Ebay

I don't have any pictures of my own bike; the one opposite was from an Ebay sale, but looking at it brings back many memories. This was my "first tour of duty" on a motorcycle and I quickly found that I loved every minute of it.

Even today I can look at people with obviously new bikes who are just starting out, and from the grin on their faces, I know exactly how they feel. I soon added a rack, top box, front crash bars and a pillion backrest, and removed the canvas panniers which came with the bike from new.

How I passed my driving "L" Test I don't know, but I went all over the country on the CB125s, including a 400 mile, two-up trip from Leicester to Bognor Regis in August 1973, with camping gear. Needless to say, this trip took a long time and wasn't very comfortable, especially for Steve Thorne, the passenger. The bike clocked up 15,000 miles before the piston seized and I part-exchanged it for a CD175, RJF944M; I just missed the last CB175. I bought it from Derek Hulbert's, a motorcycle dealer on Green Lane Road, Evington, Leicester.

This ugly duckling of a bike served me rather well. I clocked up 24,000 miles on it between early 1974 and mid 1976, including a trip to Paris. It rumbled along at 60 mph, drank petrol at about 70 mpg and I learned all about engines by working on it, first simple stuff like tappets and cam chain adjustment, then complete engine work. It always went back together and it ran without complaint even after my early inexpert spannering.

It had only four gears and no electric start, the 6 volt lights were atrocious, and it vibrated. However, the enclosed chain was a godsend in disguise as I only had to change it once it in all the miles it did. Notice the front number plate - this was a legal requirement in those days. I removed it when front number plates for motorcycles were abolished.

I forget how many times I crashed it, must have been at least half a dozen times, again without any major injury or damage. At this time I was doing a lot of ice skating and seemed to be burbling happily up the Six Hills Road between Leicester and Nottingham Ice Stadium at least twice a week.

Several girlfriends occupied the pillion seat, but the most memorable was the lovely Maria Dorne Wort (now Crane) then of Cherry Willingham, now of Kirk Michael, Isle of Man.

I sold the CD175 in mid March 1976 because I left home and couldn't afford to keep it on; it was still 'alive' until October 1989. There was then a painful no-bike period until early summer 1979. Anyone who's experienced the dreadful craving to get back on a motorcycle will know exactly how I felt, and how pleased I was to be able to afford another one again. I still had all my riding kit, fortunately.

This picture dates from summer 1980 and shows my third bike, the Honda CB400T "Dream" TRY407S that I bought from Ken Ives Honda on Loughborough Road, Leicester. I paid £750 for it, and it represents (along with a second 400T) my "second tour of duty". Here it has the extras I added; rack, top box, nose fairing.

The 400T acquired the name "Creaking Door" and it was an easy bike to ride - electric start, decent lights, and I gradually added bits to it as you see in the photo. Performance was good for a 4 stroke 400 - it would cruise comfortably at 70 and returned 50-55 mpg. Handling was a little adventurous but improved markedly once I'd added harder rear shocks.

This is an engine closeup of the 2nd CB400T I owned, UUT235S, after I'd resprayed the side panels and tank. The 400 Dream / Superdream engine was a real good one. It was a 360 degree crank, saving on coil and ignition costs, but the motor had chain driven bobweights to rotate in the opposite direction, and the vibration was very low. This bike was untaxed and 'dead' by November 1983.

My first wife Fiona had a CB125s TWS555T (this was 'dead' by August 1986) when we first started dating. Later she had a CB250N Superdream GJF939V ('dead' by July 1999) and after passing her test, a CB400NA Superdream ONR349W ('dead' by March 1987) which was a much better bike all round. After that she had a VT500 A858FFP ( 'dead' by February 1995) and she still had that when we separated in September 1986. Her second husband, Paul White, also had several bikes, a CB400N, a CB650, and later an XJ650. I hope they're both enjoying their motorcycling in Market Harborough.

Here it is parked in the garage area at the rear of the house at Broughton Astley, Leicestershire, and pretty much as I used it throughout its time with me. Later I changed the top box and the extension to the windscreen Its official name was "Desdichado", but was usually known as "Henry".

This bike completely fitted me, not just physically, but mentally as well, because it matched my riding style. I had fourteen years of pure motorcycling joy out of it, and developed a lifelong love affair with the CX500. FET800V and I went all over England, including Jersey, and I had not one iota of trouble with it in 34,000 miles. It had a very pleasing life, as it was only used in dry summer weather; I kept the 400T for instructing (I was a Star Rider Gold / Advanced instructor {AMI 2983}, later a Part One Test Examiner {AME2983}, for seven years) and it hibernated in the winter.

It started completely standard and I added various extras over the years I had it. This picture shows the crash bars, spotlights and handlebar fairing in a more close-up view.

I changed the cam chain and decoked it at about 30,000 miles but this was purely preventative maintenance and apart from regular oil and filter changes I never really lifted a spanner in anger in 14 years. The most serious problem I ever had with it was a blown main fuse - mind you this was on a dark moonless summer night, whizzing down some country roads near Hastings!

I once had to bale out at 70mph on the M1 due to a burst front tyre, but as luck would have it, I'd been shown how to do this only a day or so before, and was fortunate to survive practically unscathed. The bike was laid down on its crash bars which were of course wrecked, and I lost a spotlight, a mirror and an indicator. I repaired the puncture and rode the bike home and simply replaced the crash bars and broken bits.

(In April 2006 I was given back the rear crash bars!)

The snap, taken in summer 1982, shows the Honda CBX550F1 which I bought from new. I don't quite know what made me buy it, as I found that I didn't like it at all. When we unexpectedly had the chance to buy our first car (a Ford Fiesta) a few months later, I was pleased to sell it. The bike's only saving grace was a terrifically punchy engine and equally astonishing brakes. But it just didn't fit my riding style, and I didn't miss it afterwards. YFP929Y was the registration number. It was 'dead' by November 1999.

Here it is shown immediately after Roy Woods Motorcycles of Hinckley built it. Although I no longer owned the 400 Dreams by then, afterwards I kept the CX500 in storage at a friend's house throughout two house moves whilst I married again and settled at Anstey in Leicestershire. Then it came home, but financial restraints kept it of the road, I just cranked up the engine from time to time.

Here are some photographs, originally taken on colour print or slide film and which I've recently scanned. They show various bike friends of the 1980s era.

(left) Alan Hambly, one of my Star Rider Instructors, choosing a CX500, 1983-ish and (right, L-R) first wife Fiona J Davis (formerly Fiona J Evans of Tockington, Bristol; now Fiona J White of Market Harborough), Craig Timson, Jon Styles, Glyn, self - 1980/1-ish, in a pub on the Beeby Bends, Leicestershire, a favourite bike road of the day. In those days we hadn't learned not to drink and drive.

Dave Padfield on his new CX500B - 1982. Dave, a fellow Star Rider Instructor, was technically disabled due to an ankle problem; he actually carried crutches on his bike, which had a Disabled Badge. This caused some consternation with Traffic Wardens when he used to legally park it in 'Disabled' bays.

This is Keith Hart, then a motorcycle Instructor with the West Midlands Police. He was my mentor and Training Officer with Star Rider. We had many good times together on bikes and other assorted functions, and I learned a great deal from him about motorcycles and how to both ride and teach how to ride them.

In return I introduced him to computers, starting off with the Oric Atmos I had at the time. I had it - still working - until April 2021, when it was sold to an Oric enthusiast.

Keith is now a professional magician and entertainer

... and can be seen here !

David Kerr, a forner CX owner from nearby Whitchurch, had seen a CX500 near Oswestry whilst looking for a project machine. After his visit, he found these web pages and recognised FET800V as the bike he had seen. On August 6th 2003, 8½ years after I sold it, I saw the bike again.

It was perfectly recognisable as mine. It still had the mirrors, rack, crash bars, front mudguard, handlebar grips I fitted to it in the 1980s, and there were even traces of the red engine paint! It didn't have the flyscreen - that has been fitted to both of the subsequent CXs I owned, and removed again when they had windscreens fitted!. But I still have the flyscreen.

Clearly it was well looked after whilst in other hands. We didn't start the engine, as there was no coolant in the radiator, but it looked almost exactly as it did when I sold it, apart from having another 30,000 miles on the clock and a few minor additional blemishes. I was really pleased to see it again and in such good health. It served me so well that I'd hate to think of it in bad hands. How curious that having sold it in Leicester, it turned up only 30 miles from where we now live in Telford.

FURTHER UPDATE April 2006

David very unthinkingly sold this bike about 18 months ago to Steven Bayes, of my area of Telford and about 1/4 of a mile from where I live! Can you believe that kind of coincidence? I tried to contact Steven, but he moved away "up north" in 2005.

Where are you now, FET800V?

If the current owner or anyone else knows where it is, please get in touch with me.

FET800V came up for sale on Gumtree in late 2016. I'd be delighted to hear from the new owner. The bike has been SORNed, as per the screen above.

Anyway ... back to the story ...

Then followed another "lean and hungry bike wilderness" and every year it was dreadful to watch the riders coming out in April & May to enjoy the summers on two wheels. Every year it was "this year I'm going to do it..." but that was a dream until 2002.

Third Tour - Easter 2002

Spring 2002 was the worst bike-fever time I ever had and I was absolutely determined to get back on a motorcycle again ... and if I could find another CX500, so much the better. I started looking and after one disappointment, found LUD297W in Bridgnorth, having moved house to Telford by this time.

The bike's owner, Dave Jenning, was selling several bikes and I bought it on the spot, simply because it was exactly what I wanted.

This bike came bare except for the engine bars. I've added the flyscreen from my first CX, (later swapped for a windscreen) plus a new rear carrier and top box. The bike was registered on January 1st 1981, which as at January 2017 made it 36 years old.

Mileage at purchase 30th March 2002 was 37,500. I paid £550 for it. I called it "Valiant". Not knowing the service history and wanting to start with a clean slate, I took out the engine immediately, changing the cam chain and tensioning apparatus, oil and filters etc and fitting new Continental Tour tyres.

I found that the cam chain tensioner locking bolt had been overtightened at some stage, resulting in the thread being stripped inside the rear crankcase. I had this repaired professionally, and I've since learned to do this job myself.

LUD297W ran extremely well indeed, returned an average of 55 mpg and cruises effortlessly at whatever speed you like between 60 and 80 mph, the sturdy engine prepared to run up "combat power" of 100 mph if necessary. I tend to cruise at a steady 70 and overtake up to 90 and the engine feels just as reliable and unburstable as the first CX I had.

Distinctive front view shows the cylinder heads, exhaust downpipes and crash protectors. Spares and replacements come from David Silver.

In June 2006 I identified all the previous owners and wrote to four of them, but had no response. In case you don't know, you can send five pounds to the DVLA and they will send you copies of all the transfer documents relating to any vehicle you own.

Photo after fitting the Givi detachable top box. As the side stand was causing the bike to lean too far over, I removed it and had an extra 1" section welded in, between the spring lug and the footplate. This brings the bike to a safer, more vertical angle when I use the propstand. I stuffed white towelling between the mudguard and the frame, to stop muck and dust getting in.

Although I used 'soft' throwover panniers for the 2007 'Adventure' bike holiday to the Czech Republic and Poland, and was happy with the way they worked, in early 2008 I changed the chrome rack for a combined rack and 'hard' side pannier set, ready for the 2008 'Adventure' to the Pyrenean mountains.

In May 2007 Valiant took me on a 2,500 mile 10 day tour from Telford to Prague, scene of the Heydrich assassination in June 1942; Zagan or Sagan in Poland, scene of the Great Escape at Stalag Luft III; Colditz Castle, the famous prisoner of war camp; the Eder Dam, second target of the Dam Busters raid; and finally Waterloo, where Napoleon met his defeat at the hands of Wellington and Blucher. The only technical failure was a broken throttle cable - this was a roadside fix, as I carried spares. Average fuel consumption was 52 mpg, fully loaded and with some 80-85 mph autobahn cruising.

Here we are at the exit to the tunnel 'Harry' through which 76 men escaped in March 1944. There is a guide on Motorcycle Touring here.

In May 2008 the same bike took me down France, over the Millau Viaduct, into Spain and Andorra, over the Pyrenees and back up the Bay of Biscay on a 2,700 mile 8 day tour. Did a motorcycle heart ever beat more Valiantly?

There is some Youtube footage of me negotiating the Pyrenean hairpin bends.

For on-the-move communications, helmet to helmet or phone/satnav to helmet, we use Sena bluetooth headsets. See my "Touring" page for details.

In 2004 I rebuilt, from scratch, a CX500 imported from Germany as a basket case (it was originally owned by Norbert Erich Ahrend of Ronnenberg, near Hannover).

The "Hannover Express" (DUJ63T) was in showroom condition after its rebuild. Here we are in its maiden voyage.

In 2005 I bought a CX500 Turbo (B748MRK) but although this bike was a blast to ride, it was a nightmare to own. Spares are impossible, and after spending time and money rebuilding it in April 2008, it developed an engine fault.

Totally fed up with it after so much work, money and effort to rebuild it and get it running properly - and as it was worth far more as spares than as a going bike - I dismantled it and sold it as spares, making three times its value in the process.

The frame was exported to France, the engine to Norfolk, the headlight assembly went to Australia, a chap came from Denmark to collect the bodywork, and a new Turbo owner bought the remaining cache to build up a collection of parts for his own project.

Do I miss the Turbo? Not at all. I bought a much better bike ... see next section on the Honda NT650 Deauville.

I retained the trusty old CX500A, seen here on a summer day's excursion in June 2011

As of August 14th 2017, this bike is sold, and I no longer own a CX500.

Here is "the Red Fox" the day after I brought it home and spent two hours cleaning it, after a very wet ride back from Brighton.

By June 2024 we'd covered 50,000 miles and I am still just as delighted. It's comfortable, economical and stone reliable. Very long-legged and agile, whilst slightly heavier than the CX500 the weight is better balanced, although the turning circle is wider. With a 180-200 mile range on the main tank, I had no trouble getting round Europe on the annual Motorcycle Adventures 2009-2017. Average fuel consumption is 57mpg.

Here we are, how could anyone resist taking a picture of a Deauville at Deauville?

We've done many high speed runs at 85-90 mph on the European motorways and with a full load in the large panniers, top box and pillion bag, the Red Fox didn't miss a beat throughout any of the journeys.

In May 2010 the Red Fox carried me to Unering near Munich, where our group of four had rented a cottage. Over the 2,300 miles my Deau averaged 61mpg and peformed faultlessly, as did the other bikes.

We visited the Eagle's Nest at Berchtesgaden / Obersalzburg, the "Where Eagles Dare" castle at Werfen, Austria, and the concentration camp museum at Dachau, plus the Bavaria Film Studios at Munich.

We stayed at the same cottage three times (2010. 2011 and 2012) , to complete our exploration of the area.

Other excursions to France, Germany, Andorra and Spain between 2013 and 2017 are covered in more detail on my 'Touring' page.

LED indicator repeaters make the side views more prominent, especially at night.

You can also see how the footguards were fitted.

As I prefer not to ride with the headlight on, I've fitted an illuminated off switch to the dip beam circuit. But to make the bike more visible, I've also fitted two red LED strips to the rear, one directly above the number plate and wired in with the sidelight circuit, and the other at the top curve of the rear lens, wired in with the brake light circuit.

The wiring for these circuits is buried in the tailcone.

Although the 650 Deauville has a temperature warning light, this is often obscured by the throttle cables. I bought a matchbox-sized digital gauge with a 1 metre lead from eBay, temporarily removed the petrol tank and then taped the probe tip to the top run of the radiator hose, with the display unit stuck to the top of the dashboard and the wire lead tucked behind the right hand dashboard panel, also after temporarily removing it.

The display is on all the time and I will have to change its two tiny batteries periodically, but now I feel happier when riding. "Normal" running temp appears to be between 40 and 56 C and the display has a range of -50 to +100 C. You can of course mount the display where you wish, but it is not waterproof so if you fit one, position it well under the protection of the windscreen. When at about 82C during some very humid weather, the temperature warning light came on so the little gauge appears to be accurate.

Hands up everyone who never noticed these folding-out undersaddle hooks ...

... which are for locating elastic bungee straps! Thanks to John Coates for the photos.

Fifth Tour ... September 2017 onwards

Having sold the dear old CX500 and the treasure trove of spares, as of September 1st 2017 I have of a 6-month-old belt drive BMW F800GT, this being the only bike in the 650-900cc engine size class which does not have a chain drive. It is directly comparable to the Deauville in terms of size, but is about 50 lbs lighter, being much easier to wheel about, as there is almost no friction 'drag' from the belt drive.

Being an ex-demonstrator bike it has all the fancy equipment fitted - ABS, on-the-move ride height and performance adjustment, traction control, tyre pressure monitoring etc. I have fitted the Givi 'Touring' windscreen, universal top box mount, chrome radiator guard and front mudguard extension. I also have the the detachable panniers and the BMW top box, but will be swapping the Givi top box between bikes, as required.

No way would I ever have a chain drive bike - and although there is a 700cc Deauville, this is now discontinued by Honda, who have yet to fill the shaft drive gap. I don't want a bike bigger than an 850, and although the F800 is belt drive, it ticks nine of the ten boxes for me; its performance is directly comparable to the old CX500 Turbo I used to own.

The BMW is named 'Cahir' (pronounced 'care'). For an explanation of this name, click here.

After covering 15,000 miles as of August 2024, I am generally pleased with it. The bike is beautifully balanced, and although the wind protection from the waist down is not quite as good as the Deauville - the BMW has a slimmer fairing - it handles predictably and the extra power is delivered in a very fuss-free way.

It developed warped front discs, giving a very pogo-stick braking effect especially at low speeds, but both front discs and brake pads were replaced under warranty and the problem hasn't recurred.

In October 2020 the electronic ignition unit ("black box") failed. This caused huge engine surging, rendering the bike unrideable. Although just out of warranty, BMW provided a new unit and all I had to pay for was the labour. This problem also hasn't recurred.

Next, in September 2022 after just 11,300 miles, the front fork seals failed. At this mileage I don't expect an expensive motorcycle to develop a fault like this. The fork seals on my Honda Deauville were changed at 45,000 miles and they were not quite worn out.

So with the F800GT I've had more technical problems than with ALL the Hondas I've ever owned!

I've had to get used to stopping to refuel on the left hand side of the pumps island, because the petrol tank is under the saddle and the filler cap is offset to the right at the rear of the bodywork, underneath where the pillion passenger's right thigh would be. You fill the bike whilst it's on the side stand. The 'fuel tank' hump houses the battery, air filter, electronics and puncture kit. However I'm enjoying riding the bike about. It has averaged 69 mpg overall,and would cruise at 100mph - if I asked it to!

Watch this space for news updates.