Our Bert bought a pup… or has he? His £100 Hound project begins!
Bikes kinda get under the skin, don’t they? Bikes like Honda’s seminal VFR750F…
Now, I try not to get sentimental, but – when I was courting my late wife – I used to trundle to her place in Kent on a Honda VFR750 F-R in teal green. Even looking back now, after 23 years I think: wow, what a bike. It was quick, comfy and devoured miles with ease, meaning I was ready for action as soon as the front hoop landed on her drive. Ahhh (ahem) happy times!
Since those heady days of the mid-1990s I’ve hardly ridden a 750, but done plenty of miles on its soulless replacement the VFR800i, and the later V-TEC models. It was only when riding a minter F-R for MSL’s sister title Classic Motorcycle Mechanics (which I edit) late in 2015 that I was transported straight back to those times. It was magical!
So, I wanted an F-R, but couldn’t afford a decent, sorted one (single parent and all that) but I did happen to know where a knackered one was sitting… Enter my friend Simon Brown. Now, he used to use my garage to put his commuter F-R in before he got a lock-up of his own. Chatting to him back in early 2016, I found that his machine was sitting bereftof an MoT (shot rear shock) and he would let me have it for just £100.
Bargain! Why? Well, I knew he’d spent £760 on it over the preceding five years, including a vital reg-rectifier replacement and Motad stainless downpipes. Okay so it had 40k on the clocks and had sat for a while, but I was happy as Larry when I pushed it into my garage.
Denne historien er fra June 2018-utgaven av Motorcycle Sport & Leisure.
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Denne historien er fra June 2018-utgaven av Motorcycle Sport & Leisure.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Honda CRF1100L ES Africa Twin
Without panniers he was adventuring nowhere - so at least Bertie's got something sorted now
BMW R 12 nineT
Chad gets a track day surprise when BMW's R 12 nineT turns out to be surprisingly fun on track
Test fleet: VOGE 525 DSX
After testing the Voge's abilities on a long ride, it was time to take it to the Cotswolds and see how it would manage on the rougher stuff
Portuguese Perambulations
Nearly over before it had begun, a brief workshop stint allows Spain and Portugal to be explored
Highway to Heaven
Three friends take on the challenge of riding the length of Canada, from Vancouver in the southwest to Inuvik in the north. The road is long, the conditions merciless, and wildfires are tearing through the country. To top it all off, the final leg of the journey is the ultimate test of gravel riding skills, nerves, and courage - it's the legendary Dempster Highway...
Battlaxes at the ready!
We tend to take tyres for granted, never really looking at them in any detail, or at how they work, just hoping that they keep us shiny side up at all times. Even in the wet
Ducati Riding Experience
When I rode the Ducati DesertX to France last year, I did have a bit of an explore on some easy fire roads and gentle green lanes in the wilds of the Médoc area, but was left with the feeling that, had I the experience, the DesertX would have been capable of taking me along some more extreme trails to some even more exciting places. If only there was a way of finding out just how well the Italian adventure bike could cope with some more extreme terrain...
Four pot flyer
Many said that sports bikes, and particularly bikes in the traditional Supersports class that was populated by 600cc inline fours, were dead. Maybe they spoke too soon?...
Eastern adventurer
With an increasing interest in smaller capacity adventure bikes, the market expands with a new entry
First Time Lucky?
It's ironic that the first all-new MV Agusta model to hit the marketplace right after Italy's No.1 trophy brand was acquired by Austrian giant Pierer Mobility, owner of off-road titans KTM, should be the company's first dual-purpose model of the modern era, powered by MV's all-new 931cc three-cylinder engine that's destined to form the basis of a whole series of new models in coming months and years.
