Car and bike history over the last 12 years
Discussion
I sadly don't have any digital images of my very first car, it was a chavved Peugeot 205 1.2 GR. I did loads of typical 205 modifications and fitted some TSW alloys to it. It was a shocker.
I then got a Peugeot 205 1.9 Gti that was left alone, but was just as much of a shed.
I then bought a Peugeot 306 1.9TD completely standard. It started out 'tastefully' modified if there is such a word. Then I went silly and spent way to much money on it.
I then got bored of modifying car, well actually I became a poor student. So I purchased a sensible reliable car in the form of one of the first off the production line Peugeot 106 1.6 Rallye in Indigo blue. It was my pride and joy and I kept it concours clean. In the end I sold it for more than I bought it for and only ever had to put new tyres on it outside of normal servicing.
I then finished University and had to get an 'economical' car. It was here I made the biggest purchase mistake of my life and bought a Renault Laguna 1.9DCi Dynamique. This is probably the most comfortable car I have ever owned and 'looked' immaculate. Sadly as it turned out that was because it had been completely resprayed after a bad shunt. I bought it from a dealer in Coventry who wanted nothing to do with it. On top of that the engine, gearbox, dual mass fly wheel and various other bits broke frequently.
I was then given a company car in the form of a Renault Clio 1.2 Authentique. I did 100k miles in this car and it saved my life on at least 4 occasions (3 of those being in one week where a flash flood nearly took me into a river, a deer jumped on the bonnet and a central reservation jumped out at me!). It handled everything I threw at it, and I kept it for 3 years.
It was around this time that I started getting into motorbikes as I had a company car. So I bought my first which was an Suzuki SV650. This was my first ever trackday to.
I quickly got bored of the 70bhp SV and bought a CBR 600rr. This is still my favourite bike, perfect in every way. Sadly I crashed it at Mallory park on a wet trackday and it was never the same again
In the meantime my company car came up for renewal, so I picked a Ford Fiesta Zetec S TDCi. My first move away from French cars! and it was a revelation.
As personal car I then got a Mini One and Mini Cooper D briefly which were both awful, badly built and a horrible ride. They were sacked off in favour of a 118d coupe.
I then got a new job, and therefore a new company car in the form of a BMW 120d Msport. This for me was another 100k mile car. I believe out of all the cars listed in My Garage. This has been the best most fun car I've owned. I'm not really sure what that says about my car history, but I really loved it.
As I got a new job this enabled me to buy a bike I had always lusted over. A Ducati 1100S Hypermotard. It's a bike I should have continued lusting about as I hated it. I bought it standard and spent a fortune on it in the 6 months of ownership.
As I really hated the Ducati, I went back to my trusty Hondas. I then bought my other dream bike which was a new Honda Fireblade... which I again spent a small fortune tuning. I did some very silly stuff on this bike, and as a result it had to be sold. I very nearly shed a tear when it went, and my fiancée did.
I then went for nearly 2 years without a bike, and as you lose your no claims after 2 years I decided it was only fair I treat myself to another one. This time I went for another Repsol Fireblade as I missed my other so much, but didn't want exactly the same. So I went for a 2013 Fireblade, but in custom 2013 MotoGP colours and various other shiny bits.
It then became time to pick another company car, and with fortunate circumstances at work I was given a reasonable amount of choice. As I love the 120d so much, I opted to go for a 520d with most of the option boxes ticked.
As the 1 Series was so shockingly bad in the snow, I opted for the 5 series to be the first ever car I've fitted winter tyres on. They look a bit naff, but they genuinely make a huge amount of difference. I routinely drive across the Peak District where on the tops it frequently snows or has huge amounts of ice. I've been caught out several times, but never had any trouble steering around the stuck people on the hills
There is probably a few cars here and there in between that I had for short period of time, but that's the bulk of it over the last 12 years. Now only have the 5 Series, 1 Series Coupe and Fireblade
I then got a Peugeot 205 1.9 Gti that was left alone, but was just as much of a shed.
I then bought a Peugeot 306 1.9TD completely standard. It started out 'tastefully' modified if there is such a word. Then I went silly and spent way to much money on it.
I then got bored of modifying car, well actually I became a poor student. So I purchased a sensible reliable car in the form of one of the first off the production line Peugeot 106 1.6 Rallye in Indigo blue. It was my pride and joy and I kept it concours clean. In the end I sold it for more than I bought it for and only ever had to put new tyres on it outside of normal servicing.
I then finished University and had to get an 'economical' car. It was here I made the biggest purchase mistake of my life and bought a Renault Laguna 1.9DCi Dynamique. This is probably the most comfortable car I have ever owned and 'looked' immaculate. Sadly as it turned out that was because it had been completely resprayed after a bad shunt. I bought it from a dealer in Coventry who wanted nothing to do with it. On top of that the engine, gearbox, dual mass fly wheel and various other bits broke frequently.
I was then given a company car in the form of a Renault Clio 1.2 Authentique. I did 100k miles in this car and it saved my life on at least 4 occasions (3 of those being in one week where a flash flood nearly took me into a river, a deer jumped on the bonnet and a central reservation jumped out at me!). It handled everything I threw at it, and I kept it for 3 years.
It was around this time that I started getting into motorbikes as I had a company car. So I bought my first which was an Suzuki SV650. This was my first ever trackday to.
I quickly got bored of the 70bhp SV and bought a CBR 600rr. This is still my favourite bike, perfect in every way. Sadly I crashed it at Mallory park on a wet trackday and it was never the same again
In the meantime my company car came up for renewal, so I picked a Ford Fiesta Zetec S TDCi. My first move away from French cars! and it was a revelation.
As personal car I then got a Mini One and Mini Cooper D briefly which were both awful, badly built and a horrible ride. They were sacked off in favour of a 118d coupe.
I then got a new job, and therefore a new company car in the form of a BMW 120d Msport. This for me was another 100k mile car. I believe out of all the cars listed in My Garage. This has been the best most fun car I've owned. I'm not really sure what that says about my car history, but I really loved it.
As I got a new job this enabled me to buy a bike I had always lusted over. A Ducati 1100S Hypermotard. It's a bike I should have continued lusting about as I hated it. I bought it standard and spent a fortune on it in the 6 months of ownership.
As I really hated the Ducati, I went back to my trusty Hondas. I then bought my other dream bike which was a new Honda Fireblade... which I again spent a small fortune tuning. I did some very silly stuff on this bike, and as a result it had to be sold. I very nearly shed a tear when it went, and my fiancée did.
I then went for nearly 2 years without a bike, and as you lose your no claims after 2 years I decided it was only fair I treat myself to another one. This time I went for another Repsol Fireblade as I missed my other so much, but didn't want exactly the same. So I went for a 2013 Fireblade, but in custom 2013 MotoGP colours and various other shiny bits.
It then became time to pick another company car, and with fortunate circumstances at work I was given a reasonable amount of choice. As I love the 120d so much, I opted to go for a 520d with most of the option boxes ticked.
As the 1 Series was so shockingly bad in the snow, I opted for the 5 series to be the first ever car I've fitted winter tyres on. They look a bit naff, but they genuinely make a huge amount of difference. I routinely drive across the Peak District where on the tops it frequently snows or has huge amounts of ice. I've been caught out several times, but never had any trouble steering around the stuck people on the hills
There is probably a few cars here and there in between that I had for short period of time, but that's the bulk of it over the last 12 years. Now only have the 5 Series, 1 Series Coupe and Fireblade
The finish on the Ducati was shocking. The paint was so thin than some panels appeared translucent. The lacquer on the wheels was peeling too.
Then there was the range, the tank was tiny and could only do 70ish miles, I bought a CA cycle works tank which took the range to 170.
But the biggest problem for me was a) how slow it was, and b) the whole motoX / leg out style of riding when I was so used to the sports / knee out riding style. I just couldn't get on with it.
Then there was the range, the tank was tiny and could only do 70ish miles, I bought a CA cycle works tank which took the range to 170.
But the biggest problem for me was a) how slow it was, and b) the whole motoX / leg out style of riding when I was so used to the sports / knee out riding style. I just couldn't get on with it.
You can stick your knee out I appreciate that, but it felt wrong and unbalanced the bike. The 796 hyper I tested was much more fun and smaller than.
Mainly the above really is what I didn't like about it. Plus you had to go through 6 gears to get above 90 which is just hard work, and anything below 30mph was equally hard work, the vtwin would chug and generally struggle.
I did love the sv650, but I was on the 600rr for nearly 3 years and 20k miles, so going from a fast Inline4 back to a vtwin just didn't work for me.
I think if you had a reasonable amount of skill the Hypermotard would be a completely different animal, but I can't wheelie very well and I can't powerslide a bike intentionally without crashing, and I think that's what the duc was all about.
Mainly the above really is what I didn't like about it. Plus you had to go through 6 gears to get above 90 which is just hard work, and anything below 30mph was equally hard work, the vtwin would chug and generally struggle.
I did love the sv650, but I was on the 600rr for nearly 3 years and 20k miles, so going from a fast Inline4 back to a vtwin just didn't work for me.
I think if you had a reasonable amount of skill the Hypermotard would be a completely different animal, but I can't wheelie very well and I can't powerslide a bike intentionally without crashing, and I think that's what the duc was all about.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff