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Hello all,
I'm currently living in France within sight of the pyrenees so riding a bike suddenly makes a lot more sense than it did in the UK.. I booked some training and set off last month, started with the CBT on the 5th on a little yamaha 125 then moved on to an XJ6 for the direct access training. My MOD1 test was on the 10th, sadly I failed first time (1kph too slow on the swerve test!) but got it on the 2nd try, MOD2 test was on the 18th which I passed first time!
In 13 days I'd gone from never having ridden a bike on the roads (done some MX) to having a full license! Madness :) On the afternoon of the final test I went to look at a bike and ended up putting a deposit on it... it was the right colour and oh so shiny:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/17165877/bike/SV_1024.jpg

Next step was to get back to France... a mere 1000 miles. I loaded the bike up, got various spares and tools and set off!

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/17165877/bike/loaded_1024.jpg

Happily I didn't need any of the spares etc, it all went smoothly, took 4 days over it with the longest being day 3, covered 300 miles. Got rained on slightly on the first day which the speedo didn't seem to enjoy but I stayed dry & upright.
All in all it's been a thoroughly enjoyable experience and I can't wait to get some more miles in... she needs a good wash first though! I've got a friend who's done lots of advanced training and instruction so he's going to take me out for a week and hopefully teach me how to ride safely.
Sadly I tried a DIY leg amputation with a stihl saw shortly after getting back to France so I'm not able to ride for a few days but it means I have plenty of time to clean off all the dead flies, oil the sticky choke cable and adjust the bars/levers a bit for more comfort. I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions along the way :)

Nice clean curvy there, welcome to the madhouse! I'm sure there will be many people on here jealous of where you now live (me included).

Did you do your direct access in the UK or in France?

Well done mate (not the DIY).

Quote:

Originally Posted by -Ralph- (Post 2723172)

Nice clean curvy there, welcome to the madhouse! I'm sure there will be many people on here jealous of where you now live (me included).

Did you do your direct access in the UK or in France?

Yeah, sorry about that! We're about a mile from Nogaro circuit so I might have to do a track day or 2 at some point ;)
Did the DAS in the UK, not sure how complicated it is to do in France but I'm not staying here permanently so still have a UK license, made sense to do it in the UK.
I believe the plan is to run a gite and with the track nearby we'll be catering to bikers, secure parking etc so people are welcome to come express their jealously first hand if they like!

I remember whn my SV was that colour and that clean. I found a picture of it the month after i bought it.

Anyway, Bojour and welcome to the madhouse as someone has probably said. Oh and you cant adjust the bars. They are sort of fixed without the help of a riser kit anyway. Levers can be moved quite easily. As for the choke cables, easy enough job. You will have to remove the carbs to do a really good oiling job.

Nice fork legs :)

Just need to get that downpipe in the same nick, and it be puuurfect ;)

If you've ridden down through France so shortly after your test, I think thats some damn good training in itself! Well done you :thumleft::thumleft:

Where abouts nr the Pyrenees? Put it under your name so we can see!

edit....saw latest post.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kieranc (Post 2723184)

Very nice. Very good friend of mine comes from Oloron St Marie, just south of Pau.

People on this forum will visit just so they can take a picture of their bikes next to the sign on the way into Condom! :rolleyes:

Wife wants to holiday near Bordeaux this year - no chance this gite will be operational by August is there?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Viney (Post 2723187)

I'm aiming to tilt the levers down slightly, I assume I'm taller then the previous owner. Height is fine but I was thinking about adjusting the angle if possible, seemed to end up with a lot of weight on the outside of my palms, although it sounds like I need to hang on with my legs and get the weight off my hands... too much to learn!

Quote:

Originally Posted by dizzyblonde (Post 2723191)

Thanks! It was certainly an experience, would have been more fun with some company I think! Not sure how well the downpipe will polish up, need a fender extender before I spend too much time making it shiny.

Quote:

Originally Posted by -Ralph- (Post 2723200)

Heh 'tis a nice area, hopefully I'll be healed up enough in a few days to get out exploring! Sadly I think it'll be next year before we're up and running, between delays on the house sale and planning permission we've only just started the major works, there's a large empty building but it doesn't count as a gite yet!

Hopefully for you, France's Ecology Minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet doesn't get her way.

http://www.visordown.com/motorcycle-...ies/17766.html