The equivalent of giving a four-year-old a loaded gun, my getting a brand-new, 170 mph,

0-60 in 2.8 secs superbike was quite possibly the stupidest thing I've ever done. In a way, the

fact that I only hurt myself when I crashed it was the best thing that could have happened;

and given that I was walking properly again within 3 months, I count myself lucky. But, oh,

the joy of twisting open that throttle down a bendy road in the sunshine...stop me, please.