Hello from Cambridgeshire!

[stupidamerican]

Hello everyone,

Another American here. Long time member on the FZ1OA forum and since moving to the England I thought I would join your forum.

I've owned and ridden my Fazer (FZ1) since 2005. Rode a 600 SecaII before that - I think they are called Diversons over here.

So far I've been enjoying the motorcycle culture here in England and feel more comfortable riding on the other side of the road every time I'm out. Riding here is completely different from back in the states and I think by the time I leave the UK I should be a much better rider.

I have a bunch of question but I'll wait and start another thread.



Thanks for having me.
Clayton

[Hedgetrimmer]

Hi Clayton, and welcome to the forum.
That's a beauty (another spotless example to put mine to shame!).
You may be led to the false conclusion by the uninitiated on this forum that blue is a fast colour, so I'll start things off for you - whatever colour bike I own is obviously the fastest, at the moment that's yellow.
I have also recently discovered that bikes painted with speed blocks are faster still - actually, strangely enough, I found this out when I bought a bike painted with speed blocks - curious coincidence, eh?!
Hope you're coming to understand the British sense of humour, but now you can throw all that away cos everyone on here is just nuts. Especially Exupnut. Who likes squirrels.
Well, if none of this has put you off, get stuck into the forum and enjoy!

[noggythenog]

Hey Clayton welcome buddy, hope you enjoy the site & all it has to offer.im sure the Thou owners will answer any of your questions & that us 600 owners will generally continue to be a pain in the arse


Interesting what you said about the uk roads, would be good to hear more about the experience sometime, especially since so many of us guys on the forum have been falling off recently, mainly 600 owners i must add .....coz we're so fast ...you wont have that trouble on a Blue bike .


Take it easy!!!


Fras

[Chris]

Hey,

Welcome to the forum, that bike is stunning!!

Glad you're enjoying the riding here. What brought you over here?

Chris

[stupidamerican]

Thanks for the welcomes!

My family and I are here due to the US military. We've been here 6 months and are planning on staying for another 3.5 years.

So far we've loved the change of pace here in England and feel that we're adjusting quite well. At least as well as can be expected.

We are coming from the East coast of the US near Washington DC and hated it. Must be the arm pit of the East coast. People are so rude and non genuine. It's definitely a "rat race" and everyone's out to prove they are better than you.

Anyway, riding there was difficult. Many major roads and tons of crazy traffic. I guess it would be similar to London. Not my cup of tea.

Basically where we lived was like a geographical oddity. I was 2 hours away from any decent riding. 2 hours north, 2 hours south and 2 hours west was amazing riding. My definition of good riding - little traffic, twisty roads that are nicely paved (smooth) and nice scenery.

One of the major differences riding or driving here is very little margin for error. In the states, the roads are wider with plenty of places to get off in case of emergencies. Not so much here. Most people are very nice when driving here but sometimes I find that people are what I would call passive aggressive.

Currently I'm living in the Fens and the roads here are quite boring and a majority are poorly paved. I've been traveling about 30 minutes to Suffolk to find better roads that are a little more challenging to ride. I mount a SatNav unit to the handle bars so that I don't get lost.

Thanks again and I'm looking forward to learning more about English/UK culture and motorcycling in general.
Clayton

Oh yeah, Nick - we all know Blue is the faster color. Or as the Yamaha dealer back home says "Good guys wear blue".

[noggythenog]

Lots of ex forces people on here buddy...much respect...of all the hell holes you coulda gone to you got the worst one...UK


Look out for nobody having a clue how to use a roundabout...


People slamming on their brakes in front of you for no reason because their brake pedal to them is an on/off switch...


People pulling out on you as you're about to overtake even though they can see you!!! (sorry a personal one)


You hit the nail on the head with passive aggressive...most of us dont carry guns ....so instead of some proper confrontation what you'll get is old mr company director painfully slow as foc round the corners will all of a sudden floor it in his 3 litre Mercedez on the straights purely to foc u up when you overtake & he wont care how many cars are oncoming..& as you draw level with your guns level with his head he'll continue to face his focin front as if he knows nothing


Apart from that all is good!


Hope you get out on some of the ride outs with the fellow foccers, 3.5 years should see some top class riding & superb scenery.

[paulkemp]

BLUE is slow...... when will you learn
WHITE is fastest

[rik]

Hello and welcome just thought you would like to see my bike, you wouldn't be able to see it from so far back you only having a blue one but if you ever end up at the south coast, Portsmouth drop me a line

[stupidamerican]

rik - nice skunk. It's almost as nice as my blue on black.

paul - I like white on cars but I haven't seen a white bike that I like too much. Maybe the Triumph Speed Triple.

I'm looking forward to meeting and potentially riding with a few of you fellow foccers.

Not really crazy about group rides but a couple of guys with decent/similar experience is great!

I do have to say there is some stunning scenery over here!

[Hedgetrimmer]

If you get a chance, you should ride in Wales, anywhere from the Brecon Beacons and north from there. They're universally acknowledged to have some of the finest biking roads in the UK, the road surfaces are better than England, and the scenery is great too. Just keep an eye on the weather forecast before you go, it can get pretty wet, but if you get a sunny day, you can't beat it.
If you do plan to do it, just post up in Events/Rideouts section, plenty of advice for the best routes will be offered. I might be looking to do a bit of camping that way in the latter part of next week (again, weather dependant) cos I can't get enough of the place!

[inditime]

Hi Clayton. you could always pop over this way if you have time. Im just over in St Neots , Cambridgeshire. Nice roads over this way. A1/M1/....get my drift lol 

[Punkstig]

We are coming from the East coast of the US near Washington DC and hated it. Must be the arm pit of the East coast. People are so rude and non genuine. It's definitely a "rat race" and everyone's out to prove they are better than you.

Spend a day in London, you'll feel like you're back home (apart from the accent)


Spend a day in the midlands and further north and by the end of it you'll have the feeling you're friends with everyone!


Fantastic north south devide we have over hear.

[slimwilly]

Hello Clayton !!


Come to Herefordshire,,best place in the country, loads of Swedes and Rabbits, makes a good stew,and the straw is good for stuffing your seat for comfort, and the Deer antlers are good for bar ends.


Then we border Wales, the amazing bike playground,we don't charge much to pass through to Wales,,Welcome