The
Bikes 'n Stuff - Past & Present
Page 1.
In 1998
when I
decided to return to biking after a lay off of a few years, I realised that
modern bikes had become a serious threat to any
intentions I had to continue living. I did all the right things, like went
for re-training, but that
turned out to be on Honda CG125 - very useful! In the end after parting with
lots of hard earned cash for very
little return, the realisation slowly dawned that
if I was going to do this then I just had to go out and buy a bike.
What to buy was the question? I didn't want something that would put me in
hospital before I got to the end of the street. No, the idea was to build up to
a big bike slowly so in the end I settled for this...........
.......My
little Yamaha Virago. Some may scoff, and it may have had more chrome than a
gypsy caravan but it was a great little
bike. But, most importantly it got me back onto two wheels without leaving my wife in a position to
pick up the insurance money, and my 2 kids as orphans. Obviously being a macho kinda bloke I couldn't ride around
on something that looked and vibrated like the contents of a nymphomaniacs handbag for too
long. So, it wasn't long before I outgrew the Virago and went for something with a
bit more go and a little less bling. Enter the Yamaha
Fazer 600, this was a truly superb bike, it went like stink, handled a
dream and with brakes a budget bike costing this little had no right to have. The only problem was that my lad Ben was getting bigger. We tried
stopping feeding him, but the little bugger just got bigger (and heavier) and
started to get really cramped on the pillion, so eventually my lovely Fazer had to go to make way for something a bit
larger.
The Fazer 600 and me, Ribblehead
Yorkshire 1999, pre digi cam days
The search was soon on for a bigger bike
which would be capable of touring. I'd started to harbour romantic notions of
me, a bike and an open road. I'd seen "Easy Rider" and wanted some of
that but without the Harley thanks, I don't have enough spanners! I'd heard of a BMW
for sale locally, it
was being sold by the owner of a local motor factors who needed to raise some cash
quickly for his imminent wedding (Like, you'd sell your bike to get married? The idiot!). I went to have a look at it and
was pleasantly surprised by the condition of the 5 year old BMW R1100R which now stood before
me in all it's glory. 11,000 miles on the clock and in great nick, the deal was struck and I
was soon it's new proud owner.
The bike came with genuine BMW panniers and a Beemer tank bag, so as far as
touring was concerned it wasn't as rapid or as smooth as the in-line 4 of
the Fazer, but for lazy touring it couldn't be beat . It would pull like a
Massey Ferguson all day long, two up and never complain. The first and second Scottish tours I did with the
other Wrinklies were done on this bike, so it holds a few happy memories. It's
still going strong and is now owned by a local guy so I still see it around now and again.
Probably the worst thing I ever did was to change the 1100R for the Beemer R1100S, which turned out to be the most unreliable bike I've ever owned. It cost me more money and gave me more grief than all my other bikes put together. Before it had covered 17,000 miles it had more or less fallen apart, that was when I decided it was time for it to go. The pity is that it was a fantastic bike to ride, but it put me off ever wanting another BMW.
Belting looking
bike.........................
............But
this is how it spent a lot of it's time! This was starting to take
it apart to fix an oil leak
at the back of the gearbox.
It ended up in the same state a few weeks later when I had to replace the rear paralever
bearings. A short while after that the
bevel box sprung a leak so the large oil seal had to be replaced, and then
the Catalytic Converter disintegrated !!
The list went on and on and on and..............................
Tracing an
illusive electrical problem Turned out to
be a badly routed loom
chaffing on the Screen frame, the thing almost burst into flames - and I was
almost sorry it didn't!.
The wheel is off to check the front brake discs for warpage - they 'd started to
judder!!
- So much for BMW build quality.....it's crap!
............. and this was just to fit a bulb
which blew in the dash panel shortly afterwards .
After these problems came the
cracked front brake disc, then
clutch hydraulics problems, followed by the second oil leak from the bevel
box but this time it was the input shaft seal, too expensive to get done
& too many special tools needed to do it myself. It was at that point
I got rid! I'd had the bike for just over 12
months, put 9k miles on it and boy was I ever glad to see the back of it
The next bike
was the gorgeous Honda VFR800. Why I didn't buy one of
these years ago I don't know, it's the best bike I could ever have wanted or needed. It was 100% reliable, it could
tour superbly and also do the back lanes if asked. The
power and the sound from the silky smooth V4 motor is addictive. Having an
almost twin-like sound, and a loud whine from the gear driven camshafts made it very distinctive.
If it hadn't had to go to make way for something smaller I'd never have parted with it
The Other Wrinkly's Bikes
Poor shot of
Wesley's Guzzi but it's the best we've
got!
Even poorer shot of Dez's old750 Kawasaki
The old Suzuki GSX 1100 that Pete bought for the 2003 trip to Scotland
Dez's superb Kawasaki ZRX1100
Wesley's BMW R1150R, the very troublesome replacement for the Guzzi.
If my R1100S
wouldn't put you off BMW bikes then this one
would........ More trouble than a turd in a swimming pool !
Pete's GSX 1100 now sprayed blue
and fitted with a small fairing for Europe 2004.
The gay yellow straps around
the panniers are to hold them shut after he'd lost his keys on the way to the ferry!
Jack's BMW R1150R, he's had no trouble with his.........yet!
Wesley's
CB1300 which replaced
his BMW R1150R. This is one hell of a bike, the power is awesome
and it's a
Honda so it's 100% reliable
Pete's gorgeous Blackbird which has now taken the place of the GSX1100. Nice
innit?
Dez's CBR 1000, a great bike. He still has the old 750 Kawasaki and the Kawasaki
ZRX1100
I think that's the lot, I can't recall any others!
Meanwhile I've bought
this little thing which is
what most of my subsequent road trips will be done in, meet the new family member............................
Cuter
than a parlour full of Andrex puppies!
The latest toy to hit the wrinkly stable is this wee thing that Wesley has swapped for his CB1300. He's also going to try 4 wheels for a while but being Wesley it couldn't be any old thing, it had to be something a bit different. It needs a bit of work to get it right, looks like fun though.,.... A four wheeled motorbike?
At one point
on the way home with it, a car load of girls drew level, and
following the usual waves Wesley was treated to a pleasant show
of bare female knockers flashing out of the window, cool....this car
could have lots of serious potential on the norks front