Why?

[dainesefreak]

Something from another thread made me wonder why? Why do you ride the bike you have now?

I don't mean the whole biking thing, the wind in the hair etc. Why do you ride the bike you currently have. Choice, lack of choice, like the looks, colour goes with my eyes, reasons?

I don't want to turn this in to people attacking everyone else's choice of bike, I'm just interested to know what and why.



Mine is an 02 Blade. I fancied an R1 after owning an R6. I was at an age where I could afford to buy/run/insure one fairly easily and wanted to do the whole "superbike thing" before I popped it.

Anyway, I couldn't get a deal on an R1 and wasn't willing to pay full RRP. I walked into the local Honda dealer to sort out my wifes bike and was made an offer I couldn't refuse. Voila and shiny new red and black 954 Blade. The red and black was snatched away from me in Feb last year by a nasty man in a VW Polo. So the Yellow version I ride now was it's replacement, yellow was my second favorite colour choice as they were like rocking horse shit at the time, but shhh don't tell it.

[Rob W]

Basically, I wanted a Supermoto. After not having a bike for about 2 years I wanted to get something easy to ride and reliable, that's why I got my Senda SM125 'cos of it's 4T engine. I looked around and it was the best looking one (in my opinion) that I could find and had some good reviews. I'm going to take my test on it so I wanted a bike that would get me through that and last me the 2 years I have to do my probation on. At the moment I'm not too worried about speed, I'm just glad to be back on the road. 70mph is enough for me at the moment, so I'll just use it to get some experience then move up to a bigger bike.
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TS50 > Senda 125 > ZXR400 > CB-1 > GSX-R1000 > Bandit 600 > ZXR750 H1 > GSX-R750 SRAD > '98 RR-W Fireblade > T595 Daytona > Hornet 900 > '04 Fireblade > GSX-S1000F (x2) > '23 XSR900

[Keith]

I ride my 99 Aprilia RS125 because:

- I love the look of it.
- My NS125R was dropping to bits.
- I had a Derbi Senda which wouldnt sell and got good trade value on.

Basically needed a more reliable form of transport and I could just to say afford the RS.
Gorgeous bike but cant wait to make use of a full license. 500 here I come!
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Aprilia RSV Mille R Edwards Replica - Aprilia RS250 - Suzuki GSXR600 Supersport Race Bike

[Marc_Buck]

Because it cost me £65.

RXS100.
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94 fzr600r

[cagiva gezzer]

Because i can't be arsed to sell it, and every time i consider selling it i end up spending a chunk of money on it, so i think i might aswell use it and get my money out of it!
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"because one stroke isnt enough and four strokes waste two"

[Rhino]

I've got an 98 CBR. I wanted a sports 600 as I like the style and wind/ weather protection they offer, and I liked the user friendly natured of the CBR, along with it's practicality - a centrestand! I went for a 98 because I couldn't stretch to a fuel injected model, and wanted the alloy framed model. I love it.

[mchaggis]

Hongdou HD125. I ride this bike because I was naive and inexperienced.

I believed that a two-stroke would fall to pieces and need rebuilding every five minutes and that it would drive me mad with the whining. I also believed that a brand new bike would be better than a 10+ yr old bike with 10-20k on the clock. I also wanted them to deliver it, feeling over confident in my independence and not thinking that I could just ask my Mum to lend me a hand in fetching one.

So rather stupidly I bought a Chinese import, sending off the money before I had the bike and other assorted idiocies. It's comfy and reliable. Bits falling off and bulbs blowing is a regular occurence.
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I must not be a troll...
Mmmm, Guinness
Discovering the delights of Hammerite and a 3/4" brush.

[Steve H]

I bought mine (TT600) because I thought it would be a relatively sane entry into the World of Sports 600's – I liked the look of it (even the underpants headlight!), I also felt a certain brand loyalty to Triumph, it being a British Company 'n all.

I think I was right about the sanity angle, I've test rode all Sports 600's from the big Japanese Companies (and the Daytona) since as I'm looking to upgrade and they're all much more extreme with regard to acceleration and comfort.

I’ll openly admit that the TT didn’t have the performance of any other Sports bike in its’ group at the time however I find it amazing that over a period of only 3 years the difference in performance between my TT and those that I’ve tested during the last few months is truly stunning. Those that have their hearts set on that type of bike and are purchasing one for the first time are really going to have their hands full when it comes to handling one although there is a fantastic choice.
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Mellow Yellow
The BCF Top TEN - 2010, 2009, 2008, The Original.

[spitefuljack]

I always wanted a Blade.

So after selling my Gixer 6 I tried a couple and was in luurve....

Managed to get a loan and got myself a rather lovely red/black 02 blade.

Love the looks and performance. Build quality and reliability are second to none.

[binge]

Ive had 3 speedfights now. First 1 was for my birthday. It got written off so I bought a 100cc speedfight registered 50 from ebay for £600. Had a lot of technical trouble 6 months down the line and now ive got a speedfight 1 which cost me £600..
I think its just the right price at the right time...

<|Binge|>

[dainesefreak]

Yeah yeah, rub it in why don't ya. Bloody red and black.

[Ric]

i wanted a 600 but insurance stopped me
(i'll get one next a nice gixxer)

so i got a 400, i was lookin at 650 SV but the sportlook got me again

a zxr cos my mate had one and the look

altho i wanted a cheap vfr before that

[spitefuljack]

soz dude, but hey.......it IS the best colour!

Saying that, I was torn between the red and yellow.....

[dainesefreak]

Have you seen the new all black 05? Must resist.

[spitefuljack]

Dont even mention it.......

I absolutely Love the red and black version of the 05'

As you say....must resist

[Robin]

Right price at the right time, and it does the job.

[Dan 4RR]

As college was getting closer, I needed my own form of transport instead of relying on my parents & the buses, I decided I wanted a scooter. Me and my dad spent about 2 months looking through Bike Trader, the local adverts, etc until we found one. As soon as we got to the sellers house my dad said 'we'll take it' before the women got a chance to say anything lol.

[stinkwheel]

Mz supermoto:

Because I ride all year round on some shitty, twisty roads and the odd dirt track.

Because nearly every bike I have bought in the last ten years was a paralell twin, I wanted a change, didn't want a four and couldn't afford a triple.

Because I am big.

Because if I kept riding sportsbikes I was going to loose my licence so I wanted something to allow me to ride like a tw@ without breaking the limit by too much.

Because I am a contrary bugger and like something different.

Because it was better than the CCM and £1000 cheaper (and boy did I make the right choice!)
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[yambabe]

Love at first sight I'm afraid!

I really wanted a Virago. Then we got the chance to buy a VT500 Shadow very cheap, but it wasn't UK registered & needed a bit of work. Most of the work has now been done but it's still not registered & ready for the road.......

I was walking around the trade stalls at the NABD rally earlier this year when I spotted this bike with a for sale sign on it. I went over, had a sit on it, it felt really comfortable, said to the other half "oooh this is nice". He had a look at it, it seemed in good order, but he was worried that it was "only" a 250. I must have gone back about 15 times over the weekend, just to sit on it or admire it, got the guy's business card then went home.

Started having my lessons & booked my first test - more work done on the Shadow, so that I managed to have a go at riding it on our local carpark one Sunday afternoon. It was OK, but after my H100 and the SR125 I was learning on, it felt awful big, heavy and unwieldy, and I was not very confident that I could get it round corners if I took it on the road!

Rang the guy from NABD. yes, he still had the Eliminator, it was in the way in his workshop, he'd knock £200 off the price he quoted me at the show if I would take it this week.......

So me & the other half went for a look. Guy starts it, clunk clunk revvy revvy revvy (it's a Kawasaki on full choke, some of you will understand!), the other half is shaking his head, sounds pretty poor, but due to my pleading eyes he takes it for a test ride (I've not got my full licence yet remember).

35 minutes (!) later, he comes back, grinning all over his face, doing 75 down the dual carriageway, to tell me that it's OK when it gets warmed up!

The rest, as they say, is history. 6 months later I've done over 6000 miles on it this summer, love it to bits, it's the perfect first "big" bike for me. So much so that I've just bought a 400 model for when my 33bhp expires, and the poor old Shadow is going on Ebay with never a wheel turned on the road.
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Sod falling in love, I wanna fall in chocolate.

[JonB]

Because it was only £495 and I wanted to be an independant person. I never had the intention of getting into bikes and had my heart set on a car, but now, I just can't wait to get my next bike in 4 months time!
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Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it?s worth.

[0ni]

Wanted a bike, started off looking for a 125 ped, then thought

"Nah Ill be on it 6 months and buying a bigger bike"

Then was thinking about an RS125

"Nah Ill be on it 6 months and buying a bigger bike"

Then was thinking imported CBR400RRJ

"Mmm, nice"

Phone rings. <ring ring>

"Awright mate, the CBRs been dropped on a test drive, do you fancy a GSXR 600 for a grand more"

"Thanks but no thanks"

"500 more?"

"Nope"

"Free delivery?"

"Sorry pal"

"Same price?"

"Throw in free delivery and youve got a deal."

Deal.



Not bad for just over £2200

[Demonic69]

The GPZ... Cuz it was cheap but I'm actually enjoying thrashing it
The Blade... Because of the Stigma attatched to them. I wanted something bigger and better than the Gixxer750, was wanting to spend about £3.5k and Chez suggested the Blade (She was one of those lasses who though bikers were cool as a wee kiddy, and had a Fireblade poster on her wall ). It was either the Blade or an RF9, or maybe a ZX9R. The Blade won easy for me
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Back on a Blade. Just feels so right.

[Bomberman]

Well, I started off looking for a CG125 or SR or the equivalent. A nice simple unfaired, unsporty four stroke to get some experience on, would be reliable and I'd be able to get a fairly new one in decent nick for not too much cash. Didn't fancy the unreliability (supposed) of a two stroke sporty. Plus, cheap insurance, low running costs etc. etc.
Well, that plan fell apart. I got a bit more money than I thought I'd have and decided to up my game. After much looking found a 1989 TZR on eBay and fell in love Bid on it and lost in last minute sniping war. So gutted Found another in ad-mag and bought it that day First bike I'd sat on since my CBT, and the first I'd gone to see. Broke the golden rule, and paid waaay too much for it, but hah, feck it
So from unsporty four, to sporty two
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'Allo! My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die!
'89 TZR 125 - '94 GPZ500s - ZK3 GSXR600 Alstare

[Bendy]

I wanted a sports 600 and a trusted friend said they thought a CBR would suit my riding style the best.

Went round a dealership, sitting on all the competition and the CBR felt most 'me' but I thought the colour was vile and the money was a bit more than I was looking to pay at the time, so left it and kept searching.

Went to see an older CBR in black, which had looked nice in the photo, but wasn't digging it in the flesh. The headlight was too square.

Went back to have another look at the yellow peril and this time asked for the keys to start it up. Made a bloody gorgeous noise and I was sold - vile colour and over budget or not, I was buying it.

The colour's grown on me.

[Annabella]

Having ridden my pride and joy of an NSR 125 into a road sign, I persuaded my parents that a larger more powerful bike would be much safer. Regaling them with tales of better brakes and the ability to 'power out of trouble' they were convinced, and it wasn't long before Dad was taking me all over to look at VFRs. A sports 400 was essential for me, as they were the only bikes I could comfortably reach the floor from.


I was struggling to find one in good condition for the money that I had

One day I was sent to RS components to pick up some rather large and very delicate capacitors for one of the Plasma Furnaces, and whilst I was sitting, bored in their waiting room drinking bromine-coffee I started to chat to one of the guys who also looked bored.
Asked if he'd seen the really, really tasty VFR sitting outside, and mentioned I was after a sports 400.

He said, "My wife is selling her CBR400, she wants £1500 for it, it's black"
I wanted it instantly.
We arranged to meet for me to see it, and I dragged my little NSR along the A5 for one last time. It was the most beautiful bike I had ever seen.
I said I'd have it.

A year and a half later, my beautiful baby was gone. Stolen by Taffu scum. So I searched for a replacement. I contemplated upgrading to bigger bikes, but the modifications to the suspension to allow this midget to ride were too expensive and too complicated.
So, basically, I bought an identical - though newer bike. In the same colours, so it matched the brand new leathers I had purchased to match the original CBR!
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Avast! Pirates ahoy!
I did Cadwell!
www.bikepics.com/members/bella