The Motorbike Thread

[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

 

[therapy]

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.

 

[boatman]

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.

WELL Tim me an my then mate we took a honda 90 engine apart to fit new valves i think well we got all back together an useing new gasets set an red hemratie an we were so pleased to think we did it an we were about to start it up when my mate brother said hang on what are these bits OH DEAR we had left out the push rods an had to take it all to bits again cant remember if we got it goin boy was our mojo low lol
chris

 

[Mark1]

I rebuilt my aprilia rs 125 and put the balance shaft in upside down, it started fine but shook itself two foot along the drive every time I revved it lol..had a puch maxi, used to make gaskets cut out of a coke can,worked a treat!

 

[tigersteve]

View attachment 429001Great thread, @therapy .

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.

Great photo - My dad taught me to ride and would regularly ride mine when he could! - this was us in 1979 Isle of Sheppey Kent

 

[Deleted member 7917]

May as well add my own 2-wheel history to this thread. Covers the period from 1965 until the present. There were several gaps between models due to economic circumstances at the time. Most of the bikes were used as the main commuting transport.

Heinkel Tourist (175cc)
Jawa Californian (250cc)
Suzuki TS90
Suzuki T350
Honda CB175
Suzuki GT500B
Yamaha DT175
Suzuki T500 Titan
Honda CB250RS
Honda CB400/4 Super Sports
Kawasaki GPX250
Yamaha SR500
Honda VT600
*Honda Megapro
Kawasaki KLR650
Suzuki GS500
SYM GTS250 Firenze
Yamaha MT-03

* I worked in Indonesia on the island of Flores in 2003 which is where I owned a Honda Megapro 175 cc single pot machine, made locally under licence from Honda Japan. It wasn't exported to other countries.



The bike for which I have the fondest memories is the Honda CB175 from the early 70's. Here's a photo of an example that matched the colour and bars of my own machine.



And here is the current machine in the garage - a 2020 Yamaha MT-03.



Each of these machines are a bookmark of the various stages of a long life, some good, some not so. I think the current one will be the last ...

 

[therapy]

Nice array of machines there Murfie ...

Nick

 

[Del640]

I've hung up my leathers and lid these days but motorcycling was my life, social and work, riding for a living, Honda ST1100, STX1300 and BMW RT1200 plus VFR1200..

RoSPA examiner in my latter years

My personal bikes, F1sie, RD250,RD350,RD500 and FZR750 , R1 on the Yamaha side....GSXR1000 x 3 on the Suzuki side and Honda Fireblade ×3.... numerous in between bikes and endurance racing for sport.

I had the pleasure of escorting most of the Royal Family around Berkshire and the England football team... also had the honour of being part of the escort group for Margaret Thatchers funeral....and the sadness of repatriation of young soldiers killed in conflict.

... also escorted the Olympic torch.

Plenty of pics for you:

 

[tigersteve]

Some great memories for you there !
funnily enough , I spotted these two in Marlow today .....
I guess , in a former life , you might have had fun checking his registration plate ??

 

[Del640]

Some great memories for you there !
funnily enough , I spotted these two in Marlow today .....
I guess , in a former life , you might have had fun checking his registration plate ??

View attachment 429657

I wouldn't have checked them .... pulled alongside and simple say "put the proper plates on and everyone's happy" if I saw them again, then it's a nick.

Marlow is my home town!

 

[tigersteve]

I spotted your town ...... I had to check the plate online as it had to be too good to be true - not known to DVLA !!

 

[Del640]

It'll be a ghost plate, a vanity extension of his/her wanting to be seen by all...

Unfortunately his mate is using a legit number (not style though) and it wouldn't take long to track his mate down.

Never understood people that did that, it really is sad.

 

[Tim Marlow]

It'll be a ghost plate, a vanity extension of his/her wanting to be seen by all...

The vanity extension is the only known reason for riding a Harley anyway….he should probably be pitied, not prosecuted

 

[therapy]

Great story and pics Del....

Nick

 

[minitnkr]

Much respect Del. Always had a soft spot for Motor Police.

 

[PaulTRose]

funnily enough , I spotted these two in Marlow today .....

looks like the High Street........somewhere near the antique jewelers?

 

[rtfoe]

No bike for me I'm afraid, parents never allowed it in my teens but that didn't stop me from following my biker friends riding pillion. Crashed once and nearly ended up under a bus...friends mother patched me up. The biker bunch had a mix of everything from modified Cubs to Honda CB750's. The daredevils were the 2 strokers and Cubs trying to keep up with bigger bikes on straight roads...the Cub guys crouched low on their seats at handlebar level and changing gears with their freehand trying to reduce drag...have you seen the Superman? Obviously they were the kings in corners and streets. Sparks fly when their parking stand touch the road...very dangerous as it can easily catch and cartwheel you. These guys change their worn out leg rests more often than tires. Often you feel you can reach out and touch the road when doing corners with these guys.

We stopped our shenanigans when two brothers nearly died on their LC's overtaking on the blind side of a corner. We've all switched to four wheels now but some in the gang have a holiday bike. I on the other hand have a Tamiya kit of the LC250.

Cheers,
Richard