2001 Honda Blackbird

400 words!! I could write 400 pages, no 400 chapters on my bike, Its an old story, something for the men and (women) who think life has past them by!!

I am an old git, (62) or so several of my female friend say, I ride a Honda Blackbird and I feel the bees knees on it, sublime is an adjective that could be used, cosmic is another, awesome is another.

I used to drive a Pan, but with all the regalia on it I thought I was driving a two wheeled car, still a brill machine, but I always wanted a Blackbird, not interested in Hayabusa's or the ZX, just a Blackbird.

From the moment I got my leg over I new this was the bird for me (I should know better at my age!!) the engine is much much quieter than the Pan, and to my amazement the buffeting, which is the nightmare of the Pan driver is 'gorn'.

Down we go to France for a jaunt, it p*****d down with rain all the time, but for 10 mins we got a dry road, time to test this missile, at 150+ my bottle was starting to quiver, and I thought to myself (having been a Para in a previous existence) that the plane I jumped out of was going slower than this, so I settled down to a steady 120 mph.

It was as smooth as the proverbial babes bot. Was there really another 30 mph under the saddle!!!

The steering was steady enough to take your hands off the bars. My mates used to jibe about the pan, 'oh here comes the petrol tanker' and they were right.I thought I would miss the pans comfort, but no, the Bird is, dare I say it better, everybody to there own thoughts on that one.

The only thing I can criticise the bird for against my previous mount, is you cannot ride with the visor up, unless you want a three course meal of flies!!

Honda make exceptional machines; the Pan being right up there with them, but that technology was 12 years old (yeh I know there’s a new Pan on the block) but it still ain’t gonna perform like this missile.

I'm on it on every occasion I can, rain, shine, snow. It’s just the place to be, forget the pension and getting old-- all a state of mind! Get out there and give it some welly, this is the only life you get and I, for one, am gonna suck it dry!

As we used to say in my previous existence " 180 lb of romping stomping rooting tooting airborne fury, who can run, jump, fight, f*** push a cart and drive a truck " So get out there and get Honda’s dream machine, would I lie!