Terry Came

That is a shame. It really is a case of seeing what you need, what is comfortable, and what you can afford. I'm sure you have already come to the conclusion that you need something at least with a 500cc engine, fairing and a dealer reasonably near. If you are going used what about the Honda 650 NT? Old I know, but they do seem to be able to cope with the miles, they are shaft drive, have lots of built in luggage and fairing.

When I was 16 you I bought a moped, which, if you were lucky, could do speeds approaching 50mph. No test, no lessons, just 'here's the bike, this is how you make it go, this is how you change gear, this is how you stop, here's your L plates. Good luck, off you go.' We then went on to 250cc machines, which in the 1970's could go quite well. Again just 'here's your L plates, off you go, good luck.' Now was this a good idea? Not really, but it got us on the road. Now, CBT, then the A1 licence. Restricted to 125, limited to 11kw, then, after two years, take another test and go to A2 licence. Restricted to 37kw. Then, when you get to 24, you can finally get your full licence. That's three tests, with the waiting times as long as they are now, this takes real commitment. Car test is the same as it was 50 years ago, take your test, drive what you like, up to 3.5 tonnes. No need to take a test as you get older when you wish to drive your Chelsea tractor 2 miles to take your children to nursery. As for cars 50 years ago, well, rose tinted glasses aside, they were rot boxes. After ten years, you could expect to have to get the welding torch out to replace floors, sills, flitch panels. 100,000 miles, they were, to put it politely, worn out. Now cars, for the most part, do not rust nearly as much. They last at least twice as long as they did. You can get a perfectly good little car for learning in and first car for about £1000. 15,20 or ever 25 year old cars are not uncommon now. As for insurance, for me, it is not too different, so I imagine that there is not much difference for youngsters when they go to insure a car or a bike. 50 years a go, there was a significant difference. Given the fact that most parents would much prefer their children to have a car rather than a bike, then you can see why biking is becoming a thing of the past.

What about one of the smaller Royal Enfields? The Meteor, Classic, Hunter or Bullet seem to get good reviews and, from what I have heard the quality has improver significantly recently. Used ones with very little mileage seem to be coming up regularly for not too much.

I have four cars and can justify, [to myself], each and every one. Okay, you have to pay insurance, tax and MoT's. However, I was talking to a friend who plays golf. £1500 per year just to belong to the club. When put in that context, owning four cars, or four bikes, if we enjoy them, is very affordable.

The Iranians have just suffered a major defeat at the hands of Israel with the actions against Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and with what has happened in Syria. All Europeans and Americans are fair game. They feel they need to do something to regain some honour or respect. It is foolish to disregard the advise of the Foreign Office in these circumstances. Should they be able to ride around the world? In an ideal world, yes. Unfortunately we do not live in an ideal world.

As someone with four cars I'm probably not the best to offer advice, but, as it is a convertible, I would keep it and enjoy it with the top down in the summer months, when, for whatever reason you do not wish to take the bike. All my cars are end of life cheapies, so no finance or depreciation. Okay, tax and insurance will have to be paid, but as I imagine we are both of a similar age, then it will not be that expensive, less than a golf club or gym membership. We walk this way but once. Enjoy it while you can.

I know how you feel. I'm now down to one day a week, sometimes. It's fine. It pays for my toys.

Trust me, before I retired I carried significantly more than £50. Now, I consider £50 enough to cover most eventualities. Anymore than that, they can sort their wi-fi out!

This does make the case for always having £25-£50 cash on you. If all the cards and phone apps decide to play up, or, heaven forbid, you are on a lovely ride out int he country and they say "Sorry it's taking so long, the signal is shit round here." Many years ago, when my youngest daughter was looking at uni's we arrived at a family run hotel. When we went to pay for the room nothing worked. Not the debit car or the credit card. 'Computer says no!' The lad behind the counter looked in amazement when I simply pulled my wallet out and paid cash. I told him to put it in an envelope, put my name on it, and give it to his dad in the morning. Problem solved.

I agree with the extra training. I too go my licence back in the day and the training was 'well here's your L plates and off you go!' Something had to change. When I look back at my first 12 months of motorcycling, all I can say is my guardian angel needed to put in an overtime claim. I'm still here to tell the tale, but many others are not. I remember the Yamaha RD250, capable, if the hype were to be believed, of 100mph, straight out the box, 17yr old, straight off his pushbike, or, if he or she was lucky, his or her FSIE. No wonder the accident rate was so high. The theory test on the other hand, well, when it was first introduced, if you had a full driving licence, you did not need one for your motorbike test, and the same if you had a full bike licence, no need for your car test. I can only think that the reason for the change was financial.

With so many people renting these days, I can foresee the situation where the place you are renting now has a garage, but now, though no fault of there own they have to move. The new place has no garage. What happens to his bike insurance now?

The main danger to this is that you have no idea of the condition of the other driver. Were they 'stressed' so have self medicated with pot or perhaps coke? Are they so busy on their phone that they simply haven't seen you? The last thing you want is to be confronted by 'Dylan' from the Magic Roundabout. 'Like er, what that screaming, grinding sound man? Why won't the car go?' We know they are out there. Take care and stay safe.

This sounds like a wonderful trip.

There are loads of these available within your budget. This will do what you want, but I'm afraid the 250 Virago has only 20bhp. It will not cope comfortably 2 up on the motorway. The 650 Dragstar really is a stylish good looking bike. It is also shaft drive, which eliminates the chain and sprocket.

An awful lot will be what sort of riding will you be doing? Be honest with yourself. Are you going to be just pootling around country lanes and perhaps A and B roads? Are you going to want to use it for commuting? Will it include dual carriageways? If it is just pottering about, then one of the small, low powered bikes will be great, inexpensive to buy and run, but it will be slow and be positively unpleasant on dual carriageways and motorways. If these will be a regular feature on your journey, then consider something bigger, with the capability to hit 70mph without effort. As with everything else, you pays your money and take your choice.

Ensure that you have commuting on your insurance. Not having it and getting stopped invalidates your insurance. That is six points on your licence, which means, if you haven't had your licence for two years, you go back to a provisional, and you have to start all over again. Also, be careful of comparison sites if you opt to pay monthly. I was trying to get car insurance for my niece. Even though we put commuting on the form, the quotes kept coming back without it. Only by paying annually with Admiral did we get commuting coverage.