The Motorbike Thread

[Ian M]

I miss my bikes every spring. Not so much in the winter though. Never owned one in Demark, to expensive! I have had a few though, in my misspent youth.
Had a couple Elsies both the original not the power valve one. A black one bog standard, and a white one which was a bit special, wire rims, strait bars, single seat, and a motor tuned to within an inch of its life. Went like stink. (Had it up to 130 which was ok for a little 350).
Had a cbx550 for the winter and touring on. Took an LC from Kent to Cornwall once. Couldn't fell my bum for a week lol. Hence the cbx. Scraped that down the road one day on the way to work. We survived but the tank and fairing got a bit ragged.

Pop quiz, which bike did I get a speeding ticket on. The CBX. Stopped on the M2 for doing 80 !
Would I have a bike again.... At my age I don't bounce so much, just break, so probably not. Besides I would not have it, or a licence very long. New law in DK. break the speed limit by more than 50% and they can take your car/mc.

[Peej]

Nice list of bikes Paul. I had a GSX550 for a couple of years, it took me and my lady for our first trip on the Continent when we went to the Bol d'Or at Paul Ricard in 1984. Here's a pic of the bike soon after purchase:

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Same colour as mine. Mine was the full fairing model. Read a test report about them once. They said the 16" front wheel made it twitchy handling. Never noticed myself and used to get mine virtually laid down on corners.

[Airborne01]

There was a Honda with that undercarriage configuration once; I always thought it would have some 'interesting' handling so was never tempted!

[john i am]

Here’s my current ride. I’m on the lookout for something I can take down the lanes for a bit of fun and dirt.

[Nicko]

Nice XSR John. I've been lucky enough to ride most of the MT07/09/10 range, but the XSR's have so far eluded me.

Got treated to an early Father's day present today with a factory visit and ride on the new CCM Maverick...



Nick

[PaulinKendal]

Great thread, Nicko .

My dear old dad was mechanically useless, never learned to drive (or ride) and thoroughly disapproved of me riding bikes.

But on a good day, when I was polishing my RD350LC, I persuaded him to sling his leg over it and took a snap. It's a family favourite picture of him - so atypical.

[Tim Marlow]

Wow, another suicide Elsie……scary to think you could ride the 250 on L plates when they came out…..

[Nicko]

Welcome along Paul. Here's a couple of pics of my foray into Kawasaki triples in around 1982.

Firstly the nearly new KH400 I bought a few months after getting knocked off my 350LC:




And here's the S3 400 that was up for sale nearby. I paid about 300 quid for this one, but it was a bit scruffy and I did have the engine in bits at some point:



Nick.

[PaulinKendal]

Interesting! I got the 350LC immediately AFTER the KH400, which was nicked. The LC also got nicked a year or two later - the only two bikes that ever got stolen from me.

The KH I bought off a mate who'd stacked it, fortunately (for me) taking the brunt of the damage on his knee - there was a big knee-shaped dent in the tank. It was also missing a side panel, but once those were replaced it was pretty-much perfect. He'd not done many miles on it and had lavished care on it - it was a real beauty.
It didn't go round corners very well, but in a straight line it was fabulous. I used to commute from SE London to the City on it. I always prayed I'd get caught at the lights on the north side of London Bridge - then I could open it up across the bridge, smothering the whole bridge in a cloud of two-stroke oil! Shocking really, but nothing comes close to a two-stroke for me.

[boatman]

HI Nick the wife an i were bikers back in the late 70 's an some pics on my honda 250 super dream lovely an comfy bike to ride an fast too but she would not hit a ton

[boatman]

an here i had a nice CM CUSTOM 250 AN IT WAS ALSO A NICE MACHINE TO RIDE AN THIS WAS BACK IN THE EARLY 80 's

[boatman]

AN then i bought a new susie GT 380 with treble lots of everything an a ram air system it was a two stroke an i hit my first ton on this boy was there some smoke behind me an i went an done stupid thing it was an icy morn an when i rid to work an there was this girl waitin at a cross rds every morn well i rid in past her tryin to look big an she was lookin an when i turned onto the main rd i gave the suzie a handfull an boy that was the qickest id ever fell off a bike an to make matters worst the bloomin bike came down on top of me pinning me down to the road an she just stood there lookin an boy was that bloomin bike heavy it took me qiute a few minutes to get out from under it just as well a car or a lorry dint come an sorry pics not good as these were taken 40yrs ago

[boatman]

AN in this pic im on my suzie on the left of the pic as were all goin out to raf bentwaters to meet up with others who were just as mad as me as the missu dint come that day as she was at home with her sister for the day an we were the black pathers motor cycle club an it was a fantastic day out as about 50 of us with all different size bikes an the smallest got to set of first an this was a young girl on a moped an i was exspecting to go when we got to the 350 size bikes but they said as you have fast 3 cycyinder motor bike they made me wait till the bloomin 500 cc bikes were let go an i was fumein but we had a great day out an when we got back the cop was there an was inquirein what speeds we was doin well i kept to 60 mph an 30 mph in the city an he had a laugh with us tryin to wind us up to find out who broke the speed limts an the funnyiest thing about that day as we waited till all the bike came back an that young girl on her moped ended up in yarmouth i think she must have had the map upside down
but what great time an the pic is in black an white because this is a news paper shot of us all gettin ready to hit the road
chris

[Nicko]

That's some great stories and fab memories Chris...

Nick

[Tim Marlow]

GT 380….never had one, but a mate of mine did. It was just about worn out when he got it and the middle cylinder was prone to seizing. He therefore rebored it and rebuilt the engine. Two of us went around to his to help him finish off and try as we might we couldn’t get her restarted. He lived on a steep hill and we tried everything, even bump starting it down the hill time after time all afternoon. Eventually we twigged what the issue was. The cheapskate git had rebored the engine, but when he rebuilt it he replaced the old gaskets instead of buying new. There simply wasn’t enough compression to make it fire.