My old SRV250
I’ve been well aware that I’ve gotten into a lot of the hobbies that my Dad was into (cars, aquariums) but one thing that’s freaking me out a little lately is getting back into things I was into as a kid. It’s got to be a sign of getting older and it almost feels like I’ve come full circle, or that I’m starting my life over again.
I was so into bicycles when I was a teenager and when I was in university I never ever wanted a car. I fought with Dad a lot before I finally bought my motorbike (Mum and Dad hated the idea of me riding one). I bought a Yamaha Virago, which was a chopper style bike, you couldn’t lean the thing into corners and I very quickly wore away the foot pegs doing so (sparks a plenty!). Sometimes on longer bends I ended up in the wrong lane because I simply couldn’t hold my line. I got rid of the bike (amazingly the guy who bought it off me crashed it on the way home on a long bend, he ended up in a fence!) and bought a Yamaha SRV250, lovely cafe racer style upright which had the same weak 250cc engine the Virago had, but that was plenty tough for me.
At the end of the day I got scared riding it, not so much because of crazy Sydney drivers, more because I did some silly things on it which I was lucky to get away with. I sold it for a car and the rest was history… or was it?
Getting back into bicycles, and building a bicycle with a motor on it, and hanging out with guys who are into motorbikes has made me want a motorbike again. I’ve already bought a few motorbike magazines and I’ve even been haunting bikesales.com.au. I’ve still got my riding license too… the only thing stopping me at this moment is a gorey image of a dead motorcyclist that Ash sent me yesterday (I would not have clicked the link if I knew what I was about to see).
Be careful, huh?