RD250LC – Changed the whole game (and the law!) Went, stopped, handled like nowt else.
GPZ 900 – as above 150mph in jeans and trainers, lucky to be here
TM300 Enduro – Italian masterpiece that barley needed a rider, never has so little talent gone so quickly in an enduro.

Kawasaki Z1R , my first real late 70’s super bike of the day.

Kawasaki H2750 triple two stroke , lunatic bike when I was 20

Ducati Monster 1100S, what an animal.

Cagiva Elefant. I bought two, one for me, on for my lad. We rode down to the south of Spain with lots of off road thrown in. Trying to stop the Italian electricity from escaping was an adventure in itself. Great when they went. Wouldn’t have another.

CR125RB. First of the LC honda Mx bikes. No powervalve so had an on off switch instead of a throttle, and drum brakes. Still have it 30 years on, and two pallets of NOS parts. My retirement project.

Bandit 1200. Wheelies. Just lots of wheelies. And a mostly drunk trip through Europe. Still have it (or have it again). My other retirement project, or possibly just a wall ornament.

Rs250E ring ding ding seeeeeize
Nico baker rotax 640 on mag wheels. 115kg wet and 65hp. Genuinely pegs down round Gerrards in top gear – on the stop..
R1. Makes me smile when people say ‘ my car is quite quick’ oh you have no idea…

Only had 3 –
Bandit 600 – first proper bike and great fun.
Thundercat – step up in performance and comfy but not as much fun as the Bandit. Fond memories of some great tours though with a few trips to Nurburgring, Alps, Dolomites etc.
Daytona 955 – current bike. Love it. Always wanted one – bought it in 2004. No plans to change in the near future. Some fun trips on that too :).

1958 350 Matchless. Oily rag condition, made in May 1958, the same year as me. Loved riding it.

Kawasaki ZX7R. Loved the looks, the induction roar. Still looks good today in my opinion.

Aprilia RSV1000R. 2nd generation. Looks superb, goes like stink and feels better the faster it goes. I love the surge as you open the throttle in 4th at around the ton. It’s like some hidden hand is pushing you. It’s addictive. Sorry officer, I’ll stop doing it…..?

GSXR1000
GSXR1000
GSXR1000

Because every time I rode it, I couldn’t believe such a thing was actually legal.

Honda CR500 – scared the hell out of me, can only describe it as violent but loved riding it.
Honda XL1000V – quite nimble for its size, very comfy and clocked up more miles on it than any other.
KTM 990 SM – current bike and brings out the hooligan in me every time I get on it. Not perfect but damn good fun.

Ducati 916, my old race bike and a dream to buy

2001 yamaha r1, my poster bike from when I got into bikes

Ktm superduke, took me to Germany and spa, around spa and was just amazing

Because every time I rode it, I couldn’t believe such a thing was actually legal.

In which case; I seriously doubt it was! 😆 😉
Me; KTM 990 Superduke. The noise. The colour. The ridiculousness lunacy of it. And surprisingly, the (relative to most ‘sports’ bikes) the comfortable seating position. The handling of it which FAR FAR exceeds my skill and/or bravery level.
Did I mention the colour?
Edit; high five Weeksy and CraigXXL 8) 8)

Can I have a 4th? If so it’ll be the Laverda 750S. It’s nice to turn up at a track day with something different. A cracking looking bike. Plenty of grunt out of the corners (if plenty can be used to describe 82hp).

They don’t deserve their poor reputation. Mine”s had very little go wrong with it in 15 years, despite being abused on track for 5 of them.

I did think it had broken down on my first track day. Going down Park Straight at Caldwell, 2 bikes passed either side of me so quickly I thought my engine had died. It was only when I looked down and saw the rev counter still reading 9,000 ram that I realised what had happened.

200cc Tiger Cub, paid £20 for it in 1972. Took the silencer off & put a piece of chrome tube on so it sounded EXACTLY like a Jawa 500 speedway bike.

A Bultaco 250cc Sherpa (RDL 180J) cos it was my 1st trials bike.
A 247cc Montesa Cota which was my last (new) trials bike.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/vRNawr]DH000001[/url] by jimmyg352, on Flickr

Wish I’d kept that!

Original Kwak ZX10 c.1989 – sublime Autobahn blaster and Mile muncher. Aerodynamic, stable and comfy.
Buell Thunderbolt S3 – pig ugly, crude and expensive. But the noise (with a Supertrapp fitted) and vibration were sooo addictive giving low speed thrills without fear for my licence.
Yamaha xt600e – bike version of the Landy Defender, needed constant attention but always got me where I was going. No dramas to drop it compared to my other bikes, which was nice!

Honda CB125TB: Got it when I turned 17 and as it was a pre-restriction bike and a twin it was quicker than all the restricted 2-stroke 125’s as well as being more civilised. Sadly written off when a driving instructor pulled out in front of me.

Honda CRM250R MkII: My first dirt bike and the first bike I raced. Fast off-road and around town and even fun on twisty tarmac as well as on the dirt. No idea why I sold it really, as I preferred it to all the dirt bikes I’ve had since.

Honda CBF1000GT: Replaced the Deauville I’d owned for 10 years as my general purpose bike. Lovely torquey engine and more than quick enough at my advanced years – not that I ride it much as it’s in Scotland and I’m usually elsewhere.

None of mine were perfect,but my 3 favourites were;
YAMAHA RD250LC,I production raced it,crashed it a few times on the track & on the road.I even rode it to the Bol D’or at Paul Ricard,and did a few cheeky laps of the circuit the day after the 24 hour race.Some happy memories wrapped up in that bike.
YAMAHA FZ750,I love the style of the first generation bike,mine are Japanese market bikes.A modern 600 would wipe the floor with it but it does 150 mph & that’s more than fast enough for me these days..It’s also done a few cheeky laps of Circuit Paul Ricard 😆
YAMAHA XT600 Mines the early kickstart only model.I bought it as a basket case a few years ago,totally rebuilt it.It’s great for pootling around on.It’s not been around Circuit Paul Ricard but it has been off road in the Picos D’europa

Yamaha xt600e

I had one of those and hated it – very unreliable! Traded it in after 3 months for a Bandit 600 which was better but didn’t quite click, then traded that after 3 months for a CBR600F which I still have 14 years later.

RD250LC – before I had a licence, took it out when the parents went out!
CBR400 – grey import pocket rocket, gear driven cams, shamed bigger bikes.
Gilera Saturno 500 – Italian classic, big single thumper, still wish I had it, but in true Italian style the engine self destructed.

Yamaha RS125 – de-restricted, pre-test lunacy.

Honda 550F – Took me all over Europe, faultlessly.

Honda CBR600RR – the best handling sports bike I’ve ever ridden.

Yamaha 350 YPVS – first fast bike, first bike to go over 100mph.

TDR 250 YPVS with TZR 250 wheels and CompK tyres – so much fun and looked cool

KTM Duke2 with G-Force pipes & rolling road – the noise, the handling, it’s ability to eat North London’s worst speed bumps at 70mph, looks crazy, the grunt

Rxs 100 – 17 and proper freedom

Ktm 525 exc – looney offroad and awesome with supermoto wheels

Aprilia rsv 1000 – the handling, so planted

Had a Montesa just like that as a hand me down field bike when I was a kid, poor thing..

Original Kwak ZX10 c.1989

Didn’t really like corners though, you had to hang right off it just to get it to steer 1 degree off straight!

The RG250 full fat race bike that I rode for Frettons – 2k powerband and Castrol R and under 100kgs wet.
My ZX10r thats in the garage – the loom and frame are about the only parts that it came with and it wants to kill me everytime I take her out. Loves the german hairpins, The Ring, Bad Ems.
Negra – the 14R. The ability to bend the time space continuum at will and embarrass pretty much anything else is addictive, yet it will happily filter, figure 8 in a carpark and pop to the shops.

KR1-S, Cop “we’ve been doing over 140 since Gatwick trying to catch you……..that’s just a 250 isn’t it?”
Me ,”Yes”
Cop “FU@k”
I’d had to roll off as it was getting hot, otherwise they’d never have caught me

ZX-7R

KTM SUPERMOTO

Brother had a KR1-s at the same time as he was racing a rotax, sure he would have been faster on that, but probably no more reliable 🙂

350lc. Bob Farnham tuned, harpowa reeds and microns. Love hate relationship. It went like stink then went bang on a regular basis.

Triumph tiger 955i model. Until you ride a big trailie you have no idea how easy they are to ride quickly.

Rsv1000. Fastest slow feeling bike I’ve ever ridden. And would wheelie all day long.

Lambretta TV175 1963. I bought it in 1970. It had a Wal Phillips fuel injector, 200cc conversion, ancilotti silencer etc. It ended it’s life in the side of a Ford Anglia estate in Nelson centre. Hurt me a bit, too.
2003 955 Speed Triple. Bombproof, fast, comfy.

2015 Tiger 800XCX – not properly run in yet, but could be my favourite bike ever.

Ex Brian Reed F1 spec rg 500, a missile if a little fragile, not much could live with it on the old ngrrc airfield circuits, (the straight bits) the engine ended up in a hill climb car and the new owner said it was scary in that!
TZ250 D, just think about turning in and it was done.
Bob Farnham tuned 1999 R1, the above two combined, but just put fuel in it and go, no constant faffing around with jetting or chasing around trying to buy avgas.

Yamaha RD125LC. Such a fast bike after my first 50cc snails.
Put it in a hedge about two days after getting it road legal.

Vespa PK50. Had it as a fun run around when I lived in Brighton. I had to give it a weeks notice to get up to speed off the lights but just loved scooting along the tops of the downs on that thing. 2 up with the girlfriend and shopping was fun too.

1974 Kawasaki Z900. Stunning bike. Among the most beautiful of bikes imho.
It was one year younger than me and I had it for many happy years after uni. It started to deteriorate when I lived on Brighton seafront and I couldn’t stand it so sold it back to the classic bike dealer I originally bought it from. My last bike. Not had one since then but I loved that bike hugely.

Cagiva RX 125 enduro. Mine was registered between Xams and new year 1981 which meant it was right at the very end of un restricted 125’s for L plates. 3 days later and it wouldn’t have ben legal. Went like stink as it had over 30bhp when running well. Light enough to pick up and carry.
Derbi Senda 50. Nominally a moped but my very early one wasn’t restricted. 6bhp!!Would do a genuine 50mph on the flat. Did 2 seasons of endures on it. Proper ones like the Tour of Wales when it was a big lap. Best trail bike in that. With a mate on another and his brother, the dealer on a “works” 80 version we had best clubman team in the Snowrun. Best trail team as well in the 1st Hafren Rally.
CCM 604. My first, of 3, was the best. Y2k model with so plush Paoli forks. Took it everywhere, rallys, endures even the Monks Trod when it was still legal. If you ran out of grip you changed up til it sounded like a dumper truck. Stolen and its replacements were never as good.

XL125
XJ550 (first ‘proper’ bike!)
ZZR1400, current, and has been for then last 7 years. Nothing else compares (in my eyes)

I rode the last Tour of Wales still have the photograph from the special test – wet day nearly got hyperthermia and nearly killed myself trying to clean the Berwyn mountain check

Honda 400 four
Suzuki Hayabusa – remapped ,oversized air scoops and a modded air box , carbon exhaust system – stupidly quick tyre eating beast of a bike .
Yamaha Fazer 1000, a few engine tweaks and a set of Renthal MX bars , the only bike out of 14 I’ve had that I truly miss .

MZ250 Super 5.
Tought me not to judge on appearances, great bike, well made, sooo much fun.
Most under rated bike ever.

Vespa T5.
I had a mate who was bang into scooters, but mechanically inept.
I helped him restore a GP200 and he lent me a ratty T5.
The stupidity inherent in tuning a shopping bike and using it inappropriately appealed.
🙂
Fancy a GT300 ATM.

Yam RS125.
First bike I wasn’t ashamed of.
Metalic Blue, black chrome Allspeed, ace bars with no lock, butchered rearsets from Jax spares in Beswick, RD125 seat.
I’ve still got a holed piston somewhere.

Nostalgia overload anybody ?
RD350 LC pre-YPVS,that little dip at 5 and a half thousand revs then yiiiiiiiingggggggg.
IT465 on the road,full enduro spec and tyres,drum brakes all round and pre-mix was a pain but such a fun bike,challenged physics every day on that thing.
Suzuki AP50,first bike first taste of freedom,never forgotten (TEU 910S) Memories of seizures and many a holed piston flooding back now,Micron pipes mmmmmmmm……

Honda xlv750r
Honda Africa twin
Honda nx400 falcon
Because they are Hondas’s etc etc

Suzuki TS50X – first bike at 16, look pukka “MX”, could hit 35 downhill!
CBR400R Gullarm – learnt to get my knee down on this, being 6ft I only needed an 89 degree lean angle to do it.
Ducati 748 – my track bike, had it 10 years, keeping it forever. Sounds amazing with full Silmoto system, handling is way better than my 1098s. It can easily run with the big bikes in the fast group with only 100bhp.

My 1098s does one thing well, 2nd gear out of bends is mind blowing, leant over with the front wheel in the air and just relentless thrust forwards. Pity it handles like crap at all other times.

1050 Tiger
955 Speed Triple
1200 Griso SE

I can’t quite decide on the order though… each was/is special in it’s own way 🙂

1942/58 hardly davidson, it was my first bike when I got a license.
Flogged it to buy a torque converter! I regretted selling it imedietly.

1958 700 Royal Enfield, I bought it when I was 14. I rode it home and it burst
into flames. Bursting into flames seemed quite funny, when I had got my breath back after pushing it from tadworth to boxhill. I rode it around until I swapped it for an A10 engine
It seemed a real arm stretcher at the time, and it smelled glorious when it was hot; yep I was in love but I needed an A10 for my chop.

Norton Atlas, A mate bought an Atlas from Paul Dunstall at the time the Z1 came
out, it was faster than a Z1. I was totally in awe of the thing. Last time I saw it was the night helmet laws were introduced. So when I saw an Atlas advertised
on an ad in a shop window I bought it. Wasn’t as I remembered, but once I got it back to standard I loved it, it suited me perfectly. I started driving a car and it was just stood so when someone offered me 300 quid I took it, what an idiot.

It all started with my “race tuned” Suzuki X1

My Formula LC race bike

But my absolute favourite was my TDR 250 which now belongs to my mate.
It has super moto wheels and a 285cc wide spread tune Bob Farnham motor. I’ll try and find a picture later.
We must be gentlemen of a certain age on STW as there is a lot of love for LC’s.

BMW R850 GS – it taught me sports bikes were dull and going on big adventures was my thing.