Well on Sunday 19th March some 23km from Swan Hill with my 3rd owner astride me, my odometer turned over into the two hundred thousands on the NSW side of the border, where I fittingly began my odyssey 18 years earlier in 1999. Exactly when I first went on the road with my first owner has become a bit clouded as time has passed, as my present owner recalls seeing me in Tully, Qld in May 1999, yet there is some documentation to suggest I first made road fall sometime in 2000. Either way, my first owner, although fair, insomuch he had me routinely serviced, he road me hard and long, covering 150,000km and circumnavigating Australia without issue until I was traded in and soon picked up in 2002. But I was truly in need of a big service.
My second owner found that in my first 2 or 3 years I had become heavy to the point he dropped my while I was still in his shed and though he did eventually pick me up and had a token go at making things right by applying a brief lick of polish in an attempt to rid me the scratches from this ordeal, he put me up for sale citing my weight and the fact I was due for really big service and some TLC. At this point a close friend of my current owner saw the advertisement offering me for sale in the knowledge that his mate was looking for another bike to convey him around S.E. Qld without having to ride up there every year to do so.
So in the beginning of the second half of 2003 I found myself again being ridden as I was intended, in the knowledge that I was in near desperate need of jolly good seeing to and service. These traits I conveyed to my now present owner’s friend by letting him feel just how loose I’d become on the ride home. But I got him safely to his abode whereupon he began to caress me all over with polish and a pleasing electronic buff. He even went to the trouble of spending more than the usual time I’d expect on my exhaust pipes, exhaust pipes that had been brutally reamed with a very large rod by my first owner!
My now owner first saw me in all my glory that cool evening in August in 2003, shining in that one neon light shed before I let him ride me, with one eye shut, through the night forests of N.E. NSW and attempting to let his backside know just how in need my rear bits were in need of attention. Unfortunately, I fear the looseness of the first ride I gave him, took his attention away from my worrying rear.
It was pleasing to see the next day the size of my present owner’s tool box, he’d brought with him to give me that long awaited major service and twas pleasing too to be completely undressed of all my fairing and have each piece laid out careful to not being scratched. The care too he took with all my many screws, placing them in various containers so that they could be returned to their correct place. Once I was completely revealed, though pleased to have this service begin, this owner paid attention to my front sections first, beginning at my top by replacing my steering head bearings before working his way thoughtfully below turning his attention to my timing belt and my wheel bearings and all the time willing him to start work on my rear.
After a week of having bearings replaced, forks drained, cleaned and re-filled; spark plugs replaced, carburettors synchronised, all lubricating, cooling and brake n clutch fluids drained and refilled; filters replaced; my timing belt replaced; he finally got around to the attention of my final drive, which was completely devoid of any semblances of lubrication and had become dry, rusty and had no cushioning whatsoever against repeated thrusting from my engine at one end and the bumps of the road from the other. In short my rear was toast!
This then has become the basis of my relationship with my present owner, having failed in first detecting and then turning his attention my failing rear end. But, to give credit where credit is due, he has repaired my final drive with all new components and has rebuilt my damaged wheel in exchange for replacements from his first bike. So is the care and attention my present owner has shown to me, I might just let him know that perhaps now may be the right time to let me go so that I might find an new owner I might convey comfortably and carefree to any part of Australia he (of she), may wish to explore. My odyssey will be continued.
