PAST MOTORCYCLES.................

I'm sitting here listening to the rain outside, looking forward to getting my Honda VF1000F on the road and trying to remember what other machines I have had over the years. Here goes....

1974. I think, learnt to ride on a Honda C70 step through. That was  farm in Scone, NSW. Riding around on the dirt with road tyres taught good balancing skills!

1975. Back in Newcastle, I picked up a Suzuki TC125, and my Brother had a TC120. Both were really AG bikes, with dual range gearboxes and a two stroke motor.

1975. Rode my first 'big bike', my Uncle's Honda CB550F when he was too drunk to ride it home from the local Club. That was a real hoot!

1978. Early in the year bought an old Honda MT125 motocrosser, later that year at 16 and nine months I passed my Learners test and bought a Honda XL250 Motorsport, the Silver one. This ws also the first cycle I was to crash on the roads, I was riding home from work in Newcastle's CBD area and travelling too close to the vehicle in front. Wet roads, Universal Trials tyres[remember them?]and a amber light I couldn't stop for. It was the brand new[then]Holden Commodore, and luckily for the car I hit the towbar and did very little damage to the car itself. I rode the Honda home the rest of the way with a flat front tyre, and a severely bent front wheel. It was a slow trip at walking pace but a lesson was learnt!
I kept the Honda until I passed my P plate test later that year.

1979. Now on a fullbike licence, my next bike was a Yamaha RD400. That blue bike was fast. It also had an appetite for pistons, little did I know it was jetted very leanand after piston number three I sold it thinking there was something inherently wrong with it.  Would jave been nice to still have it! That was my last bike for a couple of yearsI gotmy car license n '79 as well, and drove an assortment of cars for a while.

1981. I think this year I bought a Suzuki TS185, and rode it on and off mostly on trails.
1982. This year I bought a Honda XL185S, the red and white one. This was nearly new when I bought it and stayed in the family for a while after my youngest brother bought it.

1987. This year I bought an old Honda CX500, it was a rough as guts. Painted mostly matt black featuring chrome 'shotgun' pipes. It was LOUD! Rode that for a while, then progressed to a Yamaha XJ550, the naked one. This was my first XJ550.

1988. This year I bought a mate's Kawasaki KLR650, and had this about two years. It was ridden hard all the time, and crashed offroad a few times as well but never let me down. This was the machine I had when I first moved to Sydney from Newcastle. It was a great commuter bike in heavy traffic.