Uncle Paulīs My Bikes Page
By Paul Cummings
This page descibes the bikes I have owned over the years and my (brief) thoughts on them. I have written much longer reports on some of them, which may appear on this site at some time, but these can be got from me by mail request (Mail Uncle Paul).
 CB100N, posing soon after I got it. |
My first bike, back in 1983, was a silver Honda CB100N that I bought new. I was a 19 year old student at the time. My parents agreed that I could have it to get motorcycling out of my system. Didn't work Mom! I rode the little 99cc 4-stroke every where, even the 200 miles from my house to university (on 6 litres of petrol - 150 mpg!). The little beast proved to be 100% reliable as I piled up 5100 miles in 10 months averaging 115 mpg. I once saw 74 mph on the clock (down Telegraph Hill - a notoriously long and steep hill just south of Exeter, Devon). |
 CB250N, taken during my first epic tour around Europe (at a campsite in Bonn). |
I sold the CB100 and bought a bigger version of the same, a bright red Honda 1982 CB250N Super Dream. Two years old with just 1100 miles on it and not a speck of dust, yet alone rust. The bike was, to me, comfortably the best looking of the 250s around at the time (being the deluxe model with nicely flaired rear), it was just too damn heavy to be particularly quick (with some old style Mercedes Benz over engineering). Although just as reliable, it had a seat like a plank of wood, which was a real pain (literally!) when touring around Europe on it in 1985. Fuel consumption was a dreadful 56 mpg too, so it had to go after 22 months and 9600 miles. Telegraph Hill was again the scene for my fastest recorded speed of 97 mph |
 GT550, note the leather jacket still wearing well. |
The CB250 was part exchanged for my second new bike - an ugly 1986 Kawasaki GT550G3. This was the first of the lovely metallic blue GTs that are still very common in the cheaper end of the dispatch rider community. This bike was immensely comfortable, it even did 5 mpg more than my previous bike. Although the finish was poor (certainly much, much worse than on my Hondas), I loved it. I kept it for six long years (where it was my only transport for quite a while). I covered around 16600 miles on it (a new job and company car meant I didn't get as many miles riden as I would have liked). |
 VFR750FJ, taken in beautiful Windsor by the Thames. |
Eventually, I was earning too much money and became bored with the GT, so I sold it to a colleague and privately bought a 3000 mile, two year old 1991 Honda VFR750FJ. It was bright red and I fell in love immediately. The wonderful pull, sound and feel from the V4 only added to this. Unfortunately, I left the country to live in italy for a few years. I took the bike, but couldn't trust an italian mechanic with it (you have to live there to really appreciate this). After a few idealic months roaring all over italy with my girlfriend, it had to go. It had covered 6100 miles with me at an average of 44 mpg. Another reason it had to go was italian driving standards and the realisation, when the front wheel hit the ground, that I had pulled a wheelie, through the gears, from start to 100mph. I was getting too italian in my riding. |
 DR350S, taken in darkest frascati whilst I lived there. |
I drove the VFR back to England and part exchanged it for a new Suzuki DR350SM in April 1992. This was white with green and blue graphics, which I thought looked better than the new N model's red and blue graphics and both model's yellow graphics. This was a wonderful introduction to dirtbiking. I even moved house so that the route to work was down a long dirt road! Southern italy had a relaxed attitude to off road biking, so I road all over the place (around frascati, just south of rome). Eventually I came back to Europe and started communting to London - 26 miles each way, including 18 on the M4. The bike coped, but some scrotum decided he wanted it and stole it from outside my house (two days after a full service and 2 hour clean / polish too). The bike managed 11700 miles at an average of 67 mpg, but a woeful top speed of 92 mph. |
 K75S, not taken in italy, but sunny Windsor on a boiling day. |
Three months of bikeless misery was ended when NU paid out and I promptly bought a seven year old, but 3000 mile 1988 BMW K75S. This had been my dream bike when I had the GT, so I had to get it when I saw it gleaming in luscious deep black. The bike, unfortunately, did not live up to my dreams and proved to be a hole in the ground to throw money in. In its time it needed, amongst many other things, a new engine after the old one siezed at 80 mph on a motorway. Not fun. Eventually, with a little money put together and the knowledge that I had some big bills coming up soon, I part exchanged it for my Hornet, which concludes my tale. The brickette managed 27900 miles at 54 mpg, once seeing the heights of 121 mph. |