My Bikes

An Old Suzuki
I don't remember what year this bike was but it was a 500cc 2 stroke Suzuki that was given to me around 1986. It was old, rusty and not running when I got it. I also got a parts bike with it. Since I didn't know the first thing about motorcycles, the first thing I did was purchase a manual. Starting with basic wiring circuits I traced out the diagrams and found the plug wires were reversed. Other electrical parts had to be fixed that were not essential to having the engine running.

Once I got it running I couldn't get my nerve up to try riding it. By the way, this bike had no electric start, kick start only and was quite a smoker because it was 2 stroke. Eventually I sold it for what I had invested in it. About $75.00 I think.


1984 Honda Ascot
I was the second owner of this bike which I bought in April of 2001. It belonged to a friend who bought 2 of them new, one for his son who was in high school then and one for him. Mine had only 9,000 km's on it and still had the original tires. We put a new rear tire on when I bought it and I put a new front tire on when I sold it. I also replaced the strut seals because they were leaking.

I had never ridden on a bike, even as a passenger, when I bought it. I rode it around a couple of months before taking my M1 exit course at Sheridan College, Oakville campus in July of 2001. The first winter I put it away. I joined the SCRC, Chapter 57 in Burlington in early June of 2002. I then discovered that I was hooked on biking and bought my second bike, a Kawasaki Vulcan 800 in July of 2002. I put about 2,500 km's on the Honda in about 15 months.

2001 Kawasaki Vulcan 800
My second bike was bought new in July of 2002 from Burlington Cycle. I added a windshield, floor boards and Leatherlyke hard shell bags which the dealer installed. I mounted my GPS on the handlebar and added a fused power plug and cigarette lighter for power. I loved riding so much, I kept riding through the winter as long as the roads were dry. My finger tips were the only part of me that I couldn't keep warm so I added snowmobile heated grips. This was better but they were too hot on the palms while my finger tips were still getting too cold.

I made a combination rear luggage carrier to mount a Kappa Moto hard shell trunk and a driver backrest. The backrest added instant comfort and was simple to make for this bike. I put 29,000 km's on the Kawasaki in 14 months before I bought my third bike. I sold the Kawasaki on consignment at 679 Bike on Highway #6 in Mount Hope in May of 2004. All it required to certify was a rear tire.