Joe Foley, alarm installer
Rides: Honda Valkyrie
Why this bike? It's a Honda Valkyrie or "F6C" as it is know in Europe. It's a custom bike (like a Harley) but is has a super smooth six cylinder engine with six carburetors and high lift cams running into a six into six exhaust.
The handling on this bike has set new standards in how custom bikes should handle. Its massive 46 mm upside down forks on the front, which is normally found on sports bikes, and an engine that is bolted straight to the frame to make it more rigid. It goes as well as it shows!
How did you become involved in biking? I had a car since I was 18 but by the the age of 20 my insurance was £2,000 so it had to go. I never had an accident but the insurance rates kept going up faster than my no claims bonus.
My brother was always into bikes and when I was a kid I was always reading the bike magazines he had so I was interested in motorbikes anyway. That day I collected my first bike the first thing I thought was this was the best thing I have ever done. That memory has stuck in my mind since.
Did you take any rider training? I had a couple of lessons before my first test. I'd recommend anyone who is starting on two wheels to contact the many bike instructors available. Any bike shop would have a phone number for them.
What do you use your bike for? Pleasure, touring and work. Over the last few years I've knocked up around 8,000 dry miles.
Do you worry about your survival as a biker? We all know the risks are high on a bike, but it's up to the rider to keep safe and be prepared. The bike clothing and Helmets you can buy now have great protection. Carbon fibre and Kevlar, which is what they use in bulletproof vests, is used in helmets, gloves and jackets these days.
What do you enjoy most about biking? I like the freedom a bike gives you. It's you alone in that helmet with the road in front of you and it is sometimes the only time in this day and age where you can 'get away from it all'.
Does anything irritate you about motorists? I would have to say the people who drive them big 4x4 off road things annoy me. In my experience (and I do a lot of driving) nearly all those drivers should wake up a bit and pay attention to their driving.
They stick their nose out of every junction until something bigger comes along then they will pull it back in. I could go on but I won't. Also women in Volvo cars. OK I said it.
Any issues for the Minister for Transport? Tolls should be free for bikers. Every biker knows the story. You have to stop at the toll take off your gloves try to get money out of a tight pocket with sweaty hands and in the mean time the traffic is building up behind you.
If you won the lottery what would be your dream bike? If I won the lottery I would probably just go ahead and buy a Honda Rune and start on the east coast of America and travel around it before buying a house in Florida or something.