Morning.

[Old and Withered]

Just to say hi. Someone had already taken the username Steve so here we are. Not sure what I can tell you. I grew up on a diet of fs1es and 2 strokes and still yearn for those simple days. I have short legs and can't ride anything later than 1998. Id love to go back to riding liquid cooked 2 strokes but the prices are just silly so 80s sports bikes with skinny crossplies are de rigeur. My wife hates bikes and refuses to get on them so tend to spend loads of time on them for some peace and quiet.

[husoi]

Hello and welcome.

The username old and withered doesn't really narrow it down

That's most of us

[Simon Davey]

Good morning, and welcome to the forum @Old and Withered

[bonio]

Welcome in O&W.

How are you finding the GB350S? There's been a lot of interest in tem here but I don't think anyone's actually gone and got one.

[Mold]

Good morning Steve. When I bought my first bike at 18yo in 1990 the only other person I knew who had ever had a bike used to always talk about his "LC350" (which he had sold). I would still really like to have a go on one of those but it would be impactable for me to to buy. I do miss my last bike which was a Yamaha YZF 600 but my fast days are over and I just enjoy pootling along on my Kawasaki J300 anyway, welcome to the forum.

[Fiddlesticks]

Hi good to have you here.

[Old and Withered]

Thanks all. I work nights so sorry for late response. At the risk of alienating myself further I'm a truck driver.

[RideWithStyles]

Hi OaW,

welcome.

i for one will not put you lower than others simply because your a truck driver, its a necessity trade that is undervalued in my opinion.

we’ve got priests, sailors (leisure, shipping traders/transporters), builders and a few inbetweeners/odd ballers! .

[Old and Withered]

12 hours ago, bonio said:

Welcome in O&W.

How are you finding the GB350S? There's been a lot of interest in tem here but I don't think anyone's actually gone and got one.

This is going to sound weird but it's everything I expected and less. The reviews I saw absolutely raving are right it is a cracking little bike but I can't help feeling some reviewers have gone over the top.

 

The obvious things about the lack of power are irrelevant really because you know that before you buy it. The torque makes up for it a bit and it does justify only having 4 gears and an overdrive. 

 

I appreciate Honda are going after the Enfield and I sense it's almost an act of war as they seem to have targeted every aspect of them. But there is one thing about it I really wasn't expecting and nobody has really made a big deal of. For those of you that remember the xl185 it is uncannily similar in it's ride characteristics. The geometry, wheel sizes, engine characteristics, seating position, balance and height. I think they may have missed a trick. Put a high level exhaust on it and you have a very capable small trail bike. 

 

I live in deepest darkest Somerset and the 10 mile commute each way for work involves country lanes which are not much more than tracks complete with grass growing up the middle. And it loves them. As a commuter it's probably the perfect bike for me and my requirements. I wouldn't fancy riding it on a motorway, it does invoke a very lazy way of riding with slow cornering and short shifting and I imagine it's a great town bike. But it won't suit everyone. For me though I love it.

[bonio]

@Old and WitheredThanks. That's a great review.

[Old and Withered]

22 hours ago, Mold said:

Good morning Steve. When I bought my first bike at 18yo in 1990 the only other person I knew who had ever had a bike used to always talk about his "LC350" (which he had sold). I would still really like to have a go on one of those but it would be impactable for me to to buy. I do miss my last bike which was a Yamaha YZF 600 but my fast days are over and I just enjoy pootling along on my Kawasaki J300 anyway, welcome to the forum.

I am never sure whether they were great bikes or I look back through a distorted haze of nostalgia. The thing is with the 2 strokes of the late 70s early 80s was they were so cheap and accessible. I picked up various piles of junk in my teens for under £100 and my first 350 lc at 18 for £600. They were easy to work on. Cheap to fix and fantastic to tune. We used to send the barrels to Stan Stephens or Bob Farnham to work their magic on them. The turning point for me was the gpz900r that changed the world. But I'm a relic of my own past and still yearn for those 2 stroke days. I think bikes are like music. The ones you grew up with you have the most fondness for.

[bud]

Welcome Steve. The GB does sound like it's ideal for you. And you are probably right. Put that engine in a cheap trail bike chassis. Honda would sell loads.

I had an RD, but the later, less liked F2.

Still loved it though. And then brought an even more impractical TZR250. I do love a  two stroke.