I went for something else as well
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I commuted by motorbike year round for pretty much all my working life, other than a keep fit phase when I cycled, but now retired all my biking is purely for pleasure.
I've done my fair share of continental trips following GP, WSB, MotoGp and 24hr Endurance racing, still have my Scott Russell leathers, only wish I could fit into them now. When I started biking it was British or nothing unless you were a rich kid, so there's a fair collection of spanners in my garage. I can't say I enjoy maintenance, but do it in the knowledge it's been done with utmost care and attention. After all, I'm quite capable of overtightening the chain and putting a scratch in the tank, without big dealership bill thrown in for good measure
I purposely bought my Fazer unmodified, so that I could have the joy of foccing it up myself, and say it was all my own work
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If it's raining, I won't be thinking "let's get the bike out", as the main downside to winter riding is the endless cleaning to "keep on top of it" which isn't one of my favourite chores, but will take whatever the weather wants to throw at me at next months Dragon Rally. Like everyone else, I was a newbie once , admittedly in the long dark distant past, so hence quite a dilemma in deciding which box to tick, although welding skills were very poor
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