Honda CJ250T
With Learner Plates fitted my 2nd Motor Vehicle hit the streets, a Honda CJ250T motorbike in yellow. The parallel twin 4-Stroke engine was rather aesthetically handsome looking in my opinion, albeit not having a great deal of power. This bike weighed in at 184 kg (wet) so was quite a heavy bike for its time. Compare this to modern sports bikes close to 1,000 cc not weighing much more than my yellow peril 250.
I used this bike for a full 2 years of all weather commuting to & from work. Using the bike as my only mode of transport certainly helped to develop my road skills. With a stainless steel single front brake disc the braking in the wet was interesting at times. You soon learned to keep the disc warm & dry with regular light touches in bad weather.
The reliability of the Honda CJ250T was spot on except for one time when the kill switch on the handlebars failed. This left me stuck at work for one night & I had to stay with a local relative. That evening I spent several hours kick starting the bike, trying to ascertain the problem. A new kill switch was duly fitted & the bike burst into life once more!
As a first motorbike this model was a good beginning to motorcycling, it was not blessed with the greatest of handling prowess but was certainly loads of fun on twisty roads.
