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Ducati 860 GTS
I bought this bike new from Fraser’s NSW, Australia in 1977 when I emigrated. I did a lot of miles on it going on weekend runs with the Ducati Owners Club. When I returned to Scotland l had the bike shipped back, using it for my daily commute – 350 miles a week – and another 200 at weekends. I did all my courting with the bike, travelling from Hawick to Newcastle to see my girlfriend Lindsey, who became my wife in 1979.
In 1981 l bought a 900SS and the 860 was sold, then changed hands three times. It hadn’t run for nine years when I managed to buy it back in 2016. It had been modified, but most of the original parts came with it. I got it back on the road for a few years, then restored it. Some parts were difficult to track down – along-time Aussie friend tracked down a pair of air boxes in Sidney.
Restored
Yamaha FS1-E
This was my Fizzy winter project. A P-reg 1975 bike, I bought it (as seen in the photograph below) towards the end of last year. I had it completely stripped down by the following day. Then it was a case of parts refurb, powdercoating, paint, etc, before it was all put back together in my living room (bottom pic). The powdercoating was done by Hi-Spec Powder Coatings of Needham Market in Suffolk, while the engine work and bike reassembly was carried out by my good self.
The paintwork was executed by Hilary Stokes at Hurricane Airbrush Art of Woolpit in Suffolk (hurricaneairbrushart on Facebook). She did an amazing job – they are not decals on the tank and side panels, she did it all by hand! The tank, side panels, headlight brackets and headlight bowl cost £580 to get painted – not cheap, but you get what you pay for. The wheels were built by Walton Works of Felixstowe.
The bike wouldn’t necessarily please the purist, as some pattern parts were used, but personally I’m pleased and really enjoyed the project, which I completed in May. I’m already looking forward to finding another project for this winter. Love the magazine, keep up the great work.
Restored
Work in progress
Matchless G80S
I bought a 1955 Matchless G80S on September 14, 1971 (according to the log book). I wrote it off a few months later, then dismantled it and boxed it. There followed marriage, children and starting a business... but at least I kept the bike! I always joked that I was keeping it for my retirement – and that turned out to be just what happened! Four house moves later, I started unearthing it in 2019, trying to remember what I’d got and what had got lost. Then I got side-tracked int
