Ned Gaynor, owner of Bikerbazaar, an online shop for motorbike parts and accessories
Your bike? My everyday bike is a red 1996 VFR 750F. I'm also working on a project bike which I salvaged from a guy in London who thought it would be a good idea to turn a Fireblade into a Streetfighter.
Why the VFR? I had a Virago when I was younger. It was all right, but if I spent over an hour on the bike I wouldn't be able to feel my fingers or my ass. My girlfriend Lisa, now my wife, had a Suzuki VX800 touring bike which I really liked. So I did some research into different sports touring bikes and fell for the VFR. I like it so much I don't think I'll ever sell it.
Why did you become a biker? When I was a teenager a lot of my friends had small bikes - bike insurance was way cheaper than car insurance then. I'd go for spins on the back with them. My parents would never let me get a bike, but as soon as I was living away from home and earning enough I went out and bought one for myself. I love mucking about with spanners and welders and a bike is much easier to get into my back shed than a classic car. Whenever I can I'm putting Wiseco overbore pistons into an engine or fixing up some tatty bodywork with my plastic welder.
Did you take rider training before you took to two wheels? Yes, I did some training with the Irish School of Motoring. Mind you, I think there are far more advanced courses out there now. In fact, Lisa and I are thinking of doing one together next spring.
What type of licence do you hold? I have a full licence to thrill!
Do you worry about your survival? Yes, it's always a worry. When I go out on my bike I always wear full protection and a strap-on spine protector - they're essential. My wife used to work in the Rehab Hospital in Dun Laoghaire - she says about 50 per cent of the motorbike accident patients would still be walking if they'd been wearing one. You can get armour built into your jacket but it's not anywhere nearly as effective as a strap-on spine protector.
What do you use your bike for? Mainly tipping around from A to B and the occasional biking holiday with Lisa. This won't happen for a while now though due to the arrival of Maya nine months ago.
Tell us about your biking holidays? Lisa and I have been through Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, France and Britain on our bikes. I really loved Germany - we always keep off the motorways when travelling, but in Germany the back roads were fabulous.
Are you a fan of motorbike sports? I used to go to the North West quite a lot but I haven't been for a few years. A friend helps at the Skerries 100 and Killalane road races and he's asked me to help out. So I think I might start attending more road races in the future.
Any survival tips? I adopt the attitude that everybody is a bad driver. I assume nobody knows I'm there and they're likely to do anything at anytime. This has kept me from meeting somebody by accident more than once.
To see Ned's online shop go to bikerbazaar.com