Sol Invictus Mercury 250 Mk2 Cafe Racer

Awesome looking cafe racer – What to do when it is getting harder to ride a motorbike but still love riding? I had this problem last year. I have been riding motorbikes since 2007 but I was a very late starter at 50 years old. By my fifth bike, a Triumph Sprint 1050cc I realized that the joy had slowly disappeared. At 64 with a back injury the 220kg bike was getting hard to manage moving around my garage and on the road when I reversed out of my driveway etc. And with a cable clutch, my hand was aching for days after if I spent time riding in traffic. Not wanting to give up riding I contemplated a scooter or an electric motorbike. These are very light and with no clutch. I did look at a 300cc Vespa and other scooters, but I realized I didn't like the feel of riding them and I didn't want to look like I worked for Menu-log. As for electric bikes, I would miss the sound and feel of an engine. I totally enjoyed letting go of my Triumphs throttle and hearing the rumble and crackle of the motor. And of course the speed and acceleration. So I knew I wanted a superlight bike with a light clutch. I looked at many small LAM's bikes but didn't like the look of most of them and a lot of them are still heavy. ( for example, the Royal Enfield) Then, while doing some research I found a company called Sol Invictus in Roseberry Sydney. They have LAM's bikes that look like cafe racers. Very cool. The components are Chinese but the motors are Japanese and the bikes are assembled in Sydney. So I went to their shop and test rode their entry level bike, a Mercury 2 single cylinder 250cc. It was superlight at 125kg. The salesman did say I could go to a 400cc or a 650cc version, but my main concern was that I wanted the bike as light as possible. It had a cable clutch just as stiff as my Triumph. The solution was that they could fix a gizmo to the clutch to make it light. I had a test ride around the block. Totally under powered compared to my 1050cc of course, but so easy to move around and it was FUN. I am not going touring anymore. I just want to go on short rides on the weekend. ( I don't play golf) This was going to be perfect. I put down a deposit and ordered one. (January 2024) I could pick the colour I wanted (I chose all black) and I added a few extras. A wider tan seat, better tyres (Pirelli’s that really hold the road) a sports exhaust (sounds great) , a Sons of Anarchy cowl over LED lights, and of course, the mechanism to make the clutch lighter. After the first 500km the motor starts to loosen up. It is slow off the lights but once you get used to the gearing you can start really having fun with it. The motor is very torquey and I was surprised how good the bike goes up a hill. I am very impressed.