Early V-Twinspiration

Welcome everyone to my blog, my name is Sean and I have a passion for motorcycling and exploration, ideally at the same time. Our story begins with me as a shy and retiring youngster in the early 2000's, your typical introvert and someone who would spend time building PCs and playing video games (Command & Conquer: Zero Hour anyone?!). This quiet was soon interrupted [literally] when my Dad came home one day on a '96 immaculate black Harley Sportster 1200 complete with Screamin' Eagle intake, leather panniers and lashings of chrome. As chance would have it our neighbour also rode and I remember an early 'Blade decked out in magnificent red and blue paint that cost him his marriage - but that is another story. Later my brother even had a Honda CBF450 that he saw fit to park in our small kitchen. I watched (and listened to) these machines with a sense of fascination and awe but sadly getting older meant that all the 'serious' business of life had to be attended to: school, exams, job, getting on the housing ladder and climbing the corporate ladder. While performance and classic cars [particularly BMW's] still featured here and there I knew there was something still missing, an itch to be scratched...

The Trials

I began a new chapter in 2018 after exiting a difficult relationship. I decided that life was too short not to do the things you wanted to do. Having served now 10 years in 'Corporate America' [as a remote worker most of the time] with all the stresses and problems that brings, I wanted to do something different. I booked my CBT and began riding a 50cc scooter in between cones in a rainy pub car park in Gloucester, UK, talk about humble beginnings! The instructor Tony said I was a natural (he probably said that to every student!) but nevertheless I had found something I was adequately good at. A nail-biting MOD1 and soaking wet MOD2 test soon followed and before long I was a fully qualified motorcyclist. Having listened to my instructor who said 'the most anyone needs on the road is a 650cc', I promptly went out and purchased a 2015 Kawasaki ER6F (Ninja 650 in other markets) on Ebay for the princely sum of £2880. This bike had it all, sharp black sporty looks, a torquey twin that was almost impossible to stall and more acceleration than any car I had every driven. I was made up. 

A New Road

Since then many bikes have followed and whilst they've all had their individual quirks one thing hasn't changed. The fact that motorcycling on any bike is a freedom and form of expression. You are by definition more free as you can travel on a motorcycle to places a car cannot reach and further than you can possibly walk. Motorcycling has helped me immensely and I know this is the same for many others. Many of us have gone to or gone back to motorcycling after a personal tragedy such as a death of a family member or just recognise the effect it has on our mental well-being. I love to ride all sorts of motorcycles whether that is blasting around my local circuit 'Donnington Park', bimbling around the English countryside on a small capacity single cylinder Royal Enfield or getting stuck in sand along the  Zicatela beach in southern Mexico. Every type of bike has it's merits, charms and supporters. The joy of riding is multifaceted; firstly outside of the familiar steel cage you are able to be further immersed and present in the natural environment, secondly your monkey mind is strangely absent when you ride a motorcycle you are not pre-occupied with the regrets of the past or the over active planning for the future. Motorcycling for me is a journey that is just beginning...