My interest in motorcycles started when I had my first "go"on a Honda 50 Step-Thru at around 10 years of age. They say that motorcycling is a passing phase........well, not quite yet!
Once I passed my test there was no stopping and a collection of old cheap and cheerful lightweight 2 strokes gave me the bug to try racing.
The next 12 years saw me on very few road bikes as I tried my hand on both 2 and 3 wheeled racing bikes ranging from a Yamaha 125 TZR to a TZ700 engined sidecar outfit. The TZ didn't actually get raced due to an inherent handling problem but a Suzuki 850 engined outfit gave us the Knockhill 4 stroke championship in 1982. The 125 Production Championship came my way in '89 followed by a second place in the Scottish Modstock Championship on a modified Yamaha RD350 LC the following year - I was denied 1st place by an engine seizure during practice for the final round which highsided me and broke my collarbone in 2 places. I still remember trying to work out if I could get the bones strapped up to try for a few vital points the following day!
All good things came to an end, especially when the chequered flag was being reeled back in as I trundled past the finishing line and I decided to hang up my leathers and get back onto a road bike.
My current machine is a Yamaha TDM 900 which I bought in '05. I previously ran a TDM 850. Both are useful town bikes which I use to take me to work at the local Further Education college and also as competent long distance tourers which I've used to effect by touring Greece in '02, Italy in '03 and Croatia in 2005
The following pages are a compilation of photographs I've taken over the years - Enjoy!
