My two wheeled journey.

[Pebbles167]

So, as you know, it's not often I do creative posts. But here goes, a bit of history on my two wheeled hobby for those that care to read it. 

Right then. For starters. 

In 2012 I was going through a bit of a tough patch in my life. I was sick of my job, and sick of feeling dead ended with a boring future. Anyway a job change and a divorce paved the way for my new muse that would last me the next few years: Motorcycling. 

After passing my test I quickly bought my first bike, a 98 GSXR 600 SRAD. I had hoped to make use of the remaining months of the summer, but sadly the winter was upon me.. no matter, plenty of fun antics in the cold, rain and snow. The thing was supposedly cammed and dyno jetted, although dubious I did find a Dyno reading for 120bhp, 30 over standard. We all know how reliable dyno readouts are... NOT! Anyway, I rode this thing like mad everyday often at midnight on industrial estates and rural roads, thundering along practicing bike control and learning the dynamics. A good exercise as it turns out, as when the summer came I was a bloody quick rider... If only I'd learned a bit of observation.. but we'll come to that later. 

Here she was:




So, after a winter of riding this it was looking in pretty rough nick, and it wasn't great when I got it. The downpipe was showing corrosion, the lights were falling out and the clutch cable was fraying. I decided it was time for something new. 

I rocked up to my local Yamaha dealership hoping to find something second hand and in reasonably decent condition. Indeed they did have an old R6 available and a GSXR 750, but then... I saw it. A brand new 13 plate Yamaha XJR1300! I had to have it, so I did! Talked a bit of talk, and gave my GSXR as a deposit and rode home on the XJR. Fantastic! To this day, I've never owned or ridden a more comfortable and stylish bike. That being said, I've certainly never owned a worse handling bike either! Certainly one for the straighter country roads, twisties if feeling adventurous and the track if feeling suicidal! It was so nice in fact, that my father decided to dust off his biking gear that he'd not worn for 23 years, and get back on two wheels. A quick trip back to the Yam dealer and we found a nice FZS600 Fazer with one owner and only 8000 miles. Yes please! Safe to say I was their favourite customer that week.

Here are shots of my XJR:






Next stop was a new job. I was fed up with earning minimum wage. Trying to pay for the rent, the sprog, the car and the bike, food and then having nothing left for myself had become a drag. It didn't help that I'd also crashed my Mitsubishi Evo a few months prior, and my Gti6 on track a few weeks later. Anyway, I bagged myself a chance interview with a decent company and naturally, they gave me the job of course  my first 6 monts went great, leaned lots, and earned lots. It was going so well in fact, I was due a bit of a downer.. and it came, oh it came alright. Behold: 




Lazily overtaking a lorry at 50, I drove smack bang into the side of a van that was turning right. Oops. It's just as well I was lazily driving, otherwise I'd likely be dead. Unfortunately I didn't fare particularly well.

3 day induced coma to rectify:

9 Broken ribs (RH)
Two fractured wrists, one protruding from arm (gross!) and one left with a permanent 50% restriction of movement
3 cracked vertebrae
Slight nerve damage left leg
Concussion
Punctured lung
Punctured liver
Lacerated kidney
Mild burns to arms


I also contracted pneumonia somehow.. lovely! But the worst part, was seeing pictures of my bike... NOOO!  




Amazingly I was released from hospital after only 6 days (3 of which I was conscious) and spent the next 2-3 months recovering. BUT, it wasn't all bad! I got to meet the lovely people of 306oc at FCS! And I'm all the better for it. 

Anyway. Clearly I needed some new wheels. After a quick go on a friends battered old Yamaha SR125 to make sure I could still actually ride, I bought My dads Fazer off of him and he went on to buy a Honda CB1300.

The SR125, and the Fazer respectively:





Bloody good bike actually that Fazer. Neutral handling, a fizzy 98bhp inline 4 and a comfy riding position. Got back into the swing of things quickly and soon I was left wanting something a bit more inspiring to ride. So sadly the trusty Fazer had to go. Especially sad for my little girl, who had grown to like the bike. She protested at first, until she saw the colour of my next bike. Que, the 2004 k4 bumblebee GSXR 1000!  

GSXR 1000. So far the most powerful bike I have owned by 1bhp, but the fact that it had 164bhp and weighed 164kg made it an absolute animal. Within a day of having it I'd pulled 165mph down one of my favourite straights on a private road and really understood the meaning of speed. Strangely though, the GSXR was massively comfortable and marked the start of my ability to ride defensively, calmly and generally a lot slower. I managed to enjoy the summer with it. Plenty of rideouts and days spend in the countryside. What biking is all about. With winter approaching however, I decided it was time to make another car purchase... and besides, fuel prices had crashed, and so there was no better time to buy a V8. I promptly sold the bike for what I paid for it, and jumped on the Ebay in seach of a big V8 german barge. I'd have another 1000 in a heartbeat! 

A shot of my Gixxer, and then me and my dad on his CB1300: 




So after rumbling around all winter and spring in my Alpina B10 4.6, I decided It was time to get back on two wheels. I sold the Alpina and bought a surprisingly good Pug 206 gti 180 for my car needs, and looked hard to find a bike that was quick, interesting, reliable, sporty and different. The search proved tough. Eventually after much deliberation and a close buy of a KTM RC390, I decided on another BMW, only this time in two wheel format. A 2008 BMW K1200R. 163bhp and 200kg, but with a 1200 it produces colossal torque, what a flying machine! 

Sure it may look bulky, but its much more sporting than you'd believe. Sure my GSXR 1000 would have eaten it for breakfast around Castle Combe, but the big beemer shows up a few people out on the circuit. 

Here are a few mixed shots, and one where I even bumped into current Isle of man TT record holder John McGuiness, who commented It'd certainly be quicker than the VFR800 that he was riding: 





And now we are at the present time. The BMW is currently for sale, and I'm after a 600cc supersport to use for practice on track, for my planned eventual trip into the world of motorcycle racing. I hope you've enjoyed my first real project thread, even if the project is sort of my life. I'll update as and when necassary. 

Regards, 

Pebbles

[procta]

nice pair of wheels! shame about the crash, This is one of the borders I wont cross, as I cannot trust my self to ride one.

[Niall]

Nice little story that. Id love to have a bike but what happened to you quite frankly worries me especially with the lack of driving skill today!

[Redordead89]

I'll be following this! Been on bikes since I was 4 and just can't get enough!
Loved the 98 srad, Fkn nice first bike man!
Now all you need is a £1000 Honda cr125 two stroke! And a few hours offroad to enjoy the thrill of wringing its neck and not worrying about idiots in vans, cars or all and any of that stuff!
And if you haven't been to the TT yet don't be left wishing you had after it inevitably gets banned or at best scaled down and made safe!
Truly amazing hanging out a hedge when mcguiness and co hare it by at 180 mph 3 foot from where you were standing ( go there to know what I mean! )