A bone to pick...

As the first true post on this blog, I'll talk about the first major frustration I've stumbled across with the SRX.

As a new rider, my licence class limits me to bikes within a certain power-to-weight ratio limit (150 kw/tonne). Along with falling within this limit, a bike must be explicitly on the LAMS (learner approved motocycle scheme) list. PROBLEM! The SRX400 was never released in Australia, and seems to have thus been completely overlooked by the Queensland Department of Transport when they introduced the LAMS system. Common sense would suggest that the SRX400, being the smaller capacity brother of the LAMS-approved SRX600, would automatically be considered a LAM. Nope. No room in the bureaucratic labyrinth for reason.

 SOLUTION! One can apply to have bikes added to the list! And such a simple process : send in official manufacturer's specs (which would necessarily be harder to source in the case of "overlooked" bikes such as every single potential applicant)! Impossible for the SRX400. As an alternative, I had to furnish the DoT with a dynamometer report, proof of tare weight (ie. weighbridge certificate) and proof of engine size. Note that this is all expected to be done without the LAMS-restricted owner riding the bike! The mind boggles.

Anyway, I managed to source the required info and lodge the application. Which was misplaced by the DoT. Then found. Then approved after a couple of weeks. A truly broken system.

First

I've created this blog with the main goal of documenting my experiences as the owner of a Yamaha SRX400, and as someone comparatively new to the world of motorcycling in general. While I'll mostly be doing this for my own pleasure, some of the content will hopefully be of interest to other owners of this fantastic yet criminally underappreciated bike. 

From time to time there may even be a post by some pals about their bikes. Good news for fans of the Honda XBR500, Honda Spada, Kawasaki Zephyr and Suzuki DR250, then. We'll also be documenting the restoration of a BMW R65 (the Spada owner's).