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Annie's BikesAnnie's bikes:
2011
Whilst touring South West England in September 2010, we stopped for lunch in Wells, Somerset. We parked up near some other bikes and Anne ended up parked next to a Triumph Street Triple. It look a lot lower and smaller than the F800R and it got her wondering. It took until the next summer before I persuaded her to try a demo and I went out on a Speed Triple whilst she rode a Street Triple R. She absolutely loved it! Despite being 125cc smaller, it had an extra 18bhp (105 compared to the BMWs 87bhp) and more importantly it was 10 kilos lighter. The surprising thing was the seat height was supposedly the same height but Annie still doesn't believe it!
Then came the choice, Street Triple or Street Triple R? An easy one as she realised she didn't need the high spec Ohlins suspension on the R. Then it was a choice of the 2011 model, with round headlights or the newly released 2012 model with the new Speed Triple headlights. This turned out to be an easy decision too, there was a two month waiting list for the 2012 model, the 2011 came with almost £700 of free extras (Colour matched flyscreen, belly pan and radiator shrouds) and was available from stock. As she was leasing it on a PCP it was useful to find out that the final agreed value was the same for both 2011 and 2012 models, a real no-brainer.
So a 2011 Street Triple in Jet Black was duly ordered
 2009
In the spring she became the proud owner of a BMW F800R and yes once again it was a "naked" bike so lacked weather protection (apart from the small flyscreen) but after trying the F800ST it was just a bit too tall for her and she just couldn't get on with the very odd BMW switchgear (now replaced on the "R").
 Unfortunately Annie never really got on with the Beemer, as it too turned out to be too tall even with the low seat option and for a twin quite a heavy bike. In The summer of 2011 it got replaced (see above)
2007
In early 2007 Annie bought herself a Kawasaki ER6-F
 A comfortable riding position, the protection of a full fairing, light weight and a very punchy 650cc parallel twin engine.
It was only six months old and was in immaculate condition.
It was a delight to ride and I have to confess that during the summer of 2007, I used it more than she did! Largely because I didn't have a bike of my own for three months but it was no sacrifice.
The only criticism I would have is that at 6 foot I felt a little bit cramped on it as the seat is fairly low but not really a criticism at all!
Annie sold her beloved ER6 in December 2008 as she wasn't using it as her riding buddy had sold her bike and moved away but was determined to get something else when the weather improved! 2006
Like me my wife got back into biking in 2006 and got through three different bikes in under a year. Her first was a Suzuki SV650S. Unfortunately she found the riding position a bit too extreme and so it was shortly part exchanged for a mint Suzuki 600 Bandit:
  She had the SV such a short time, this is the only picture we have! Proud owner of a a 600 Bandit (but not for long) The Bandit was a very nice bike but was a bit on the heavy side for her and lacked the weather protection of the SV. Also being an in-line four it was not as easy to ride, requiring a lot more revs to get it going, I will admit that when I rode it I couldn't believe it had more power than the SV. To get the best out of it you really had work at it, completely unlike the broad spread of power from a twin cylinder bike. About a month later Annie spotted her ideal bike on ebay (see above).
This page last updated Friday 1st July 2011 |