EVO XR!

Long-time biker, Matt Cain had a dream of building a special Suzuki GSX-R750L Evo… but it started off as a bit of a nightmare…

- MATT CAIN

When I think back to it now, I realise that the purchase of this 1990 GSX-R750 L should have been published under the headline: ‘What not to do when buying or selling a bike…’

You see, I spotted the advert in Facebook and it was listed as a non-runner that had been stored for the last 10 years, and as it was only £1500 I thought I would go and have a look, after all, what harm could that do? I called the seller and arranged to meet him that night – that’s normally a big no-no, right? Add into the mix that it was a winter night and it was cold, dark and raining. He gave me a postcode to meet him at and I was to call him once I was there. It was starting to sound a little bit cloak and dagger for my liking and I was only buying an old air/ oil-cooled GSX-R!

The postcode took me to a back alleyway to a Victorian terrace in a (how should I put this) ‘less desirable’ area of Northampton, where shady people in hoodies quickly passed packages between each other and melted into the darkness. Needless to say, sitting there with £1500 in my pocket, I didn’t feel best at ease…

But, in for a penny, in for 1500 pounds eh? So I called the fella and 10 minutes later he appeared from down the road and jumped into my car. We drove down an old cobbled back alley to a garage where another bloke opened a garage door. By this time the heart rate was up to well above the normal… I was hoping I wasn’t going to get clobbered…