whowhatwhere
30th March 2010, 06:52
Hey all.
I'm an NZ'er currently in London. Been here since the start of 2007 with my partner. London is a cool place but I found that about two years was my limit of putting up with public transport - so I endeavoured to take up motorcycling. What was initially going to be a transport solution has turned into a full on obsession with motorbikes :)
Luckily you can transfer a UK motorbike entitlement back to your NZ licence if you've had a full UK licence for two years - sweet! Since I'm over 21, I could do Direct Access - about six full days of training, then if you pass the test on a bike of at least 500cc you get a full licence - again, sweet!
So since last year I've been hooning around on a Honda CB500. Piling on the miles seeing as much of the UK by bike as I can and will no doubt jump on the ferry and check out some switchbacks in the Alps too. Thought I might want to move on from the CB after a year but it's proving bloody capable so will hang on to it I think - guys on the sporties seem impressed with how it can shift; she's good for 125mph which will get you thrown in jail here :blink:
Having a great time doing all of the servicing myself - just done the major 32,000 mile service which required valve clearances etc, taking the camshafts out to replace some shims was surprisingly easy. Took the bike off the road for a few weeks at the same time for a full strip down and and clean-up including repainting the engine, fork lowers, downpipes and silencer - learnt a hell of a lot over the last 12 months.
Anyway, here's a few pics of my Honda CB500 (all pre-rebuild, can't really see imperfections in the pics), sadly not ever sold in NZ; boy is it going to pain me to sell it when we return to NZ in October next year! I frequent a few UK forums but thought I'd get a head start on the Kiwi one before returning home :)
Mike
I'm an NZ'er currently in London. Been here since the start of 2007 with my partner. London is a cool place but I found that about two years was my limit of putting up with public transport - so I endeavoured to take up motorcycling. What was initially going to be a transport solution has turned into a full on obsession with motorbikes :)
Luckily you can transfer a UK motorbike entitlement back to your NZ licence if you've had a full UK licence for two years - sweet! Since I'm over 21, I could do Direct Access - about six full days of training, then if you pass the test on a bike of at least 500cc you get a full licence - again, sweet!
So since last year I've been hooning around on a Honda CB500. Piling on the miles seeing as much of the UK by bike as I can and will no doubt jump on the ferry and check out some switchbacks in the Alps too. Thought I might want to move on from the CB after a year but it's proving bloody capable so will hang on to it I think - guys on the sporties seem impressed with how it can shift; she's good for 125mph which will get you thrown in jail here :blink:
Having a great time doing all of the servicing myself - just done the major 32,000 mile service which required valve clearances etc, taking the camshafts out to replace some shims was surprisingly easy. Took the bike off the road for a few weeks at the same time for a full strip down and and clean-up including repainting the engine, fork lowers, downpipes and silencer - learnt a hell of a lot over the last 12 months.
Anyway, here's a few pics of my Honda CB500 (all pre-rebuild, can't really see imperfections in the pics), sadly not ever sold in NZ; boy is it going to pain me to sell it when we return to NZ in October next year! I frequent a few UK forums but thought I'd get a head start on the Kiwi one before returning home :)
Mike