Heres a chance to reminisce about the good old days....carless days, wage freezes, first bikes, how fast you were, how long your hair was, the great jobs, and what concerts you climbed the fence for..... I did my apprenticeship with the Post Office....I don't remember much of it as we used to go to the pub a lot..... My first tradesman had a 1974 Z1000 in yellow and brown.....I had a 1961 VW..... I worked my way up to an SL125 and spent lots of money at Kingsland Honda.....jeepers, I could waste what little I had.
Back in the 70's I had a procession of dirt bikes, started off with a james captain and a francis barnet cruiser, both had the villiers 9e 197cc. In fact I only had 1 motor, shared between the 2 bikes. Then progressed onto Jap bikes, with a Kawasaki G3ss 90cc trail bike, then a Suzuki MX90, TS185 then my first and only brand new bike, a Yamaha IT175F. I also had a few road bikes at the same time, a few RD350's DS7's, R5's , GT380's CB450,GT750 and a GL1000. I remember well careless days and not being able to buy petrol after noon on Saturdays, I used to ride the GT750 with a 20 litre drum full of fuel,strapped on to the pack rack. As time rolled on into the 80's I discovered road racing and had a couple of fun seasons on a TR500, TZ250 and a H2B Kawasaki. Had a break from bikes for a year or two, then bought a few bikes again, a Z500, CB750, GPZ750, CX500Turbo( loved that one) a BMW K100. Business and family life again got in the way and was bikeless again for a few years. I then got involved with trail riding again and picked up a TT500, then a TT600. After a few years playing with trail bikes I again caught the road bike bug and a GSXR750F came my way. I had a few GSXR's and ended up with a mint '85, which I still have. I don't ride it any more due to a leg injury that makes it too uncomfortable for me, it just sits in the shed now under a cover, but I do have a K100RS to ride now. The bike from my past that I remember with the most fondness would have to be the GT750, a 1973 model, only 5 years old when I bought it. It was std when I got it, but over the period of my ownership it got a 3 into 1 exhaust, a bikini fairing , Dunstall seat and tank unit and was mildly ported, oh the memories of that bike, I loved it. I recall in 1980, I pulled into a service station on the goldwing and it took $10 to fill it, the girl behind the counter could not believe the a motorcycle could possibly take $10 worth of petrol.
My first bike was a '72 Suzuki T350. I bought it, wheeled it down their drive, pointed it in the direction of home, started it and hurtled down the road. At the first corner I wheeled it round, lined it up again then off. Second corner I had enough confidence to paddle round in first gear. Learnig was easy when I was young and stupid. Two weeks after buying it I had my first ambulance ride. I had been increasing my corner speed on the Wainui hill. One corner I had been taking in increasing 5mph speeds. 85 was too much.
I started my apprenticeship in 1970 and also got my 1st motorcycle,which is handy for calculating dates for one so mathematically challenged,but is also an important time for motorcycles - when the British motorcycles were on the way down,and Japanese bikes on the way up.The other mechanic in our 3 man shop had been a Milk Bar Cowboy,and was full of stories about bikes from days passed,always positive and helpful with my bikes. I've never been into the latest bikes - I've only ever had 3 new bikes,and one of those was 4 years old anyway.It's always been old stuff,and the history that goes with it.In the '70's I rode bikes from the '50's,in the '80's I rode bikes from the '60's,in the '90's I rode bikes from the '80's,and now am still on an '80's bike.It was,and is value for money - in the early '70's you could buy an AC50 for $300.For $300 my brother got a '57(I think) T110,it had a 9 stud top end,11:1 pistons,imported race cams (Bob Joyner) and twin brand new concentrics.Everything on the bike was new - pistons,valves,valve springs,bearings,seals,gearbox bearings,clutch,chains,all cables and footpeg rubbers,new tyres and Dunstall meaphones.It was no contest,for that sort of money you could get some fantastic bikes,parts were cheap and everywhere.It was a shit load of fun finding old parts and fitting them to your bike....some didn't work,some did,but you were always learning. Although I have no interest in modern bikes,I do watch what is around over the years....and 20 years later I find them interesting,remember when they were new,remember other people riding them but never me.I've always been Living in the Past.
I used to be a 'Latest and Greatest" type. My T350 was around 6 months old when I got it. After another 6 months it looked like it had been used in both World Wars. I never had a bike more than 3 or 4 years old at most. Then I got stuck in the eighties and started looking at even older bikes.
I lost interest in modern bikes when I went to Aussie and bought a r60/6....it was a pos but I liked the Red Baronness of the flat twin.... but I was after a Darmah and that was the newest bike I was to own for the next 15 years..... The late 80's, 90's 00's passed me by technology wise...... now I like even earlier stuff like 50's Triumphs.....whitworth..inches and pounds...real bike stuff.
Nortaire I did my apprenticeship with the Post Office....I don't remember much of it as we used to go to the pub a lot..... Substitute Post Office with Dockyard and I was in the same boat (pun intended)
I started riding bikes on farm when I was about 8 ish ('68) had an Honda 65 that I got off a mate of my dads. No kick start so if I fell off and stalled it I had to push all way from end of fields back home to bump start it on concrete in front of sheds 'cause combination of auto clutch and little me ment I couldn't bump start it on grass. Rebuilt a Bantam with a 175 Villiers engine that my dad had lying about as 1st road bike (but passed my test on my mates XL250). Then graduated to dads T100. All my mates were running round on GS550's, Yam XS's and the odd Z, so keeping up with them was a mission on a the Triumph, a change to an 850 Commando didn't really help I had to choose runs with plenty of knarly 'B' grade roads with bends and bumps. I had a Mk 1 Le Mans, then a succesion of GS's including a Katana which ended it's days donating it's engine to our 1st road race outfit. Winter transport was an Honda CD200 which survived several years abuse despite a rocky start to our relationship caused by me slinging it down the road HARD the 2nd night I had it, then AGAIN about a week after straightening it out Eventually killed it when I hit a bump flat out (about 60mph ) and it jumped out of gear and the valves became intimate with a piston. Bought a GS450 to NZ, then swapped that for a Suzi X7 and now back with GS550. Bikes have always been full time transport even in winter. Even if van was there (which I had as race transport and for the business) unless I had to carry anything it was 2 wheels everytime.
When I was 8 years old (I think - I've never been quite clear how old I am, my mother was always vague about it and I didn't think to make a note at the time - I just know it was after the war and before the King died , cos I remember the black edged newspapers when he snuffed it) , my father swapped some crap for a Miele moped (as was his way ) . In bits, in boxes, not going. He told me "You get it going, you can have it. But you're on your own, no help'. Bastard . But he did help a bit. Took me over a year , but I got it going, and spent a few months blasting around the section (and a few sneaky trips down the road when Mum was out). Then I sold it for what seemed a shit load of money to a 10 year old. It's been all down hill from there. Buy old bike. Bodge old bike. Sell old bike. Rinse lather repeat. Paid my way through uni with that, and then sold it all up to buy my first house. Buy old house. Bodge old house. Sell old house. Rinse lather repeat (only a few times, houses are harder to fix than bikes and nowhere near as much fun). Dunno how many bikes, must be way over 100. Only ones which really bring back nostalgia are my viciously perverted BSA Bantam, and a Velo 500. I've never owned a new bike, or even a near new one. Old and grotty, like me. The early Jap bikes were good for me. People bought them who weren't really into bikes. They broke down , bike shops sneered at Jap Crap , the owners decided that bikes weren't for them and sold the bike off not going , as is where is. Enter Ixion. Usually some quite minor problem (I even bought one where the owner didn't understand about reserve position on the tap. Bike wouldn't run. Petroil (note spelling !) in the tank. "Yeh, two strokes give a lot of trouble, could cost a lot to fix, tell y' what I'll give you twenty pound cash". Oh, and the number I got where the owner had filled a petroil lubed two smoker with pure petrol, and seized it. Head off, a bit of tender loving care from Mr Mallet and Mr Block, and Mr Sandpaper, and its as good as new. One time I even just wheeled it round the corner and did the necessary then rode it home. Fixing bikes was easy then , if hitting then with a hammer didn't work, you just needed a bigger hammer!.
love your stories ixion.............my second bike was brand new....lovely...maintained perfectly......next bike was 3-4 years old..........XS650...maintained by Croz never an issue.....then goldwing...rebuilt the motor.....then kids.........then XS650..............XJ550....XV1000............
I think my favourite bike ever, ignoring the Honda C50-based moped given to me by a mate in London, was a CR125. It was one of the original ones. It was feather-light and did everything well, particularly when you consider it had about 5 inches of travel at each end. Reliable as a stone. It was bought new by a mate of mine, Richard, who was a bike mechanic. He'd sit in the lounge of an evening, piece of emery paper in hand, smoothing the inlets. He tu-tued with the port timing, then fitted a TM125 head, which had a different squish band, higher compression ratio and cooling fins a good inch higher. It was a rocket. 500 rev powerband, but a rocket. I bought it and raced it in the second Dead Toad racing team 3-hour Hare & Hound at Woodhill, circa 1976. I got a blinder of a start, led the entire field (by virtue of being the only one that started the bike in gear and kicking it with the clutch in, saving maybe one second. It was enough). You had to start with the front wheel between your knees, holding the bars, facing backwards. Ipretty quickly got roosted by a few some of the bigger bikes and especially Mark Struthers who went on to win the whole thing on a brand new KX125 Kwakka, which were very handy bikes. Where is this going you may well ask? Well, thrillseekers, I come fa-lying around a blind corner and there is a massive washout right across the trail. It had been pissing down for a couple of days before. Washout is a good 8ft wide, and just as deep. What's a man to do? Well, if he's young, dumb and full of ... enthusiasm, he hauls on the bars, pins that CR's throttle and jumps the bloody washout, with the rear wheel belting the far lip, nearly sending him over the bars. But he makes it.... If he was a fat old 55 year old like me, he'd probably hit the picks or freeze, ploughing straight into the other side and breaking his neck. To this day I can't believe I made it ... back in the day. Just one note about the C50 based moped ... it had sat under the eave of my mate's garage in Southend on Sea for many years. He offered it to me, tipped out the old gas, filled it with new and it started on about the third kick. Continued to run all over London for a year, same for my mate and his 24 flatmates who inherited it - until one crashed it into the fence during the Tooting Broadway grand prix, therefore ending its days.
Great stuff folks My bikes have generally come home on the back of utes, or on trailers too. I have had 2 new bikes, well one was in the showroom for 2 years then I bought it really cheap and the other was still in the crate. The crate bike I bought with no warranty because the dealer gave me no confidence that they would even do the crate prep properly so I said forklift it onto the back of the ute please and I will sort it out from there. I have met a lot of good people through bikes, bikes I have bought off them or sold to them, or people I have met on the road. It is a great hobby this motorbiking thing. Unfortunately I have come to realise that modern bikers (modern bike riders) that I have met over the last 10 or so years lack the depth of personality that the classic mob do. Generalisation maybe... but they seem as lacking in soul as their bikes. Maybe because they have not developed as humans as well due to the lack of adversity that old bikes seem to install on their owners. I bet all of us can (and do) relate a lot of stories that show adversity, courage and at times stupidity relating to bikes. It's not a hobby or a means of transport to most of us, it is something that has shaped us as people. Something that has given us life tools as well as workshop tools. Keep the stories coming, I love hearing 'em.
I can certainly relate to the 'stupidity' part.
I went to Aussie in 1985, I'd had enough of being a low paid sparkie, have some overseas biking adventures and see a bit of the world. Sydney was a bit of an eye opener after Auckland and I don't just mean " up the cross"..... After buying a pos R60/6 I then found a R75/5 with the old classic speedo in headlight/drum brake/ 50's look that I liked....coupled with a modern ish motor. I rode it back from the middle of NSW while the missus drove the Kombi van. As I lived in a terraced house in the inner city the bike had to go thru the front door.....just...... and sit out the back in the small yard. I pulled it to bits and had the tank, guards etc all painted in the original style....the motor had been rebuilt so just needed cosmetics........the BMW shop in town thought I was nuts spending all that money on a 15 year old bike.....small box of bits...$600.00..... In the mean time Darmah came along but BMW progress was good as we wanted to be in the UK by June 1988 as thats when Jane passed the visa date for age. Got it finished and took it on one shake down run to a rally before I boxed it up in a BMW crate I got for a box of fossies...... my neighbours were shipping agents so they sorted out the shipping. The Darmah went to NZ and the Beemer went to Barking in Essex. I bunged the bloke there 20 quid and he sorted me out....geezer..... on the road back to Dagenham.....oh joy. Worked all over London and used the BMW every day, We rode it to the Elefant Rally in Germany in Feb....gave us our first taste of European travel.....the food ....the beer....the other side of the road....yoof hostels........border crossings.....three currencies in one day.... bloody cold though..... OMG....this is getting long......I'll leave it there unless anyone wants to know what Beemer did for the next 3 years in Europe....
Dodgy - I can relate to your comment about the people you've met. I met my mate Stimpo on the Auck-Orewa bus, aged about 17, coz we both had gammy knees and were hobbling after bike crashes. He is one of the finest humans you could ever wish to meet. Through him I met some of his close friends who have remained good mates of mine to this day. They still ride - Geoff O is the Geoff O who takes most of Kiwirider's photos and he's on a V-Strom. Stimpo has a Vstrom, so does Geoff and Vandy - Tim has a Ducati, Grant a BMW, Andrew a Honda. I just can't imagine not having these fine people around me.
