I'm John, 69, living in Carlisle.
I started riding on a Li150 Lambretta of 50's vintage that I bought for £4 in the early sixties, I obtained my full licence a year or so later and have had a whole load of different bikes, and one or two scooters, since.
A few months ago I bought a 2002 Burgman 400 with a slightly goosed engine, one of the exhaust valves had snapped, part of it was buried in the head and the rest of it is rattling around in the exhaust...at least, I think that's what it is that's rattling.
The parts were fairly readily available and I expect to go for a start at the end of the week.
My last bike was a Kawasaki GTR1000 which I absolutely loved, I had to sell it because it was becoming increasingly difficult to manage at rest in that if it were to lean more than a few degrees out of the vertical while I was out of the saddle, I found it almost impossible to keep upright, I was very close to dropping it a few times.
Looking forward to putting the Burgman on the road, out and out performance is no longer a priority as long as I can make reasonable progress and get a few miles under my belt to see if it suits me.

welcome

Welcome I have a daughter in Carlisle

Welcome lad keep posting or mew thtead on your progress with pics could help another mupet out in the garage thtead x

Welcome-I often get over to Silloth via the Coast Road out of Carlisle, and of course you also have the Lakes to play in! Good luck with the Burgman.

Regards, Hatter

Thanks for the welcome, chaps, the Burger is now ready to start, I have fuel and a spark and I'm waiting for a die nut to chase up a thread before fitting the exhaust. I lashed out and purchased a brand new stainless Mivv system from Italy as the old one was looking a little rough and as I said before, it's got part of an exhaust valve rattling around in the silencer.
I'll search out the correct part of the forum and bang up a few piccies for your perusal.
I know what you mean about Silloth, it can be quite glorious, especially with the weather we've had for the last couple of weeks, but as you well know, it can change at the drop of a hat. We often go there with the grandchildren, eight year old twins, the beaches are great fun for them( and me, if the truth be known).

I know exactly what you mean, I came to Carlisle in 1962 as an Army Apprentice at Hadrians Camp, married a local girl, and after my Army service came to live here permanently in 1977, I remember all those places you describe.
The same can be said for my home town of Portsmouth, I was there last week to attend the funeral of an old friend from my service days, and I didn't recognise half of what I saw, it's called progress.