So I got my Hayabusa and took it for a couple of rides over the weekend.    When I told people that I was going to jump on a machine that had twice the horsepower of their car the understandable reaction was that I was going to die within a few weeks.   After riding it I can only say it is really easy to ride.   There are no big uncontrollable and unexpected  big power surges.   If you were to pull back the throttle you could probably kill yourself quite quickly, in the same way as putting a loaded gun in your mouth could be life threatening.

 The riding position is a bit of an issue for me.   The only way to describe it is that you’re crunched up like a ball tucked in behind the fairing.   Not so easy for a man of my years but it’s a real thrill to ride in this position.   I’ve always ridden in a more upright position and I’m not used to this more sporty pose.  My biggest problem is getting my right leg onto the leg support.    I’m going to have to practice yoga to get my naff leg doing what I want it to do.  Once the old leg is in position then we’re away.   I managed about 60 minutes without stopping.   I suspect it will get easier after a few weeks.

For the first 1000km I have to keep it under 6ooo rpm.  The guy at the bike shop suggested I ride it  with the restricted ”C” mode which I’ve moreorless done most of the time .    I still managed to do 180 kmph on the Autobahn without any problems.    Tucked up in my ball position.  the fairing did an excellent job and wind wasn’t really an issue.

On my car’s speedo  100 kmph is at 12 o’clock.   On the busa it’s at 9 o’clock.  I noticed you can be riding along thinking you’ll only doing about 60 kmph when in fact you’re doing over 100.    You really don’t notice how fast you are going.

I really wish I had started riding bikes like this 10, even, 20 years ago.   There are so much fun.   I feel I’m a bit old for the sporty riding position now.   However,  I wouldn’t have missed this opportunity for the world.   It’s a dream come true for me and a real honour to be riding such a wonderful machine.  

All hail the busa.

Christmas Eve :

Sausage and homemade spud salad.

Christmas Day.

Turkey.    If I can find one in Germany

Boxing Day

Ribs.

Then for beer I’m going for Brinkhoff’s No 1 – Quality lager and Krostitzer dark beer as it’s Christmas.  I’ve got a few different red wines given to me by customers to polish off.

I’m about to try and lose some weight again.   Couple more days to enjoy Chrimbo to the max and then the pain and misery can begin.  Actually I don’t find it that hard to do once I set my mind to it.   The plan is to diet until March 31 so I look trim for the motorbike season.   Nothing worse than some fat old bastard riding a motorbike. 

Work is looking good for 2011.  I’ll probably make an ok living.  Enough to buy new motorbike, ipad and new computer and maybe feed the kids.

Websitegrader gave me a lovely long report with suggestions on ways to improve my site.   Slight problem was I couldn’t understand most of it.   Anyway I’m busy link exchanging with Russian Translators and The Polish Teachers’  Union in order to get some google action.   I notice my facebook page is more successful than my website.   The fight goes on.

Don’t be a mad cunt.  

 Take it steady until you get to know your bike. 

Avoid racing into unknown corners.

 Be aware and expect that bastard car driver to pull out in front of you.

Don’t ride in bad weather.  It’s no fun.

Wear butch leather clothes with padding especially around the crotch.

However no matter what you do there’s no getting away from it,  it’s a bit risky.  So ever time I jump on my trusty Suzuki I ask myself am I prepared to die today.    So if I happen to hit a tree while avoiding a stick in the road, it won’t come as big surprise when I’m lying  in a ditch breathing my last breath.  

 I really love riding motorbikes.  There are few moments in life when you feel really exhilarated and I always get a big thrill zooming on my bike.  Given the choice , I wouldn’t  want to die in the next 50 years or so.   However if I was going to snuff it, I’d like to die riding my motorbike.

Now I hate cigarettes.   In fact, I would quite happily kill people who smoke near me.    Well, on a bad day I would. 

I went out for a drink with a friend in Leipzig the other day.  I thought that smoking had been banned in Germany.  Nope, they were smoking everywhere.  Even the bloody bar staff were smoking from behind the bar.   When I got back to my hotel, my eyes were sore, my clothes and hair stank and I could taste the smoke at the back of my throat.    It wasn’t until about noon the next day I finally got rid off the cigarette’s toxic fumes.

I think the smoking ban in England works quite well.  All the smokers go outside for a quick puff in a little tent, leaving the pub/restaurant free from evil clouds of tobacco.   I don’t think smokers mind so much as it’s a social thing to speak with other smokers under canvas outside.    

So German smokers smoke outside in the freezing cold and enjoy your B&H without bugging me.

So there

Why Suzuki? I hear you ask.  Well I like the price.  My local Suzuki dealer is friendly.  The sitting position is quite low and it’s easy to get my leg over.   (Something I’ve always had problems with)    I also like how smooth and quiet they are.   I sat a one noisy Ducati once.  Blimey that made a racket. 

Anyway the Hayabusa is the fastest bike known to man and looks dead sexy.  I suspect I shall lose my life or licence quite quickly.

Why did you choose white?  I was debating whether I should buy the black or white version.   I thought that after hitting a tree at 240mph my blood dripping down the white bike would look much better than on the black.

I’ve been a happy heavy drinker since I was 15.  I love beer.  I’m coming to terms with what damage that massive drink session has done on my body.  1.  I’m fat bastard and 2.  I’ve got high blood pressure.  

Actually I was in a good mood today,  I’d lost 2 kilos and was zooming along on my cross trainer when the fitness centre boss came over to me.

 Fitness centre boss – “You’re looking good.  How much weight have you lost?”

 Me – “1 kilo”

FCB – “Let’s put you on the scales and measure you”

Me to myself – “bollocks”

So we go over to scales and sure enough I’ve lost 2 kilos of fat.  My BMI is 32 and she told me that normal is 25.  She also measured my blood pressure 147/82.  

So I go home and look up what this means.   So BMI of 32 means I’m obese.   Yep, I’m officially a fat bastard.  I calculated in order to achieve BMI of 25 I would have to weigh 88 kilos.   I’m currently weighing in at 116.4 kilos.   Another fucking 30 kilos of lard to lose.   Jesus wept!    So I’ve lost 2 kilos in 6 weeks.  That means I would have to keep up current regime going for another 80 weeks.  I have the feeling my drinking days are over.  Damn.   Although FCB did say that maybe 110 kilos was a heathly target for me.  That’s still another 18 cocking weeks without a decent drink.  And to add to misery I found out that blood pressure over 140 is considered high.   It should, however, come down when I lose weight.   But, in general, bollocks, bollocks, bollocks.

Tim, my trainer, was talking about stepping up my program to 25 minutes of hell at 160 BPM.  I didn’t think it was possible for my ticker to go that fast.  I’m wondering if he’s trying to kill me.

The worst bad news I got was that housekeeper was also tested at the fitness centre.   Her fitness is good, excellent BMI and low blood pressure.  Fucking hell, how can waving a dusting cloth around make you so damn fit.