Never too old
By: Web Editor
Dear MCM...In L Symonds’ letter in the September letters page, he wrote of being discouraged from upgrading to a 600 machine on account of the car drivers around.
I want to join in with the editor’s encouragement to not to let them put him off.
Like him, I am retired. Like him, I am returning to riding after a fairly substantial gap – in my case 20 years. Like him, I have started small, on the trusty old (well, new actually) CBF125 in my case.
Unlike him, I didn’t start young first time and didn’t ride for all that many years. Unlike him, I have never yet escaped from the learner range, although I did get the full licence safely under my belt.
After three months back in the saddle on the 125, I am itching to get on something bigger. The only thing stopping me just now is the need to justify the initial £2000-plus outlay.
Yes, the traffic is a constant reminder that you are never far away from possible accidents. But I feel a whole lot safer on the motorbike than I ever did on a bicycle in the intervening years. Why did I leave it so long?
Anyway, I just wanted to help assure anyone out there worried about the traffic and whether a bigger bike would be safe, that it is possible to eliminate most risks and the ones you can’t or don’t eliminate will get you whatever you are on – as I found out when my bicycle was smashed, landing me in hospital for a week!
Dr Paul White,
via email
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Redrider Says:
November, 19th 2011 at 07:15 pm
OK I am only 50 but currently ride a Honda Deauville 700 into London on a 74 mile daily commute. In the past I have done this commute on CD200T, MuZ251, CB500, Piaggio X9 250. The smaller bikes were cheaper to run and easier to service but the performance of brakes, lights and engine on the Deauville make the ride safer and easier to do. The Deauville is quite a heavy bike but with bikes like Triumph Bonneville and Moto Guzzi V7 classic offering similar performance but smaller lighter bikes take the plunge and enjoy. All three of these bikes have a predictable easy riding style.