I went up to Swindon on Saturday morning to check out the excitement at George Whites or as it’s now called MotorcycleSuperDooperMegaAwesomeDiscountVillage.
Got there about 09:00 and sat down with a nice bacon butty and a cup of tea after meeting SquashedFly in the queue, after all, a good breakfast is the best way to start the day. I just sat outside chatting to people while I waited for my mate to turn up (Squirrel Hunter on here) and then went looking around. The big hall they had all the clothes in was where all the bikes that were being auctioned off were, and they all had the keys in so people could sit on the bikes and not have to make brum brum noises which was nice, there were also all the clothing racks and desks and pc’s and things in the corner which all had prices on.
The two buildings on the other side of the road were in full use too, the Honda one was full of plastic boxes with different things on and the boxes were marked up with the prices of the kit inside, so everything in this box £5. Indicators, stickers, reflective bibs, rim tape all that kind of stuff and along the far side of the wall was lots of clothing, a lot at good prices some not much different than what they were.
In the main building where all the new bikes used to be was chock full of new clothing, I was tempted to buy some motorcycle jeans but just could bring myself to do it. A lot of stuff wasn’t massively cheaper, paddocks stands for about £10 cheaper but the queue literally went from the font of the building, snaked a bit around the centre part and then right along to the back of the building and then some, to me it wasn't worth queing up unless you got a free bacon roll and a massage thrown in.
HOWEVER…. I did see a fantastic bike, and it was a Thundercat, and at this point I have to confess (and hope my girlfriend does not read this) I fell in love with a woman that no only had I not met, I hadn’t even SEEN.
You can keep your tarty GSXR’s (no offense), and shove your immaculately kept CBR RR’s with carbon covers and wavey disks, and you can leave your chromosexual bikes out in the rain to rust, this Thundercat is what turns me on in a bike.
It was a red example, well you can’t have everything, and it was prepped as a real ‘users’ bike and had 62k on the clocks. I was drooling over this for a while in the hope that the lady who rode it would come and speak to me but it never happened. I am guessing it was a lady’s bike as it was plastered in roller derby stickers, enough words, you want pictures. (This really was the only bike that I really got excited about and there were a lot of bikes there)
From the right
Check it out, on both sides there is a wind break for the legs, on this side I'm presuming a toolbox attached to the pannier bracket, top box, every bike should have one, raised grips, something attached to the underside of the mirror, cannot remember if this was a reflector of a light/indicator and a bracket for something under the headlight, I have no idea what it's for but imagined for a light or something for when camping or a camera maybe???
From the front
From the left
Headset connection, big horn for those "Pick a f'in lane" or "Put your phone down and try indicating" moments
From behind
Loving the ducktail attached to the bottom of the plate to stop the panniers getting full of crap when the weather crappy, and a few straps and bungies for when you just have to carry more crap than you thought.
So, whoever you are, you're my kind of girl and I love your bike and wish I could have said hello