Another Biking Life

[Howling Terror]

Like the cut of of your giblets and in a sick macabre, and don't tell my mum way I'm waiting for the opportunity to smash my current bike to smithereens so I can get a pocket rocket of a bike.
I'm hoping for minor abrasion with a broken collarbone and bruises.
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Diabolical homemade music Bandcamp and Soundcloud
Singer songwriter, Artist and allround good bloke Listen to Andrew Susan Johnston here
The Harry Turner Project

[Nobby the Bastard]

[chickenstrip]

[chickenstrip]

[Howling Terror]

SS swingarms tend to be heavier and you want a lighter bike. They corner better.


Soz Mr. I've got that daft Friday feeling.
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Diabolical homemade music Bandcamp and Soundcloud
Singer songwriter, Artist and allround good bloke Listen to Andrew Susan Johnston here
The Harry Turner Project

[chickenstrip]

Oh, there's no hope for the rider, even if he had a bike on rails; I've given up on that sorry SOB
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Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE!

[Nobby the Bastard]

How about getting a nice example of a 90s fairing and sticking it on the Fazer. It'll make a fucking wicked sleeper.
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Sprint ST 1050

[chickenstrip]

[Nobby the Bastard]

GPZ 900.

Nice and upright to suit the Fazer and your battered frame, and it'll make people crap themselves when you go barrelling into a corner about 50 mph faster than a GPZ could 1) achieve and 2) actually manage to get round.
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Sprint ST 1050

[Alpineandy]

I certainly know Gravel Lane.
Threw my FSIE down the road in the 1st week of ownership just along from the Kings Head in Chigwell road (which is why I've never been a 'scratcher' since).
I was almost certainly at High Beach for some of your visits with your brother but wasn't there so much when you had the Turbo.
If the LC350 riders mate had a odd seating position/riding style then I knew both of them reasonably well until I moved away in 87 (the LC guy better... some stories ).
Small world
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The above comment isn't necessarily the truth and anyone that says it is, is only correct if it's the truth or they're bigger than me.

[chickenstrip]

I think I was told the LC rider was one Richard S.....?

When they helped me to pick up my FZ, they said I should go racing. I think I mumbled something about not being able to afford to. They didn't believe the bike was brand new until I pointed out the mileage, and condition of bits I hadn't just wrecked to them
The chap on the GSXR - don't know anything about him, just that he was crap on that bend where I passed him. If he used to race on the track, maybe I wouldn't have embarrassed myself too much if I could have afforded to

Small world indeed
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Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE!

[Alpineandy]

[chickenstrip]

I seemed to meet all the nutters back then

I blame my brother.

There was Ken, who ploughed his Kwak turbo into a bus at xxx mph He bought the Z650 I had fixed.
Some guy had a turbo'd Kwak 1000 'drag' bike that was featured in Performance Bikes magazine - I raced him down Gravel Lane too, but unsurprisingly, when we hit the straighter bits, he left me for dust; he wound up in a tree sometime later.

Then Ian C. who had the Mistral-tuned Z1R (a copper coloured Yam 2T twin when I first met him, again, through my brother). I never met a faster rider than him back then.

Ah, those were the days
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Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE!

[pig hog]

There's always an accident down Gravel Lane--usually someone driving into the wall/fence of the houses just past (or before) Taylors; they've made that middle bit a 40 limit, these days.

It's a bit of a pain in the arse really because once you're stuck behind traffic, there are only a couple of (safe) overtaking opportunities and everyone seems to love driving along the NSL stretches at 40...

Heard of a guy getting T-boned by a car pulling out of Millers Lane and I nearly rode into the side of the Snap-On van, a couple of months ago!
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A2 Licence: 18/10/2013
A Licence: 01/12/2015
'13 Yamaha XJ6N '15 Daytona 675R / '16 MT-07 dead / '17 MT-07 / '18 MT-10

[chickenstrip]

[Dave_80]

Cracking story well told,really enjoyed reading that.
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Honda CB750 F2X

[Dave_80]

Cracking story well told,really enjoyed reading that.
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Honda CB750 F2X

[chickenstrip]

I think it might be time to update this old story
Well, I'm bored, and also thought I'd keep the record complete, although most of what follows has been documented elsewhere, so I'll keep it largely pictorial.

But first, I thought I'd add a couple of comments about the accidents towards and at the end of ownership of the yellow Fazer.
The one where I cracked my tibia was an odd one. An unlit road at night, heading for the last bike night of the year at H's cafe in Oxfordshire.

I knew the road fairly well in daylight by now, but had actually been cautioning myself to take it easy on this first night-time excursion on that route as I knew there were a couple of tight bends after fairly fast stretches, with junctions and houses etc on them. So I wasn't going very fast on the approach to this one, maybe dropped down to about 30 or 40 when I knew it was coming up.

But it was so dark, I couldn't see a thing, except where my headlights picked out the white lines in the road. And those were the first things that threw me - I'd forgotten about the junction, and the line markings for it confused me momentarily. Unfortunately, when I looked up for a further reference there was just a bloody great hedge in front of me! (Of course it occurs to me that hedges have often featured in my biking mishaps )
It was right in front of me because the main road turned sharply to the left at this point, but it just further confused me, as my headlights weren't lighting where the road went, just that bit straight ahead of me. In actual fact, I'd have had plenty of time to stop safely, but instead, I panicked and grabbed the anchors - I know, classic n00b mistake

Unfortunately, I'd recently had new rear pads fitted, and as the shop didn't have standard compound pads in stock, which is what I was used to, I took HHs instead.
Well, these Fazers have bloody effective rear brakes, easy to lock at the best of times, although with standard pads I never had problems judging how much pressure to apply, and I usually barely use the rear brake anyway. But I stepped on it this time and the rear wheel locked and the bike went into a bit of a skid.
Even that should have been easily recoverable, so all I can say is that in my panic, I must have just got everything else wrong too, and down the bike went. Just to forgive myself a little, at this point I still couldn't really see a damn thing - I was totally disoriented; could've been upside down for all I knew - which I soon was!
Fortunately, the bike stopped at the kerb, and I managed to crawl to the verge too, having ascertained that my injured leg wouldn't take my weight without, er, 'notable' pain.

So there I sat, in the dark. Fumbled for and lit a cigarette. A car came along, and a nice chap stopped and came over to check I was ok. Then a car from the local police turned up. He was a very helpful chap too, and the two of them got my bike moved off the road and on to its stand.
After a moment explaining to the copper what had happened, he warned me that the traffic cops were on their way to the scene, and that they'd be angling for a nick, so to be careful what I told them!

He also told me he'd looked at the bike and there seemed to be very little damage of any consequence, and he was thinking about whether he could ride it home for me to save me impound recovery charges. But I said it might be better if I just swallowed that - I said I didn't want anyone to ride it until a better examination could be carried out in daylight, just in case.
So recovery was arranged and an ambulance came along to cart me off to the hospital.

The final crash on that bike, stuffing it into a hedge (!!) towards the Newtown end of the Crossgates-to-Newtown 'racetrack' in Wales, was also completely my own fault.
I was out with a mate from the Fazer forum who I'd done many rides in Wales with before. We didn't used to hang about! This time, I seemed to have left him behind a bit though, and had slowed right down to wait for him to catch up. So I was spending too much time looking out for him in my mirrors. And that's it. Wasn't looking where I was going as the bike drifted off towards the verge, which it rode up onto and against the hedge. Even on the rough, grassy ground I was now going along, left side half buried in the hedge, I thought I was just going to be able to save it as my speed scrubbed off further - in a second or two I'd have it back on the tarmac, shaken but unharmed. But no, that's not my bloody luck, is it
Just before I could get it recovered, I caught in the hedge, which hauled me backwards on the seat, and at the same time caused me to yank the throttle open! So the bike shot out from underneath me, and I landed on the sharp edge of the tarmac, cracking two vertebrae in the process. Cue another ambulance ride, and hospital food for a few more days.

The damage to the bike, whilst ultimately repairable, was more than I wanted to be bothered with, so I just took this as an opportunity to replace it with a lower mileage version, a black-engined and -framed late model, which is what I'd really been hankering for anyway.

Having found one, another Fazer Forum mate took this one off my hands and we arranged a deal where he'd do all the mods I wanted to the new one for me, including swapping of the R1 forks which hadn't sustained any damage, swapping over the Ivanised carbs and air box lid, and fitting a fresh R6 shock. He threw in some nice carbon-dip for some panels too.

When he'd finished with it, this is how the crashed bike wound up looking before he sold it on:

https://i.postimg.cc/ydjy4zWd/1924025-952672331487377-27521029323816842-n.jpg

And now it was on to Fazer no.5! This taken up on Uffington Hill, above the iron-age hill fort, after my mate delivered the finished bike to me:

https://i.postimg.cc/dQ7hKYhx/DSCN0001.jpg

Carbon-dipped panels caught in the summer evening light:

https://i.postimg.cc/vmWvhns5/DSCN0010.jpg

And that was the first time back on a bike since wrecking the last one, and still a little stiff and sore!

Wordier than I thought it would be!

Anyway, that brings me to a point where I can turn more to pictures to document the travels of Fazer no.5, which I'll do bit by bit over the coming days
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Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE!

[chickenstrip]

I have never before become so attached to a 'thing' as I have this Fazer. I've owned it for a bit over 3 years now, the longest I have ever kept any bike for, and have covered somewhere in the region of 35k miles, which although not a huge amount in the grand scheme of things, hasn't included any commuting - it has all been for fun and exploration.

Yes, here I'll be revisiting ground already covered elsewhere on this forum, but it is another chapter in this story, and a major one in my eyes - perhaps the best, though not most eventful in my riding life.
Many of the photos I haven't used here before though, as this isn't about my best photographic efforts, but just a record of where this bike has taken me, plus a few from my brief flirtation with a Street Triple.

So without further ado, a pictorial record of the life and times of (mostly) Fazer no.5:

First outing to the 2015 Cassington Bike Night, Oxfordshire. Usual huge attendance, this is only about half the main field parking:

https://i.postimg.cc/3Rk1VRmr/DSCN0042.jpg

Memories!:

https://i.postimg.cc/jjLyd15Z/DSCN0043.jpg

Two cylinders from a radial aero engine:

https://i.postimg.cc/5yqCRd7N/DSCN0046.jpg

5cyl KH Kwak by the same builder:

https://i.postimg.cc/jdcf6TnM/DSCN0049.jpg

And of bikes from the years of my youth:

https://i.postimg.cc/FHnJqxZc/DSCN0051.jpg

A first summer evening ride on the "Charlbury TT" course - great, empty, country lanes:

https://i.postimg.cc/HkJLJ1wc/DSCN0227.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/bvtd5fdc/DSCN0225.jpg

Early rides with members of the Fazer Owners Club. Good turn out for an Oxfordshire/Wiltshire run, organised and led by myself:

https://i.postimg.cc/FzmfcCrt/DSCN0069.jpg

And again for a trip to Sammy Miller's museum:

https://i.postimg.cc/kG6y890D/DSCN0072.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/Xq38Jgtq/DSCN0087.jpg

3 go nuts in Wales:

https://i.postimg.cc/BvL1G1Yz/DSCN0065.jpg

A visit to Pendine Sands on the 90th anniversary of Sir Malcolm Campbell's 1925 record breaking run there in Blue Bird, a 350hp Sunbeam which reached a speed of 150mph:

https://i.postimg.cc/CMtHBSDk/DSCN0241.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/VLzqmq6d/DSCN0239.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/x83LLCsf/DSCN0246.jpg

Also ran; 1933 Napier Railton Special, a Brooklands lap record holder:

https://i.postimg.cc/g01yW1XW/DSCN0258.jpg

Brief break on Uffington Hill on the way home:

https://i.postimg.cc/fbmTK7gM/DSCN0276.jpg

And of course, more trips to Wales for great biking roads and scenery:

https://i.postimg.cc/vZ7WNnKt/DSCN0136.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/8z3jwzpm/DSCN0222.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/g0VmRznJ/DSCN0750.jpg

Couple of interesting historical sites visited on the way to/from such trips; Raglan Castle:

https://i.postimg.cc/FzW9RT1V/DSCN0353.jpg

Stokesay Castle:

https://i.postimg.cc/28tkN9sz/DSCN0477.jpg

And this seen at a service station car park on the way to Wales again, Laverda RGS1000 circa about 1983:

https://i.postimg.cc/9FmRQkgZ/DSCN0123.jpg

Nicely modded GSX1100 seen on one of my last Sunday outings to H's cafe:

https://i.postimg.cc/j25bGyvw/DSCN0777.jpg

4 day trip to Cornwall; at Rame Head:

https://i.postimg.cc/rszBhMF5/DSCN0985.jpg

Somewhere on Dartmoor:

https://i.postimg.cc/Mp0Fmvbh/DSCN1050.jpg

In front of Truro cathedral:

https://i.postimg.cc/ry0cCNd3/DSCN1242.jpg

Obligatory:

https://i.postimg.cc/Fs04wFVx/DSCN1365.jpg

And visiting old haunts shortly before moving oop North:

https://i.postimg.cc/pT9NCPdz/DSCN1508.jpg

One last time at High Beach, Epping Forest:

https://i.postimg.cc/WpkLJpCP/DSCN1511.jpg
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Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE!

[chickenstrip]

Came the day to pack the Fazer in a van with all my worldly possessions (which didn't amount to much; hired a Luton van, put the bike up front, stuffed a couple of large airbeds next to it, and most everything else I owned fitted in behind that).

Soon out exploring.
Southern Upland hills, Scotland:

https://i.postimg.cc/nLHB2FhV/DSCN1546.jpg

Got a new large shed built in the garden, and the Fazer soon had company:

https://i.postimg.cc/g2KNmBwJ/DSCN1668.jpg

Furthest I went on the Street Triple was about a 180 mile trip around the Yorkshire Dales, but more often went hooning on it in the Lake District:

https://i.postimg.cc/T1qWgBv5/DSCN1731.jpg

Took a couple of months to figure out, despite the decent low down tractability for the smaller bike, it's forte was keeping it on the boil...ok, thrashing the tits off it...around twisty country lanes. Kept it for a year before I decided it would kill my license.

Another trip around the Southern Uplands in better weather:

https://i.postimg.cc/1tSmwXmM/DSCN2075.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/3NJ3fqDv/DSCN2102.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/xjtfN9Wy/DSCN2109.jpg

First proper Scotland tour:

https://i.postimg.cc/d0Pwc3yv/DSCN2205.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/YSd7G3P2/DSCN3401.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/SRCNM98Z/DSCN3524.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/fyZ18Spq/DSCN3587.jpg

First Euro tour came that summer, 2016:

https://i.postimg.cc/pLnknX1m/DSCN3904.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/d3xmLz2R/DSCN3920.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/sX2h7TDT/DSCN4046.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/WzktwCRw/DSCN4141.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/9fmRHLTc/DSCN4118.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/qR988WDp/DSCN4224.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/CLtzdbtV/DSCN4248.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/R0xhL44s/DSCN4243.jpg
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Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE!

[chickenstrip]

2nd Scotland tour of the year, 2016:

https://i.postimg.cc/1RvRyKGM/DSCN7655.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/wTP6mTbm/DSCN7667.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/TPvftNx2/DSCN7686.jpg

Obligatory no.2:

https://i.postimg.cc/sDGkbPwM/DSCN7726.jpg

Obligatory no.3:

https://i.postimg.cc/7ZgpZHvD/DSCN7732.jpg

Cairngorm backdrop:

https://i.postimg.cc/nzwWPMmK/DSCN7805.jpg
____________________
Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE!

[Pigeon]

[struan80]

Quite an adventure, well done. I am a bit jealous.

[chickenstrip]

[chickenstrip]