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Hi,I'm new,joined today.I haven't got an XS or XJ,I'm still looking.Good ones don't come up for sale often in the UK where I live.I do have a Yamaha though,a TDM900,a parallel twin that I don't think is sold in the US.A great bike which is good for long rides - the next big trip is to the Nurburgring in early July.
I've ridden two wheelers for a long time,on and off.I started on Lambrettas in my teens,but most of my bikes have been Yams for no particular reason it just worked out that way - XS400,XV1100,FJ1200,TDM850 and now the TDM 900.Plus Aprilia,Suzuki and Kawasaki but strangely never a Honda.
Anyway,unless anybody objects, while I wait for my XS to turn up,I thought I'd write the occasional ride report for you all from this side of the water.
I live on the edge of a metropolitan area called greater Manchester,lots of people,lots of traffic.If we want to get away to the quiet and twisties we have three choices - the Lake District made famous by Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter,the north Pennines or Wales.
All are close enough to get there and back in the day,we usually meet at 10 am and finish by 6pm.In between we get around 300 mlies on the clock.'We' is all or most of me,Bruce(Triumph Daytona) Richard (VFR800VTEC),Ian (Fazer 1000) Sue(BMWF800),Colin(BMWK1200S or YamXJR1300) and his wife Chris(Fazer 600).
This ride report goes back three weekends ago,and just three of us,me Colin and Chris.We live about 25 miles from each other so we agreed to meet at the cafe on the square in Broughton in Furness for a mug of tea(this is England remember) and a bacon sandwich with HP sauce.it was my first ride of the year,so it was a pleasant surprise to be able to sit outside in the sun.We moved on along the A595 and A5093 to a very small place called Haverigg on the Irish Sea coast.Traffic was light,it was warm and dry and the bike and I got back into the groove after the usual cold and damp English winter.I usually take the TDM off the road between November and March - it's no fun slipping and sliding on the salt/diesel mix.
After another cup of tea we moved on up the coast on the A595 past Muncaster castle (built in 1300 and something,and home to the World Owl Centre).A right fork just after Egremont onto the A5086 took us through some former mining villages to the main A66 which runs from Workington on the coast inland to the main north-south motorway,the M6.The A66 is wide and fast but doesn't thrill like the A595 which reminds you why it is we all love bikes.A stop for petrol in Penrith and then down the A6 to Kendal,home of the famous Mint Cake,which isn't a cake.The A6 was replaced 30 years ago by the M6 and as a result it's quiet with good forward visibility.Time to take the TDM up to the ton,on a stretch where there are no speed cameras and no place to hide a radar trap.After Kendal its back across the M6 and down to Devil's Bridge along the A684 and A683, both great twisty roads.It's a famous rendezvous for bikes,and on Sundays the parking is bikes only.Time for more tea and another bacon sarnie at McCartney's to keep body and soul together until we get home.Home is over the moor on minor roads through High Bentham and Slaidburn,slowing down as the roads get busier the further south we get. In the end the ride was less than 250 miles but it was enough for the first ride of the year.The temperature was dropping and by the time I pulled up at home I was thankful for the heated grips and looking forward to a long soak in the bath.
Saturday 14th we're doing the north Pennines as the weather forecast is good again - I'll do a report on that too,hope I haven't bored anyone.
I've ridden two wheelers for a long time,on and off.I started on Lambrettas in my teens,but most of my bikes have been Yams for no particular reason it just worked out that way - XS400,XV1100,FJ1200,TDM850 and now the TDM 900.Plus Aprilia,Suzuki and Kawasaki but strangely never a Honda.
Anyway,unless anybody objects, while I wait for my XS to turn up,I thought I'd write the occasional ride report for you all from this side of the water.
I live on the edge of a metropolitan area called greater Manchester,lots of people,lots of traffic.If we want to get away to the quiet and twisties we have three choices - the Lake District made famous by Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter,the north Pennines or Wales.
All are close enough to get there and back in the day,we usually meet at 10 am and finish by 6pm.In between we get around 300 mlies on the clock.'We' is all or most of me,Bruce(Triumph Daytona) Richard (VFR800VTEC),Ian (Fazer 1000) Sue(BMWF800),Colin(BMWK1200S or YamXJR1300) and his wife Chris(Fazer 600).
This ride report goes back three weekends ago,and just three of us,me Colin and Chris.We live about 25 miles from each other so we agreed to meet at the cafe on the square in Broughton in Furness for a mug of tea(this is England remember) and a bacon sandwich with HP sauce.it was my first ride of the year,so it was a pleasant surprise to be able to sit outside in the sun.We moved on along the A595 and A5093 to a very small place called Haverigg on the Irish Sea coast.Traffic was light,it was warm and dry and the bike and I got back into the groove after the usual cold and damp English winter.I usually take the TDM off the road between November and March - it's no fun slipping and sliding on the salt/diesel mix.
After another cup of tea we moved on up the coast on the A595 past Muncaster castle (built in 1300 and something,and home to the World Owl Centre).A right fork just after Egremont onto the A5086 took us through some former mining villages to the main A66 which runs from Workington on the coast inland to the main north-south motorway,the M6.The A66 is wide and fast but doesn't thrill like the A595 which reminds you why it is we all love bikes.A stop for petrol in Penrith and then down the A6 to Kendal,home of the famous Mint Cake,which isn't a cake.The A6 was replaced 30 years ago by the M6 and as a result it's quiet with good forward visibility.Time to take the TDM up to the ton,on a stretch where there are no speed cameras and no place to hide a radar trap.After Kendal its back across the M6 and down to Devil's Bridge along the A684 and A683, both great twisty roads.It's a famous rendezvous for bikes,and on Sundays the parking is bikes only.Time for more tea and another bacon sarnie at McCartney's to keep body and soul together until we get home.Home is over the moor on minor roads through High Bentham and Slaidburn,slowing down as the roads get busier the further south we get. In the end the ride was less than 250 miles but it was enough for the first ride of the year.The temperature was dropping and by the time I pulled up at home I was thankful for the heated grips and looking forward to a long soak in the bath.
Saturday 14th we're doing the north Pennines as the weather forecast is good again - I'll do a report on that too,hope I haven't bored anyone.
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