Page 27 - Shining On Newsletter - Autumn 2022

his spare time - an ‘in yer face’ bright yellow cafe racer styled Honda CB750F. By now I was in love with
Honda fours so I had to have it!

This was rather modified from stock – it had a single (plank-like) racing seat (it would take two only if you
were very good friends - or brothers), low clip-on bars, and a half fairing, all bright yellow. It had bigger
jets, K&Ns and 4-into-2 VERY LOUD open Dunstall megaphones! Not exactly unobtrusive. The pic is me
(yes really, when I still had hair!) and my brother and father (who I now look like), both now sadly
departed. In short, it was a state-of-the-art (70’s style) café racer. Hardly seriously tweaked - it still had
stock suspension and brakes - but it didn’t need to be to go the fastest I’d ever gone before! It had one
tooth off at the front for better acceleration and would pull wheelies if I wasn’t careful. I even managed to
find matching one-piece racing leathers I could just squeeze into - complete with the obligatory Ace Café
badge!

Despite the look and the sound and the speed it was a big sheep in wolf’s clothing. Wheelie-popping
power yes, but also lovely and effortless to ride at any speed, easy handling, wonderfully light clutch and
throttle, great brakes, and 100% reliable too. The engine would seemingly rev to infinity but also had
enough torque to short shift and bimble when desired. It was also a tad too tall for me and had a terrible
turning circle - three- or even five-point turns were required on narrow roads, and I regularly dropped it in
pub car parks (to mass amusement)! Plus the hunched riding stance crippled me on a long run.

By now I was living with Jane, who still ran the CD175. With 3 in the barn at once, I was really into my
Hondas in those days! But life was about to play it’s tricks. Jane and I went our separate ways after
Kathmandu, and with her went the CD175 and all our pooled savings! I’d sold the CB750 before VSO so
that money had gone too, and my dispatch riding ended when I broke the CB550 smacking into a car
with no lights on at night in fog (ouch)! Suddenly I was alone, injured, broke, and worst of all bikeless!

Fortunately it didn’t take me long to get myself together, and soon I’d met the mother of my children, Jo,
moved into a little 2 up 2 down in S London, and signed up as a mature student for a degree at King’s

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