Javier I know you have a banana coloured 650XT now but all I can make from that little bit of info is that they don’t sell the Bonnie Black XT in Spain.
I had our purty black Strom out yesterday for a jaunt across the island to Toberonochy – yes that’s the sweetly named village on the eastern shores of the Isle of Luing – so I popped a pic for you and here she is —
OK – I know it isn’t Barcelona but I managed to fit in a couple of little boats and a bit of seawater for you.
The first third of 2019 promises to be very busy as Helen has a family visit to Japan planned for March and there are various other things like a new knee for me and (at the risk of upsetting the squeamish) removal of knackers for Loki to be fitted in.
No doubt the new knee will require training to ride a bike and Loki will also take time to adjust to his new station in life but Helen and I are hoping to put a few thousand more miles on the Strom this year so who knows —–
It could be a case of ‘catch you on the road sometime’ —
Javier and Shortie on the ‘King’s Rock – somewhere north-west of Madrid.
givitsum-from-a-distance 
Don
March 23, 2019 at 16:18
Well if it ain’t Bernard Albert Bainzie – Legsonus Minimus. I was just thinking of you t’other day on one of our first rides together. We got split up due to the holiday traffic while heading into Barmouth on the Cardigan Bay Welsh coast. Paratrooper Rich B and yersel aimed for the Biker’s cafe on the beach front by the amusement park and I think it was Spok n I that went to Davey Jones Locker round by the harbour – all four of us on XJR 1300’s. All the Hell’s Angels were parked on the pavement and when you tried to mount the Kerb to park alongside them your little leggies lost contact with mother earth – so did the bike by all accounts and you flattened the Chapter’s motorcycles! Lucky you – you picked the right time to have a paratrooper with you lol
Thanks for popping in Bainzie – I hope you are well and I would put money on you still having your blue Yamaha XJR1300 even now while heading for 20 years down the line. The last pic I have of you was taken at our Broadway meet in the Cotswolds while sitting outside the Broadway Hotel. I will see if I can find it —
Bernard Albert Baines
March 22, 2019 at 23:05
Hello Don great memories and photos . Guess Who
Don
February 12, 2019 at 19:33
Did you get the full set of hard luggage for your bike Javier? I reckon I will still be using the soft panniers I bought for my Dubrovnik trip with the XJR1300 in 2004. They are still in good nick as my Tenere 660Z which I did most of my big mileage trips on had hard luggage but I sold that bike in 2017.
Are you going to send me a pic of your trusty steed Javier?
Don
February 12, 2019 at 12:04
Yup .. I agree .. it’s been too long Javier. The bit I remember most of all was coming down hrough the twisties after a lunchtime strong black at a hilltop cafe. I was following you with everything scraping and came across a boa constrictor mid-corner. Luckily it had stopped wriggling and lay flat on the road in series of kinks 🤣
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
yamahista
February 12, 2019 at 10:49
What great memories we had in those pictures… It was a great time together…
I have the yellow because I love the golden rims and it shows the Suzuki off-road heritage….
It would be fantastic to ride together again…