On the Road Again!

Signed up for this to give me a year's warranty after having Vera Vstrom serviced in May.  I missed the message from Simon at Robinson's on Monday. There was no missed call or message reminder. He called today and said he'd left a message. All sorted. Something free!!!

The box from Parcelforce arrived today. Maybe I should shoot a short "unboxing" video?  Maybe not. It's come from Sweden and XLMoto.  The delivery date was given at 14th February onwards.  So that was even better. It's also very well packed. Now for a warmer day to get out in the garage and get it fitted.  It doesn't come with any additional bolts so I guess it uses the Suzuki OEM mounting kit.

Another of my vast collection of baseball caps.  This one courtesy of my brother!

The seat is so bright in daylight... Sunglasses essential! Any tips for cleaning the seat and getting rid of the previous owners boot marks, without damaging the seat, gratefully received!

I guess I am not alone in having a huge collection of photographs taken before the digital age?  Thought not. So I thought I'd look out a few and scan them in.  I have a collection of pics taken of the Kettle (Water Buffalo or Wasserbuffel) on a few runs out and a couple of trips in Austria for the Wasserbuffel Club's rally at Schloss Moosham. 1993 - Garage in Zastavka on the trickle charger 1993 - Hundertwasser Autobahn Services 1993 - On the alpine road 1999 - Maltatal waterfall Woburn Abbey Deer Park The next little batch are all from the 1993 Wasserbuffel Treffen.  The treffen is hosted in the Schloss at Moosham, and a lot of the hardier types camp, others stay in the apartments across the road, and some in the nearest town of Mauterndorf. Twenty-seven years ago (nearly!) I was booked in the youth hostel a few miles away but one of the German guys said to share their room as they had a big room in the gasthof and a spare bed.  They took pity on me as I was from t...

Rebuilt by Barry Wilkes. He has even refitted the little black plastic cover on the choke lever!!! 😁

On the drive in Flitwick. In those days before phones had cameras and were able to make movies  In fact before phones were portable outside the house and carried more computing power than Apollo 11!

After years of neglect things are starting to move. I contacted a few bike restorers to see if I could get the bike to them to get it running. But not much came of that avenue.  I am not expecting showroom or concours condition. Just usable.  In the 80's. Me nearest camera. As it is over 40 years old it is now registered as a historic vehicle with the UK authorities.  As a result it is tax exempt and MoT exempt. It has to be roadworthy but doesn't have to undergo the test each year.  In the end my old friend John Storrie made some good suggestions.  The motor won't turn over and I suspect there is some corrosion in the cylinders. It wasn't a hot seize. Just standing too long.  Removing the plugs reveals no corrosion on the plug electrodes and there is a healthy whiff of petrol. Hopefully the 2-stroke poured into the bores will permeate and free up the rings.  There are a few other jobs to do and I have many of the parts required; carb rebuild kits, new...

A long weekend. Luckily it was the weekend at the end of the May half-term school holiday and so I was able to load up the bike and set off in good time to get across to Moosham. The route via the Mikulov/Drasenhofen border crossing and around Vienna and then west past the Red Bull Ring, although then it was called Zeltweg, would be about 250 miles.  Czech fuel was cheaper and I topped up before the border. With a range of only 130 miles to a tank fuel management is important. On arrival at Schloss Moosham I had nowhere to stay. I met up with Thomas Wahle who I had "known" for a few years exchanging letters about Kettles.  I had never met him before.  I was going to look at nearby Mauterndorf for a room or even a bed. Thomas and the Stuttgart area Büffel Herde had a large room and parking in the barn across the road. They also had a spare bed. As I was a poor "Czech" they wouldn't let me pay. The weekend was a great success. A couple of the Austrian members got ...

Who knows how long this blog will exist for! I don't have the foggiest idea. The Kettle in question is a Suzuki GT750A. First registered in April 1977.  Some background. Sit down. This might ramble on. I bought it in 1984 from the bike shop in Hanwell near Brentford in West London. It came with some paperwork that showed it had had some engine work done. Allegedly the crankshaft oil seals had been replaced etc. I had other bikes as well. For a while  around this time I had a "Plain Jane" GL1000, and a  GSX1000SZ Katana. So it was a complete surprise when riding home from work a couple of years later that the crankshaft oil seals went phut By then we were moving from Weybridge in Surrey to Newington in Kent. I obtained an exchange crank from Robinson's then in Broadstairs. A local guy in Gillingham was recommended to handle the engine rebuild.  At this stage the cylinder barrel to use in the rebuild was one that I had bought off a fellow member of the SOC committ...

I had to stretch my lunch break to er, breaking point to get the Post office part of things done so I have a taxed but unusable bike. It wasn't as straightforward as the DVLA website would have you believe though. As I don't have a V11 (the tax reminder they send out) and as the bike was SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification) there was no record of it being taxed for a few years. On visit one the guy at the PO took the V5C (log book as we call it) and the V112 (MoT exemption declaration) and the printout of the web page,. He couldn't get past the first hurdle, telling me to call the DVLA. I walked briskly back to work and called. Amazingly it took around a half dozen "press 1 for blah-blah, 2 for blah-blah" before I got a human person to speak to.  She listed to my problem.  "On page 2 of the V5C, section 7, write HISTORIC in the box and sign and date it, then go to the PO". I did. Visit 2.  In and five minutes a different bloke had given me a receipt fo...

In happier days It seems like I have been here before. It's all come about after a comment from my old buddy John Storrie once he entered the 21st century and got email and even the dreaded social media.... I have toyed with this before, and as Claire wants rid of it from the garage, I guess the first step is to get it running and in a position to possibly sell it. Possibly. As it is 42 years since it was first registered it can be classed under tax and MoT standards as a historic vehicle.  That designation applies to all vehicles registered on UK roads before 1st January 1979. It is a 40 year rolling date. I thought it would be automatic, but reading up is less straightforward. The bike has to have tax, even though it is free for historic vehicles.  It no longer needs to have the annual MoT. Instead of applying for the tax online and the DVLA have all the details I have to go to a post office that can handle vehicle tax and take the log book (V5C) and a form (V112)  to s...

Got this photo today from John Storrie, I have known John since the early 1980's and he was affectionately knows as "Old King Kettle" for his love and support for the Suzuki GT750.  If only he was still active now so mine could have a holiday in Oxfordshire. Taken at the Cross Keys in Pulloxhill in Bedfordshire. The pub used to be run by the Suzuki Owners Club Hon. President,Peter Mead. During the year we had camping weekends there and the Club's AGM. I guess this picture might have been 1984 or 1985 when I had the Katana 1000SZ - B891 JPG. I suppose it might have been the AGM as well as it was traditionally held in late September.  This would have been a few years before we moved to live nearby in Flitwick and so I guess I had ridden up from Kent as that's where I was living until 1985. I was Editor of the SOC club magazine " Hustler " at the time. I did the job for seven years and passed it onto Ken Fulton...

This is review of the Suzuki Marauder VZ800 that I originally wrote for a website I did for the Suzuki Owners Club that didn't get accepted and that I simply did nothing with until Geocities was closing down, so I saved it and two others. So far it has over 12700 views. Thanks everyone.

Project Kettle was endangered again!   Having a heart attack does tend to change things about a bit.  I was planning to ride up on Dora to have a chat about the job with Chris, but being off the bike for a while might put paid to that. Maybe I can persuade Claire to drive up there in a dew weekends? Exhaust gaskets The collection of bits that will see her (like ships they are always female!) back on the road has continued.  A quick look around the garage revealed that the engine gasket set I had bought, a while back as a standby, had disappeared or at least been put away somewhere.  Where? I have no idea. So, I bought another set off eBay and it came from Poland;  a Vesrah set, so not too unheard of. Despite owning her since 1984 she has never had name. But with help from fellow Meldrew MCC mate, Norman, plans are being made to pack her up in his van, and get her up to Saffron Walden. It Is about 90 miles to the restoration g...

Having a heart attack does tend to change things about a bit.  I was planning to ride up on Döra to have a chat about the job with Chris in Essex, but being off the bike for a while put paid to that.  Maybe I can persuade Claire to drive up there in a few weekends? Exhaust gaskets The collection of bits that will see her (like ships they are always female!) back on the road has continued.  A quick look around the garage revealed that the engine gasket set I had bought, a while back as a standby, had disappeared or at least been put away somewhere. Where? I have no idea. So, I bought another set off eBay and it came from Poland;  a Vesrah set, so not too unheard of. Despite owning her since 1984 she has never had name. But with help from fellow Meldrew MCC mate, Norman, plans are being made to pack her up in his van, and get her up to Saffron Walden. It is about 90 miles to the restoration garage. Luckily, even though I was in hospital last weekend, Norman and Cal cam...

Unfortunately I had to go on my own and so there is no photographic evidence of me astride the megalith that is the M1800R.   The road tests were undertaken by Suzuki GB and Alford Brothers in Folkestone. Signing in was relatively easy and they took a photocopy of the full driving licence and kept it whilst you were out. After a short pep talk from the Suzuki guy (who was going to lead about six of us on the road) saying to be careful of the forward pegs and the under steer, we were mounted and ready for a short course of about twenty minutes.   I got to ride the big red and white one.  First impressions are that it is very heavy and next, it is very wide. Both are expelled as soon as it is moving.   Starting the engine is a simple clutch in, even in neutral, and side stand up. Seat height is low but not as much as I have found on a couple of Harley's I have tested.  The tank however is very wide. it has a sort of leather bib on it t...

The code name for the mission to finally extract the GT from the garage and back on the road. It won't be cheap and although most of the jobs will be achievable by a part way qualified home mechanic, some will need an expert hand.  And that's where my old friend John Storrie comes into the project. John is renowned as Mr Kettle in England. A SOC life member, like me, and also he was a founder member of the Kettle Club. In fact it was at a SOC camping weekend in Oxfordshire that it was born. One that caused some problems back in the day!   19 years ago  For a variety of reasons the project won't happen until the summer as my commitments at weekends don't leave much time. The plan is to get a van with a tail-lift and take the bike and bits across to Oxfordshire. Early start and back the same day. Doable. Now I need to speak to John and discuss what needs to be done to start the project running. I also need to get all the parts I ha...

"What difference a day makes, twenty four little hours" goes the song, or something along those lines! I have been like a child in a sweet shop. Spring is assuredly on its way any time in the next few months and every year I become disturbed by the Dark Side. Last year it by the BMW K1200S that was being sold off at a slight discount (BMW!!) as the new 1300S was in the showrooms. This year it is less simple but all the options have Triumph on the tank! Sense prevailed and the Rocket Touring was sent for the early bath. Next up the Sprint GT, favoured by my brother. Then the Explorer. But why? Okay, my GS is 14 years old in May and already over 10 in my ownership. First registered in 1999 in Bavaria, before being wrenched from the loving hands of some blonde pig-tailed Fräulein. Isolda or some such statuesque figure, now she uses her arm to carry 12 big steins of beer to waiting and thirsty Munchener customers. We can but dream. It has over 810...

Over the years I have had a few "big" bikes.  Size big not just named Big (had one of those as well!) or with a big engine.   Cavalcade and Me! The small picture is the biggest engine I have had to date in the biggest bike, a 1987 Suzuki GV1400GDG LX "Cavalcade".  The photo was taken in 2007 when a friend in the Suzuki Owners Club brought it on a run to let me see it.   I sold it in 1991 as I had been made redundant for the second time in 7 years and simply couldn't afford the luxury of keeping it.  He bought it more recently and restored it to its former glowing glory, and he sold it last year. I should have really have kept it. It would have been a far better prospect for towing a trailer across Europe to my new home for 1992/3 in Brno, Czech Republic. In the end I had to make do with my Suzuki GT750! All nostalgia brings me to the idea of a new bike.  Had I had the cash in pocket I may well have bought the Cavalcade back. ...