A noraks are, as I’m sure you’re aware, people, usually men, who know so much about a given subject that they’re unable to stop themselves from trying to educate those around them, and seem almost perpetually surprised when people make their excuses and walk away mid-lecture. Well, the sensible ones do, anyway. Those of us too polite to do so (waves regretfully), just stand there and listen, our brains slowly dribbling out of our ears. Sadly, there are lot of them, a hell of a lot of them, in the bike world, and for the next minute or so I’m going to become one of them, expounding on the history of the Japanese motorcycle. Think of me like this for a moment – Dwayne Dibbley with dreadlocks and a pillow up his jumper…
Did you know that the GS series was Suzuki Motor Corporation’s first full range of four-stroke motorcycles? From the 36cc Power Free of 1952 right up to the flagship GT750 water-cooled triple of 1971-77, they’d almost exclusively manufactured two-stroke machines. They had, granted, produced the Colleda COX (unfortunate name) 125cc, and various 93cc 4-stroke single-cylinders, in 1955, but everything else in their range, right up until the launch of the GS750 in 1976/77, was a stink wheel. The GS750 was followed six months later by the GS550, which was made right up until 1986, and it was these two bikes alone that, it’s reckoned, gave rise to the term ‘UJM’ –Universal Japanese Motorcycle.
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THE SLED
IâM A SEMI-PRO SHED BUILDER, WHO BUILDS UNDER THE NAME DIRTY DICKâS⊠I SAY âSEMIPROâ BECAUSE IâVE ONLY, AT THE TIME OF WRITING, SOLD TWO BIKES (AND, USUALLY, I GET PAID IN BEER FOR ANY OTHER WORK I DO).
THE CHIEF
I BOUGHT MY ENFIELD, A 2001 350 BULLET, IN SHROPSHIRE IN JUNE 2019, WITH JUST 11,000 MILES ON THE CLOCK. IT WAS IN TRIALS TRIM, BUT I ALREADY HAD IN MY HEAD WHAT I WANTED TO DO WITH IT â MAKE IT INTO A â50S-STYLE CUSTOM, BASED LOOSELY AROUND AN INDIAN SCOUT THAT IâD SEEN PICTURES OF.
MADE O'GUBBINS
OVER THE LAST YEAR OR SO, MANY OF USâVE HAD TO FOREGO THE JOY OF SEARCHING FOR PARTS AT AUTO-JUMBLES, SHOWS AND BREAKERâS YARDS, RELYING ON EITHER THE HIT-AND-MISS OF INTERNET AUCTION SITES, OR TURNING TO OUR OWN STOCK OF PARTS, WHEN LOOKING AT BUILDING OR MODIFYING A BIKE.
BUDGET BOBBER
PEOPLE ALWAYS SAY CUSTOM BIKESâRE EXPENSIVE, THAT ONLY THE RICH CAN HAVE âEM, BUT IF YOU REALLY WANT ONE THEREâS ALWAYS A WAYâŠ
LEAF IT OUT
THE SUZUKI LS650 IS PERHAPS BEST KNOWN FOR HAVING ONE OF THE LEAST SUITED AND MOST RANDOM MODEL NAMES IN MOTORCYCLING HISTORY â THE SAVAGE.
SIZE O
I DECIDED I NEEDED A BIKE FOR MYSELF AS A KEEPER (RATHER THAN THE USUAL BUILD IT, SELL IT, FUND THE NEXT ONE), BUT TIME AND FUNDS WERE GOING TO GET TIGHT. I WANTED A â60S/â70S-STYLE HARDTAIL WITH A DECENT-SIZED MOTOR, SINGLE OR TWIN, AND SOMETHING I DIDNâT HAVE TO DO ANY FRAME MODIFICATIONS TO.
LITTLE VICTORIES
SOME FOLK SAY WORKâS A NECESSARY EVIL, OTHERS MAKE THE MOST OF THEIR SITUATION. A GOOD FRIEND ONCE SAID TO ME THAT ITâS THE LITTLE VICTORIES THAT COUNT WHEN AT WORK, USING THEIR MACHINERY TO MAKE BIKE PARTS, BLAGGING FREE STATIONARY, OR JUST HAVING A POO ON THEIR TIMEâŠ
BACK TO THE EIGHTIES!
AFTER THE STYLISTIC EXCESSES OF THE 1970S, THE 1980S SAW A KIND OF DIRECTION CHANGE IN CUSTOM BIKE BUILDING â ONE WHICH RESULTED IN NO SMALL PART FROM THE ABUNDANCE OF FAST, RELIABLE FOUR-CYLINDER MOTORCYCLES FROM THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN.
APPLE
MY GOAL WAS TO CREATE A CAFÃ RACER WITH STYLING FROM THE FIFTIES â ROUND CURVES THATâD MAKE IT POP.
3 DIRT DIGGERS
OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS DIRT DIGGERS, HELD AT THE EDDIE WRIGHT SPEEDWAY STADIUM IN SCUNTHORPE, HAS BECOME THE NUMBER ONE, ALL-COMERS-WELCOME BIKE RACE IN THE UK.
