My Viking chum’s first series Formula 500 is booked in for its Manx vehicle inspection next week, but as the tyres are about 30 years old, and in the case of the front one, slightly cracked, i’m going to swap the wheels from my ‘Monty dressed’ F500. However, the bikes were stored in different locations, which gave me a perfect excuse to go out this evening and wake the dead on the embarrassingly loud machine. Rather than take the direct route through Douglas, which isn’t ideal at the best of times on a close ratio kitted 500, I took a bit of a detour to take in a few nice twisty country back roads that so suit the 500.
Obviously, once I reached my destination near Port Soderick, I then had the task of choosing a bike to ride home. It wasn’t too difficult to decide, as the 750 Formula was parked up right at the front of the queue. I wouldn’t normally describe the Zane 750 Formulas as the most civilized of bikes, but even with the ‘open’ exhaust cans and the racey set-up, by comparison to the 500 that I had just hopped off, it was almost like traveling in a limousine. The seat, for once, felt plush and I could even hear myself think. And although the sun was starting to sink behind the hills, it was still more than warm enough for yet another (longer) detour to get back home.