A short history of my motorcycles by Tim Pestridge

'How many bikes?'

Tim has been an enthusiast of all things two-wheeled for as long as he can remember, so it seemed like a good idea to keep a track of the bikes he has owned on the web. Some of these have only been through Tim's grasp for a short while over a 15 year period, but they have all been bought, owned and sold. Please remember, these are highly personal opinions and should only be refered as such.

Bike	Rating (0-5)	Comments
Aprilia Pegaso 650		Great Rotax motor. Electrical/carb problems do plague this machine, so buyer beware. Sold it.
BMW C1		Quirky choice, scooter with roof. Too complex for 125. Big following in London. Heavy if dropped. Huge grin factor!
BMW R100RT		Old and wheezy. Falls over. Unsophisticated Old friend.
BMW K100S		Bulletproof lump. Great hack bike. Tough. Smooth engine.
Honda Vision 50		My first legal bike on the road - 30.6mph excitement.
Honda Vision 80		Bought to sell, no frills and not much fun.
Honda NS125 R		Not easy to derestrict. Pretty bike.RG 125 better.
Honda CG125		100mpg+. Frugal but frumpy, immensely practical.
Honda Spacy 125		Wacky scooter with pop up headlight. Cult classic.
Honda VFR400		Me & a friend rode 45 miles. Felt like 450. Fun for 1.
Honda GL500 Silverwing		Slow, shabby, stereo, rough round edges, happy at 55mph.
Honda CB500		Super little twin. Amazing economy. Better than GS500E.
Honda VF750F		Mine went clatter-clatter and cam chain broke. They all go.
Honda VFR750		Best sounding bike I ever owned. No reservations, get one.
Honda CBR1000		Too big.
Italjet Pakaway 50		Too small.
Jawa 350		Like a 2 wheeled tractor.
Kawasaki KH100		Buzzy. Basic transport.
Kawasaki KDX125		Green meanie - good off and on road. Thieves love them.
Kawasaki KMX200		Hard to find a good one, but keep it if you do.
Kawasaki GPz550		Solid, looked faster than if felt. Remember feeling dissapointed. Didn't get in to the handling. Nice enough bike though.
Kawasaki GT550		Bulletproof shaft drive, but linear power quite boring. Workmanlike. Mine had full GIVI luggage. Just not at all appealing.
Kawasaki 650 Tengai		Big 650 single, punchy and actually quite revvy. Practical, lasts well. Good buy.
Kawasaki ZZR1100		Fastest bike I ever had. Scarey. Best above 90mph. Not good on slippery Cornish back roads. Trust me (60mph get off.)
Simson 50 Enduro		Actually quite fun. Laughably simple. Are any left?
Suzuki GP100		Yuck. Vibrates.
Suzuki Gs125		Looks better than it is.
Suzuki RG125		I must have bought a good one. 75mph+, loved corners.
Suzuki GSXR250R		4 tiny cylinders. 16,000rpm. Are you sure you can fix it!? Despite this, wish I'd kept it. Got one for sale?
Suzuki Burgman 400		Too long. Scary on M5 sidewinds with passenger. Read my test.
Suzuki GS500E		Good.
Suzuki GS500E		Good.
Suzuki GS500E		Just as good. Bit wheezy sounding, quick to rust.
Suzuki GSX1100G		Shaft drive biggie. Huge power low down. Will pull QE2. Shaft unnoticeable. Lovely up to 65mph, then painful to hang on. Bit of a barge.
Yamaha V50		Better than walking?
Yamaha CY50 Jog-In		It did good wheelies, sold quickly.
Yamaha FS1E		Mine was customised for green laning. My first bike, £70.
Yamaha T80		173mpg - try and beat that. Super economy and shaft.
Yamaha T80		So good I bought another one.
Yamaha DT125YPVS		A nice little starter bike.
Yamaha DT125YPVS		Nice nearly new one, fiddle with exhaust, extra power.
Yamaha DT125LC		This was a money trap. Holed pistons, only ran flat out.
Yamaha RD 250 LC		Ah, the Elsie. A cult classic. Find a good one and treasure it.
Yamaha XT350		Lovely little thumper! Buy one and keep it. Super low/mid power, economical. Worthy. Fun.
Yamaha 350 YPVS F2		Another cult classic. Now rare as standard bike. Many have been thrashed. Awesome power band above 6000rpm. Hang on tight. Brakes and suspension not up for it. Great lightweight racer, cheap to run if you get a good one.
Yamaha 350 YPVS		There are some dogs out there. I bought one. And sold it fast.
Yamaha TDR250 YPVS		Great hooligan bike. 3rd gear wheelies. Manic.
Yamaha FZR600		Twin round headlight model. Sexy, thin tires. Reliable speed. Funnily enough, I got bored of mine and bought the Super Tenere.
Yamaha FZR600R		Bought as stolen recovered. Took me ages to rebuild properly. Flippin' quick, even without fairing.
Yamaha Super Tenere 750		Big & stodgy. Took it round Mallory Park - laughing all the way.
Yamaha TRX850		Great motor. Fit loud pipe as sound is addictive. For 1 only.
Vespa Cosa 125		Wish I hadn't sold this. Great little scooter, basic update of T5. Vespas last forever with just basic maintenance. Simple to run, cheap to fix, lots of clubs for support.
More when I remember...

Your opinions are welcome - feel free to contact us with your own thoughts, or to advertise on this page.

'How many bikes?'

Bike

Rating (0-5)

Comments

Great Rotax motor. Electrical/carb problems do plague this machine, so buyer beware. Sold it.

Quirky choice, scooter with roof. Too complex for 125. Big following in London. Heavy if dropped. Huge grin factor!

Old and wheezy. Falls over. Unsophisticated Old friend.

Bulletproof lump. Great hack bike. Tough. Smooth engine.

My first legal bike on the road - 30.6mph excitement.

Bought to sell, no frills and not much fun.

Not easy to derestrict. Pretty bike.RG 125 better.

100mpg+. Frugal but frumpy, immensely practical.

Wacky scooter with pop up headlight. Cult classic.

Me & a friend rode 45 miles. Felt like 450. Fun for 1.

Slow, shabby, stereo, rough round edges, happy at 55mph.

Super little twin. Amazing economy. Better than GS500E.

Mine went clatter-clatter and cam chain broke. They all go.

Best sounding bike I ever owned. No reservations, get one.

Too big.

Too small.

Like a 2 wheeled tractor.

Buzzy. Basic transport.

Green meanie - good off and on road. Thieves love them.

Hard to find a good one, but keep it if you do.

Solid, looked faster than if felt. Remember feeling dissapointed. Didn't get in to the handling. Nice enough bike though.

Bulletproof shaft drive, but linear power quite boring. Workmanlike. Mine had full GIVI luggage. Just not at all appealing.

Big 650 single, punchy and actually quite revvy. Practical, lasts well. Good buy.

Fastest bike I ever had. Scarey. Best above 90mph. Not good on slippery Cornish back roads. Trust me (60mph get off.)

Actually quite fun. Laughably simple. Are any left?

Yuck. Vibrates.

Looks better than it is.

I must have bought a good one. 75mph+, loved corners.

4 tiny cylinders. 16,000rpm. Are you sure you can fix it!? Despite this, wish I'd kept it. Got one for sale?

Too long. Scary on M5 sidewinds with passenger. Read my test.

Good.

Good.

Just as good. Bit wheezy sounding, quick to rust.

Shaft drive biggie. Huge power low down. Will pull QE2. Shaft unnoticeable. Lovely up to 65mph, then painful to hang on. Bit of a barge.

Better than walking?

It did good wheelies, sold quickly.

Mine was customised for green laning. My first bike, £70.

173mpg - try and beat that. Super economy and shaft.

So good I bought another one.

A nice little starter bike.

Nice nearly new one, fiddle with exhaust, extra power.

This was a money trap. Holed pistons, only ran flat out.

Ah, the Elsie. A cult classic. Find a good one and treasure it.

Lovely little thumper! Buy one and keep it. Super low/mid power, economical. Worthy. Fun.

Another cult classic. Now rare as standard bike. Many have been thrashed. Awesome power band above 6000rpm. Hang on tight. Brakes and suspension not up for it. Great lightweight racer, cheap to run if you get a good one.

There are some dogs out there. I bought one. And sold it fast.

Great hooligan bike. 3rd gear wheelies. Manic.

Twin round headlight model. Sexy, thin tires. Reliable speed. Funnily enough, I got bored of mine and bought the Super Tenere.

Bought as stolen recovered. Took me ages to rebuild properly. Flippin' quick, even without fairing.

Big & stodgy. Took it round Mallory Park - laughing all the way.

Great motor. Fit loud pipe as sound is addictive. For 1 only.

Wish I hadn't sold this. Great little scooter, basic update of T5. Vespas last forever with just basic maintenance. Simple to run, cheap to fix, lots of clubs for support.

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