I'd forgotten how good it is!
Discussion
In the title really.
It's been ages (over a year) since I was out on my bike (off the road) but this last weekend I was down in London supporting my girlfriend who was running the marathon and decided to hire a bike to get around.
I was a bit nervous because a)my girlfriend had never ridden pillion before and had warned me she was going to hate it, and b) because central london's not the easiest place to convince someone that biking is nice and safe and fun etc etc.
I ended up hiring a Tiumph Bonneville, primarily because the retro looks went someway to persuading the girlfriend that it was a nice soft friendly thing, and picked it up on Friday.
Over the course of the weekend we did a full loop of London on Saturday (headed to Excel to register for the marathon, stopping in at the Ace cafe in the afternoon and then back through Kensington and Chelsea) and then it acted as marathon support bike on Sunday dropping her off in Lewisham and taking me round all the road blocks as I went from spot to spot along the routes.
The bike performed faultlessly and I'm delighted to say we both really enjoyed it. Sure, the Bonneville is a woofly, friendly thing but that was just perfect for us. Anything more extreme could have put the girlfriend right off biking completely. She was nice and comfortable and before long was happy for me to filter through traffic and accelerate as fast as I liked (which isn't that fast on the Bonney admittedly). To add to that, when she wasn't on the back I even had fun hooning about on it! Although it desperately needed louder pipes
.
Back home now and still on a high. I'd forgotten how much I love bikes. The freedom of movement they give you and the way you're part of the environment you ride through so much more.
My old GSXR is getting cleaned up this weekend ready for sale. I'm desperate to get a bike that I can use to continue the girlfriend's enjoyment - I just wish GSX1400s were a bit (lot!) cheaper.
It's a lovely evening here now - wish we could go out for a ride!
It's been ages (over a year) since I was out on my bike (off the road) but this last weekend I was down in London supporting my girlfriend who was running the marathon and decided to hire a bike to get around.
I was a bit nervous because a)my girlfriend had never ridden pillion before and had warned me she was going to hate it, and b) because central london's not the easiest place to convince someone that biking is nice and safe and fun etc etc.
I ended up hiring a Tiumph Bonneville, primarily because the retro looks went someway to persuading the girlfriend that it was a nice soft friendly thing, and picked it up on Friday.
Over the course of the weekend we did a full loop of London on Saturday (headed to Excel to register for the marathon, stopping in at the Ace cafe in the afternoon and then back through Kensington and Chelsea) and then it acted as marathon support bike on Sunday dropping her off in Lewisham and taking me round all the road blocks as I went from spot to spot along the routes.
The bike performed faultlessly and I'm delighted to say we both really enjoyed it. Sure, the Bonneville is a woofly, friendly thing but that was just perfect for us. Anything more extreme could have put the girlfriend right off biking completely. She was nice and comfortable and before long was happy for me to filter through traffic and accelerate as fast as I liked (which isn't that fast on the Bonney admittedly). To add to that, when she wasn't on the back I even had fun hooning about on it! Although it desperately needed louder pipes
. Back home now and still on a high. I'd forgotten how much I love bikes. The freedom of movement they give you and the way you're part of the environment you ride through so much more.
My old GSXR is getting cleaned up this weekend ready for sale. I'm desperate to get a bike that I can use to continue the girlfriend's enjoyment - I just wish GSX1400s were a bit (lot!) cheaper.
It's a lovely evening here now - wish we could go out for a ride!
Hooli said:
B15TT0 said:
I just wish GSX1400s were a bit (lot!) cheaper.
they are worth every penny though 
seem them down to about 2k privately a few times.What's that in your profile pic - some type of Bonneville? How'd you like it?
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