Up until then, I had never seen one of these bikes. I bought this from a very good friend. It had been stored in his Brothers garage for approximately 14 years, never touched or used. It was a time warp.
It still had the helmet lock on the handlebar, the beeper indicator relay, original lens for indicators and so on.
The brakes where seized "off" which was nice, as they always seem to seize "on" when I buy an old bike :)
So here are some pics of the bike complete at that time.
Shortly followed by a complete tear down to make sure all was good. The intention back then was to use the bike through Winter and all year.
It was not going to be restored to showroom, it was to be daily ride. (Well, that was the plan)
The original Kawasaki exhausts where still present, sadly they where too far rusted internally to save.
1997 road tax disc for UK still on bike, along with weeping fork oil on tyre.
So within days I started the tear down of the bike, it was in good shape but needed a full inspection and rebuild of key parts such as brakes, forks, electrics. It would start but not run. Seems the carbs where a little "gummed" too.
During the tear down, this little part had me wondering what it was for quite some time.
Some spiders where found behind the clocks, also inside the tachometer :)
By September 2011 the bike was ready to be put back together.
Then on the 29th September 2011, the bike was presented for UK MOT, it passed of course :)
New tyres, new exhausts, new fork seals, many hours of work. It was fun. I rode the bike all through the Winter, snow, ice and plenty of rain. I really liked how this bike delivered it's power so smoothly, the torque was fantastic, she rides very good.
Of course the bike was not for full restoration, no powder coating, no new stainless parts etc. Just tidy and reliable. Well that all changed, as you will soon see in part 2 of the story ;)
