Gerry Stears, Mechanic for Dublin Bus
Your bike: Honda Fireblade
What do you use your Fireblade for? I use it mainly for pleasure. I drive to work in the car so I take the bike out for spins on Sundays or I take it to work the odd time when the weather is good.
I got together a few 40-year-old biker friends of mine and we take the bikes out for a spin on Sundays.
We make sure we don't go out the night before and set off at around 10.30am. We take trips to Wicklow and local places like that. It's kind of a breakaway club from the Dublin Bus City Swift biking club which I used to be a member of.
Have you been a biker long? I've been biking for over 20 years. My first bike was a Yamaha 125cc. I stopped after I got married for 6 to 8 years then I got back into biking. I've always favoured Hondas because of their reliability.
Did you notice bikes had changed when you got back in the saddle? I really noticed that bikes had become more powerful and there were so many more cars on the roads and more hazards.
You really have to have your wits about you. I have to admit I love the danger of bikes though!
Did you take rider training? No, I never did any training, it just wasn't the done thing a few years ago. It seems to be taking off now though.
Had any accidents? I've had two accidents since I started biking 20 years ago. Both accidents were the fault of the other motorist involved.
On one accident the motorist just drove straight out in front of me on O'Connell Street and I was hit straight on. I broke an ankle on both accidents.
What are your safety tips? Just wear the best gear no matter what the weather is like. Wear your leathers even if it's a very sunny day.
What improvements would you like to see made for bikers? I think the road markings are getting wider and these can be very slippery on two wheels.
I also noticed that there are an increasing number of college students on mopeds. I see them filtering in and out of traffic, which is very dangerous, so if we were allowed use the bus lanes I think it would make biking safer.
Why are bikers more bonded than motorists? There's a very strong bond between bikers that has always been present. It's just a shared interest. Everybody looks after each other and we give each other the nod when we see one another on the road.
What's your dream machine? My dream machine is the Fireblade. If I had all the money in the world I'd buy a 2006 Fireblade. It's a great bike and it fits you like a glove, it's like an extension of yourself. It's also very dependable and powerful.
Have you made any modifications to your bike? I had a Valentino Rossi replica paint job done on it and I made a few minor modifications to the engine. It's a big, powerful bike so it doesn't need modifying. I did have a Dynojet done on the bike though, which brings the power right up. That cost around €500 and it fine-tuned the machine.