Lost Cosmonaut

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Yelena Kalashnikova

Image - Mercenary

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Balance Point

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Soviet Shark Helmet

So The Soviet didn't really dig the CCCP Bubblevisor helmet. Instead, she asked me to put a red star on her old matte-black Shark lid.

So I did...

#SovietHelmet #SharkHelmet #HaveMigWillTravel #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Soviet Bubblevisor

I picked up a Duchinni open-face helmet for The Soviet last summer but she didn't seem very interested in it. So I've customised it a bit...

#CCCP #BubbleVisor #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Lost Soviet

If found, please return to D8...

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BSMC III

MERCENARY was at the BSMC III show today in Tobacco Dock, London. It was deadly!

Lots more pics to come, so watch this space...

"It's deadly!"

#BSMC #BSMCIII #BikeShed #TheSoviet #YelenaKalashnikova #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Dublin - Get it while it's hot!

Today was a beautiful sunny summery day in Dublin and I was mooching around on foot...

Harley Davidson 883 Sportster - These used to be quite rare before the Celtic Tiger but now they're commonplace. They're relatively cheap, particularly the Nightster version and to my mind they represent excellent value for money.

KTM 640 LC4 - There aren't too many of these around.

Note the crash damage on the bikini fairing and the mudguard - par for the course really.

Honda CB400 Super Four. There are tons of these in Dublin. I'm not sure they were ever officially imported here and I expect most of them arrived as grey imports during the '90s. Very popular with couriers, if you see a motorcycle in Dublin, chances are it's a Super Four or a Bros!

KTM990SM - Not too many of these either, if you see a KTM here it's more likely to be a 950/990 Adventure.

Honda CBR250RR Gull-Arm. This is probably a grey import too. During the '90s there was a big market for new 250/400cc motorcycles in Japan. However, there was virtually no second hand market for these bikes and owners had to pay a disposal fee to get rid of them! At the time Ireland was hungry for cheap, quality bikes (and cars) and consequently a great number of JDM machines ended up over here. Many of them are still in use.

Honda Blackbird. Probably more common than the flashier Hayabusa. I'd imagine Honda probably have the lion's share of the market here.

Yamaha Vmax - The Vmax first appeared in 1985 and was in production virtually unchanged 'til 2008! And nearly 30 years on it still looks deadly. The Vmax is still in production but the later model isn't anywhere near as nice as the old one.

The Soviet and the Honeybadger.

#Dublin ###

###MelissaHoneybadger #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Istanbul

The Soviet experiencing culture shock.

The Soviet and me, we went to Istanbul for a few days. The original plan involved renting a Transalp and mooching around the countryside, but it rained a lot so we stayed in the city. It's a wonderful place. It's pretty exotic but it has all the conveniences of a large European city and doesn't have any of the hassles associated with say, Morocco. The people are friendly and easygoing and the food is consistently amazing!

It was a lovely trip and I can't wait to back on a bike to explore the rest of the country.

KTM 990 Adventure

Honda CBF 150 - These are ubiquitous in Istanbul and are the courier's weapon of choice. Note the crash-bars.

Another CBF 150.

Arora AR 200 anyone?

Malaysian built Megelli 250R - How beautiful is that?

BMW something-or-other... Yawn!

Zealsun? IDK...

Or a Kanuni?

Sym Wolf Classic.

Early 90's BMW GS

Spanky new Honda NC700.

Soviet Gangnam Style!

Give that Soviet a arbus. Soviets love arbus!

Tarty Sportster.

Buying Ice cream is a big theatrical production in Istanbul with bells and whistles. The ice cream has a weird visco-elastic texture allowing the sellers to do a variation of the shell game with the customer. Its funny to watch.

There are cats everywhere and they're treated like communal pets rather than strays. They have the run of the bars and cafes and people stop in the street to play with them. There's a similar situation with dogs but the dogs wear plastic tags in their ears.

Hagia Sophia. 

Graffiti in the bohemian part of the city near Galata tower. There's a fantastic nightlife in this area.

Jawa.

Aprilia Caponord.

Honda CRF 250

Mondial X-treme Max. When they bring out an Ultra Super X-treme Max I'll buy one.

When I first saw this I thought it was a Honda Rebel 250...

...but apparently it's a Regal Rider Motorcycles DD125E. I don't really go for cruisers much, especially small ones, but this is pretty nice (as is the Honda Rebel).

Kuba Motor K4. This thing is both compelling and hideous in equal measure. I thought it was pretty horrible yet I couldn't stop looking at it. It reminded me of those weird Japanese movies with a superhero who looks like a fly drives a jet powered motorcycle. In the end I decided that I loved it...

The electric motor appears to be located inside the rear hub - which is interesting from a packaging point of view. Note the abundance of rear shocks.

Suzuki DRZ 400...

...from California...

...apparently arriving in Turkey via South America. I left a business card on the bike so if the owner reads this, I'd love if you get in touch and tell me how your trip is going.

These guys are fishing off the Galata bridge right in the middle of the city. I have an idea that this is a sort of professional operation and they sell their catch to the fish restaurants located beneath the bridge.

Triumph Tiger

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