Fighting temptation

How would you fill your dream garage? It’s a question I often ask myself on payday, moments before the mortgage, car insurance and kids’ dance class memberships come knocking and decimate whatever pennies I’ve earnt. But a lack of disposable finance doesn’t stop me from dreaming of what could shelter in my garage, alongside my RSV Mille and the twin-shock trials bike I’ve had for more than 20-years. Of course the temptation’s there to rattle off a list of contemporary, high-end sportsbikes; the types that will blow your mind and bank balance in equal measure. There’s nothing wrong with that, and if performance, tech and the latest styling cues are your thing, why the hell wouldn’t you go down that route? As for me, at the ripe old age of 34, nostalgia seems to be influencing my decisions more and more these days, to the extent that my pick of machines would probably feature a healthy dose of older models too. My 1999 R6 was an awesome bike, so that would definitely be in the mix, and the same goes for the K7 GSX-R600 I had brand new in its day. I’d own another KR-1S in a heartbeat, and a VFR400 to go with it. And after all the fun I had in my teens on my seven-speed Cagiva Mito, it would be sacrilege if that didn’t make the cut. I’ve owned 27 bikes in my time, but that number would have a zero at the end of it if I’d’ve had my way following a trip to Fasttrack Motorcycles for this issue’s big used test. It’s easy to forget how many great bikes have come and gone in the last decade, let alone my lifetime, but the Melton Mowbray dealership was rammed with bikes of all ages, values and allure. Bikes like the trio of talent we picked to play on, representing different price points for the sake of our test, which each hammered home, in their own way, the utter brilliance on tap for not a lot of cash. I love my new bikes, but I also love a bargain, and this test highlighted there are plenty of them out there. I’d better go and cut up my credit card…

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