My first adventure bike before adventure bikes became a thing… The Yamaha XT600E was about as straightforward, reliable and solid as an old school trail bike gets. My XT600E was the last of a long line of 4-valve air-cooled Yamaha singles, starting off with the original, much-loved XT500 of the mid-70s. This was a true trailie, decent off-round and straightforward and un-fussy on. As long as i did not expect expect any frills or motorway plushness it was ideal. In June 2006 a white van drove into my works secure car park, three men got out and the cut the locks of the bike and there it into a van before driving off. The bike was later recovered after one of the thief’s crashed in Cardiff… I was gutted.