You and your SR - love at first sight?

Maybe a better story is what got me interested in motorcycles. I was about 10 years old. My family and I were headed north on the NY87 in the family station wagon. We pulled off at a reststop for my brother and sister to use the bathroom. So I'm sitting in the car. And a guy pulls up in a pick up truck. Ok no big deal right?
I look in the back. And there sat the silver/seafoam green 1972 750 Ducati. It was then that I realized I wanted a bike. That only thing that came out of my mouth was "was is that?" my father who apparently had lost a friend on a bike. Said "it's a suicide machine". Oh really? I think to my self. "it's beautiful".
It wasn't until later in life I found out what a cafe racer was, or the rarity of that bike.
But I've got it in me now to keep that feeling of that moment as a 10 year old boy.

Ah, the old XT's.
About 1976 or so, I had been through a couple of small bore two strokes, and was graduating to cars. Mainly cause it was vital to own a vehicle with a back seat to park in the back row of the drive-in, if you get my drift.
But then channel four ran a station promo. There was this beautiful XT, the 500 thumpers were big news at the time, ridden by a local guy. His name escapes me now, I think he was Dave somebody, and he was pulling this pearler of a mono on the beach. It went on for simply ages. There he was, cruising along on Telowie beach (tide out), standing up on the front pegs, front wheel reaching for the sky. The camera was in a vehicle just in front and off to the right somewhat, cruising with him, and it was simply awesome. A couple of guys on other bikes were squirting along behind him, pulling short monos, he was working the throttle with a master's touch, the front wheel nice and steady, no longer spinning, and there was some cool up tempo guitar work laid over the top.
After a while the guitar faded away and this voice said "you're freewheeling with GTS/BKN"
Best station promo ever.
Anyway, it cemented the thumpers in first place in my mind. Not to mention confirming the wisdom of dry sumping the big mutha. But they were too expensive for a 16 year old dreamer. Then a year or so later out came the SR, a road bike!, which blew me away but cost about a years worth of my salary at the time.
Over the years, family and work dragged me away from biking, I had a few second hand rat bikes, but I always held that soft spot for big thumpers, especially road bikes.
I even geared my 360 up so it fired about every 20 yards in top gear.
So imagine how quick I rounded up a trailer in January this year when I spotted an internet ad for a good 1978 SR for the princely sum of 2650 Aussie dollars, with registration.
I flogged my old car south for 4 hours, to arrive at this guys house just after he got home from work. He dragged the tarp of this bike, and my wife immediately started counting out the pictures of Edith Cowan.
She said, "As soon as I saw that bike, I knew you were going to buy it. It was only a question of how many $50 notes the guy was going to prise out of you". He booted it into life on the first kick. I took it around the block and by the time I got back I was yahooing into my old Bell Star full face helmet. (1970 model.- I've bought a new helmet now)
He said I can't sell it for less than $2500, I said what a coincidence, that's how much I wanna pay. I said what sort of fuel, he said no idea, last time I filled it up we could still buy leaded super.
I took it home. Even managed to persuade the missus to pull into a little dirt road and pretend we were back in the back row of the drive-in on the way home, heh heh heh .
I spent a few weeks despairing that it would ever run right, but finally sorted the jetting and the octane rating, now I just ride it. A lot.
It is a head turning motorcycle. Drives my mates nuts when people walk past their space rockets to take a look at my stoneage snail.
Its great owning a bike which is actually conducive to laid back putting. Might go home and fire it up now.
See ya.
Mick

I had an 81 SR way back but I don't recall much about it except getting shot with a .22 while driving it.

But after years of not riding, I decided to get back into it a little and started looking for either an XS650 or SR500... wound up picking up an XS650. Had a blast all summer. But I kept wondering what I'd think of an SR, and last December a local guy answered a months-old Craigslist WTB I'd posted, he had a '78 that hadn't been run in a couple years and was priced pretty good. I drove over and checked it out and paid the man.

The next week my dad and I hauled it home in sub-zero weather and let the heated garage warm it up. Old gas, no battery, locked back brakes, no front brakes, surface rust getting a foothold here and there. I put new gas in, and on the 2nd kick it caught and started idling! So I was impressed right off.

Hauled it up to the back bedroom and spent the rest of the winter cleaning it, while also working on the XS. This SR was totally caked in greasy dirt! But after significant disassembly and cleaning it's now looking pretty good.

It still took me a while to sort the brakes out. Finally last Saturday I was able to take it to the local hangout for the first time. Still have things to do but I'm bonding with it... something about the thumper personality is clicking with me. I still like my XS, but the SR is more fun around town.

miker

Great stories guys.

A couple of years ago, my company got the opportunity to work with Yamaha. I designed some displays systems for the dealers, as well as their dealer show in Vegas for '04 and '05 (their 50th anniversary, which was a big deal, lots of museum quality collector bikes to display, including a Y-1!). I hadn't even thought of a motorcycle since high school, and a buddy of mine had a 78 or 79 Yami 125 that we tooled around on.

Anyway, being around all of those bikes and people who rode, was pretty intoxicating. But I was puzzled at the lack of a modern offering of the bikes I remembered that were popular (and caught my eye) in the late 70's, a standard, unfaired street bike. I knew I wanted to ride, but didn't see myself as chopper guy, sport bike guy, or offroad guy (no offense meant, just seems weird that a sport historically embodying individuality forces you to choose conformity in new bikes?)

A friend who rides, pointed me to an SR. He owns a couple, and thought it would be a perfect first bike (and fit the ideal I mentioned to him). I spotted an ad for a '78 SR and he and I went and checked it out. It went home with me that night.

After I had it for a couple of weeks, and mainly cleaned it up, and had a mechanic check it out, I started riding it (and loving it) looking around online for info and resources about it. I found Stew's story about his SR, and the way he cafe'd that bike just struck something in me. I went on a tear looking for info on how to do the same thing to a '79 I had by then picked up as a parts bike. I found this site (and found he is a member here...!). 9 months later, I've got the '79 rebuilt nearly entirely, the '78 is still rockin' on the roads, I picked up another project SR/XT to wrench on, and I have an 03 Suzuki SV650 (I've since found the "naked" bike category...).

So, I'm totally infected with motorcycle mania and loving every bit of it. And now I'm even fully licensed since passing my MSF class.

Gary
Hopwheels