Page last modified: 09/03/08

Motorcycling Memories - Past to Present

by Colin Ford

Sometimes when I swing my leg over the GS650 (or somehow manage to slide it over the saddle) I get to thinking, about the times past when in my young manhood I used to ride, and ride, and ride regardless of weather. As I lived in Wales the weather was a constant challenge. I started riding like so many others of my generation, as a necessity. So this is my story.

It started, some fifty years ago, with a young lad in South Wales, who was fed up with pedaling his bike six miles to work, and six miles home again; every day, in all weather. This lad vowed that as soon as he could afford to put some power between his legs he would never pedal a bike again.

Soon this lad grew into me, and at about seventeen I scraped £15 together and got my first motorbike, a 1935 BSA 500cc single. I had one hell of a time starting it, and once it got going it had a top speed about 40 mph. Mind you it was a long stroke thumper and would do 40mph up vertical walls! It really used to tick me off when, after a number of unsuccessful tries at kicking it over, a complete stranger would come over, offer to try, and get it going first time!

It went to be replaced by a 1926 Francis Barnett 197cc. This was a darling. It had a Villiers two stroke engine, and had the main top frame tube on top of the tank. You know, you've seen them in antique motorcycle magazines. Hey, it really worked well; it even had the gearshift on the tank by my right hand. To change gear: left hand pull in the clutch, right hand, release the throttle, select gear, throttle up, then release the clutch, pull away. Simple yes? Slow yes? Well life was slow then too.

Then came my C11 BSA 250cc. A great machine, which took me many thousands of miles, from one end of Britain to the other, including many, many miles off road. Remember in those days a 500cc was a big bike. A 350 was the most popular and a 250 was a good general purpose bike; good enough for the highway and light enough for off road. Speed and power were not an issue then, gas mileage was. I then jointly owned a DOT 197cc trials bike, and did some scrambling, now called Motocross, did some trials riding too. During this time I also did some road racing on a 1937 Rudge 350 as a rider for a friend of mine. He had one accident too many and couldn't ride anymore. Didn't stop him racing though. It was short circuit stuff, and I didn't do too well. But had a ball until I had a rather spectacular accident which ended up with me flying through the air and landing very painfully. You know my current Suzuki GS650GL would have left it in the dust. And a 2001 GSX705R would have left any race bike of that era gasping in disbelief. Mind you it does that now! My last bike was a 1953 AJS 500 twin; a wonderful bike with lots of power, and a delight to ride on for hours at a stretch.

My Morgan with a 1000cc V twin Matchless engine

The along came this girl and, well you know what came next. Two wheels became three, as in my 1925/7 Morgan three-wheeler. One of my many regrets is the fact I don't have very many pictures of my early machines, and I do have one decent picture of the Morgan . The Morgan was two bikes (not too good ones at that) rebuilt into one decent one. Finally I sold the parts for more than the running one. Anyway the girlfriend became my wife, and a career called. Just after we got married we bought a 1962 Lambretta Li 150cc scooter. This was a useful machine, and it took the three of us many miles. Three? Yup, my wife on the back seat, the dog on her lap, head on my shoulder, and me up front. (My wife and I spent a month in Portugal in 2001, and it was interesting to see so many scooters, often with three people on them. Dad riding, mum behind, and junior standing on the footdeck holding onto the handle bars). Then came a company car and you know the rest. In 1967 we moved from England to Alberta in Canada

I retired a few years ago, and we moved to the beautiful Kootenays in Southwestern British Columbia. After a few years we became concerned with the cost of gas in our gas guzzling four-wheel drive big van. One day I was out looking at some old bikes somehow they seemed much larger than I remembered them. While there a guy came in on a scooter. We got talking and he told me that his wife had a moped for sale; his scooter wasn't. Saw the moped, bought it, regretted it. Remember the bit where I said never would I pedal a bike again? Well it still held true.

1982 Vespa Caio Moped

The town where I live is quite hilly and the poor Vespa moped had a very weak, like 1.25hp, 50cc motor. It went, and I got a neat little Yamaha BWS-R 50cc scooter. This was a different thing altogether. It was more than powerful enough for the hills, even two up, but was restricted to 30mph. This meant that I didn't need a motorcycle license; I had let mine lapse when I came to Canada. Then I learned I could upgrade the BWS, so I sent to Wales, strangely my old home town of Newport, and got a 70cc cylinder kit for the Yamaha BWS, (know as a Zuma in the States). That, with a new tuned exhaust and de-restricted CDI, meant it would do 55-60mph. The only problem now was the small size of the gas tank, so I added a second one from an old RM 80 dirt bike. I now started to go places, like 150 mile trips. The guy, who's wife sold me the moped, decided to sell his scooter, a Honda Elite 250. Now this was a scooter!

1998 Yamaha BWS-R c/w extra Gas tank and soft bags
that were carrying cases for a huge old laptop computer.
The V-Twin? Painted on the toolbox. Fooled a lot of folk.
The real engine is under the seat with the gas tank.

Sold the Yamaha and bought the Honda 250. When I got the Yamaha I also got a Suzuki GS650GL from a guy who owed me some favors and this was his payment. The trouble was I didn't have my motorcycle license. Now I had a 250cc scooter I had to get one so I did; (that's another story). I tried to ride the 650 but I had hurt my hip and it was so much larger than I remembered. It is top heavy, and to learn the maneuvers to pass the test wasn't on. Then came the 250, and the test wasn't a problem. Passed first time!

I enjoyed the Honda Elite 250 very much; it is a good machine. I rode it in all weathers and had little or no trouble with it. Then I took it for a long ride; like 1500 miles long. I went down through Idaho into Oregon, across to Portland, and then back through Washington. Three days and it was great. Go back to the border, and the starter motor quit right at the Canadian border post; six miles from home! It took six weeks to get a new starter motor and in the meantime I got the GS650 out and started riding it. Now I had my license I could get out of first gear.

The 1985 Honda Elite 250cc scooter
dressed up with a trunk and hard bags.
Ready to travel. Even had a sheepskin,
which now sits of the GS650

Next spring the Honda went and I cleaned up the GS650. So now I am back where I started many years ago with a real bike, and lots of places to go. I ride with a group of great guys who are also retired. They have Goldwings, Harleys, and other big bikes, but mine is the best. Why? Because I made it into my bike. When I got it. it was a filthy piece of machinery, but at least it was a working piece of machinery. When I had cleaned it up, I painted it with spray cans, and gold pin striping. Though I say it my self, it looked really good. Then I rode it, and rode it. But what I really wanted was a touring bike, so I visited a salvage yard and over a period of time got a Windjammer Fairing, a Vetter trunk, and hard bags. I also made leg shields, and added a radio/cassette player my son gave me from his Honda Civic when he put in a "better" after market one. Now I have a touring bike, I realize this is what I wanted when I first added the extra gas tank to the 50cc scooter, and the hard bags to the 250. Took a bit of time from the moped to the GS, but the trip was worth it. Ain't life grand?

The Koot Scoot aka 1982 GS650GL