‘You can hear them for miles, blipping down their boxes’
Have you ever heard of Pavlov’s Dog, a dog that was conditioned to react to a sound stimulus? Well, that is me in human being form, minus the cold wet nose and shiny coat.
Living in the Welsh Marches the summer mornings are alive with the sound of bikes heading towards the coast. You can hear them coming for miles, blipping down their boxes for the sharp bend then full chat up hill past my door.
I lie in bed and the urge comes over me – I have got to get out. NOW! Quick coffee, leathers on and hit the road. I don’t have loud pipes but I am old enough to remember Alpha and Micron four into ones on seventies and eighties multi-cylinder toys. And please don’t get me started on LC’S on spannies. I suspect that people complained about us then.
And if I am out in the garden I always hang over the fence to watch the bikes go by. It’s just like the TT some mornings.
I am just a big kid at heart.
Electric Cub
The bike the world actually needs right now is the Honda electric Cub. But where is it? Honda have been promising their EV Cub for years, but at a time when two wheeled commuting and home delivery is growing in urban areas there is little sign of it.
I suggest as a matter of urgency you despatch noted C50 correspondent Armitage–san to Japan to establish what actually is going on. I look forward to reading his report. Honda are missing a golden opportunity here to re-invent the original deliverer. David Clark, email
Man, those were the…
I have been an avid Bike reader since 1974 and you inspired my first big motorcycle adventure (Isle of Man TT, back in 1977).
I just booked a ferry ticket and winged it (muddy camping at Onchan).
I booked to go in 2020 after a 20 year absence. Best laid plans, eh! Now rolled booking over to 2022. It will be worth the wait. Meanwhile more time on my hands to sort my two shed projects – Fantic 305 and barn find Puch Maxi (the first bike I rode at 15).
Nigel Ellis, email The right to live in peace Yes, it’s the loud pipes debate again: I’m interested to know why Allan Park (Bike, April) thinks his hobby is more important than anyone else’s right to live in peace? I’m talking about the night shift workers who are keeping this country afloat. The single parents trying to get their kids off to sleep after an arduous day of home schooling. If bikers with deafening pipes feel they can’t enjoy a bike with boring and considerate ‘road legal’ pipes then I suggest they record their pipes on a loop and play it on the insides of their helmets to their hearts’ content.
Fred Holmes, email
Life is easier with an app I’ve really enjoyed May’s Bike, particularly the articles about the joys and perils of owning a bike collection. Having completed fitting out a new garage during lockdown, it now houses my collection: launch edition
Honda Blackbird (owned from new); Honda VFR800 50th Anniversary; Suzuki SP370; Honda CBR125; Honda CB750K cafe racer project bike, and the latest addition, a new Moto Guzzi V85 TT. I managed to buy and register on 15 March 2021, Moto Guzzi’s 100th Anniversary.
The admin associated with owning lots of bikes, and a few cars, demands a lot of organisation. But, I recently found an app (Vehicle Smart – Your Garage In Your Pocket) which has proved to be brilliant for this. It takes a bit of effort to populate, but it’s well worth it, as it automatically links to DVLA databases to keep the vehicle status up to date.
You can add lots of other information if you wish, like your insurance details and renewal dates. Happy bike collecting…
Peter J. Lawley, email
One foot in the… game
A couple of years ago I got married and inherited two bike riding step sons. To entice them away from Xbox and Playstation nonsense I subscribed to Bike magazine, thinking they would enjoy the read.
However, they drifted into girlfriends and cars and I’m the one who’s hooked on Bike. And when one lad said he was getting rid of his Honda I jumped straight in and bought it, leathers and all.
Now I’m a 50 something newbie, sensibly hooning around the glorious lanes of my Northumberland locale on a Honda CBR125, longing for lockdown to finish so I can get some lessons and find a tasty Honda VFR400.
And the lads, seeing my enthusiasm, are wishing they had their bikes again. It’s never too late to find a new passion in life.
Stuart Ralph, email
Definitely don’t like H-D I don’t like Harley-davidsons. No, really. Done a lot of miles on one. I do not like them. So how come I’m looking at the Pan America (Bike, May) with what could almost be described as excitement? Move on, quickly. KTM 1290 Super Adventure S. Lots of whizzy toys, but suddenly it looks like a plastic suitcase. BMW R18. Nah, prefer the Rocket 3.
Turn back the pages. That Pan America still looks good. Damn, it even has decent, matching lean angles. Very un-h-d. Am I getting younger? Is H-D? I don’t want to encourage them, not H-D. But… where do I get a test ride and when’s the Bike Big Test? Julian Popple, email
The webs we weave
Your feature on multiple bike ownership (Bike, May) was a revelation. I now try to stick to the following rules: one out one in; minimise admin and ‘care’; ride ’em all, according to whim and weather; my n+1 has settled at 7. And the time/space continuum is intact….just. But here’s the twist… My significant other took a direct access course in 2017, after spending nearly a year on a 125cc Honda. As an inducement I selflessly chopped-in my commuter scoot for a KTM 390. Post-full licence the Duke has proved to be a great success. Yet imagine my amazement when recently overhearing a comment to one of her motorcycle buddies: ‘I loved that Grom, wish I’d never sold it!’ Tim Hill, email