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June 25th, 2016

6/25/2016

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Back in the middle of last summer, the zip on my Alpinestars track pants, that attaches them to the jacket, broke. Doing the typical man thing, I folded them up, put them on the rail and used a different suit instead. Now with a much shorter journey, the prospect of putting on my one piece suit for such a short ride has led me to use my Rukka suit instead. The only problem is, that suit is designed for Autumn and Winter and is therefore a little too warm for summer.
Doing a Google search, I found a local tailors that specialised in leather repairs, so took it over to them, handed over my money and that was that. I pick them back up next week, so will give you an update. Hopefully I still fit them.
Driving home, Carolina and I drove past Bournemouth Kawasaki, a shop I'd been meaning to go to since I moved down here. I will admit the site was a little smaller than I expected, but the bikes inside made up for it. Amongst some of the latest Kawasaki models, like the Z1000, 1400ZZR and the ZX-10R was Chris Walkers ZX-7RR race bike (sadly sort of wedged in the back of the room with the used bikes) and the above, James Hilliers H2R that that he rode around the TT course. Its a beast.
What was really cool was its just sitting quietly in the back of the shop, surrounded by some clothing on the rails. With nobody else around, I was able to get really close and explore the engineering, beautiful carbon fibre, striking green frame and that paint. Whenever I been to a bike show, they have been on a turntable and I was always surrounded by like minded people.
Would I buy one if I had the money? Yes, but only if I had money to burn. You can't use the R on the road and the vast majority of tracks won't let you anywhere near their circuit when its running.
I wouldn't by an H2 either. Yes its an amazing piece of kit, but its no faster the aforementioned ZX-10R which handles better anyway and I'd always know that there was a better version available.
Sadly, the H2Rs in this country (which isn't that many), possible the pinnacle of current motorbike design and engineering, on par with the Honda RCV213, will sit like this one. On a stand in a room, a full sized model to be looked at, which is a bit of a shame.

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    Me

    My name is Matt Brown and I'm a UK journalist formerly based in London, but now calling the South of England home. I've been riding bikes since 2007, but got hooked straight away. Nothing gives me the feeling of freedom, even when stuck in a city. In 2010 I became a RoSPA gold rider, but when it comes down to it, I'm Just a normal man, riding his bikes as often as he can.

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