere that the shortage of Guinness in pubs is not because they can't make enough its because they don't have enough barrels to put it in
Its that much of a drug for me...when i was a kid i never got on with my mum and step dad - ive not spoken to or seen her for 25 + years - i got kicked out at 17/18 moved back for 6 months and in that 6 months i passed my part 2....no congrats no well done...just my step dad (who i might add had a full bike licence) said "well thats one foot out of the door" - bought a MK1 Gamma 250 and left at the end of the week...that pretty well was the last i saw of them... Life's been great ever since...
Flippin hell that’s almost exactly like I wrote that! Not spoken to my mother for 25+ years, left home at 17, went back for 6 months when I shattered my leg on my rg125 gamma (she only let me back because she was after my compensation money). Not seen her since. I occasionally ask my sister if the old child abusing bitch is dead yet but I think she’s still going unfortunately. Bikes are everything to me and if I’m not riding/working on them I’m thinking about them!
Lol - and i thought it was only me...! the pair of em had their own way....he was lets say "heavy handed" and she never stopped screaming....think the incredibles film....the lady who makes the supersuits [Endna Mode)....that...is my mum...but a fucking screaming psycho.. My older brother is pretty dry....the last time he mentioned her to me about 15 years ago or so he said... "the next time im in a room with that woman...one of us will be in a box..." Anyway...spare parts, old bikes...do something about it manufacturers...make it happen!
Sad that you’ve had such experiences with family, but I know it happens a lot - was estranged from much of my family for a few years - a fair few of them still blank me and others get on my tits, but they are not geographically close enough to worry me. Now, where were we…..?
Would appear I’m not the only one then… Been on my own since 15 (living with my extended family for a year) and relationship entirely broke down 15 years ago and no contact since.
Can I join this pity party? I’m kidding. Sort of. I have a similar relationship or lack thereof with parts of my family.
Back on thread.... Some body panels for the older modern bikes, such as the GSXR1000 K5 are discontinued Also been told by the guy who used to work in the Parts Dept at JHP, the fairings for the 748/916/996/998 have also been discontinued Luckily, I managed to get 2 NOS white tail section panels for my K5 off the Bay of Fleas
I think it’s a generational thing, I work for a domestic appliance manufacturer, servicing their appliances for warranty and extended insurance policies. Anyone under 40 think their insurance give them the right to a new appliance as soon as it goes wrong, when I repair it you’d think I’d wiped something unpleasant under their nose. On the flip side the more mature customer is delighted I’ve repaired it? Vehicles now are regarded as a short term purchase, PCP, treat it like shit, hand it back in 3yrs and do it all again
