Thursday 16th July - Suzy gets wet, Hello Express Insurance, and welcome back MCN!

Weather forecast for the next 48 hrs is rubbish, so decided to try and make monkeys while the sun shines...........I mean make hay while the monkeys shine......oh you get the point..........he he Monkeys! I once met a mad Capuchin Monkey that tried to attack me for no reason at a zoo, maybe I had offended him in a previous life...anyway I digress.

I managed to get out last night on the Suzy, and took her for lush ride up to Hill Top and back around some wicked A and B roads, and even managed to find a spot where the sun would hit her just right so I could get these pics...............David Bailey you got nothing on me!

Got to admit after all the Cruisers I have been riding recently, it felt lush to get on a bike such as the GSX650F, as she simply must be one of the easiest bikes to ride ever, oh and I may have mentioned this before, but she is not just easy to ride, but easy to ride damn fast too!

That 4 cylinder 650 plant is taken straight from the uber successful Suzuki Bandit but it has been given a few tweaks to pump out 85bhp at the back wheel, by some clever remapping and tops out at an impressive 12,500 rpm.

In fact at first inspection you may think, well this is a just fully faired Bandit, and you'd be right, it has the same chassis, fuel tank, gearbox etc as Suzuki's massive selling commuter bike, but somehow the whole package comes together to make this feel more like the sportier GSXR600 than its cheaper cousin. The suspension is really tight; the handling sharp, the stopping power is immense, and you can really throw this thing around, and while it may not have the break neck "I'm going to die" speed of its more illustrious brother, if you nail the gear changes and keep the revs up you really won't notice or care as it's so much fun!

I would recommend this to those who are either looking to make their first steps towards a big sports bike, or those who have ridden big beasts and are looking for something a bit more manageable, that could be used a perfect everyday bike that will still give you those sporty thrills.

It looks the part too, and that big can gives a really nice race bike sound, and to most passersby this is indistinguishable from a full on superbike, and yet the slightly more upright position means you can eat up the miles without throwing your back....neck...knees etc out.

Got to admit I found myself giving it some proper tap as it just feels so manageable, although getting used to the clutch biting point took a while after riding the Fat Bob! Cue some rather OTT revving!

Finished the show and the weather was pants, so no chance to take it out properly tonight, but you get the feeling that for £5,500 otr, and with 0% finance available at the moment from Streetbike, that this is one hell of a machine for relatively tiny amount of cash.

After my show today it was uber wet, but that just plays into the hands of this Suzy, and as she is slightly toned down from the full on racers, you can still ride her quite hard without ever feeling like you are going to lose control even in really damp conditions, hell at one point it was chucking it down and I hardly had to adapt my riding at all, as this thing just handled everything I threw at it!

I have one more day with this thing, and having had it in my garage for the last 3 weeks almost I shall defo miss it, as it has been the perfect foil for the big Harleys I have been riding recently, and while it may not have the character of the CVO Fat Bob, (but at £15k less you wouldn't expect it to match up to that beast!) I must admit it is an amazing piece of kit.

Tomorrow I shall take it back to Streetbike, where I will receive my new toy, and I'm really hoping to get a go on that Porsche designing Honda Flat Six that Gary had got in the other day...............man that thing made a great noise, and then I think it's the Yamaha rival to the GSX650F, the XJ.

Now a lot of people have been asking me about learning to ride recently, so tomorrow I will doing a piece to show you just how easy it is to get your license, and also all the steps you need to go through and in what order you need to do it, so don't miss that, but first up, a couple of bits of exciting news!

These blogs are now going to be sponsored by the lovely people at Express Insurance, so with each bike I will be able to give a range of Quotes just so you know roughly what your cover would cost, and they will also be sending me to some amazing Motorbike events as they are official sponsors of the BSB Suzuki Rizla team and Shane "Shakey" Byrne in the WSB's, and .......oh and if that wasn't enough they are also sorting me out with some uber cool branded leathers, so that if you see me out and about you can stop me and say hello!

On top of this the Diaries will be appearing once more on the MCN website, and I am truly excited by this as the people at MCN are the best in the business and it is an honour to be associated with their great name, plus they can let me know in advance some uber cool offer's which I can relay to you guys first!! Even more reason to check back and read these Diaries on a daily basis!

In fact I have already managed to sort out a 10% discount if you order now for anyone wanting to go to MCN Live at Skegness Butlins from 2nd 05th of October this year!!!!

I went to MCN Live at Skeggy earlier in the year, and having never been to a biker weekend like this, I was truly blown away by how amazing it was! It was like living in some sort of Bikers Disneyland, with a bike outside every chalet, and so much to do for all the family that it a was an action packed weekend, plus I met some wicked people and made some amazing friends, as everyone is there for the same thing.........Bikes, awesome live entertainment, nonstop partying, booze, and of course the Legendary fancy dress on the Saturday night, if that wasn't enough this time around there is a theme too, here is a run- down on some of the main attractions!

MCNLive! 2nd - 5th October 2009

It's Showtime! - Viva Skeg Vegas........

With the flamboyant Las Vegas theme taking over Butlins at Skegness, MCNLive! will once again be showcasing their biannual biker party weekend of the year!

This year's all singing and dancing event sees a visual and musical feast - unbelievable stunt shows, top live music, MCN Showgirls, interactive zones and non-stop wild partying - the excitement of Vegas is literally on our door step!

Skeg Vegas - Non stop entertainment, fun and wild partying...

• Manufacturers' Village - Test drive the latest models or even buy your next bike
• Amazing stunt shows
• Price-crunching bargains on biking gear in our trade area
• Interactive Zone - All day, on-site petrol-head fun - Try and Ride and much more
• Tour the local area with our organised Rideout
• The beautiful MCN Babes
• Great outdoor team activities and challenges
• Show & Shine competition

And if that's not enough, try out the on-site facilities including:

• Splash Waterworld
• Fairground
• Health Spa
• Go-Karts
• Crazy Golf
• Ten pin bowling
• Cinema

Sound like your bag baby??

In that case grab your tickets with a 10% discount now online at here, do it quick before they get booked up, honestly you won't regret it!!

I'll blog back tomorrow with that learner special, and also to let you know what that Honda Beast is like, until then my illustrious compadres, ride safe!