Spring of 1986 and I haven't had a haircut for nearly a year because a; I don't have to and b; I'm a student! To celebrate I buy a 1973 750cc Bonneville with a proper right-foot gear change and a rear drum brake.
"Wotcha buy that heap of shit for? It'll only go bang" says my Kawasaki owning brother as he took these pictures. He was right. Pretty soon it did go bang. Luckily my sensible option, an 850 Suzuki just kept on going and going and going, etc., etc. I pulled it apart in me mums shed and decided it required major engineering
The first thing to do was save some money. Well, quite a lot of money really. I started buying bits; a main bearing here, a gasket set there and sent the frame off for blasting and powder coating. Eventually I had enough bits to put the engine back together and install it in the frame. Wow! it started to look like a bike again.
This spurred me on to shell out even more cash. The only problem now being I was living and working in London and the bike was at Mum's house in Devon - a distance of some 150 miles. I spent more and more weekends in Devon. Seeing old friends, chasing women and fixing my bike up.
About this time I realised that even though I'm a born and bred Norffffff Londoner somewhere deep inside has always been a country boy trying to get out. I met a charming young lady who I realised was "The One". Soon I was living in Devon again with my charming young lady and soon she announced she was up the stick!! Bloody hell!!!!! In the midst of all this I finished Bonny.
Soon my charming young lady announced she was going to produce another!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My beautiful Bonny had to go in the name of domestic bliss and financial penury. However, I did aquire another one - same model, same year - in bits and with my newly found know how and contacts I set to with some gusto and a big, big box of aerosol spray paint.
Golly, how I wish I could turn the clock back sometimes and frollick with my little boys around daddy's bike once again.