RD125LC – My Mum’s Bike

This is my Mum’s motorbike but when I was 17 I started to ride it, at the same time I had a DT125LC so I had a few spares. We still have the bike but it is showing signs that we have not looked after it for a few years. This bike has had me off twice and that was due to me rider error both times.

Its an RD125LC Mk1 with Mk2 Wheels and Forks and TZR fairing. I want to restore this one day and get it back onto the road. It was a stonking little bike that even with my weight on it it would still get up to decent speeds.

My Mum rode this bike to the Isle of Man one year for the Manx Grand Prix. It got borrowed by a rider who was a newcomer and wanted to ride the course that year to get used to the Island. She loved it, it was doing about 115mph at times and she overtook a few guys on bigger sports bikes. Gayle was only little anyway and raced on 125cc bikes so she was rather quick.

The bike is a bright purple so it used to get the name ”The Purple People Eater”.

DT50 MX – My first Road Bike

I dont have many pictures of this bike as digital cameras were still quite new then and film was just expensive. But this bike I used for my CBT on my birthday when I was 16.

I later rode it all over the place even on a Long Distance Trial.

The picture was from one April when it snowed and the condition of the bike when I got it home. It was a standard DT but my dad had found a big trail bike kit which was just some plastics but they did make it look different.

Land Rover Defender 110

So with the Discovery engine turning into a rather expensive steam engine, well if you opened the oil cover it made a chuff chuff noise.

So I bought a Defender 110 in green, just as they were at there most expensive.

Matchelss G3LS ’61

My new toy, 1961 Matchless G3 348cc. I have been told this was part of the Dutch Army, I still have to do some research into this bike. But for now I am happy to just clean it. Once I get the docs back from the DVLA I will then move to get age related plates then it will be MOT tested and insured.

I did try to ride it to an MOT but it broke down 50yds from the MOT bay. It was misfiring all the way there. Turns out the valve spring had broke so I have replaced both of them. I also found a few bolts that hold the head on had been over tightened so the threads were messed up. Also, both the push rods were in too tight so one of the rocker arms has worn. All replaced and ready for an MOT.

From the pictures you might have guessed its had another issue. On the way back from Wales one April several years ago the engine lost compression, the piston had fallen to bits and rattled about the engine. It awaits my dad to put back together as he took it apart and knows where the bits go.

AJS 350cc 1957

The story so far.

I bought this bike off a local family as the owner had passed away and they didn’t know what to do with it. It is taking a while to restore but I plan to get it back on the road and to use it as the touring bike. This would then allow me to set the Matchless up as a trail/trials bike.

Suzuki – DR350 441cc

I owned a DR350 that had been tricked out with a few mods. The major mod was a conversion to 441cc this gave the bike a fair bit more power. It also had Showa upsidedown forks, the rear shock had a stiffer spring and it had been raised.

The bike was too tall for me so I used to struggle when it came to tricky stuff because I was constantly worried about touching the ground. Also because of the extra power the gearbox had become too short for regular use, I was constantly having to change gear. I did try changing the rear sprocket but that just made it hard to ride the bike slowly in first gear.

Then I had an accident on my road bike, which messed my right leg up so I stayed away from off-road stuff for a while. So the bike got sold as it was just in the corner not being used.

Kawasaki KLR650 A1

Originally bought as a spares bike for the Moose it turned out to be a brilliant bike with good oil consumption (for a KLR) and handled a dream.