Dr Thomas Monaghan, Neurology Registrar, University College Hospital Galway
Rides: Suzuki Hayabusa GSX 1300 R
Why this bike? From its launch I thought it was the most amazing bike ever. It's iconic like the Starship Enterprise or Concorde and has the presence of an aircraft carrier. It actually handles beautifully and is surprisingly easy to ride. This is my third one.
How did you get into bikes? I always wanted to at school and getting up too early for buses to commute to my summer job while at university convinced me. But I couldn't afford it until after college. I did lessons with ISM and learned on a second-hand Suzuki Bandit 250, then I bought a new Bandit 600 to do the bike test.
What do you use your bike for? Psychologically, it's a great get-away-from-everything-device. It's a grand bike for long commutes home at the weekend and so is ideal for me. Obviously with the fastest production bike in the world I never use it to its full potential because I don't want to fall off. Sometimes I go on ride outs around Connemara with a friend who has a matching Hayabusa.
What does your insurance cost? It's €1,398.12. I think motorcycle insurers should be absolved of liability for pillion passengers illegally carried by scooter riders with provisional licences - it is crucifying motorcyclists in this country in insurance costs.
Is your bike expensive to run? Beyond insurance not really. It's important to have a good relationship with your bike shop and Biketech in Galway, who are experienced with Hayabusas, have always been good. Rear tyres are the only difficulty, but I'm quite gentle and can get about 4,000 miles out of one.
Do you drive a car? Yes, and it's almost as iconic, it's a matching silver Toyota Corolla. I had to get the Corolla, because with the first Hyabusa too many people commented that my bike was bigger than the Toyota Yaris I had then!
Do you think bikers share a special bond? Yes, I think it's a shared experience and a shared freedom. The bike is also more than an anonymous A-to-B device. Maybe it's the knowledge that if ever you were stuck another bike would stop to help, or perhaps it is just a simple 'them and us' mentality.
As a biker have you anything to say to the Minister for Transport? I'd recommend random breath testing for everyone. Direct Access for motorcyclists should be available, but on the condition that rider training was mandatory. It should be illegal to drive in such a manner as to cause the build-up of convoys: caravanners and weekend horsebox drivers are especially guilty. Garda patrols should be more visible on the roads. Owners of vehicles depositing oil on roads should be prosecuted. Loose chippings should be banned - it's a cheap, lazy and dangerous way to surface roads. People who drive SUVs/Jeeps like tanks should have to undergo special training so that they learn the skill of attention to other road users. Bus lanes should be opened to bikes as should toll booths. I would promote bike awareness among car drivers, especially the fact that in most accidents involving another vehicle, the other driver is at fault.
Any issues with motorists? Most Irish drivers, especially professionals like bus and truck drivers, are courteous and make way for bikes. Nevertheless a video camera on one bike for a week would produce the most amazing footage of dangerous mistakes on Irish roads.
Any tips for survival? Don't be tempted to out-run that Yamaha R1 coming up behind you - just because you can doesn't mean you should! Know your limitations and respect them. Never tailgate anything. Damaged leather is better than skin grafts. Assume the worst from other motorists, but always acknowledge those that give way - they have looked in their mirrors. Use a specialist site on the Internet, for Hayabusas it's www.200mph.org.uk