The long Journey home...

I knew that the outward journey would always be simpler than the return journey. But I just didn’t realise how much more simple it would be. On my journey to the Charente, the 450 miles from Folkestone seemed like a daunting prospect in the mind of an eighteen year old on a 33bhp bike. But little did I know, the 680 miles I had to ride on the journey home would be so much more daunting, with all of my fears rolling into this one, epic journey home.

However, my father accompanied me on his G650GS on the trip down, which made it rather straight forward – follow the Beemer’s back tyre. Predictably, it was uneventful and everything went as planned, I didn’t even ride onto the wrong side of the road. The only things I had to complain about was the resemblance of my backside looking like a baboon’s and the 38 degree heat wafting through my helmet, feeling like someone was holding a hairdryer to your face.

After a week or so in the sun, exploring the country roads and the quirky French villages, it was time to start up the SV once more and ride back up to England – alone. I had just less than 700 miles to do today so sensibly, I decided to head off early to give myself plenty of time to reach Calais, in case any dramas occurred.

For some reason I had built up this terrific fear of the French Gendarmes. I don’t know why, perhaps it’s the guns on their guns on their hips or the stories I’ve heard of them seizing bikes for speeding – most likely the guns.

I was approaching Tours on the A10 toll road, and had just finished paying the 19€ when this Gendarme stood in front of my bike and pointed at me. I remember very clearly the two words that I kept repeating to myself: “Shit, fuck, shit, fuck…”

He shouted over in English, “Eh you, over here” And then gestured to this small layby where there were four or five Gendarme vans and a group of Gendarmes staring at me pulling up. I was the only vehicle that had been pulled to the side.

I was bewildered, had I been caught speeding? Is my Remus Revolution too loud? Is it my iPod headphones poking out of my jacket? All of these concerns and worries started hitting me as I started giving myself reasons to get in trouble. I even looked up at the sky and was praying for my bike not to be taken off me, I love it too much.

The man that had instructed me to pull over walked alongside my bike and asked me for my documents which, luckily, I had remembered to pack last minute. I decided to stay sitting on the bike as I had read somewhere that getting off your bike is a sign of aggression in foreign countries, I don’t know if that really is true but just this once I didn’t want to chance anything.

An attractive female dog handler walked over to me and told me to take my helmet off and step off my bike. I did so, sneakily tucking my headphones back into my pocket and turning them off. She then told me that the dog was going to sniff my bike and myself for drugs. I’m not a druggy but I was wearing second hand leathers and using a second hand tank bag - I hope that the previous owner wasn’t.

Luckily, the dog sniffed around and found nothing, so she smiled at me and told me I could go. I collected my documents and then nervously headed back onto the road. A sigh of relief fogged up my helmet as the Gendarme vans became small dots in my mirror.

I plodded on for another 110 miles and was approaching a petrol station but my fuel light hadn’t come on yet. And as soon as my front wheel had gone past the slip road, my fuel light started blinking at me. Sod’s law.

I began to panic again, how far will the next petrol station be? Am I going to get stranded in the middle of France?

I saw a sign for an aire in 10km, so I thought I wouldn’t be very conservative with my fuel. I sped off and arrived at the aire. It was two picnic tables and a car park. Oh shit.

My clocks were now on 115 miles and I’m pretty sure the reserve light only lasts 20 miles. I carried on the motorway searching everywhere until eventually I came across a sign indicating a fuel station in 38km.

I slowed down to 55mph to save some fuel and even tucked my head behind my screen to try and conserve as much fuel as possible. It was definitely not the most comfortable, fun thing that I’ve done - I even had caravans overtaking me it was that bad.

After half an hour or so, I finally arrived at the petrol station with my bike spluttering and coughing for fuel. Relief instantly swept over me. Somehow, I had managed to scrape almost 160 miles from a tank of petrol. It’s supposed to do 140 miles to a tank, so I guess the 55mph and head-down-action really helped me out there.

After the fuel experience, I vowed to always stop for fuel when I reached around 100 miles. Despite this, I still only stopped three times for fuel, in total, which I was quite proud of.

I arrived in Calais near 5 O’clock, so I decided to see if I could be put onto an earlier ferry. I rode into the port and was a lone bike in a sea of cars. After an hour of waiting to get to the booth, I learned that there were massive delays with all P&O ferries. It was horrendous. The bloke in the ticket box gave me a ticket saying “Depart: 18:10” – I boarded the ferry at nine O’clock…

I mustn’t complain though, whilst I was waiting I met a guy on an RSV1000 who had just returned from the Nurburgring and another bloke on a 1200 bandit who had rode from only 30 miles away from where I was staying.

We all sat in the cafeteria on the ferry, exchanging stories and drinking tea. It made the journey so much better, having someone to talk to, as I had endured a whole day of no conversation. We all said goodbye and jumped back on our bikes to carry on with the journey home.

I had arranged to meet Jamie, in Maidstone. So I pulled into the service station off the M20 and met my riding buddy for a bit of a morale boost and a good old McDonald’s. I even went to the shop to buy RiDE magazine and found a picture of myself on page 17!

We endured a four hour journey home in the rain and a feeling of achievement rushed over me as our wheels rolled onto my drive. It was done.

My hands were so cold; my freezer felt warm and my arse felt as sore as a convict’s but my 700 mile nightmare was over.

But when I think back about it, it was a fantastic journey. With it’s ups and downs, the sense of the unknown and the strangest feeling of being alone in a foreign country.

Just me, my SV and the long stretch of tarmac taking me all the way back home.

Fantastic.

My Biking History until now

As my 16th Birthday approached I managed to persuade my Mom to allow me to buy a motorbike. I remember the day I bought my bike, me and my Dad drove all the way to Brighton (about 200 miles away from Kidderminster) with our bike trailer attatched to the back of the car. It was a Derbi gpr 50 nude that I had bought, a very smart bike it was - totally standard though (meaning it could only just get to 50mph) and only a year old. It was a good bargain, I never had any problems with it at all, with the exception of my indicators sometimes flashing super fast - but who really cares about that?

I took my CBT when I had turned sixteen and I was a nervous wreck, terrified of the little 50cc I had. It wasn't the speed that scared me (there wasn't much of that anyway) it was the fear of dropping it and stalling at traffic lights. To be honest, my first month of riding was absolutely awful, I would prepare myself at the traffic lights and as soon as they turned green, I would panic and stall. Or at other times I would see an oncoming car and panic and go too wide around a corner (I am a bit of a dithering idiot).

Me on my 50, a few hours after passing my CBT - January 2010

Thankfully for me (and other road users) this dodgy riding didn't last long, and before I knew it I was high flying on the way to my first camping trip to Welshpool in May. I was joined by two of my riding buddies on their 50's (a Motohispania Rx50 and a Yamaha Tzr 50) and it was a pretty good trip.

The three of us setting off to Welshpool - May 2010

However, shortly after this trip I had my first accident on Father's day. I remember this because me and my Dad had decided to go for a father-son ride out and then come back home to watch the Moto GP later. There was slippy diesel on a round-a-bout which ended up with me low-siding across the road. Luckily, I was only doing about 20mph so I wasn't hurt, but for the next few weeks I had started to wince whilst going around corners as I still had the sensation of falling off my bike fresh in my mind, making my riding a lot less fun.

My mate also suffered from a slightly more serious crash down a 40mph dual carridgeway, hitting the central reservation. Whilst my other friend had rode straight into a hedge at 55mph and another coming off in the rain, and with everyone crashing I was starting to feel a little anxious about whether having a bike was a good idea.

However, I pushed this worrying thought out of my head as we embarked on our second road trip to Fairbourne (in Wales) which had taken place in August. This trip was even better than the last and the weather was gorgeous - it couldn't get any better than this.

On the way to Fairbourne - August 2010

However, a few weeks after we had arrived home the winter was approaching and there wasn't much riding time left, and with my 17th Birthday coming closer I had to make a decision - Do I learn to drive a car or stick with the bikes?

It turned out I wanted to try and do both on two paperounds and a measly McDonald's wage. So I sold my 50 and bought a Hyosung Gv 125 Aquila for around about the same price - I still saw my bike as my top priority. The Hyosung was alright but wasn't a massive difference from the 50 to the 125 it was very heavy and slow, it did look like a huge bike but it certainly didn't go like one, which was a shame really. I was also really keen to buy some loud pipes for it but nowhere supplied any. I never really had much of an emotional attatchment with this bike - don't get me wrong it's a great bike but I drive like a maniac and this bike really was never made for that.

The Aquila - January 2011

I also managed to save up to buy a Saxo to learn to drive. I found driving a car quite fun although it had none of the adrenaline rush of being on a bike. I really tried to keep my car lessons going, as a car is so much more practical during the winter and rainy days (which we have a lot of in the UK). However, I knew that I could never afford the insurance (£4200!!) and decided to sell it and then spend all of my money on a bike, which I did.

My little car - March 2011

In June, six months after buying the Hyosung, I bought a Yamaha Yzf R125 which is the best bike i've ever bought - it is truely amazing. It has a remus exhaust, K&N air filter and tail tidy. It really does sound mean and looks it too. It will probably be the best looking bike I could ever afford, I really cannot criticise it in anyway other than it doesn't have USD forks or a forged yoke which would improve the handling, as compared to it's regular telescopic forks and (reasonable high) clip on handlebars.

Me and my Yamaha - June 2011

 A few months later our third and latest road trip took place. We went to Woolacombe which is in North Devon and it was a brilliant trip although the weather was nothing compared to year before (look at my articles for more info on the trips).

The campsite in Woolacombe - August 2011

I'm still riding this bike now and I will be upset the day I will sell it for something faster, i've definitely developed a bond with this bike. So that's where I am now, when my test is done expect to see and hear about some other awesome machinery.

Tom

Living with a Yamaha Yzf R125

I am the owner of a 2010 Yamaha Yzf R125 in the 'power black' colour scheme, this was my third bike i've owned (and most certainly the best). I purchased it second hand in June 2011, making me the second owner of this bike. I would always recommend buying second hand. I mean, my bike was 8 months old when I bought it for £2500 (they are £4300 brand new) That's a whopping £1800 saving on a bike that is near enough new anyway! Other second hand prices can vary from £1900 (a 2008 Okay condition) to £3500 (a 2011 Mint condition)

I have fitted an R&G tail tidy (which I think is compulsory really, usually the standard license plate holder sticks out ten foot away from the bike) I also fitted a K&N air filter, Renthal lightweight gold chain and sprockets and a Remus exhaust system. My advice is don't bother with the air filter but definitely buy an exhaust and the renthal chain and sprockets, the renthal chain and sprockets last twice as long as the stock and cost only £10 more. And because the Yamaha is a single, when you put an exhaust on it (and remove the baffle - which is the plug like thing held in by a sirclip) it sounds like something so much bigger and violent. A big thumping sound emmits from the exhaust which turns heads... until they see your L plates.

I don't commute on the bike as my college and job is over the road, but I can guess that it would make a decent commuter. It has a higher seat than most 125's which is better for taller riders and provides more comfort. This, combined with reasonably low pegs and higher bars gives so much more comfort than you'd find on an rs 125 or a mito etc... The bike also has a lot of midrange power, being a 4 stroke, meaning that you don't have to rev the nuts off it to get it going, making commuting a lot more forgiving on your wrists. (The bike can still get to 50 mph whilst remaining under 6000 RPM).

I use this bike purely for social activity, spending every second of my free time on my bike when i'm not at college or at work. My mate has a 2011 Aprilia Rs 125 and I mostly ride with him, so I get to see how the bikes compare. Everyone raves on about how much faster 2 strokes are than 4 strokes but really when i'm riding with him, his bike is only 6 mph faster than mine (The Aprilia does 83mph on the flat, and the Yamaha doess 77mph). The most notable difference though is the suspension and handling. The handling on the Yamaha is reasonable but by not having upside down forks and clip-on bars, it does not compare to the Aprilia which has the forged yoke and USD forks. The brakes are good on both bikes (the Yamaha has Brembo calipers too - how cool is that?) and the tyres are both good although i'd have to say that the  Aprilia's Pirelli's are better than the Yamaha's Michelin's.

The Yamaha also has a huge range of accessories to choose from to make the bike personal to you, for example manufacturers supply: Double bubble screens, tail tidies, exhausts (even akrapovic), lighting, seat cowels, carbon fibre fairing panels and headlight lense covers. The Rs125 lacks this providing just (all I can find) an Arrow exhaust system and tail tidy. This may not be an issue for most but customising their motorcycle might be an interest to some.

But a good point with the Yzf R125 is how much cheaper it is to maintain. After the first service, this bike is due services every 4000 miles. With petrol prices rising (£1.35 per litre) fuel consumption is now becoming an important factor to motorcycling. The little 4 stroke does 80 miles per gallon which is sublime to say the least, meaning cheap transport.

In contrast, the Rs 125 is so much more expensive to run (bear in mind they cost around the same when bought new) it is due services about every 3000 miles and can sometimes require top end rebuilds every 12000 miles (depending on how they've been ridden). It is also a good idea to invest in top quality, fully synthetic 2 stroke oil to prolong the life of the Aprilia. This 2 stroke oil is around £15 per litre, and the bike does 35 miles per gallon and uses a litre of 2 stroke oil every 2 tanks of petrol. This works out very expensive.

By owning an R125  you might have to suffer some compromise in terms of handling and... 6mph. But it is so much cheaper, practical, just as fun and still (in my opinion) looks as stunning as the Aprilia.

In August I went on a road trip on this bike to Woolacombe in North Devon which is about 200 miles away and it rained for all of those miles and the bike did not scare me once. It was comfy, confident and the engine never missed a beat, considering it was going non-stop for 8 hours.

This bike is often overrated in terms of performance by Yamaha (although it still is quicker than most 4 stroke 125's) and underrated in terms of fun by 2 stroke enthusiasts. This is a great bike and I wouldn't recommend anything else to a 125 learner rider.

My Yamaha Yzf R125

My mate's Aprilia Rs125

Tom