It's been sometime I rode a bike and was badly missing riding in general and the Duke in particular.
Almost one and a half years here in the UK and each time I saw someone ride past, I felt agony,despair and desire in equal measure.

A part of me would try to reason and say-
"wait! Don't be silly, you don't know how long you gonna stay here, don't splash out, not worth the financial hit and the trouble."

Another voice from inside would whisper-
"mate,come on don''t listen to him(and the wife!) and scratch your itch, you can always sell the damn thing and move on, it's been more than an year, how long does he want to hold you back?"

Wifey obviously was not too keen on a bike, has never been for that matter! The stupidity costs money not only buying it but running and maintenance as well. This could well be spent planning for future. Yeah yeah, still on rent whereas colleagues and friends buying swanky apartments in upmarket places! But then she wasn't too keen on the duke as well, eventually relenting then and I somehow know how to pull the puppy face with only begging eyes and without droopy ears !


Okay so I'd get myself a bike then. But wait! There was a problem. I needed a UK A license.
A UK-not-obtainable-by-paying-an-agent-Rs1500-license.
UK, like other European countries use a tiered license structure and I had to get myself an A license via DAS -Direct access Scheme for people older than 24 years, allowing you to ride a bike of any class with any power without any prior riding experience.
You can use your Indian license for 1 year from the date of entry but not after that.This was a problem. Getting a license is an expensive affair here, like most other things here really!
You need to enrol in a riding school to get a bike to take the test in. Of course you can buy a bike and avoid a school, but insuring it for a test on a provisional license won't be cheap,especially for an expat who has spent less than 2 years in UK. Add to that the inconvenience of hiring a van and taking it to the test centre.
So I joined a school. Opted for the shortest course-2 day advanced for people with very good riding experience-and imagined it to be a breeze!
In hindsight, joining a school was absolutely necessary. Here's why:

The UK license test is a 3 part test:

1)CBT(Compulsary Basic Training) : Starting point for any rider. One day training where bike basics are taught and an observed ride in the end of it.
One can choose to ride around on a 125 with L plates on a provisional license without bothering further tests etc!

2)Theory- It's not much unlike what we have in India, road signs, rules etc. But has an extra in the form of a 'Hazard perception Test'. You
are shown 14 video clips and you need to respond when you see a hazard. This would assess your reflexes and road riding nous and your ability to
respond to situations on road.


3)Module 1: You are tested in a closed circuit for your Bike manoeuvring skills on a bike making not less than 53BHP and min capacity of 595CC(For A license)
You'd be asked to do slaloms, figure of eights, emergency stops, swerves, controlles stops, turnings etc. I think we have these in India as well, but noone is asked to do all of these!Of course, you are asked to observe all road rules, so your lifesavers(shoulder checks) are absolutely vital, miss one and you fail.


4)Module 2: Actual Road riding is tested. An examiner would follow you and blare out instructions on a radio and observe your every move.
15 minor faults allowed, but one major fault and you fail.


I aced the theory test.The multiple choice questions regarding road signs and rules were easy enough.The hazard perception test is often found tricky by UK guys, but someone who has riding experience in India
would find it easy given the constant alacrity required while on the roads. So I backed myself and didn't loose my sleep over it. I did well.
For mod 1 and 2,I was given a Honda CBF 600 for training by the school and I felt immediately at home even though it was my first inline 4 experience. Very docile and well behaved, didn't feel overwhelmed at all(of course never got to feel the top end). It was a bit heavy, but the slaloms and eights were a easy enough and instructor was pleased. he said, you'd have no problems with your Mod 1, let's go out for a road ride and see how you ride on actual roads,should be good on the evidence till now. I was almost cocky thinking how can riding in country be difficult which follows keep left!
After 15 minutes on road, my hubris was exposed.He said that was the worst riding he had seen by a student in ages.
I was gutted. But he was right. I was riding like a moron.

Riding here was a completely different affair than riding in India. Most follow the rules and expect you to follow as well.Strict lane discipline is observed.
And roundabouts! God, I hated them. They look exactly the ones we have back home, but apparently, you can't simply squeeze your way in. You can't enter if one is already in, need to signal as per your exit and then enter ythe correct lane after your exit.
Phew! Quantum mechanics is much simpler.

So I headed home like a defeated warrior after swallowing my pride and falses sense of being a good rider shattered. Had to gather my bearings for Mod 1 which was roundthe corner.
I cleared Mod-1 with flying colours and zero rider faults.Not a surprise as I was very comfortable with all the manoeuvres, but did help in boosting confidence.Mod 2 was a week away and I had only 6 hours of training to get me prepared.In my instructors word, a lucky day and a lot of prayers would be required.
I had to make progress. Internalized the instructor's observations and suggestions.Of course prayed a lot to God. I told myself, hey I can ride a bike, just need to get the road sense here. Did a lot better in the final session with the instructor.He was pleasantly surprised.Somehow convinced the examiner I can ride safely on UK roads. Either that, or he was an Indophile.

So I finally was a licensed UK motorcycle rider. Elated, I immediately bought the bike I had long before reserved, the same day. A colleague was selling off his (faired)bike due to back problems wanting to get a naked for an upright riding position. I am not going to bore you more with the 'which-bike-decision-process', just the fact that I was initially almost certain to buy a 1998-1999 Honda CB600F hornet.It's a parts bin special and is super popular among new riders.That round headlamp and that lovely tank pulled my heartstrings somehow. I am a sucker for sharp cuts and creases(read KTMs), but something in that old hack, may be the angular tank resembling a hornet's thorax, the upswept exhaust may be,the fireblade rear wheel perhaps,or plain simple minimalist looks appealed to me. Of course a good example of that old a model could be had for as less as GBP 1000 meant it was dirt cheap.
But then a colleague responded to one of mails to the biking group on company email asking for advice and I was sold on the Honda CBR 600F4i 2003 model he wanted to sell. I realized why Honda has this reputation of awesome build quality.
It looked and felt almost pristine. Nowhere near a 13 year old bike. It looked almost as good as my 3 year old Duke. And it sounded better.
I realized I am not getting any younger and would possibly be in worse shape to ride sportsbike in future. Plus it was a do it all bike, the middleweight equivalent of the recently launched R15 v2 S. So wifey would hate it less and would agree riding
on tours, fuel economy would be okay too and it had enough power for me. It looked a million bucks too.

And that's how ladies and gentlemen, the CeeBeeAar came home.

They don't make bikes like these anymore. It has aluminium frame, fully adjustable suspension(both front and back) and HISS to deter theft.
The previous owner plonked a scorpion slip-on and a scottoiler as well. I am not complaining

Specs Sheet:

Some pictures of my pride and Joy!