Always lusted after the big kat. I remember someone won one in a Which Bike? competition with a slogan along the lines of “Eight out of ten kats say their owners prefer them”
Wish I’d entered now 🙁
Anyway, mine:
which I sold to buy:
Which I really regret selling, but I needed the money at the time 🙁
there are some stonking nostalgia bikes up there!!
scotroutes I think must have owned many of the bikes I dreamed of owning but was too scared to ride !
Pinnacle was a RS250 which I crashed a couple of times and decided maybe me and motorbikes weren’t meant to be.
My flat-mate back in 1983 raced a Katana, took us for spins round the original city ‘bypass’, old nearly pooped myself :/ Lad at work had succession of nice bikes, Morini 3 1/2 was one of them, lost track of Gogs’ others..
My wee Matchless ’49 which should be ready for the road i a month or so. Should look a bit like a ratty version of the one up there^ as it will have knobblies on.
It’s not getting paint or anything to tidy it up, I like the look of it as it is.
I loved this bike, i had a blue one as above, put TZR 3 spoke wheels on it, double headlamp conversion & sprayed it all black (no logos). I miss it & still think it looks the nutts! (and yes, thats 1/2 an FZR1000 front disc strapped to the front end!).
I had one of these for a few weeks after I passed my test (beware the advice of others!):
By God it was crap, and I struggled to do double figure miles before needing to stop for a pish. A nice man from Ireland who was into Trabants bought it off me and rode it home (from Sheffield). Replaced it with a 1200 Bandit.
Norton Commando with Dunstall kit. Painted, lined and sign written by myself.
1948 ISDT Triumph T100 square barrel (generator engine). The Inter was my mate’s. Armstrong Siddeley was mine.
Panther 600 (part way through an unsuccessful home made V-twin conversion.
Trying to stuff a pocket valve H-D motor into a 100cc James frame.
Ariel Red Hunter 350cc
Velocette 500 with a wee bit of work – Dodkins polished and balanced cranks, flattened cam followers (like Thruxton), but with smaller bore carb for flexibility.
Another Panther 600 with deflatable air forks.
Triumph Thunderbird 650 – crossed the Corrieyairack on this following the old Scottish 6 Days route.
All my bikes were extensively modified, but usually subtly so it wasn’t too obvious.
Don’t seem to have photos of more recent stuff. BMW K1, Electraglide, Ducati Monster, but they’re fairly well known, so no great loss.
Oh, and currently this is mouldering away unloved.
I’ve never had a bike newer than my XT600 so all my bikes would fit the criteria for this post.
1976 Honda SS50
1978 Honda CB125T Passed my test on this
1973 Suzuki GT250 ramair Rewired by a farmer.I learned a lot about motorcycle maintainance with this
1979 Suzuki 250X7
1981 Yamaha XJ550 The only bike I bought new
1981 Yamaha RD250LC I production raced this 😀 I also rode it around Circuit Paul Ricard after the Bol back in 86 😀
1980 Kawasaki Z650 Cost me more in oil than petrol riding back form Barcelona 😯
1985 Yamaha FZ750 This one has also done a few laps of Circuit Paul Ricard, Bol D’or 92
1986 Yamaha FZ750 This one needs a new engine…
1986 Yamaha XT600
I’ve still got the last 3,love my Yamaha’s 😀
Here’s my current fleet.The other FZ750 is in bits..
1985 Yamaha FZ750
1986 Yamaha XT600
When I started work we did bikes as well as cars. This was their proddy racer.
I would have to repaint it every time it got crashed. It was ridden by a tiny Australian lunatic whose name escapes me.
First foray into powered 2 wheels (was into Northern Soul at the time)
Saw the light and moved onto something a bit more real bike! (no pictures of the old DT I can find but this is the closest I can find.
Like a few others had several Morini’s only picture I can find with my sister sat on it!
Had an absolute peach of a Morini 500 triple disk frame with a tuned 350 motor in & gold Campag wheels the 2 into 1 exhaust was a work of beauty and when starting on 1 choke of the 2 Dellorto’s it would spit blue flames out 😀
All the lads with LC 125’s thought it was the mutts nuts 😉