What a great Saturday August 27th was here at Streetbike…

So what went on then...
A few weeks ago we where approached by Russell’s’ Hall Hospital's Make a Wish team about a girl called Emma whose secret wish is to "Ride a Yamaha Motorbike".

 
Emma with her Mum and little bro…

Naturally we said we could help and, thanks to Steve in Training, Yamaha UK and you guys we arranged a really special day for her…

First up, Emma is old enough, and we’d checked with her doctors at Russells Hall, because we realised we could let her ride a Yamaha on her own in our training park out back.

So - after a quick safety briefing from Steve – she was off…



…and she was really good – so good we quickly arranged another surprise for her for later in the day…






Much as the Yamaha Giggle is well, a giggle – we were pretty sure Emma’s idea of a dream ride on a Yamaha involved something a little bit bigger…



So for the next part of the day Steve took her out for a two hour ride around some of the brilliant biking roads not far from us here at Streetbike…

Meanwhile back at base we’d been asking on Facebook & Twitter for as many Yamaha riders as possible to turn up to welcome her back…



Many Thanks to all those who did, despite the fact it rained for the entire hour before she came back !

As a thanks to those who did brave the weather and cheered her in, we asked her to pick her favourite Yamaha from those in the car park. Congratulations to Chris as she loved his blue YZF-R125 so he won the 10 years of Vale at Yamaha coffee table book.



But we hadn’t quite finished yet – we had a few presents from us and from Yamaha UK to help her remember her special day…

She really loved the jacket we’d given her to wear – imagine how thrilled she was when we let her keep it !!!

Plus many thanks to Yamaha UK who had sent up a really special goodie bag for her with 2 x coffee table books, a couple of bags, pens, stickers, mug, DVD and, a proper Yamaha race shirt.

AND – if that wasn’t enough, remember how we said she did really well on her taster session in the training ground…

We gave her a CBT training course as well…

Thanks to everyone who helped to make Emma’s wish come true…

Her Mum said on Facebook afterwards…

“I can't thank Streetbike enough for today. I haven't seen Emma smiling so much in a long time.”

PLUS…
Long time customer Mike played live all day and Chris, our Recovery Manager, set up his Karaoke and sang all to raise money for McMillan Cancer Support...



Thanks to those of you who dumped some money in the buckets and joined in the fun. We’re going to rattle the buckets again on Guy Martin Night this Wednesday – let see if we can fill ‘em ‘cause McMillan are such a good charity.

SO…
That was it - a day of giving here at Streetbike. Thanks to everyone who came along and supported these two great worthwhile events…

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Want to help raise money for the Jack McMahon Appeal…

Every year TT nut Peter Hogg goes to the island and takes, literally, thousands of photos…

Last couple of years we’ve uploaded the lot to our StreetbikeUK Flickr site for you to enjoy too…

This year Pete’s picked some of his favourites, had ‘em blown up, and has given the lot to us to raise money for the Jack McMahon appeal…

All Pictures only £5 each…
Pick the picture you want…
Put the cash in the box in the Café…

Don’t worry about getting it home – we’ve got envelopes, just ask…

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Alex’s DL Adventure…

“You’re going where to do what ???”

Llandrindod Wells to pick up our New Suzuki DL650AL2 demo bike…

Rather than simply delivering the bike to dealers Suzuki decided to give 1 lucky bike sales team member from each of their dealers the chance to have a real experience of the bike under different riding conditions…

That’s why Alex was heading to Llandrindod Wells in remotest mid Wales.

Llandrindod Wells is actually the home to one of the largest and longest established time-card Enduros. Every year the town and surrounding area welcomes hundreds of riders, all there to experience some of the toughest and most scenic terrain and roads in Europe for the Welsh Two Day Enduro.



Better pack your pyjamas', a clean helmet and get on the train then Alex…



Nice gaff Alex – yeah, yeah it’s got a bar…



A HA a map – now you won’t get lost…



Base Camp – which ones ours Alex ???



This one - Oh yeah baby – looks good with the stickers on Alex…





Nice reservoir Alex…



Would this be number 2 on the handy map Alex ? It is – ACE !



Off Road Bit – better have a fag Alex and get your nerves up.
You last went off-roading when ??? Never !!! Oh you’ll enjoy this then !!!!
(Gary ! check the company insurance would you mate, we might need it….)

So after all that what did Alex actually think of the new Suzuki DL650AL2…

“I have to say the 2012 DL650A is just fab! By the time I'd arrived back at Streetbike I'd covered 186 miles and the fuel consumption was 62 MPG!....and there was 2 "blocks" left on the fuel gauge!

The bike felt extremely planted on the road, the handling was sublime and confidence inspiring to boot! The riding position was very comfortable and the new seat made a big difference. The screen being closer to the rider also made a vast improvement in reducing buffeting and overall wind noise. So overall a top bike that's going to be very popular with our customers and quite a few are booked in for demo rides already.

The Off Road experience was my first so I was apprehensive to say the least....particularly as I knew I'd got customer demo's this weekend! However, once I'd wobbled away and got going it was great fun! The DL felt stable and well balanced on the loose surface, and also demonstrated the smooth responsiveness of the new motor. I think the track chosen was a great way to demonstrate the off road capability of the bike and once I got to the end without any drama's I was very impressed!”

That’s what Alex thinks – what do you think. Call the guys, book a demo ride and let us know…

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Tamworth Trio Take a Ticket To Ride.

When the  Mott family decided they’d had enough of wasting time and money on their daily commutes, they turned to another Tamworth-ite to pave their way on to 2 wheels.

Steve Mott, from Perrycrofts and his two sons, Ben from Glascote and Sam from Stonydelph turned to Gary Marshall, formerly of Fazeley, to help turn their dreams into reality. Gary was the son of Ken Marshall, who ran Herald outlet “Marshalls News” on Deer Park estate throughout the 70’s and 80’s.

“I’d thought about getting a bike for my daily commute to Brum for years”, said Steve, “And when the two lads turned up at my house on their 125’s one day – that was it! ”

Ben and Sam might have lit the fuse under dad by turning up on their bikes but Steve took it a stage further by bypassing the smaller 125cc machines and going straight to training for his full bike licence and moving straight up to a bigger bike.

“At Gary’s Suzuki and Yamaha motorcycle showroom, Streetbike in Halesowen, they have a rider training school on site which meant I could train to my licence and get my 650cc Suzuki Gladius Motorcycle in one deal at one place.  I’d known Gary from his Marshalls News days which was important to me ‘cos when you’re doing something like this you need to trust the people you’re dealing with. The training was done safely and professionally and I was on my new Suzuki in a month”.

And the two lads – Well they weren’t having that, so they were straight on the phone to Gary to book their training too….and order their bikes at the same time.

Sam – “It was easy. Training , licence and bike in one deal. And the real clincher was Suzuki offering Comprehensive insurance for £99 on the bike I wanted”.

Ben – “Yes. It was a no brainer in the end. And the Suzuki SV650S bikes we’ve had are perfect “First Big Bikes”. Real fun to ride”.

And as for the benefits? Steve says.

“I’m now saving £40 a week and half an hour a day on my commute, which is great. But more to the point, it’s the change in lifestyle that’s the real deal.I don’t throw my briefcase across the room any more when I get home anymore, because I’ve just wasted an hour of my life in traffic. It’s just less stressful and more fun”.

A view totally echoed by the two lads. As Sam says,

“We got into bikes to save money and that’s been great but it’s the scene and people that will keep us hooked on bikes”. 

Gary says

“It’s been a great journey, keeping my Tamworth connections alive and getting the whole Mott family through their tests and on to bikes. It’s been an inspiration to us all at Streetbike. So much so, that we are now launching a whole “Ticket to Ride” programme where we manage the lot, from novice to licence to bike as safely, professionally and quickly as possible…with the emphasis always on safety. It’s already proving a hit”.

Let your mates know about Streetbike’s “Ticket to Ride” : All in One Deal – All in One Place

TRAIN – TEST – RIDE – ENJOY

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