Oli is so nearly 28 that he will be by the time you read this. He lives and works in London, and always has done. He works in ‘Media and Advertising’, which is vacuous but has the best Christmas Parties. Fact.
He began riding just two years ago, when he finally had the time and money to be able to take the test and get onto two wheels. It all started when he fell in love with a Beautiful, curvey candy blue SV as the V-Twin rumbled past. He was smitten.
Two years and three bikes later, and he’s ready to set off on The Lap with Felix.
Oli’s bike history is, well, interesting.
Starting here, with the trusty Yamaha SRX400
kick start, single cylindered smoke machine. Bought on ebay for £200 it served me well for almost 12 months until the cost to repair it became enough to buy my second love, my 2000 SV650s, curvey frame. The Dog’s DooDahs.
Sadly an uninsured driver/bike interface in Brixton in Feb 2008 left the SV as a write off after just 9 months of owning dream bike. The fat cheque that flopped onto my doormat brought me this beastie, the 2002 Bandit 600, the bike I’m doing the Lap on.
Owning the SV made me realise that even heroes have their flaws. The SV was a bitch in the cold, taking almost half an hour to warm up to non choke temperature. Apparently this is normal. Whilst she was cheap on Go Go Juice, she cost a fortune in spares and servicing. Not to mention back and wrist pain, it’s a short person bike, and I’m a normal height person. No bikes are without their flaws, and I’d recommend anyone get one in a heart beat.
I’ve come to love the Bandit, the throaty grumble of the CCC exhaust, the wide renthal bars, the upright position, it’s all perfect. I’ve also still got a candle for the SRX, as much character as you could expect from an inanimate object.
