Well, my riding experience started about 5 years back with this; a Hyosung GT125. It wasn't at all bad for a Korean bike to be honest, the finish on the downpipes was crap and they rusted through very quickly, but it was bloody big for a 125, was also a v-twin, and would quite happily sit at about 70 on the A roads near me. Had it up to the heady heights of 82mph once down a hill
http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc476/RockJos/29277_402360244280_7653371_n_zpse3540bed.jpgAbout 8 months of riding the 125, and I passed my test, and bought my first 600. Mechanic of mate had a hornet in the garage and he let me take it for a test ride and I was smitten, handled and braked amazingly, and as at the time I was riding for fun and commuting to and from school and work, the small tank range really didn't matter. This was also the first bike that got me into modding bikes - I did the first few months on it as standard, had a small non-fault accident so spent some money on it, got a Nitron shock, fitted CBR600F4i forks and CBR600RR brake calipers with a CBR1000RR m/c, and a Matrix steering damper along with a respray. Turned it into a fantastically handling bike - the mechanic I'd bought it from kept begging me to let him take it on track as he loved how it handled!
http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc476/RockJos/Bikes/IMG_2327.jpghttp://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc476/RockJos/Bikes/07022011026.jpgThat was interspersed with a brief period of owning a SV650, but that was such a crap bike I don't even think I've got any photos of it - it did handle well, but the engine was lacking power and was boring, and the brakes and finish were shite.
However, once I'd moved up to uni, the faults of the hornet began to very much wind me up. It was quite a revvy engine, which was great for fun riding but wasn't ideal for motorways, it wasn't the most comfy of bikes either, and the tank range was probably the final factor - Kent to Leicester was about 140 miles, and that was almost bang on the tank range I had, so if I got stuck in traffic or something it meant filling up on a motorway!
So after my two year restriction period to 33hp (6 months really, the restrictors fell out whilst cleaning one day!) I started looking at bikes with full fairings. As I was only 19, insurance was the deciding factor, so VFRs, CBRs, etc were all out the window. Then somehow managed to find a decent quote for this beastie - a 2000 plate ZX9R!
http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc476/RockJos/9R%20Build/IMG_2794.jpgWas a considerable step up at first, it was packing about 140 odd rwhp, and was quite intimidating to start with. However after about a month, I really gelled with it, to the point where I ended up buying another!
http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc476/RockJos/20121108_150606.jpgBy this point my red one was very much improved, I'd managed to pick up a WP shock and ohlins steering damper for cheap on italian ebay, Nissin 6 pot brake calipers and blackshadow wavy discs off UK ebay, and then a friend sold me an akky titanium system for it. Once it'd had all that lot done, it was a truely fantastic bike. Braked and handled like a dream, and with about 150 odd hp it went like a scalded cat. That said, it was still a fantastically practical bike when you weren't "on it", had a motorway tank range of over 200 miles before reserve, I had a topbox fitted to it, and the large fairing and extremely comfortable riding position just made for a perfect mile muncher, until you got to your destination, took the topbox off, and it turned into a weapon.
Was by far and away the best bike I owned, and I will definitely be owning another one at some point soon.
Alas, Christmas last year it was stolen, and I was utterly heartbroken after having spent so much time and money modifiying it, but this was when I ended up coming to meet you guys when I bought my first FZS 1000 in Marchish time last year!
http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc476/RockJos/20130113_125710_zpsf7c05648.jpgBloody good bike, particularly two up with luggage, and it wheelied like buggery which was rather nice, but at the same time I didn't feel it was quite exciting as my Ninja to ride, and I never have been able to get on with an upright riding position very well. That said, I did very much bond with it and probably would have kept it for a couple years until I'd ended up back on another sports bike, but alas an insurance difficulty meant that I ended up selling it for the FZS 600 I now have! (Basically, I got told I would lose my no claims bonus I'd built up, meaning insurance on the 1000 was too much. I sold the 1000, bought the 600, and then got told as the thief of my bike had been found, I actually got to keep my no claims as I'm guessing my insurance company successfully sued him for their losses).
The 6 isn't so bad at the moment, I do like how light it is, but it's understandably a little down on power compared to the others I've had, particularly two up with luggage. Definitely a supremely capable all rounded, but I'm definitely a sportbike rider through and through, so I suspect next year money allowing I'll either be on an early R1, a K1/K2 GSX-R1000, or possibly another ZX9R (or maybe even a ZX12R), depending on money/insurance costs!