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It all started with this - a 1982 Suzuki GS650L. Given to me by an old friend after it sat in his yard for 3 years. I did my first few hundred miles on this bike until the transmission started leaking oil badly where the driveshaft attaches. A rebuild to fix it would've cost more than a replacement bike, so I parted it out - made a PROFIT - and got another bike.
The replacement was this 1980 Suzuki GS550E. It shared many parts with the GS650L, and inherited quite a few. I rode this for several years and put thousands of miles on it. Ended up selling it to a friend when my job at the time chopped my hours and I needed the money.
I rode this for a couple of months in 2007 - a 1982 Honda CM250 Custom. It was in essense a loan from a friend who couldn't use it at the time and knew how much I missed my old bike. It was a bit small for me but worked well while I had it. I "bought" it from her for a dollar, then "sold" it back to her for the same when she wanted it back.
I didn't want to be without a bike again, so I scored a deal on this - a 1981 Honda CB750 Custom. I set it up as a "faux cruiser" with a windshield and saddlebags. I repainted the fading tank and side covers bright frickin yellow. The bike suffered several simultaneous failures, and I ended up selling it to yet another friend to ride while his CB1000 Custom was having issues.
My girlfriend wanted to ride, so we scored this 1986 Suzuki Savage for cheap because it doesn't run. Engine needed a rebuild since it ran out of oil and lost compression. After a year and a half of work, it broke down on me 10 minutes down the road due to lost compression - again. We sadly issued a "do not resuscitate" order, but a number of its parts will live on.
Meanwhile, as the CB and Savage were acting up, my girlfriend found an ad on Craigslist for this - a 1982 Suzuki GS1100L. It's essentially the big brother of my first bike ever, the GS650L. It's not perfect, but mechanically it was - which is amazing because it was on the wrong end of a meeting with a moose in a past life. This one also suffered multiple simultaneous failures, and this time it was my fault - I botched a clutch job, then let it sit over the winter without putting it away properly, and then it got electrical issues... I ended up doing a partial trade of this bike plus cash for my GL500i.
This one's a 2001 Suzuki Savage, replacing the terminally broken 1986 model. Runs great, needs little, just tires, which I can swipe from the 86. I'm a little big for it, but it's fun to buzz around on, and my girlfriend will be the main one riding it. Don't worry, I put on the rest of my gear before I rode, and the little guy got off.
And finally we come to my 82 GL500i. As you can see, it's nothing like any bike I've ever had before. I'm looking forward to trying something different.
