The Bikes I have owned (and should have kept)

My Bikes

Most of the following pics have been extracted from the Internet, as I never had the presence of mind to photograph my bikes.  Apologies to anyone who recognises their bike here, but it's fair to say that the following look like what I used to own.  I may try to do the same with my cars over the years too.

Suzuki TS185ER

 My first.  Purchased new.  Gutless but I loved it. Nearly crashed it locking the rear wheel in a panic stop.

Suzuki GT380L

Blew smoke like no tomorrow.  No brakes.  Handled like crap.  Loved it.

Yamaha RD400E

Fast.  My first inadvertent power wheelie and crashed it twice doing foolish things.  Wish I still had it.

Yamaha RD350A

Fast and noisy.  Two friends crashed it at different times.  Mine had black expansion chambers and sounded like a wasp in a jar.

Suzuki SP370

Took me interesting places.  Bastard to start, especially if you fell off it. I had a big yellow plastic Don Vesco fuel tank as well, and it would go forever on a tank of gas

Suzuki GT550

Ex MOT bike and I fell off it braking in some loose gravel once.  Had a 3 into 1 and was LOUD

Yamaha SR185

 A basic commuter.  Had to push start it as the starter was dead.  Taught me to swear a lot and had the heart and soul of a paper bag.  What was I thinking?  I had cars around this time so the bike was a cheap alternative.

Honda XL250

 Commuted on it.  A bastard to start.  What is it with singles?

Suzuki T500

 Fully rebuilt it from a pile of junk.  Lots of character and fast and smoky.  Even got the fasteners re-zinc'd

Honda CB750

Looked good but weak performance two-up.  Would be quite collectable now

Suzuki GS1000G

 Loved it, but had a nasty cam knock and used oil, so off she went.  Started an enduring love for Suzuki 4 cylinder motors

Honda XL600R

Another bastard to start.  You’d think I’d learn.  

Kawasaki GPZ1100B2

An American import and far too fast for the spaghetti frame and wooden brakes.  Almost killed me because I was foolish.  Learned to fix fuel injection with this

Honda CB360

A dalliance.  Nostalgia outweighed by impracticality and fuel leaks

Suzuki Bandit 1200

Bought new.  Sold it because I rode it too fast.  Next owner crashed it.  Swine

Suzuki Intruder VS1400

Lovely torque – crap handling and no fuel range.  Fell on me cleaning it. Bastard.  Not a bike for daily use or trips, and liked to fall over into roundabouts.

Yamaha XV750

Had a starter motor like someone throwing a handful of bolts at a fan.  Looked good, but never really excited me.

Suzuki Bandit 1200

Nice but had issues with carbs and leaking fork seals.  Bite me and I’ll sell ya

Honda CB900F Hornet

Grunty.  High pipes made my jacket stink of fumes and it needed a fairing to be decent on a trip

Suzuki DL650 V Strom

Didn’t excite me but was an eminently practical bike.

Suzuki GSF1250SATK8 Bandit

Hohohoho.  This is more like it. Fast and practical, and the ABS makes it good on wet roads.  Still have it, so watch for the blog where I talk about what's been done to it.