Name: Belleraphon
Make: Honda
Model: CB600F Hornet
Year: 1999 (pre-CBR600 front-end)
Mileage (starting): 19941
Gubbins: Headlight hood (like its own little helmet! d'aww), chain guard, crash sliders, bar end sliders, smoked touring screen, modified rear reflector, Smartwater Instant tagging. Probably has lots more extras, just I can't tell the difference between OEM and farkles yet.
Purchased on 02/03/13 for the lordly sum of £1900 (thank you Grandpa John and Granny Lorna) from the Value Bike Center (Wymondham). Despite there being a very tidy Suzuki SV650, I went with my heart and went for the slightly pricier red Honda.
Coming dripping with accessories, this Honda ticks all the boxes as a great first bike (cheap to insure / get parts for, not too powerful, not too nice, capable at everything).
Update (09/03/13): So far have completed my first week commuting on Belle', she handles well despite my cack-handed riding and has yet to have any problems that weren't directly caused by my mishanding of the choke. Clutch is nice and smooth and the upright riding position makes handling it through traffic fairly easy.
Hot: My first ever motorbike! Everything else is irrelevant!
Not: Bit top-heavy, no fuel gauge (this is going to cause problems I can just tell).
Saturday, 9 March 2013
Review - BMW G650GS (Sleipnir)
Taken from the 2012 Iceland frozen section tour...
My personal bike named (due to the country and the license plate ending in SL) Sleipnir the eight-legged horse of Odin.
BMW's latest 650cc single offering to the light adventure / touring market is the g650gs.
Pros: flexible engines with a very broad power band, very light and agile, a comfortable seat, ABS as standard and stock road tyres fairly grippy on gravel roads.
Cons: low handlebars for standing up work, gear shift and rear break levers can't be effectively used standing up or wearing boots, minimal wind protection, weak battery and poorly shaped front cut outs.
Overall: perfect for the tour around Iceland but not gnarly enough for real hard biker types.
Adventure 1 - Iceland 2012 Frozen Section tour
Date / Time: 07/07/12 - 14/7/12
Route: Reykjavik (Iceland) to Reykjavik (Iceland) anti-clockwise via Myvatn, Akureyri and Husavik
For the full blow-by blow trip report visit: http://threemengotoiceland.blogspot.co.uk/
Route: Reykjavik (Iceland) to Reykjavik (Iceland) anti-clockwise via Myvatn, Akureyri and Husavik
Adventure 2 - Out of darkest Norfolk! (CANCELLED)
Date / Time: 09/03/13 15:00
Route: Norwich (Norfolk) to Melbourne (Cambridgeshire)
Conditions: Heavy rain turning to sleet and then snow by 16:00.
Due to parents being in Cambridge, I decided to head down to meet up with them, stay the night in Cambridge, give mum a mothers day card then high-ho back to Norwich (via a more wiggly route taken from an Adventure Bike Rider article).
As learned from my dad, the first thing for any major trip is to get more kit! Picked up a digital camera from the post office (kindly loaned to me by my brother Max and sister-in-law Asherah), acquired out some high-tech waterproof membrane boot liners (plastic bags), bought some luggage straps (to secure the dry-bag of stuff), got a £4 PVC map cover for my route cards and duct-taped it to my jackets arm and was disappointed that I couldn't find a compact road atlas of the UK.
The day began with light proceeding to moderate 'cruddy' rain which turned the grumpy traffic of Norwich into a state of frenzied horn-blaring rage at the weather gods. I managed to get home from the kit-buying with only one near miss and one bout of rage from a BMW.
As the 3pm set-off time approached, the rain worsened and I got worried that if it got worse overnight I might get stuck in Cambridge on sunday morning. I checked the Met Office who informed me that there were three yellow weather warnings over the east of England for rain, standing water and snow. Taking the brave route, I called the whole thing off, made my apologies to my parents and put Belleraphon away to ride another week.
Moral of the story: Discretion is the better part of valour.
Route: Norwich (Norfolk) to Melbourne (Cambridgeshire)
Conditions: Heavy rain turning to sleet and then snow by 16:00.
Due to parents being in Cambridge, I decided to head down to meet up with them, stay the night in Cambridge, give mum a mothers day card then high-ho back to Norwich (via a more wiggly route taken from an Adventure Bike Rider article).
As learned from my dad, the first thing for any major trip is to get more kit! Picked up a digital camera from the post office (kindly loaned to me by my brother Max and sister-in-law Asherah), acquired out some high-tech waterproof membrane boot liners (plastic bags), bought some luggage straps (to secure the dry-bag of stuff), got a £4 PVC map cover for my route cards and duct-taped it to my jackets arm and was disappointed that I couldn't find a compact road atlas of the UK.
The day began with light proceeding to moderate 'cruddy' rain which turned the grumpy traffic of Norwich into a state of frenzied horn-blaring rage at the weather gods. I managed to get home from the kit-buying with only one near miss and one bout of rage from a BMW.
As the 3pm set-off time approached, the rain worsened and I got worried that if it got worse overnight I might get stuck in Cambridge on sunday morning. I checked the Met Office who informed me that there were three yellow weather warnings over the east of England for rain, standing water and snow. Taking the brave route, I called the whole thing off, made my apologies to my parents and put Belleraphon away to ride another week.
Moral of the story: Discretion is the better part of valour.
Review - Value Bike Centre
Bearer of the proud and cheapskate friendly name of "The Value Bike Centre" is based in the front end of some down-at-heel garages in the middle of Wymondham about 20 minutes outside of Norwich. Run by Chris, a proper Norfolk old boy, the VBC is jam-packed with bikes in immaculate condition (that aren't selling very fast) and some budget bikes (which disappear almost as soon as they get them in).
Hot - Bargain price bikes across the board, all bikes get an MOT and service before being sold. Just across the forecourt from a motorcycle gear shop.
Cons - Outside of the winter months, the prices aren't open to any substantial negotiation. Chris seems very non-plussed about the bikes he sells, with very little specific knowledge as to how they differ from their OEM condition (e.g. if it is fitted with any sort of Smartwater tagging).
Find the VBC at - http://www.valuebikecentre.net/
Hot - Bargain price bikes across the board, all bikes get an MOT and service before being sold. Just across the forecourt from a motorcycle gear shop.
Cons - Outside of the winter months, the prices aren't open to any substantial negotiation. Chris seems very non-plussed about the bikes he sells, with very little specific knowledge as to how they differ from their OEM condition (e.g. if it is fitted with any sort of Smartwater tagging).
Find the VBC at - http://www.valuebikecentre.net/
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