|
Post by comstar on Apr 6, 2022 16:45:08 GMT
As most of you know, I have had many bikes and a few cars over the years, like most of you. Thought it would be fun to pick one random vehicle from our past (and present) write a little story about your memories with them, be that good or bad. To kick things off, here goes with one of mine, feel free to share yours too.
|
|
|
Post by comstar on Apr 6, 2022 16:47:09 GMT
First up.....I picked up this 1989 CBR600F-K in the summer of 2010 in Oxford. It was a break away from my usual style of bike at the time. I went to the city centre to pick her up from the owner's workplace.....he was a teacher at a secondary school. I went there on the train with my lid and we did the paperwork in the school car park. The seller then said 'would you mind giving me a lift home to Eynsham?'. I of course agreed and we made our way with him riding pillion through the hot summer afternoon, me wobbling through the traffic, getting used to a totally (new to me) bike and weight of said rider on the back. After dropping him off I hit the A40 in a bid to get back to Stratford asap. Five minutes of being on that road I glanced down at the speedo...and to my amazement I was doing an indicated 120mph. It honesty felt like I was doing 70.....suffice to say I slowed it down the rest of the way home. Bike kept for a few years, had approx 16k on the clock. Sold regrettably to a guy in the Nottingham area who I believe still owns it to this day.
|
|
|
Post by kickstart on Apr 6, 2022 18:55:40 GMT
Around 12 years back I saw a 400 Superdream up for sale locally so I went for a look , the seller had a few garages with around 20 bikes for sale , all sorts of stuff early Harley 250 trailies Allsorts , the SD was a bit untidy but ran well if a tad Smokey so I left it for now however on trying to make my escape I noticed a tidy orange Royal Enfield Crusader 250 Sport so I test rode it and bought it, when I got home on it her indoors had a proper rant so i contacted the seller and returned the bike the following morning (foolishly) but I did buy the SD , SAK 64Y
|
|
|
Post by comstar on Apr 6, 2022 22:48:02 GMT
Around 12 years back I saw a 400 Superdream up for sale locally so I went for a look , the seller had a few garages with around 20 bikes for sale , all sorts of stuff early Harley 250 trailies Allsorts , the SD was a bit untidy but ran well if a tad Smokey so I left it for now however on trying to make my escape I noticed a tidy orange Royal Enfield Crusader 250 Sport so I test rode it and bought it, when I got home on it her indoors had a proper rant so i contacted the seller and returned the bike the following morning (foolishly) but I did buy the SD , SAK 64Y Wow that must have been a stressful situ Paul, lol. Was SAK the bike you had before the CM ?
|
|
|
Post by davefirestorm on Apr 7, 2022 5:23:54 GMT
Around 12 years back I saw a 400 Superdream up for sale locally so I went for a look , the seller had a few garages with around 20 bikes for sale , all sorts of stuff early Harley 250 trailies Allsorts , the SD was a bit untidy but ran well if a tad Smokey so I left it for now however on trying to make my escape I noticed a tidy orange Royal Enfield Crusader 250 Sport so I test rode it and bought it, when I got home on it her indoors had a proper rant so i contacted the seller and returned the bike the following morning (foolishly) but I did buy the SD , SAK 64Y Big mistake not telling swmbo before you purchased,I always involve/tell my lovely wife of owt I fancy buyingš
|
|
|
Post by davefirestorm on Apr 7, 2022 5:36:56 GMT
My little tale is of one of a few bikes I do regret selling,this case my GT750 Kettle .All started at Place I used for motās young guy owned place had restored to as new a GT750A and was going to sell it BUT there was no exhaust on it heād ordered one from Delkevic and there was a wait for manufacture/delivery.Meantime I did a VMCC run and followed a mint GT750A ridden by a member I knew got chatting made him an offer and bought the bikeš I loved it,it looked and rode fantasticly not feeling like an old 70s bike and not like I expected a big 2 stroke would ie no manic powerband.My problematic knee was getting worse and I ended up not being able to bend my knee so thinking this was end of my riding days I flogged the Kettle to another VMCC member after only couple years of owning.Had a knee replacement and all was well but the Kettle had goneš„² along with my Jota which I didnāt miss but thatās another storyš
|
|
|
Post by kickstart on Apr 8, 2022 18:27:21 GMT
Around 12 years back I saw a 400 Superdream up for sale locally so I went for a look , the seller had a few garages with around 20 bikes for sale , all sorts of stuff early Harley 250 trailies Allsorts , the SD was a bit untidy but ran well if a tad Smokey so I left it for now however on trying to make my escape I noticed a tidy orange Royal Enfield Crusader 250 Sport so I test rode it and bought it, when I got home on it her indoors had a proper rant so i contacted the seller and returned the bike the following morning (foolishly) but I did buy the SD , SAK 64Y Wow that must have been a stressful situ Paul, lol.Ā Ā Was SAK the bike you had before the CM ? No I already had the CM and a CB750f2n retro at the time as her indoors kept quoting at the time!! Silly me š
|
|
|
Post by currylover on Apr 8, 2022 18:47:53 GMT
In 1985/6 I had this for a year. Sold it due to meeting my wife and the usual stuff that follows, often looked for another in later years when the kids had flown the nest but I think that boat has long since sailed, this one was one of the last of its kind and it was a beauty. I rode it off the showroom floor in 1985.
|
|
|
Post by currylover on Apr 8, 2022 18:50:42 GMT
That Laverda was a beauty Dave.
|
|
|
Post by davefirestorm on Apr 8, 2022 18:52:30 GMT
In 1985/6 I had this for a year. Sold it due to meeting my wife and the usual stuff that follows, often looked for another in later years when the kids had flown the nest but I think that boat has long since sailed, this one was one of the last of its kind and it was a beauty. I rode it off the showroom floor in 1985. Thatās a bike I wouldnāt Mind having I rode my mates blue one in 1982 heād bought it from another mate whoād production raced it,fast machineš
|
|
|
Post by comstar on Apr 10, 2022 3:49:38 GMT
Next up for me...and time returns to the year 2001. I always wanted to snag a naked 600 Bandit since I first saw one around 1995. Took me six years to realise that dream. I bought a black 1998 GSF600-W from a one lady owner, had about 2k miles on it from memory and was literally out of the box. Went to a place called Royston in Hertfordshire to get her. Sold a few years later (again regrettably). I was going through a bit of an emotional turmoil at that time after coming out of an LTR so did not really have a fully sane mind. A bloke from Southampton came and said to me 'I've been looking for one of these for a while, but have not been able to track one down as nice as this'. Suffice to say, my full asking was paid and the bike rode off into the sunset. Sadly the bike was never taxed again a year after I sold it and I wonder even to this day the reasons for her possible demise. R250 WAV where are you now? Baked Bean cans many times over I suspect.
|
|
|
Post by buster on Apr 10, 2022 8:58:49 GMT
this bike stuck in my mind, it was a cafe racer based on a honda cb350k4. our lad bought it as a non runner and set about getting it going, sometimes it would run on one cylinder, sometimes the other cylinder, very occasionally both and quite often on neither. it was a bit of a puzzler, points and coils were the obvious suspects (it had two car type coils crammed under the tank). by this time our lad was getting sick of the sight of it and offered it to me, so with plenty of overtime at work under my belt I offered him Ā£250 if he got it running right. after a bit more investigation he found the culprits, the carb diaphragms had tiny splits in them, Ā£45 from silvers (which he moaned about for months afterwards) and it was in business. so was it fast? erm no not really, did it handle? nope it was fairly nervous and twitchy, did it brake? no (all blood drained from fingers on right hand clenching the lever and offering the bikers prayer ie please stop) was it fun? oh yes by the bucket load. sorry about the quality of the pic
|
|
|
Post by duffer on Apr 10, 2022 10:17:32 GMT
AJS 650 31csr. This bike started me off. As a 7 year old it scared the bejesus out of me when the old man fired it up, but at that age I only blasted around a field on my "bitsa" steve1. 14 years later I was given the thing for my birthday. By then it needed a full fixing. It took me 10 more years to have a house with a garage, but fix it I did. It has since scared the bejesus out of the next generation. I still own it. It still runs, and is still roadworthy. I ran it as my daily ride for 22 years. It had the power to keep up with modern traffic, you could park right outside wherever you wanted to go and nobody minded. Registration LBG 365 (Last Bugger Going)
|
|
|
Post by andy1kenobe on Apr 10, 2022 12:16:53 GMT
Picture from 45 years ago or thereabouts that many of you have seen and even a discussion on one of the virtual meets. Taken in my sisters back garden in Culloden after collecting from Inverness. My niece is on the back! Cost Ā£30 back then and gave my some experience of powered transport before moving onto this awesome beast: Our back garden in Carnforth. Then Charlbury after we moved.
|
|
|
Post by comstar on Apr 14, 2022 2:27:15 GMT
After 5 years of driving a car at 22 I wanted a motorbike in my life again....1996 and this was actually the first ever Superdream I owned.....although I had been around them for many years prior and loved them from seeing one way back around 1980. Cue VNP 585V. I passed my bike test during a soggy Reading week of intensive tuition in October 1996, having borrowed a miserable looking SR125 in what looked like BRG (British racing green for the uneducated). Passed the test first time on the Friday and then went looking for a cheapish local Superdream that weekend. The local small ads revealed a CB250N-A in black. Seller was based in Wallingford, Oxon so not too far from where I was based in Reading, Berks. At 285 nicker I was confident I was not going to refuse the bike so I got my mate to drive me up. It was far from being perfect with about 40k shown on the clock, 2 into 1 exhaust, petrol tank bodged with filler (in the usual rotten area) to stop it leaking......I umm'ed and arr'ed and thought sod it, why not? It still looked reasonably original bar the side panel decals being amiss. I rode it away without missing a single beat into the night. Picture shown below is of a very similar example as I have no actual images of the real VNP 585V. There will be a part two on this one.
|
|