Second mid-life crisis

I have just experience the thrill of my life and learnt alot about sports bikes.

About four years ago I decided to re-light my biking life having had a lay off for 15 years. So off to I went to search for a suitable bike that would satisfy my desire to ride bikes and provide an easy DIY maintenance.

After four years of this and getting frustrated with the handling deficiencies I decided to go to a modern four-cylinder Jap.

With such an array of makes I picked Honda for their build quality and the Hornet 900 seamed the right bike for the job and so I test rode a few great bike for what I needed in a commuter and weekend enjoyment.

Mind made up that it’s going to be Hornet as the head has to rule the heart – or so I thought.

So what did I do, bought a 04 Fireblade located 220 miles from home and decided to ride it back.

What comes next. I was not prepared for forecasted heavy rain all day so I set off on the train met the guy did the deal and rode off, first half hour was spent in traffic during rush hour, so that killed my wrists but got to grips with the controls.

The next 200 miles was of wet mixed A and B roads with p**sing down rain.

My conclusions were that this was going to be a fun bike when dry and my first impressions that it felt like I was going to head butt the ground every time I applied the brakes were soon dispelled.

Also I had to keep an eye on the Speedo as even riding in a docile manner speeds that would see you in court seemed to be its natural domain.

Lastly, if someone applied a rev limiter at 6000 RPM this would still be the fasted bike I have ever ridden.

Bring on the dry weather.