A nasty yellow open face helmet with a peak and a clip on visor. My Dad bought it for me. Probably said you will never pull with that on. Taking a girl outside a youth club to meet my best friend which was a hand painted Tiger Cub with Greeves scrambler bars. She pretended to be well impressed. Deri boots for definate and kick starts. Think I would like one again but bet I would not use it. Regards Steve
Griffin Clubman helmets and saving up for the 'shotgun proof' thick visor with the circular gauze vents along the botton supposed to stop it misting up, but didn't John Brown Wheels ads and shops - the Hein Gericke of its day? Lewis Leathers Goldtop boots Ashmans Paddy Hopkirk stuff My black Nolan open face helmet that saved my life Esso and Shell giveaways at the petrol stations - stickers, key rings, tiger tails, oil-drop man Bob Heath visors that scratched up inside a fortnight and were about £2 to replace Nylon jackets Bob Heath anti-mist sprays that did work Getting change out of fifty bob after filling up No body armour in any gear, it hadn't been invented and no one missed it Hondastyle ads for the ugliest gear on the market - swirling greens and browns Superbike's centrefolds Getting a talking to from coppers, but always let off i.e. getting away with it Totes overboots & firemans overtrousers Running in Honda's first F1 race DOHC engine in a Peckitt and McNab frame up the motorway on trade plates on the way to its first race at Thruxton The first Gold Wing costing £1999.99, but £25,000 if built up out of spares (as calculated by the lads at Park's of Lewisham - Honda main agents) Carrying a C90 frame in its box across London on the back of my CB750 - I think I invented hang gliding on the top of the Brent Cross flyover! Mocheck Hondas Moto Martin frame kits from France The Bol D'Or when it was still held at LeMans Quick action throttles Racing the despatch riders through London on every trip across town Hanging your chain, after boiling, from a bent coat hook from the garage rafters with the big round tin underneath to catch the ever slowing drips as it cooled down Petrol pump attandants Getting knocked off the Yam 200 3 times in one morning Marzocchi red piggyback shocks (rigid struts made to look like shocks) Ducatis looking like they were from the stone age and not being able to understand one or two of my mates that rode them Racing a local on an XT600 when 3-up on my CB750 all helmetless and in t-shirts on the mountain roads above St Tropez, getting past him clocking 115mph with sheer 2000ft drops and loose gravel - Ah yes, the 70's!
being struck by what a genuine and modest bloke Jarno Saarinen was at the Royal Horticultural Halls at Westminster in 1973. He had all the time in the world for the autograph hunters. Jarno Saarinen GP Genius
Griffin helmets, Avon Roadrunners and SMs, Pirelli Phantoms, TT100s decoking the exhaust and the traffic cop questions whenever I got pulled over - "In a hurry are we?", "Are you late for something sir?" and "Driving a bit fast weren't we?".
The 2T pump on the forecourt with all the ratios marked on it A decoke by pouring Redex in the carb inlet while running flat out Riding 200 miles to The Racing and Sporting Show at the Ally Pally Seeing blister packed exotic bits on the Hadleigh Custom stand - cams, timing covers with fins and all sorts An open reverse cone mega S&S exhaust on a Honda 4 that really did hurt the ears Putting ignition sealer on crap HT leads and hoping it would do something Dynaglaze polish Spraying parts with crackle black paint from a tin because it looked classy Metalflake paint - ditto Stainless discs that were such fun when wet Seeing the first cb750, Z900 and a T150 Trident all together Dubbin Reading that toothpaste was great for taking scratches out of a visor - until you tried it out Front and rear mudflaps with a big white star on them, attached with roofing bolts lancer front leather jackets, style epitomised Gauntlets Cornering at night, and craftily pushing the centre stand down to fool your mates that you were decking the footrests Raleigh Runabouts in the rain, belt slipping and needing furious pedal assistance Drawing a line down the porcelain on your mate's spark plug thinking the spark would short through the graphite :biggrin:
Kangol Gladiator full-face helmet Riding in heavy snow because that was the only transport you had! The bike test. The examiner (on foot) sent me off and watched from a distance. For the emergency stop he strolled across Courtenay park in Newton Abbot and stuck his clipboard out to signal the stop. I knew it was coming because I could see him walk across the park. That was it......test passed!!
You know what? I've been racking my brain and I can't remember a great deal about by motorcycling youth. Nothing outstanding anyway. At 16 I had a FS1E and I just used to jump on it and ride. Then at 17 I learnt to drive and cars/birds/wife got in the way. Between 17 and 30 I dabbled with a couple of shit bikes to get back into the swing (Suzuki CG250 and a Kwak 400 of some description - they were that bad I really have put them out of my mind). Then I got a VFR750FK and had some fun on that. But again just rode it. Oh and I fell off it a couple of times. I've had several big bikes since then till I now find myself with my 848 Evo Corse. If anything ever went wrong I got someone to fix it. I'm cack handed when it comes to stuff like that. All in all its been interesting but nothing too exciting really. Petrol used to be cheap though :smile: Edit: That sounds like I haven't enjoyed biking but I have and I still do. Immensely. I love the freedom the bike gives and I love weaving and leaning round corners/bends and I love trying to get my knee down. And I love the speed, should I want it. I love that I can jump on the bike and forget the stress that I have or the troubles in the world. And loads of other things that are intrinsic to biking. I just don't think about it too much :smile:
smell of 2 stroke microns decoking exhausts on a weekend fitting new pistons/smallends to the RD boiling tins of chain lub on mums cooker 2 star FS1E and other bikes with pedals, puch? Bank holiday rides and scooters
Passing my bike test in 10 minutes. That the winters never seemed cold on a bike. KH250s and loads of 2 stroke smoke 250s in general x7s, KH 250s, RD250s and then the LC came out
Um, fitting the HT leads in the wrong order on my GT750A triple. I didn't think there could even be a noise that loud.
Bizarre that with the "death" of the large road-going two-stroke a "decoke" has become something you do in rehab & has nothing to do with motorcycles?? I remember well 100mph being a truly terrifying experience, a screaming engine, the back wheel jitting around as the frame twitched and farted along the road, a white-knuckle grip expecting the Mother of all tankslappers (again)... My Doocat has been the first steel-framed bike I've ridden which - albeit slowly sometimes - handles perfectly?
Know what you mean. The first bike I did 100mph on ... it was a real war of nerves. Which would give out first, my courage or my suspension? In comparison, the same speeds, and more, seem such a calm affair on modern sportsbikes - obviously I am talking about being on the Track
I dont believe my little Clio has ever been above 90? I dont think it will! :biggrin: On a comparison - on a closed road of course - my Doocat will BrrrrRRRRRMMM its way up to 120-odd in very little time and effort at all? People piss about bikes going too fast - but have no idea how easy and controlled such speeds are?
At the age of 15 riding my mates TT500 Yamaha, (yellow tank) all over town like a loon, until I turned right onto Selwyn St, which unexpectedly wasn't 90deg, but about 135deg, ended up on some blokes front lawn, could barely pick the bike up, just took off in time to shower him in shit and rip up his lawn as he came out to investigate Those were the days.
forgot to mention blowing up my Rd250 c coming back up the A21 on the Mayday run 1981, allspeeds, i had not adjusted the mixture .mate picked it up in a TA landrover .the mayday run early days just about 60 -80 bikes, massive now,drink riding rozzers couldn't tell what colour the crystals on thier breathalysers went in the dark. wasn't such a issue then as it is now ,really rubbish visors scratched to bits in weeks,more space on the roads, ducatis were rust buckets fragile breakdown heaps. got a indicated 100 on my 250 when i rebored it jetted it rfight , downhil,l cans screaming and smoking and my mate blowing me away, on his brand new lc350 ,bolexs oh what a bike that was ,3 weeks he had before it was nicked !i got a 650 Katana next heap of shite ,shaft drive engine broke threw loads of valves.
