On yer bike!

We had a ride to Wigan today to look at a new motorbike.

Mr A has been umming and ahhing since we saw one he liked last week in Preston, so we decided to go and have a proper look and a test ride.

Wigan is where he bought his current bike, so we thought we might get a better deal there.

The bike in question is another Kawasaki 650cc (though they tried their best to try and sell us a 1000cc!), but comes complete with luggage which will be handy for weekends away.
Mr A took the demo bike for a spin on his own, before coming back for me.
Getting on the new bike was a bit of a challenge; for a start, it's higher (which is one of the reasons Mr A liked it). Plus, with the panniers and top box on, I couldn't just swing my leg over the seat like I usually do.

On the plus side, it was sooooooooo much comfier for us both. From my point of view, my feet were higher so didn't get in the way of Mr A (his current bike has pegs quite close together so I have to rest my tiptoes on the end of my pegs, rather than the centre of my foot).
The top box made a nice backrest and helped keep the wind off; likewise with the panniers. I felt much less wind chill than usual.

We were both sold after the test ride, so then it was a case of agreeing a price for trade in, which Mr A did expertly.

It won't be ready for a couple of weeks, but we are already planning a weekend away on it to see how it goes.

Today's blip is the range of bikes we looked at; as a sneak peek, the one closest to the camera is the colour Mr A chose :-)