My Pride and Joy – No, it’s not Who You Think

No doubt most of you have spotted the superbly creative photo taken of myself in a clasic male pose in our lounge, accompanied by a rather fearsome looking motorcycle.

I went to considerable effort to create this once in a lifetime shot, taking great care to get the angles and lighting just right.  Hardest part was getting the bike through our front door as its quite a step up!  Had to improvise with pieces of wood to make a step, and I am sure the neighbours looked twice when I rode up the garden path and slowly through the front door.

All this was done so I could upload a photo on Facebook (something I very rarely do) to surprise my darling wife who was too far away to do anything about it!   Not surprisingly, the photo created lots of interest and a flurry of comments, much to my delight

Fortunately no animals were harmed or furnishings marked during the film shot, so there are no unpleasant repercussions when ‘her indoors’ returned home.

For all you petrol heads out there, and I am sure there must be some who read this stuff, my pride and joy (baby or beast) is a 2005 Yamaha MT-01.  A 1700cc twin cylinder monster with futuristic styling quite unlike anything else.  It always gets attention when parked with the first question usually being “what is it?” followed by “Is it 1000cc?”.

After explaining that it is a Yamaha and is in fact 1700cc, I tend to get some astonished looks.   I have owned this machine now for over 3 years and have loved every kilometre I have ridden.  It can best be described as ‘fun’ to ride, not the fastest bike on the road or one with the most horsepower, but it looks great, shakes and vibrates like it’s alive, handles well and sounds absolutely magic.

I don’t get to ride as much as I would like due to weather and other commitments, but when I do get out, I will often ride for a full day and cover up to 1000km, and that is not on straight roads or highways!  We have some beautiful motorcycling roads here in the South Island and I never tire of travelling around places like our West Coast with its twisting roads and superb scenery.

So that’s my baby…my pride and joy, and what more could I ask for?

Well…..there is the new V-max

Tagged as: motorcycle touring, new zealand, west coast, yamaha mt-01, yamaha vmax