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	Glad to be naked. Written by Phil Skinner. No matter how much we all love our CB’s most of us will, at least occasionally, dream of riding something else. The CB is undoubtedly a great and much maligned ride; its greatness lies in all round ability but being an all rounder means weakness in specific areas. Maybe you’ve been day dreaming about the speed of a Gixer Thou, thumping exhaust notes from a TL with race cans, posing down the high street with a 998 Duke or maybe even the weather protection of a Wing. Whatever your dream we all know another bike will one day be on the cards, and it’s more likely to be a replacement rather than an addition. But before you rush out to trade in your CB for a Blade, have a think about this. I was in my mates bike shop through the week and was invited to check out a bike he’d recovered for the owner. I beheld this sorry looking 750 Gixer, once a thing of beauty, now sadly reduced to a hunk of junk. I looked over the bike and had a guess at what happened, which wasn’t too wide of the mark. Now what got my thoughts going, and spawned this wee article, was that I had a similar off last November. I put my CB down the road at around 55mph, sliding for about 150 yards (didn’t think I was ever going to stop!). I trashed the bars, a footpeg and the pulse generator cover (plus some dings and scrapes), I wasn’t happy but at the end of the day it cost me just over a hundred quid to put her back on the road. With crash bars or bungs I’d have probably gotten up and ridden home with only a bruised arse (and ego). Now this is where you really score with a naked bike, the picture shows a bike written off in a slide at 35mph!!! Yup, all that plastic comes at a high price, so before you get carried away with your daydreams, sometimes it’s best to stay naked. P.S. If the Gixer owner ever sees this I’m sorry for picking on you, I take no pleasure in anyone’s bike getting trashed; hopefully you’ll be back on the road soon with a cool new ride.