A Grand Day Out

I got a call from my brother to say that our mutual friends was having an open day the bike shop and would I like to come along for a day's worth of ride outs. That was a no brainer....YES. I got a call a day or so before the even saying would I mind leading some of the ride outs as they were short of out riders, no problem. I set off early with H and Miss L to Manchester. We made good time. As I arrived at my parents house to drop the ladies off the phone goes again asking when could I get to the shop as riders were piling up and one of the local out riders had not turned up. As it happened I was ready to go and was at the shop within 15 minutes. I was given my fluro jacket, it seems everyone in the would is wearing one these days, and the keys to a bike. I had to ask what the route was. Luckily it was the same as last time. All the bikes were lined up outside the shop. I looked at the key fob for the bike description and registration number. The fob just said "Wing". It did not take much to spot the Goldwing. The monster was on the end of the row. Half as long again and twice as wide as any of the other bikes in the row. Starting it was no problem but it took three of us a good couples of minutes to get the radio tuned in. I did not bother with the Sat Nav there just was not enough time. Then we were off. I took my charges round the 15 mile route. No one got lost or had any dramas.

I was a little disappointed with the Wing. It is massive, it is comfy, it has lots of toys [heated seats front and rear, heated grips, radio, sat nav, remote suspension tuning] but the gear box is like stirring a tin of nuts and bolts with a screwdrivers meaning it is noisy and not anything like as precise as the gearboxes on the sportier bikes like the CBR1000RR. The suspension needs a fork leg tuning option. The auto tuning only works on the rear shock.



The screen gave a lot of turbulence above seventy and the top edge of the screen was right on my eye line which was a bit irritating. The wing does not have an adjustable screen so I had to scrunch down or sit up extra straight to get my eye under or over the screen edge. Despite the niggles it was an experience. I had not paid the £18,000 price tag and could give it back.




The rides were organised with the out riders using whichever machine was free. The Pan European was very popular so I did not get a spin on that. I have something of a reputation for being a bit quick so I was moved to the sports bikes so that I could give the riders a quicker tempo ride but also over haul anyone who decided to tear off. Only two chaps tried it but were very quickly ridden down. When we got back apologise and handshakes made everything right although they did not get another ride all day. The weather stay with us, dry but over cast and getting brighter as the day wore on. It was still only February so it was quite parky.

The oddest bike I rode was the DN-01 which has been christened the Dino. It is a futuristic shaped thing with a 800cc twin cylinder engine and automatic clutch, essentially an 800cc twist and go. It is odd not having a clutch lever. The riding position did not suit me and there is no weather protection as at anything above 50 mph the wind pressure is felt and get worse as you go quicker. It is also a very odd sensation when riding to back off the throttle and get no engine braking. The power delivery is so soft one has to work to keep the momentum going. Perhaps you are supposed to doddle about town on it.


My brother bought me lunch, it was a free butty van with all the costs met by the shop, he is generous like that. Cheese burgers and a brew for dinner which was nice. It had been a long time since breakfast. Later in the afternoon I snatched a Mars bar and a brew. The other out riders, besides my brother and I, were getting tired so we were in demand. I saw one of my ex-dispatch rider colleagues at the event. He was keen to be associated with the out riders. I was told later that he told a few stories which apparently helped my kudos. That explains why folks came up to me to chat. It was odd being talked to by people I have never metwho knew stuff about my times at Speed Couriers.

One out rider who was supposed to be sweeping up at the back was first back to the shop. To the consternation of Honda's chaps the Wing had gone missing. It did not make it any better when we start pulling his leg that the rider was a scoucer so he was not likely to see it again. To make matters worse the booking procedure had broken down so they did not know who had it. Panic breaks out, where could he be, when was he last seen. I said I had seen him near the airport so was likely to on the motorway and heading for town as that was the line of least resistance. I would go and look for him, just give me a bike. Keys were found for the very quick CBR1000RR. I took off like a scalded cat with, what I thought, was a very long and elegant power wheelie. I got up near the motorway only to find the Wing pottering along. I spotted him as he spotted me. He was able to peel onto the right road. We trunddled back to the shop, the scoucer unconcerned with the mayhem a round him. After all he was the one left behind.

Harvey, one of the salesmen and my long time friend, gave me the keys to the CBR600RR special. It was a more or less standard bike but with a trick paint job. The suspension on this bike was more to my style so no one could get near me on the tight bends. It was just as quick as the other 600RR's and stopped just as well but the paint job and suspension made the difference.

The day wound down. The shop sold a bunch of bikes and set another load of people to thinking about a new bike. I got a final brew and watched as the bikes were packed away in to the shop. A knot a people stayed on to extract the very most from the day, excited by what the had ridden and spending the day with bike people. I am decided that the modern Hondas are not from me. The 600RR and 1000RR are too fast on the road and I will be parted from my life or license. The Hornet and Deauville are too light weight. They are for entry level riders. The Wing...say no more, stop that sniggering at the back! I am still stuck between the Honda's Pan European and BMW's K1300GT.

Honda Day Out

I got an invite to a launch day of Honda's CB1000R. Saturday morning was spent travelling up to Manchester. Miss L came along too but just to go shopping in the city you understand. I dropped Miss L off at her gran's and I disappeared to the dealers. I did the sign in thing and elected to ride the CB1300S, CBR1000RR and the CB1000R. The was a free butty van so I partook of burgers and coffee to fill that empty spot. Then for a good look round the bikes. It was a bit of a cheat really, brother Derek's best buddy Harvey works at the shop and Derek has had a couple of bikes from them over the years so it was not like walking into a unfriendly place. Derek with a couple of others were tasked with chaperoning riders on the new bikes round the test circuit.

Whilst I was kicking stones, killing time until my first ride out I had a look at the bikes in detail then I suddenly heard, from across the shop, "Dave 8,4 - Dave 8,4!". It was one of the lads I used to ride with when I was a courier all those years ago. EZ84 was my call sign, Dave's my name. There are about a couple of dozen people in Manchester who get their tagged with their old call sign. I am one of them. I had a chat with Steve. He seems to have done alright for himself. We had a chat about bike's, as you do. Then it was time for a spin. The CB1300 has a 1300cc engine and is big, soft and comfy. Derek wangled it so I went out on my own with one of his buddies. We did not hang about and zipped around the ten mile circuit of motorways, dual carriage ways and main roads. A good mix of road types to show off the bikes traits. Next up was the CBR1000RR a.k.a. the Fireblade. It is the out and out sports bike of the Honda range. It was £&*@ing fast, beautifully poised with phenomenal brakes and fantastic exhaust note once the revs were above 4000 rpm, Oh and did I say - blisteringly fast. That was a smashing ride. The riding position was a good if a little short of leg room. I should have done a few yoga exercises before I got on. The only awkward thing was the speedo. It is LCD and tucked over on the extreme left of the panel. The linear rev counter was cool but these day you have got to watch that speedo.

The CB1000R was saved until last. That was almost as fast as the "blade" and all most all the things the blade is except more street fighter styled. The handle bar position was a little odd at first but you soon get used to it. Let's face it I only had it for 30 minutes. It was very fast even at small throttle openings. The fuelling was smooth where ever you were in the rev range. The headlight cowl did a good job of keeping the wind blast of your chest until you hit seventy then a couple extra inches of screen would make all the difference. No doubt there will be an aftermarket mini screen before too long.

Honda have released a special bike called the DN-01. There are only 15 in the country. At the end of the day Derek got to take it up the road to be filled with petrol. It is an odd styled thing. It is essentially a 700cc twist and go scooter.

Once everything was packed away I went back to Gran's to pick up Miss L and spend a little time with them. Of course they got a digest of what I had been up to for the past five hours. Having supped plenty of tea, Miss L and I trundled home in appalling conditions.