1966 1965 49cc Suzuki Sport 50 M12S
1969 1969 247cc Suzuki T250 Hustler
1970 1970 315cc Suzuki T350 Rebel
1972 1972 123cc Yamaha DT125
1972 1970 745cc BMW 750 R75/5
1981 1977 398cc Suzuki GS400
1983 1981 448cc Suzuki GS450S
1985 1983 673cc Suzuki GS650 Katana
1995 1982 843cc Suzuki GS850G
2005 2005 498cc Kawasaki KLE 500
2015 2015 749cc Harley-Davidson XG750 Street
I started with my first bike at 16yrs old, as a get-to-high-school method of transport. My riding a bicycle days were over. After completing high school we had to complete a compulsory 1-yr military service, that took care of 1968. Returning home from military my first wish was to get wheels, two wheels, so I bought a new 250 Hustler and fell for the sound of a screaming 2-stroke and burnt Castrol oil. That also led to me joining up with a bikers "group" called the Road Runners. The bike gave me freedom and introduced me to biker rally's and Red Heart Rum.
By 1970 the Hustler was replaced by a 350 Rebel. With a little porting, a racing fairing, clip-on's, and a wilder 2-stroke the bike was ready to take on the new Honda 750 recently introduced into the country. Speed my kill, but when you are young dying is the last thing on your tunnel-vision mind. 8,000 RPM on a 2-stroke came up soooo fast. The hooligan in me was ebbing and I had my eye on a BMW750 that someone wanted to sell, but was hesitant. I acted on instinct and sold my Rebel, then he did not want to sell. After a month with no two wheels I bought a 125 Yamaha and waited. Eventually he decided to sell, and I was standing outside his house before he could open the door.
Finally after years of riding snappy 2-strokes with narrow powerbands, I now sat on a bike that had torque and power to match, a combination that I rode for 10 years only selling when my wife was no longer able to ride pillion. looking about for a work commuter with a slant always to the Suzuki brand, I bought a GS400 that after a while traded up to a new Suzuki GS450S - my first bike without wire spoked wheels and one that would last a good few years. Then I saw my first Katana and I was hooked. I traded up to a Katana GS650 and was in heaven.
The Katana was a Heckle and Jeckle bike. During the week, a brilliant work commuter, over the weekend, a road racer deluxe. The sound of the 4-inti-1 exhaust will be a sound you always remember. Strong on horsepower, excellent on brakes, you felt like a MotoGP rider. The Katana era lasted 10 good years and then I got a phone call from the Suzuki dealership. A low mileage GS850G, not yet had 1st service, kitted with luggage boxes and a windscreen had just come in. One look and I was sold. I was not as young as I was 30 years ago, so I said yes please and rode home like a gentleman on a bike for the first time ever.
The GS850G shaft drive was a dream, only costing me a battery and tires over the next 10 years. Soon I would be joining the band of retired bikers sitting on the porch in a rocking chair, so the 850 was sold to a deserving owner. As you get older the bikes seem to get heavier, so picking them up becomes an issued when walking into the bike shop and choosing one. Walking through a bike show one day I saw the Kawasaki 500 KLE and the colour and look half sold me. When I swung my leg over, I wanted the bike. At the end of the week when the bike show was over, I was the proud owner of the Kawasaki. A lasting impression of my first wire-wheeled bike in years, was the gearbox. Slow or faster speeds, up a rise or hill, there was always an available gear that seemed just right. You just went up or down a gear and you were in the correct powerband. A great commuter, with a wide week-end potential for exploring.
H-D has always been on my list, but the too heavy, too expensive part had put me off getting one. One thing they don't tell you is that as you get older, your legs shrink. That was the case with the Kawasaki, I was by now looking for the kerbs when coming to a stop. Then the H-D Street 750 came on the scene. Here was a H-D that was lighter, less expensive, and a non-traditional H-D with the liquid cooling, balance shafts that caught my attention. Out with the old, in with the new and that is how I came to own a 2015 H-D Street 750 in Vivid Black. I use the bike for pure recreation, going to the local store, or just driving in and around the city, just what it was designed for. The bike is stock, my only expense so far was for head-bearing replacement and I have recently replaced the battery, otherwise it is a switch on and start bike.
Will this be the last one?
