I started with a Honda CG125 (single cylinder 4-stroke). I only bought it because I couldn't drive and wanted my own transport. It was a stop-gap until I could get driving lessons and a car. i didn't know anyone who had a bike and had no previous interest. The day I picked it up from the shop, the guy strapped on some L plates, showed me the controls, started it for me, and walked back inside. Without any training, I was now on the roads. I managed to gt it half way home before I stalled it and then pushed the rest of the way. Within a couple of weeks, I was making 8 mile round trips to the borders and within a couple of months I had started strapping on a tent/sleeping bat etc and heading off to the Highlands.
(Not mine but it looked like this)
I was starting to get a bit "aggressive" with it and came off a couple of times when cornering as the stand would dig into the road. I partially resolved that by taking a saw to it!
Once I passed my test, I bought a Suzuki GS400. Much nicer thing to ride. came from the first wave of Suzuki 4 strokes. Did lots more camping etc with it. It was eventually written off after I hit an oil patch in the middle of Perth and slid off. As I bent over to pick the bike up I noticed some flames licking towards it and scarpered. I never did receive a bill from the council for the burnt tarmac ;-)
That's my bike on the right
Loch Lomond by
Colin Cadden, on Flickr
To replace the GS400, I bought a GS750. The best deal was a shop in London so I got the train down and the "sleeper train" back (it had a big guards van). I only had a seat, there was no heating and it was November. Possibly the most miserable nights travel I've ever had. I started to get a lot further though, including to the south of France for the Bol d'Or.
Contin - Riverside Campsite by
Colin Cadden, on Flickr
My eye was then taken by things Italian. There were a few 500 V-twins around, including a Morini. They had a fantastic little 350 and made a 500 based on that.
Morini by
Colin Cadden, on Flickr
It was beautiful to ride, but.... I was travelling up the M6 near Penrith when the engine just went BANG!. Turned out the rear piston had launched itself. Warranty job then....
Got it fixed. A few months later I was riding it back from Glasgow on the M8 and BANG! again. Back for warranty. The explanation I was later given was that the fuel balance pipe between the two carbs was too small in diameter and the rear would run lean as a result. The solution was to have both the main and reserves taps switched on. In any case, I no longer had any faith in it, so moved on....
While the warranty work was being done, I bought myself a Suzuki RV125.
Yes, it's a fatbike!!!
Having enjoyed the Morini (when it worked) I set my sights on a Mk 2 Le Mans. A mate and I went up to Fife for a test ride day. He took out a Ducati Darmah and I took the Le Mans. Half way round, we swapped. We both bought Darmahs.
img008 by
Colin Cadden, on Flickr
That's it with a Dunstall fairing I painted up to match.
That's me airborne on the old road near Arisiag.
Really lovely bike. Did another trip to France with it and we visited the Ducati factory after the Bol d'Or. They treated us like kings, giving us a tour, a lunch and both bikes got a free service with new chain, sprockets etc.
I was then living in London and the bike not getting used much so it succumbed to the legendary Ducati rot when sitting outside. So, I started thinking a bot a replacement.
Suzuki had just appeared at one of the bike shows with this outrageous looking silver 1100. They'd only planned it as a concept/show bike but the reaction was so good they decided to put it into production.
Kat-Crop by
Colin Cadden, on Flickr
It's really impossible to describe the reaction the Katana got. I could leave it parked somewhere and it would stop folk in their tracks. Just passers-by, not necessarily motorbike folks. Did my fastest ever road speed with this. After a night shift (back in Edinburgh by now) I took it onto the "yet to be completed" Edinburgh bypass and saw (indicated) 140mph.
Then I got married.
Motorbiking became less and less a thing for me so I decided I wanted more of an occasional toy.
The Suzuki 250 Gamma was a proper buzz-bomb. You could thrash it all day without necessarily going at hyper-speed and it would sail around the inside or outside of much bigger, faster bikes. It led to some friendly "competition" when out with mates. It was too "buzzy" for longer trips though and I started to hanker after something else.
I ended up up with another Ducati. Got a deal on a Pantah 600. (unfortunately I can't find any photos of it but looked like this)
It had an after-market exhaust that was loud in this country and completely blew the minds of the very-strict Germans when I had it across there.
And then , the last one before I jacked it all in
(again- not mine).
Smooooth as silk, but seemed to have lost something from the older, air-cooled Ducatis. I think I had it for three years then, when the insurance reminder came in one year, I realised I'd only ridden it maybe 3 or 4 times since the last year. I'd moved on to hillwalking/Munro bagging and just didn't need one more expensive toy in my garage.