Yamaha Virago 535

I couldn`t resist it: One last bike before I pop me clogs.

As a teenager back in the time when dinosaurs roamed the fields I pestered my dad for a motorbike. He relented against my mum`s strong protests. I got a Triumph 200. Great bike. But then I became a mod and bought a Lambretta.

Four and a half swift decades later I`ve just bought my third Yamaha Virago 535 -- against my wife`s strong protests.

A few years ago -- when the male mid-life crisis bit me in the butt -- I bought a 250cc but was frustrated by its lack of power. I then bought a 535; a great bike, but I sold it a couple of years down the line as I was hardly using it.

Now that I`m retired with more time to myself I jumped in and just bought another one. It`s a bit of a poser`s bike as it`s likely to be polished more than taken out. But on sunny, dry days I`ll go off pootling around Wiltshire at 50mph just feeling young one more time.

I refuse to grow old gracefully...


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