Aha, I didnt realise that, My Breva has a conventional braking system
now here is a thought or more of an observation or two, now this is not meant to create an argument, just an observation over many years ( started riding in 1976 and have ridden every day, for work and pleasure in all weathers)
I meet a lot of older people coming back to motorcycling, and I am often asked for advice on machine type, as is a friend of mine a retired black rat
I am 65 in a short while, but apart from some health issues, I am fit and strong, dont smoke or drink, nor overweight, working as tradesman you need to keep fit
but when I replaced my motorcycle 20 years ago ( R80RT) i looked at a Cali, and a Breva 1100 , tried moving them about at low speed, engine off, just to get the feel, for parking and pushing in and out of the garage, i then tried the 750 Breva, perfect, a year or two later in Italy, chatting to a club member, he was riding a cali and complained of the weight when moving it around, told him to take mine for a spin
he sold his cali and bought Breva, and enjoyed two up touring much more
recently my mate was asked by a chap in his late 70s about buying a motorcycle, now this chap had not ridden for something like 30 years, and only then an occasional sunday rider, advice was given, and an offer to take him up to the Enfield dealer to try a new twin ( light easy to move around and ride , docile even) super scooter, V7 guzzi , new smaller range of Triumph/BMW/ etc
Bloke goes out and buys a massive Honda Africa twin ???
that will never get ridden off road, has way too much power, is tall and heavy, and the chap will end up dropping it, its a given , social cachet ? he lives in a nice house in a very affluent area or frightened off looking like a novice ?
Again I was asked last year about a motorcycle for an older rider, fairly wealthy chap, but a bit portly, not tall, too much screen time and driving every where rather than walking ( range rover )
I suggested either a super scooter, which he could handle and easily touch the ground, or a V7/Enfield twin/ Honda CL500 or 750 Hornet, or one of the BMW singles, I explained why, ( his experience of motorcycles was a 250 in the 70s)
I also said, visit our local training school for a couple of days training ( bikes provided) start on the 125 then work up,
that old management thing and social cachet took over though, he bought a new BMW GS, then cheekily asked me if I would go out for a ride with him, I very politely pointed out, that his machine was bigger than mine, and if I rode how I normally rode he would get into trouble, well I took him out for most of a day, and it was a disaster, frankly he was dangerous, out of control, only the ABS and handling thing saved him from losing it several times, and I had to be quite curt about his total lack of skill , and the fact that the machine was too big for him
I told him to book a riding course with our local motorcycle school, and then do the BMW off roading course
now I am not a physiologist just an observer of fellow human beings, but it does seem to be that we can often choose a motor vehicle for the sort of person we would like to be or the image we want to project ? oddly my trick cyclist rides a 125 scooter everywhere ?
now when I purchased my Breva, I had a work related injury , so I sat down with a sheet of paper, and wrote down exactly what I needed from a motorcycle
a line down the middle
positives on one side
negatives on the other
its how I was taught to make difficult decisions
and I found that I only needed about 40 horses, small, easy to maintain , as I would rather pay my mortgage than big garage bills
and low insurance tyre wear etc
20 years later I can still ( well not until he chemo is finished) ride my guzzi)
Kawasaki ER5
Honda 500
Suzuki 500
Ducati Monstro 600
Harley Davidson 883
Motor Guzzi Breva
The ER5 was nearly my choice, a fantastic under rated over engineered motorcycle, my mate Northern Monkey 6 foot 4 of brickie has owned several and worn them out, riding to work and across Europe
I liked the Honda but it didnt quite gel
The Suzuki was good, but if the SV with the curves in blue and white had been available it would have been love at first sight
the Ducati was nice and light, but pillion accommodation and high service costs put me off
The Harley dealers made me feel uncomfortable, lots of male bonding and macho stuff, and strutting and posing, tassels and using American words and dressing like cowboys, it was all a bit surreal, and all about social cachet and how much you spent, I had arranged to try both the 993 and 1200
so they give me an Arnie replica, off I go, the thing shook like a dumper truck, had loud pipes, and people kept looking at me , I dont like that, it truly handled like a truck, funny at first, but useless in traffic, to big too fat too noisy
and of course too expensive, although i had more than enough money to buy it outright, had they have given me a standard Glide, then I would have most likely bought it , as they are easy to paddle around ( I ride a friends one to keep it in order while he is away)
so next stop , Jim at Streffords
liked the cut of the mans jib, his honesty, he sat my wife down and gave her tea and biscuits, told me to take it out for at least an hour
quarter of an hour later I am back, he looked worried, did it disappoint ?
nope its perfect, 2 miles up the road I am enjoying the ride, and not worrying about the bike, as the older writers used to say, all controls fell easily to hand, I
chose a machine still in its crate ( I still have the wrapper) paid up in full, and collected it a few days later, I have never regretted the decision either
its handling braking etc, are far in advance of my poor skills, and its never let me get into trouble, even once when riding across the Alps, through tiredness I did something silly and it steered me out of trouble without input from me as if a guiding hand took over
Now I will be the first to admit I have in my younger stages bought and owned some large motorcycles, a nice K100Rs that looks small these days, a K100RT a K1100LT , the latter two were used for work, so mainly had panniers crammed with specialist tools and kit, and did big miles , the Rs was the best though on a long fast ride down to Kent in the middle of a storm that pulled trees down it stayed rock steady at speed, but once I changed job, I sold the machines and went to a smaller twin, then the Breva
So in essence, as the machine has linked brakes, rather than risk damaging it and yourself, why not sell it, and find something lighter that you will enjoy ?
V50 , V7 range,
my mate the ex black rat, for many years after retiring, was an instructor/examiner for several riding schemes, many times he has had to stop a test because the rider was not in control or frightened of the machine, and in one case he visited the dealership to ask why they had sold a 160MPH machine to a chap who had last ridden and passed his test on a 250 in the 70s ?
the machine was exchanged for a 500cc one without financial loss and the rider was much more confident, and passed his advanced test
oddly Women do not seem to suffer from this problem ?
Lots of Ladies and girls who asked me for advice, listened carefully and then discussed the choices with me, and enjoy their riding
as a father of two grown up daughters I am used to giving impartial and honest advice !
now please dont shoot me down in flames, I did ask my trick cyclist about his choice of machine, and he said, at the prices I charge I dont need to impress any body !!!
i just want to commute to work cheaply and easily, and not waste money, I suspect he has paid his mortgage off many years ago, I jokingly asked him what car he owns, expecting him to say a range rover or a Porsche , A ford Focus estate great for shopping easy to park , and blends in
