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Hi There✋

Thank you for visiting my blog. I don't want to make my blog all about me but for those interested I'll tell you a little bit more about who I am and how I became interested in motorcycles.

So hello ✌, my name is Bart, I'm 42 years of age, Í am a bit of an introvert and a perfectionist. I have a wife and a daughter of 6. I work and live in Belgium in a region that is called the flemish Ardennes. I am working fulltime as an engineer on particle accelerators that are used clinically to treat cancer patients.

I grew up at the country side as a kid so I playd a lot outside and I did a lot of cycling and mtb rides back then.

Some of my interests today are:

• Music but passivly, I especially like the metal genre with Opeth as my absolute favourite band . But in all honesty I do listen to other genres as well.
• DIY project, if I have something in my mind  I'll try everything to make it myself. This can be anything really.
• Believe it or not, home improvements! I basicaly rebuilt our entire house by myself.
• I'm a bit of an audiophle although in recent years that ebbed away a bit.
• And off course motorcycles.
• and many many other things 😅

Still reading?

As long as I can remember I have been interested in motorcycles. It did not take long to get my first wheels. I remember buying a Puch Maxi that didn't run when I was 12 or so. Took it home I repaired it and I drove it around in our backyard. Later on I bought a Suzuki RM 125 together with a whole bunch of parts, I made it run but it always broke down on me and so I sold it again.

Between the age of 15 and 23 i drove 50cc mopeds such as the Honda camino and Aprilia Rs 50, at times hihgle modded for speed. every child of the eighties will recognise that 😏.

Honda Camino PA 50

Then one day out of the blue I had an accident with a mopped that literally scarred me for life. I didn't think I would be able to drive a motorcycle again at that point, I was 23 and I still had the rest of my life in front of me.

As time went by I stared to regain interest and I overcame my fear of driving and I bought the motorcycle of a friend of mine. But i didn't have a valid driving license yet😆.

honda xl 600 RM 1987

My first +125cc motorcycle was a fact and bore the name Honda XL 600 RM. Only 2 days after I picked it up i took it to pieces to make a kind of supermoto out of it. A huge mistake looking back at it.

Honda xl 600 LM (after mods RM on paper)

I can't help myself, I'm a bit of a gease monkey or how do you call that?  I really love wrenching. This bike made me appreciate single cylinder bikes, specially the ones made by Honda from the eighties and early nineties.

In fact it was the first bike I used to go exploring, being a singele cylinder, I looked for the smallest roads and eventually dirt roads.

This honda xl is the bike that really introduced me to what is currently called adventure riding, well before the adventure bike segment exploded.

 I don't know how many honda's I bought in the end, everytime I saw one advertised  I wanted to buy it either for spares or to restore it. I'm pretty sure I sold at least 4 of those hondas either in spares or as a finished project.

Honda XL 600 RM PD04 1987

Honda xl 600 LM (after rebuilt)

 

In the years after that  I drove the following bikes:

• Honda VFR 800 fi 1999
• Honda CB600 Hornet 2007
• Honda CBR 954RR 2002
• Honda VTR 1000 SP2  2002( I shouldn't of sold it😔)
• BMW 1150 GSA
• Honda CBR 954 RR 2003
• KTM 990 Adventure 2009
• VFR 800 FI 2002
• KLR 650 1987
• Husqvarna 701 enduro 2019
• Currently the KTM  1290 SAR 2021

As you can see, I always had a bike around . From 2019 everything  changed, I did more and more adventure riding. I ended up riding more offroad especially in the Belgian Ardennes. I'm addicted ever since.

When I'm leaving home to ride my bike I always feel bad leaving my family behind because I feel a sense of responsibility towards them. Can you relate to that? 

I also realize how incredibly fortunate I am my partner understands, I need this, because it is somewhat of a selfish activity. On the other hand I try to keep things in balance by making enough time for them.

There you go, I hope you know me a little better, I wrote more then expected 😏. Enjoy the pictures.

Bart ✌

Honda VFR 800 FI 1998

KTM 1290 SAR 2021

Honda CBR 954 RR

Honda CBR 954 RR

KTM 990 Adventure

BMW 1150 GSA

Kawasaki KLR 650 1987

Kawasaki KLR 650 1988

Husqvarna 701 enduro 

Husqvarna 701 enduro

HONDA VTR 1000SP2