ÜberDoober
04-17-2008, 08:31 PM
Having grown up riding minibikes and dirt bikes, the urge developed around 1980 to see what riding a motorcycle on the street was all about and the idea festered for some time. My mom, who was pretty ill and eventually died was none too fond of the idea so to keep her happy in her last months, I put it out of my mind.
I was working at a job that required me to drive to different stores all over the Phoenix metro area, usually about 85 miles a day and at the time, had a 1967 Chevy :Chevy_anim:van that was on it's last legs. Mom croaked, my van croaked and the time was right to buy a motorcycle.
Being 26, single, poor and a little crazy, I ended up with a bank loan and with a brand spanking new 1981 Suzuki GS450E. I'd say it was fairly new in this picture as I still had the stock pipes.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/81_suzuki.jpg
It wasn't long before I wanted more juice and a little jazz. I purchased a Kerker 2-into-1 exhaust and a Shoei fairing since I couldn't afford the S model that came with one, and some sticky Michelin tires.
I rode this little bike every single day and as my sole source of transportation for almost four years. Rain or shine, freezing or 118 degrees, loaded with a backpack full of groceries or with bundles of laundry bungeed to the tank, I rode it. I started riding my daughter on the back when she was seven years old.
By the time I sold this fine machine, it was still running strong with 76,426 miles showing on the odometer. I had learned how to adjust my own valves, change the oil & filter and chains, sprockets and tires. I washed it and loved it every week.
Somewhere along the line, probably around '83, I decided to customize it even more with a homemade paint job in honor of the great Barry Sheene.
This is what I was going for:
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/Suzuki-RG500-Sheene-76-3.jpg
This is what I ended up with:
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/81_suz_front.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/81suz_side.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/81suz_rear-1.jpg
It was a great wonderful, realible and really fun motorcycle. I learned to drag the pegs and centerstand and I learned not to ride after drinking. At least I do still have a few pictures to remember.
I finally sold it, can't remember for how much, and used the money to make a down payment on a 1985 Kawasaki 600 Ninja. A few years later, I ran into someone at the racetrack with the same year GS450 and started talking to them about it. The guy asked me if my name happened to be Diane? I said "yeah, why" and he went on to tell me that Diane was scrawled on the inside of the valve cover. OMG, years later, my faithful machine and I had met again and I was so pleased to see she was still going strong and providing someone smiles on the track. :p
I was working at a job that required me to drive to different stores all over the Phoenix metro area, usually about 85 miles a day and at the time, had a 1967 Chevy :Chevy_anim:van that was on it's last legs. Mom croaked, my van croaked and the time was right to buy a motorcycle.
Being 26, single, poor and a little crazy, I ended up with a bank loan and with a brand spanking new 1981 Suzuki GS450E. I'd say it was fairly new in this picture as I still had the stock pipes.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/81_suzuki.jpg
It wasn't long before I wanted more juice and a little jazz. I purchased a Kerker 2-into-1 exhaust and a Shoei fairing since I couldn't afford the S model that came with one, and some sticky Michelin tires.
I rode this little bike every single day and as my sole source of transportation for almost four years. Rain or shine, freezing or 118 degrees, loaded with a backpack full of groceries or with bundles of laundry bungeed to the tank, I rode it. I started riding my daughter on the back when she was seven years old.
By the time I sold this fine machine, it was still running strong with 76,426 miles showing on the odometer. I had learned how to adjust my own valves, change the oil & filter and chains, sprockets and tires. I washed it and loved it every week.
Somewhere along the line, probably around '83, I decided to customize it even more with a homemade paint job in honor of the great Barry Sheene.
This is what I was going for:
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/Suzuki-RG500-Sheene-76-3.jpg
This is what I ended up with:
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/81_suz_front.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/81suz_side.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/81suz_rear-1.jpg
It was a great wonderful, realible and really fun motorcycle. I learned to drag the pegs and centerstand and I learned not to ride after drinking. At least I do still have a few pictures to remember.
I finally sold it, can't remember for how much, and used the money to make a down payment on a 1985 Kawasaki 600 Ninja. A few years later, I ran into someone at the racetrack with the same year GS450 and started talking to them about it. The guy asked me if my name happened to be Diane? I said "yeah, why" and he went on to tell me that Diane was scrawled on the inside of the valve cover. OMG, years later, my faithful machine and I had met again and I was so pleased to see she was still going strong and providing someone smiles on the track. :p