If you follow me on twitter or we are friends on facebook, you would have no doubt noticed my childlike excitement of the last two days.  Here is a quick recap

I’ve been riding a motorbike for one and a bit years now, doing it, what I think is the “sensible” way – obtaining my CBT, riding around on a 125cc for a while, then taking the “proper” bike test off of my own steam – so no lessons (I felt it was a waste of money, considering I’ve been driving since I was 17).  Each to their own, but I personally think this is a nice gradual and sensible (shocking for me!) way to do things – rather than doing the direct access, getting a big bike, then getting hurt from lack of experience.

So, a few days ago, I passed my A2 bike test, and yesterday I went up to Milton Keynes to pick up my “new bike” – I say “new bike”, its second hand, but new to me (I think buying vehicles brand new is a silly idea).

I’m not sure if its a he or she yet… the names “big daddy” and “the monster” have come to mind since I’ve had it out on the road.  You can’t really call a “she” bike “big daddy”… or can you… any name suggestions? – post a comment.

I brought the 125cc out of the garage to take some pictures side by side – as you can see there is a noticeable size (and weight) difference between the two.  The 650cc also has so much torque,  as its driven by a shaft rather than a chain or belt.  Its hard to describe, but if I let the clutch out too fast at the lights I lift the front end up… on a cruiser… this just seems wrong.  Another little snippet, the 650cc Dragstar is also the longest cruiser under 1000cc

Amusingly the road tax on this is £66 a year, £31 more than my Smart Fortwo!

If you are reading this on a syndicated site, you can view the pictures directly here, on flickr.

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