The end of an era...............

Well, today, with a few twinges of sadness and regret, I watched a young lady ride away on what was my Honda Hornet, Jack. I hope she treats him well
I've lived with Hornets for the last 18 years, and for me, no motorcycle has performed consistently so well. But all good things must come to an end, and so it was, I regretably decided to part with my last Hornet.
I bought my first one, the first one in the country sold to a member of the public, on my birthday in 1998 - one of a very few Hornets to be 'R' registered.

Sadly, this was written off after only 4 months, by a stupid lady in a Porsche, who was too busy talking on her mobile to notice me at a standstill in front of her.

I'd already got a great liking for this small, but brilliant bike, so it was replaced by an identical machine.

Well, it may have been identical to start with, but it evolved into the LittleInsect, one of the most well-known Hornets in the country, and elsewhere

I won't bore you with the technicalities, but suffice it to say, that it was all carbon fibre and titanium, and tuned up to the hilt, and featured many unique one-off parts that weren't available on the open market. Even the rear light was unique.................(here pictured before the rear bodywork was remodelled in carbon)

After 14 years and 169,000 miles, it was wearing out, and so I reluctantly decided to part with it. Problem was, I couldn't stand the thought of anybody else riding it, so what to do? It was de-registered and totally taken apart and destroyed. You may consider that a waste, but I don't

Of course, after all those years, it just had to be another Hornet, and so I moved onto the latest evolution of the model.

Being me, I couldn't have just any old Hornet, could I? Nope, mine was one of only 2 to be done in the paint design for the Anniversary FireBlade. Meet Jack.........

After 4 years, and many more happy Hornet miles, my circumstances changed. Now retired and living on a pension, with health problems, I need something cheaper to run, and easier on my wrists.

I've opted for a Honda CB500F - a twin, as opposed to the four (so half the servicing costs) and a remarkable 80mpg, as opposed to 50-ish

But of course, did I settle for red or black? What do you think?