TDR250, 2 1\2 years of two stroke fun. Rode it to Le Mans, IOM, various other places, why did I sell it?

CRM250AR with enduro and SM wheels, great fun on and off road, sold it almost 10 years ago.

Tiger 900 (Steamer) it was first BRG in the UK, tree stump pulling torque and electric motor smoothness, top gear was good from 20mph to over 120mph.
Various chassis mods including wide rims for road tyres, BT57’s worked well! Also sold nearly ten years ago.

PFFFF only 3

Suzuki AP 50 first bike that first flush of freedom

RD250E coffin tank expansion boxes boyson reads K&n’s overbored made my mates bonnies look slow but of course self destructed my mum could here me comming home at night 3 miles away.

Yamaha 650 twin black with apes bed roll on the back and glastonberry siiiigh

Triumph Speed Triple 1050 in Blazing Orange brand new from Windy Corner Triumph next to the Triumph factory. The triple sounded awesome with the arrow race pipes and burbling and popping on the overrun. It got so much attention when parked up. Still miss it now.

Aprilia RSV Tuono Factory. Last of the twins. Also brand new from Speedaway in Blackheath. Gold frame, Gold Magnesium Wheels, Ohlins, Brembo, Carbon everywhere. Black Dream Paint job. Dropped the front sprocket a tooth and it was a hooligan. Stunning bike. The Factory was definately worth the extra cash.

Suzuki GSXR 1000 K5 Anniversary. Again, brand new from Highways in Wolverhampton. Had the head ported and polished, full factory yoshimura pipe that was sold with the anniversary bikes. It was time machine quick and I was pretty close to death a few times. Hence the switch to the naked bikes above!

Its pretty close as my fav, but the GSXR 750 K4 is top. K8 a close 2nd as it was so good to ride.
I did many a road trip in Spain/France+Germany on the K4, less so on the K8. Lots of trackdays on both, but the best memories were on the K4. It was also the bike I learnt to wheelie on 🙂 and was my 1st +£2K bike as I’d gained enough NCB for FC insurance.

As you ask for a 3rd, I will say my 2nd moped at 16. Yam B-Wiz 50cc. A bit of freedom on one cool looking bike (at the time!). Giving girls rides on the back over the sand dunes at Hayling Island comes to mind! Its also the only motor vehicle I have bought brand new.

Favourite 3 easy

My First Big Bike:

When all your mates have CB400s and CX500s a CBX was just OARSUM

Best 2-stroke ever:

I think the NS was my favourite of all time. My perfect bike.

Buell-tastic:

Not everyone’s cup of tea but I liked it a lot to begin with and grew to love it. Did some big miles on it probably the last bike I owned that was just great to ride everywhere

Lucky Strike RGV 250 – I was Kevin Schwantz.

CCM R30 – utter, utter hooligan tool. I fell in love with supermotos after I got an Aprilia Pegaso and slapped a set of talon rims on it. I had a ZXR750 after that, was an awesome bit of kit but too boring unless you were doing ludicrouas speeds. So I got the CCM. Never needed a front tyre.

Frances-Barnett falcon 74. The only one I still have. 3 speed single cylinder 197 cc Villiers 2 stroke. Gears on the wrong side and 1 up 2 down. 40 flat out. Its nearly 60 years old.

Triumph speedtriple first proper big bike

Aprilia rsv mille great all round bike road and track

Husqvarna 510 smr bonkers bike so much fun ran with day time mot around the back roads and a couple of kart tracks teesside and Rowrah some of the best days on a motorbike

I’ve only had 3 bikes, but I’ve held onto them for a while

SV650S – had this 2 years. My first bike, loved it (apart from the carb icing). Went everywhere I needed to on it, was reliable and dependable

Triumph Street Triple R – lusted after one of these. Went for a test ride, put a deposit down for one straight away. Lots of extra bits on this bike – sounded lovely, like a spitfire with pops and crackles. Quick and made you want to have fun. Had this for over 3 years

Honda Fireblade RR8 – always wanted a litre sportsbike and a job change meant I didn’t have to commute by motorbike everyday. I was only looking at 2 superbikes, an RR8 fireblade or a K5 gixxer thou, I wanted something special. Supremely fast, too fast in some ways, no need for that much power and speed in normal conditions. It’ll do 100mph in 1st gear.

No massive desire to change the bike as it’s great for the odd blast and that’s all I plan to do this year

Honda TL125
Brilliant wee bike, my brother and I had one each and we went everywhere on them (he still has his).They just ran on and on, with very little looking after.

Ducati Desmo450
Class ride, once I got the electrics to behave themselves. Went all over the highlands, and some of my early trips across the border. It had such a great sound and handled great.

Maico MX500

Set up for Enduro and on a Q plate, it was an absolute hoot on and off road. The ISDE in Poland and a couple of Beach races at Weston were among some of the best full throttle moments I have had.

Without doubt – Honda Bros 650. I bought a mint secondhand example – the last model year. Beautiful bike. Beautiful to look at – naked aluminium beam frame, retro street fighter, single-sided swing arm.. Surperlative to ride. Smooth, torquey engine, Honda build quality.. AND handled like a dream! So punchy out of corners.. No top end so to speak of and not a ‘fast’ bike, but that’s not what it was built for. Always regretted having to sell it.

Bike II would be my first – a1977 Honda CG125. Again – another brilliant Honda machine – utterly inscrutable – if I hadn’t killed it owing to youthful naivety about what happens if you remove the air filter to make the bike go faster, then completely neglect to check the oil level.. :eyeroll:

The other two bikes I’ve owned I didn’t like all that much – Bandit 600 and some weird grey import Yamaha thing. The Bandit was dull as ditchwater..

GSX-R750 – saw off most of my licence. It had the nackers tuned out of it. You opened it up, it bogged down while it sorted itself out, then took off like a polaris missile. Pathalogically incapable of doing less than warp factor 8 (me and it)
KTM250 Enduro – finished the job. 2 stroke mentalness. Road legal-ish Supermoto. Couldn’t keep the front wheel on the deck.
FZR400-EXUP just the reviest, sharpest handling most chuckable-aboutable thing ever devised by man. A grin factor of 11. Get it on a twisty b road and nothing will get near you

ZZR600 D2. First big bike and before the days of speed cameras I averaged over 125mph going from Ramsgate to a little village in mid Kent one night. Getting my knee down on a motorway at around 150mph is not something that has happened since.

From that to a Yamaha SA50. Yes, I know, but times were hard. The challenge each day was to get home from work (a mix of suburban roads and country lanes) without touching the brakes or closing the throttle at all. 33mph max has never been so fun!

Now the VFR800. Pre VTECH so no power step before the VTECH kicks in. Faster than a lot of superbikes in the real world, reliable, comfortable and doesn’t feel like it’s trying to kill me every time I take it out.

Virago XV125 because it was my first bike- even though it was a terrible nail. I was weirdly upset when I found out the person I sold it to wrote it off.

SV650S- absolutely loved that bike, learned to ride on it really, modded the crap out of it, won prizes and that… Still got it but it’s not been ridden for years. Nearly sold it to a racer but apparently it’s too heavily tuned for minitwins 😆

Eh, and the crashed race GSXR I stripped for parts, because that’s the only other bike I’ve owned and the forks were great in the SV.

Let’s see if I can get the pictures to work this time!
It all started with my “race tuned” Suzuki X1
[/url]x1 h by Matt24k, on Flickr[/img]

My Formula LC race bike
[/url]LC by Matt24k, on Flickr[/img]

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.
[/url]TDR2016 by Matt24k, on Flickr[/img]
We must be gentlemen of a certain age on STW as there is a lot of love for LC’s.

I’d forgot about the 350YPVS I swapped a blown scrapper for!
Debating if I’m going to put the CRF450R up for sale or not – only does 80 but it gets there on one wheel and weighs under 100kgs 😆
50mile range is a bugger though

Northwind – you won’t be the only person to have shed a tear over a Virago XV125. But most were just crying with despair that such a thing were ever allowed to exist in the first place 😆

I’ve had almost 100 motorbikes, but only a few are missed.

From the far past:

Velocette MSS 1959.
I spent a fortune on it tuning it for 24 hour racing, polished and balanced cranks from Geoff Dodkin, 350 ported head etc etc, correspondence with Bertie Goodman on various details. It handled like a razor blade and could be held flat out forever. Never got to race it, went to Oz instead. Regretted selling it from day one.

Triumph ISDT Trophy 1948.
This was a lovely little rigid bike with the squared off generator engine barrels. I could lift it clear off the ground. I fitted the scalloped Tiger 110 front brake and road racing tyres and used it to embarrass the lads on Bonnevilles around Loch Ness. Tried to give it to a museum before I went to Oz, but none were interested. Sold it to a lad who promised to keep it intact, but he quickly broke it up to put the engine in a Triton.

More recent:

BMW R850C
Bought this as a temporary bike on my last visit to Oz as a runabout. Put about 10,000 miles on it in 6 months including bush roads. Initially thought it was a chromed up wheelbarrow, but it grew on me. Sold it before I came back, but have been missing it and have a bit of difficulty resisting the siren call of eBay… 🙂

Brace yourself Binners

To this day I say it looked good. Definitely better than the orrible 535!

I take it all back NW. Its truly a thing of beauty! 😀

All beemers for me…

2007 K1200GT – Very comfy and silly fast for a big touring bike (150ish BHP). Clutch biting point use to wander when it got hot, BMW couldn’t fix it and it was expensive to run, so I sold it on. Still the best all-rounder I’ve had.

2001 R1150RT – Loved it! Not fast, but it handled amazingly well for a big bike. Traded it in for the 1200GT and regretted it ever since.

1980 R100S – Still have this one, 90k miles on it and still a nice bike to ride. Older than me too. Will never sell it, ever! Just having the barrels, pistons and heads reconditioned now, hopefully have some long trips planned in the summer. 🙂

The one with the fondest memories was one of these in red, I despatched on it in London for 14 months, it was thrashed mercilessly, thrown down the road twice, was found in a skip one morning (not sure what that was about) looked after me and I adored it. Was upset when the guy I sold it to blew it up.

People on bigger bikes used to take the mick but it was a demon in traffic and could squeeze through gaps and filter like a filtery thing. It handled brilliantly when shod with Pirelli Mandrakes, could get the pegs on the deck no problem, much to the astonishment of a bloke coming the other way when going over the Serpentine. He was wearing an open faced lid and I lip read him saying F*****g hell 😆

1988 Honda CBR600F – my first ‘big’ bike, bought new and ridden at midnight on 1st August (when that was a thing).

2004 Suzuki SV1000S – A great all-rounder, it was exactly the bike I wanted at the time and was great to own, the owner’s forum was terrific.

2006 KTM Superduke 990 – Mental, as stated above. I had a deposit on a Speed Triple then I rode this – it brought out my naughty side and made me ride like a knob! I lost £100 but never regretted it.

Honourable mention goes to the Aprilia RSV 1000 I had 2, including a Haga Replica, and both were superb to ride.

NC30 as it was my first bike after passing my test, still think they look amazing.

2009 Street Triple R I think its one of the best bikes ever made.
2013 Tuono V4 APRC Its just such a visceral bike to ride it makes me chuckle even starting it up (With Austin Racing can)

That Buell is stunning, rocketman. Dream bike for me.

Only had 3 so far, despite passing my test in 2004:

1986 Kawasaki GPZ600R in Rothman’s Racing colours
Bought it cos it was cheap and I was poor. Piston #2 made a break for freedom when I was riding it from Lincoln to Edinburgh one day. Bought a replacement engine but then sold to fund a career change. I had the anti-dive forks blanked off so it was a bit more predictable in the corners. An excellent “hands on” introduction to motorbiking.

2002 Kawasaki Drifter VN1500
Went into the shop to buy a brand spanking new Triumph Daytona 675SE in black & gold. Left with the Drifter. Apparently the pillion seat was too small for my wife to feel safe so I had to get the big bike instead. Number of times my wife has been pillion since then: 0

1996 Suzuki RF900R
Was looking for a Kwak ZZR600 but this just took my eye. Like a two-wheeled Testarossa. Very comfy, goes like stink even for an older bike, 2nd gear dogged by an over-enthusiastic brother-in-law so currently being treated to a set of undercut gears and a new clutch. Once it’s up and running again I’m toying with the idea of a “black and gold” homage to the 675SE.

Bonus bike kept in my garage:
2015 Suzuki GSXR 750
Insane doesn’t even cover it. Belongs to the aforementioned BIL, and until mine is back on the road I have the keys to this 😈

“Triumph ISDT Trophy 1948”
Completely sick with envy.
My most wanted thing of all time. Ever

2001 Ducati 748s – My current bike. Not ridden for five years due to time / financial commitment to cycling. A dream bike as a kid and my dads bike before becoming mine. I’ll never get rid of it.

1991 VFR400R NC30 – My first proper bike when passing my test at 17. Other than the Ducati, the best handling bike I’ve ever ridden, sounds amazing and so unique, virtually bombproof and you can ride them to the maximum relatively safely on the roads.

1999 Yamaha R6 – Loved this bike. It came after a short spell with a DRZ 400 SM which I became bored with. Kept it until acquiring the Ducati.

URL=http://s1242.photobucket.com/user/benmotogp46/media/image_zps9mg0n5bd.jpeg.html]

[IMG]http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg521/benmotogp46/image_zpskwdmybhv.jpeg[/IMG]

Z250 – great until it went bang
1995 VFR750 – cracking bike, munched miles. Only the cycle parts suffered but I did ride every day the snow wasn’t stopping the cars.
Early 1980s XL500 – a hoot to ride (no power, no brakes but big lean angles) and it got me up to Weipa in Queensland when the roads were shut to 4WDs.

That Buell is stunning, rocketman. Dream bike for me.

Murray – Member
…Early 1980s XL500 – a hoot to ride (no power, no brakes but big lean angles) and it got me up to Weipa in Queensland when the roads were shut to 4WDs.

About the most reliable offroad bike back then apart from BMWs, and far handier.

The road is bitumen as far as Cooktown now. No longer can a bike be swallowed by a bulldust crater. 🙂

mattsccm – Member
“Triumph ISDT Trophy 1948”
Completely sick with envy.
My most wanted thing of all time. Ever

This is the only pic I have of it. You may want to check out my mate’s bike just behind 🙂

The car was my Armstrong-Siddeley Whitley – which I only drove at night because of lack of insurance, road tax etc. 🙂

Yamaha WR200 supermoto; awesome and shit at the same time. The only bike you’d want to ride if you had your stupid head on and the last thing you’d want to ride if you couldn’t be arsed 😆 About 100kg and all-or-nothing power. Stolen 🙁 –

Aprilia RS125; taught me how to ride again after a few years on overweight diesels, my first proper race bike even though it was ‘just’ a converted road bike. 110kg ready to ride 😀 Around the outside of 4T barges at Teeside’s South loop 😀 Sold last year when I stopped enjoying riding motorcycles-

The last one’s tricky, cos I had a love/hate relationship with it- TZR250. My first ‘big’ bike after serving my two years post-test on a TZR125 and the first bike I did a top end on, under my cousin’s tutelage. I don’t have any pics of it, sadly 🙁 Sold after the final straw of it dumping a load of premix over the rear tyre after the carb float bowl drain plug vibrated out. Meh 😆

I don’t have a bike now, the RS was the last one I had. I sometimes have a hankering for another TW125 to potter about on, but then I remember I can’t be arsed with the maintenance 😆

Aprilia Falco SL1000 – my first big bike, lots of grunt and double pipes, loved whilst OH just didn’t get it.

Ducati 748SP in yellow…enough said.

Current one…..TT legends fireblade. A bike I shouldn’t have liked but loved from the first time I saw it.

The first bike I fell in love with (and still miss after 32 years)was a ’78 Suzuki GS750, the one I had most fun on was my Suzuki PE175 Enduro bike and the one I got to know most intimately, was a Suzuki B120 that I inherited from my brother due to him not being able to get it running. I spent two weeks trying everything and finally tracked it down to a sheared Woodruff key on the crankshaft that put the timing into a random spin.

My number one is the tuned, avgas guzzling RGV250M I raced in formula 400s, followed by an RG500 Gamma and for some diesel balance, my VOR 503 race bike. I feel that my fs1e and 350lc should get an honorable mention, but the first three were just so ridiculously good.

I have thought about it some more…

3. Triumph Tiger 1050. It was awesomely capable, comfortable and a really great bike to tour Scotland on – which I did with a couple of mates and will live on in my memory as an absolutely brilliant holiday and my last big adventure before munchkins got in the way. However – it was just a bit “too” good!

2. Triumph Speed Triple 955i. It was fast… very, very fast. A mix of exhilaration, fun and blind terror as you were perched ontop heading over the A65 at warp factor 10. The bike I had always wanted, and it didn’t disappoint. It was, however, getting a bit long in the tooth and needed a good bit spent on it so it had to go to someone with the time and inclination to do just that.

1. Moto Guzzi Griso 1200SE – Tenni Green – I don’t know why this should be my favourite bike. It is though…. Everything about it is just a bit special from the wire wheels, the retro-futuristic look (I always think it is the bike Dan Dare would have ridden), the brown leather seat, the side to side kick, the sound of the 1200 V Twin. It is just food for the soul! It is, however, woefully impractical and woefully unreliable!

But I love it all the same!

I probably won’t sell it on, but may get a stable mate for those days when it is just being too “Italian”. Something sensible…

… like a Victory….