Honda CB900

Four Cylinder 900cc 4-stroke Road

This was a workmates bike - he gave me a ride, I loved it and bought it. Nice meaty powerband, good two-up, with some nervousness at speed. My first bike with an O-ring chain - a godsend, no more constant adjusts, no more oiling every 5 minutes. Bent a con-rod after a mishap where the bike got a gut-full of water, re-built it and did the longest which run for this bike, being Sydney-Townsville. When pulling the bike apart to replace the con-rod, I got a good look at the engineering. Bearings were used sparingly - obviously only where essential. I decided that Honda were the masters of mass production.

BMW R65LS

Twin Cylinder 650cc 4-stroke Road

Suzuki DR250

Single Cylinder 250cc 4-stroke Trail

The DR was a great, genuine 50/50 trail bike. The motor was a beauty as it ran like a dream and gave good economy - never less than 80 mpg (3.5 l/100km) and typically 112 mpg (2.5 l/100km) on the highway. Performance in the dirt was OK for a trail bike, the rear bottomed a lot if you got too excited!

Suzuki GSX750S Katana

Four Cylinder 750cc 4-stroke Road

The "Pop-up" Katana was a good allrounder. Not the king of sports bikes, but had a relaxed powerband, good brakes, and sharp steering thanks to the 16" front wheel. the bike handled well, nervous front end problems (the dirth of 16" fronts) did become evident once the front tyre was worn about 40%. Styling was distinctive, in the Katana mould. You love it or hate it. I loved it, my wife hated it. The pop-up headlight added to the style, but wasn't that practical. Longest run was Sydney-Rutherglen.

Kawasaki KLR650

Single Cylinder 650cc 4-stroke Trail

The KLR was bought as a road/commuter single, rather than trail. This was lucky as it wasn't much good on dirt roads (the rear just didn't work - perhaps not aided by a 17" wheel). It's failing as a road bike was that it had a 21" front wheel (limited tyre choice) and not a lot of front brake. It was a fantastic commuter, lane splitting, weaving through stationary traffic, riding over gutters and dividing lanes were all a cinch on the KLR. It also had very good punch into into gaps and from the lights.

Suzuki TS250X

Single Cylinder 250cc 2-stroke Trail

The TS250X had a water cooled engine with plenty of power for a 250 trail bike (33 bhp). I guess it was 65% trail, 35% road. On the road it suffered badly from the standard problem of long travel suspension - excessive dive under brakes. In the dirt it was OK trail riding but was not happy when taken to a couple of club enduros. I made a big mistake of riding this bike Sydney-Brisbane (because I wanted to do some trail riding and commuting around Brisbane whilst on a job there). The bike performed well, but the thin seat was one of the most painful experiences of my life! Even with a sheepskin!

Honda XR250J

Single Cylinder 250cc 4-stroke Enduro

The XR250 didn't have the power of the TS250X, but it had better suspension and frame. I have owned this bike for about 10 years now, and it has done just about everything I have asked of it. It has done trail riding, the odd commute, and several enduros and cross countries. It has been extremely reliable and is ultra easy to ride terrifying up-hills. This model is the first model with an additional oil cooler mounted on the front of the frame.

90's.....

Honda VFR750FL

Four Cylinder 750cc 4-stroke Road

Another excellent bike! The first model with the single sided swing arm, it had a sweet engine that sounded and performed to perfection. While the engine did not have the horsepower of some more sports orientated bikes, it had enough to be dangerous, and had a real-life powerband. The suspension was a bit soft, the conventional forks bottomed under brakes and the rear bottomed when travelling quickly on back roads. This was the first bike that I have owned with radials:- a revolution in stability, long life, and high price!

Kawasaki KDX200

Single Cylinder 200cc 2-stroke Enduro

This was a very effective enduro bike, bought to replace the XR250 in that role. Lighter, more powerful, and with better suspension, the KDX was better at the XR for everything, except killer up-hills and trail riding. Downhills were 200% better on the KDX. This was the non-ADR-compliant model, the compliant model had a steel tank, among other differences. The bike in the picture was a bit dirty, check out more dirt at MUD.

21st Century...

Honda VFR800 '05

Four Cylinder 800cc 4-stroke Road

Q. How much progress in 15 years of VFR's?
A. Not that much.

Not to say it isn't a great bike though. Fits like a glove, and does the VFR thing - to blend sport and touring well...I like it..and it still has that unreplaceable V4 character and compactness.

Suspension/handling is better.
Engine... well, it has chain driven cams now, so the cool gear whine is lost. And It now has "VTEC", which for Honda cars was variable valve timing, but in VFR's they switch between 2 valve-per-cylinder for operation below 7000 rpm, to 4 valves-per-cylinder above 7000 rpm. Result is a sharp switch at 7000 from a smooth sophisticated engine to a hard sounding rever, with a real kick in power. It can be a little annoying, mostly so if you are travelling around the 160 - 170 kph mark, when it's surging in and out. It's also most welcome when it kicks in while passing some traffic. But, in the end, I think it's just unnecessary. Maybe real variable valve timing may have been of benefit...maybe the VFR implementation of VTEC may produce some theoretical advantage...it does seem to get good fuel economy while gently cruising...but in practice the transition is too sudden, too harsh. Not to say it isn't a great bike though!! I love riding it.

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