I've ridden 'proper' bikes for years and whilst I have a degree of respect for all road users, I always considered twist and go's as inferior, pointless, pathetic... there's a long list of suitable adjectives. Then one day on my regular commute it occured to me, I hate changing gear, up and down through the box through 40 limit, then 30, then 40...blah blah blah, its the 21st century, surely someone has resolved this issue... wait a minute... maybe all those guys and girls I see on those stupid little twist and go's are onto something.
The bike I had this epiphany on was a Suzuki Gladius, Franky Howards version of an SV650. The Gladius was on loan from my father having sold my bike, a GSXR1000. A bike the motorcycle press the world over will salivate at just the name of, its the kind of bike that makes other bikers take a second look as if they had somehow misread you the first time and now after knowing one small shred of information you've suddenly become 'alright'. In truth it is an awesome bike, mine was a 2007 'K7' variant and I irrationally fell in love with it the first time I rode one and made a deal with the dealer that was selling it as soon as I got back from the test ride. Its an assault on the senses, the acceleration is mind warping, the engine produces a wall of torque that nearly negates the need for a gearbox, crack the throttle and its off. I genuinely loved owning it... for about a week, then the realisation kicked in that I'd brought a howitzer to a knife fight. The only thing I do on a bike is commute to and from work, I love bikes but the thought of spending my weekends riding them genuinely bores me to tears, I've got a young family and in all reality I've just got better things to do with my time. So, here I am proud owner of this magnificent motorcycle in the middle of summer and I'm already wondering how its going to get me through winter, what will the salt do to it, how much is that rear tyre going to cost to replace.
Fortunately the decision was made for me, our car blew up, well it demised itself in a cloud of white smoke which was the death nail. It was coming up for nearly 200,000 miles, had had a tonne of money spent on it the previous year and this was the tipping point where it went from reliable banger to expensive jallopy. My wife needed a new car, I needed some cash, the bike needed gone. Bike was sold, new car was purchased leaving me with minimal funds to get another bike to get to work. I was convinced a new Taiwanese step-through was the way to go I had trawled the internet and took a liking to the Kymco Agility 125, big wheels (like a proper bike) and change from £2000 for a brand new one, result. Quick Google search and theres a Kymco dealer nearby, result. I turn up hopeful, only to find that Kymco had just gone bankrupt and the 'dealer' hadn't sold any for a while and on top of that didn't have a single demo bike amongst the alternative Tai offerings, I even asked the guy; "So I'm supposed to buy it and hope I like it?", "Most do" was his less than satisfactory answer.
Right, rethink time. Fortunately there was another dealer a mile or two down the road so I went to see what they had, explained my situation, coming from a 'big bike' and considering a small twist and go. The guy chucked me the keys to his bike, an unpronounceable Suzuki Burgman type machine with a 300cc engine, "Have a go on that" said he. Which i did. The first big difference between a twist and go and a motorcycle is that your left hand no-longer serves as the clutch, stopping at a junction and pulling in the 'clutch' lurches the bike to halt as you've grabbed a handful of the rear brake, this aside its actually a fairly intuitive experience. Want to go faster, twist harder, want to stop let go and apply brakes, its that easy. Maybe these scooter guys are onto something after all. I took the bike back and whilst grateful for the opportunity didn't think that particular bike was right for me. We went through their alternatives and came up with two viable options, as luck would have it, they would have both bikes in the following day, I could barely contain my excitement. The following day came and once the triviality of work was done with I made my way to the dealer with eager anticipation. Bike one a Peugeot Tweet 125, big wheels like the Kymco I'd originally spied, plus it was on offer with all kinds of accessories, sweet! Sadly the Tweet is made for more petite frames than my 6'2 bulk, I could barely get my knees on it and took an almost instant dislike to the plasticky finish, still maybe the other will be better... Bike two, a Sym something something, branded as a 'sporty' scooter, it turns out that SYM basically make every 125cc scooter not manufactured in Europe or Japan, even the Peugeot is a branding exercise and it shows. Cheap plastic is in abundance, worse the knee shield and seat are way too close to suit someone of my stature. Maybe this whole scooter thing needs a rethink.
I use eBay as much to see what the world has to offer, as i do actually buying stuff, it amazes me what people sell and often how much they want for it. A bit of poking around, following some suggested links and I'm looking at a 2007 Honda SH300, reasonable condition, full service history, £1200 or best offer. Without even really thinking, I put in a cheeky £1000 offer, fully excpecting to be smacked down, within 3 hours I had the email back telling me my offered had been accepted. Oh... great.... After an email exchange and bit of digging, turns out the bike was a Cat C insurance write off, not good but not the end of the world at least now I had a bargaining tool if I got cold feet. I went with my father and a motorcycle trailer to go and have a look at the bike, looked over it, poked it, did all the usual stuff you do when you try to pretend you know exactly what you are doing. Took it out for a test ride and right there and then knew I was taking the bike home. Got back, a spot of renegotiating, a few extras thrown in and I'm loading the bike up on the trailer.
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