Hi from England.

[Shamus]

Hi all.
First of all may I congratulate you on a truly fantastic forum. I've spent many hours trolling through the goldmine of information and anecdotes on the forum and have to admit that I'm totally addicted to GZ250BIKE.COM.
This second paragraph will have me admitting that I don't even own nor have I ever owned a Geezee......So you may ask "what the hell is he doing in here?". Well it all started a couple of years ago when my girlfriend Pam ("Spamulaspam" in this forum) bought herself a GZ125 and absolutely fell in love with it (btw. A 125 is the largest capacity motorcycle that a learner rider in the U.K. is permitted to ride)....She rode the 125 for two years on L plates......It's a requirement for all U.K. riders to display L (learner) plates on their machines until they move on from a "provisional" licence and pass the test for the "full" licence. I'm not certain if you have a similar learner system stateside, perhaps someone could enlighten me on that one.
A couple of month ago Pam achieved her full licence and started the hunt for a larger capacity bike she loved the GZ125 so much that she very much set her heart on its bigger sister that this forum is based upon. "No problem there" I hear you say, "just go out and buy one!".......It ain't that simple in the U.K. as the 250 has never been sold here and the few GZ250s that are in Britain have come mainly through grey importers that have brought them from over the big pond from Stateside way.
Anyhow, to cut a long story short (that's if you ain't all fell asleep by now anyway lol) we did manage to trace a 2006 model just 80 miles away in Cheshire that had only done 1200 miles. We went down, had a look at her and graced the vendors hand with many pound notes and rode away on her, because Pam was totally besotted with it.
The forum has been a great help to us as the bike came with a few carb problems wich we have sorted out and she now runs like a dream.
We both ride bikes and niether of us have a car. My own bike is a suzuki GSF600 and after riding Pam's new bike I'm looking at getting a TU250 for myself.
I myself have been riding for 37 years and do all servicing and repairs at home hence why I've brought myself in this wonderful forum.
Thank you for the help we've already recieved and I do hope I can contribute to it myself in the near future.
Apologies for the long winded intro, but once I get on the keyboard..............Well I think ya know what I mean!
Many thanks again.......Regards.......Shamus.

[blaine]

Welcome to the family. :cool:

[OGC]

Enjoyed the story, hi from new zealand.

[alantf]

Originally Posted by Shamus

It's a requirement for all U.K. riders to display L (learner) plates on their machines until they move on from a "provisional" licence and pass the test for the "full" licence. I'm not certain if you have a similar learner system stateside, perhaps someone could enlighten me on that one.

I believe I've read that in some states you just have to go to the office & say "Hey, I've gotta bike", & they'll give you a licence to ride any crotch rocket you like. :crackup

When I took my test, in Sheffield, in 1965, we could ride any bike up to 250cc as a learner, then move up to whatever we wanted. I know the English test's got much more complicated since then.

[jonathan180iq]

Cheers, Shamus!

[Rookie Rider]

Howdy !!

[PimpS]

Welcome Shamus! You are already enjoying, keep up the good work!

[Water Warrior 2]

Shamus, welcome from the GWN(Canada). Glad to hear Pam found her 250 fairly close to home. If you do get a TU250 be sure to tell us. They will be more common in the future and likely a GZ replacement for many markets. We might have to start a TU subsection which might be a grand idea.

[blaine]

Originally Posted by Water Warrior

They will be more common in the future and likely a GZ replacement for many markets. We might have to start a TU subsection which might be a grand idea.

I agree,a great idea!!! :2tup:

[bpdchief]

Welcome Shamus, with the exception of the "nose bleed from speed" the TU250 will do everything your 600 will and do it more economically.

Alantf - that was Oklahoma 30 yrs ago. I would hope they have joined the rest of the world in requiring proper training. Odd that in all my years in Law Enforcement this never crossed my mind.