Re: [ST] Previous bikes

[Andrew Tait <antait@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi everyone,

Life just rattling on.  Went out with my ex-fiancee and her new 
girlfriend on Monday.  Fun dykey dinner.  And I had my first date in, 
well, far too many years last week too, which was a bloody riot.  Two 
day date.  Do it in style.  She loved Scotland, loved the ST (rather 
more exciting than a Fiat Punto apparently), and liked me.  Ended up 
best of friends.  Who's next, I wonder?  I turned 36 a couple of days 
ago, and in the spirit of "what does the future hold?" here's a potted 
history of my biking past:

1986-1987:  Suzuki SB200.  200cc 2-stroke that weighed about the same as 
the ST.  Used to fling around off road.  Scrapped to fix a couple of 
mates bikes.

1986-1987:  Kawa AR80.  Rocket bike.  Another mad two stroke.  Tiny and 
vicious.

1988-1989:  Yamaha RD125LC.  My first legal road bike, which I passed my 
test on.  Kinda fun.  Holed a piston putting a sports exhaust on it and 
talked my dealer into replacing it under warranty.  5,500 miles.  Rode 
it after the theft of the...

Mar 1989-Jun 1989:  Yamaha TDR250.  Oh wow!!  Black, yellow and 
ridiculous.  50bhp which came in with a scream at 7,500rpm.  At 7,000rpm 
it had 12bhp.  Wheelie machine, loved it to bits, but it earned me my 
only brush with the law in my motorcycling history.  Did 2,500 miles in 
13 weeks on it.  Got stolen and never seen again.  If they still made 
them, I'd have one tomorrow.

1989-1993.  After the TDR got stolen I got really pissed off, drank for 
two years solid, then got into computers...  In 1993 I decided to get 
back on the horse and...

1993-1994.  Suzuki GSX250ET.  If ever a bike has made me smile every 
time I thought about it, or made me laugh every time I rode it, it was 
the wee Suzi.  I bought it for £550, did something like 8,000 or 9,000 
miles on it, and traded it in 11 months later for £400.  I bought a new 
chain for it, and nothing else.  Changed the oil and filter twice.  It 
took me everywhere in all weathers, didn't have enough power (28bhp?) to 
take riding it for granted, and it taught me everything I needed to know 
about how to really ride.  300 mile days on it weren't unusual, my ears 
singing at the end, arms aching, face hurting from smiling.  Wow.

1994-present (oops)  Yamaha XJ600.  The old one, 'not a Diversion'. 
Sitting rusting gently somewhere.  OK, I have done lots of miles on this 
bike, but it never really inspired me.  Twice I did well over 1,200 
miles in 5 days on it, touring the North of England.  Easy bike to ride, 
but narrow tyres, terrible pillion grabrail and the 'sieze if you look 
at them' brakes and swing-arm eventually just pissed me off.

2002-present.  Triumph Sprint ST.  '00 model in BRG.  Not much point in 
saying anything, is there?  Since I got it I've hardly used it really in 
terms of what it was meant for.  Did 300 miles on it once on a Saturday 
in 2003, and apart from that it might have had the odd 100 mile day. 
Every time I see it I say "hello", and every time I ride it I love it to 
bits.  Effortless and fun.

Next week I'm doing 1,000 miles between Saturday and Monday, so I'll get 
to see what the fuss is about, nearly 3 years after I bought it!

That's all folks...

Andrew
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