Suzuki TS400 Apache part 4 Indian country!

Thanks to the internet Scoop is able to inspect his latest purchase remotely!

- STEVE COOPER

Thank heavens formates, that’s all I can say! My good friend Simon Neil had kindly volunteered to act as ‘my agent’ and deal with the seller of the Suzuki TS400.

Even better, he’d also offered to home the bike while I arranged onward transport. That meant the bike was out from under the feet of Chris the seller who was in the process of moving home along with all his bikes. Between the three of us we’d agreed that it made sense to ensure that rather spiffing paint job was out of harm’s way and in Simon’s garage. If you’re going to buy a bike from overseas be aware that banks are in the business of making money out of your money. My bank charged a fee, as did Simon’s, along with a so-called intermediary bank; all of which meant the transaction was around the same level of expense as using PayPal. They’re all in it together, I reckon!

So, diaries synchronised, the Apache was loaded on Chris’s pick-up and shuttled from just outside Atlanta, Georgia, to just southeast of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Progress was being made – well, to a point. Chris’s pick-up truck had thrown a hissy fit for some reason and in his rush to fix it, load up the bike and all the spares he’d forgotten the spare engine that came as part of the deal along with some other, potentially useful, parts. No problem apparently, as the spares cache will be acquired in due course. The good news is that the bike is definitely in better condition than just ok. Simon had the opportunity on a lazy Sunday following delivery to crawl over the Apache and make an inventory of pros and cons, taking some images to help me with some forward planning.

CONS