It is now 2016. I have just retired and realised that this was the time to make my 30-year-old dream a reality. The plan had always been to buy a bike made for the job – something in the BMW GS series at the top of the list. However, while pondering the choice, I thought, “I have a bike in the garage that I’ve been meaning to rebuild for as long as I’ve been contemplating this ride; why not kill two birds with one stone?”
So started the serious attempt to restore/rebuild my 42 year-old steed, an exercise that had been ongoing in small fits and starts since 2005.
The rebuild took a couple of years and would never have been completed without the online assistance of the guys on SOHC FOUR; many, many thanks guys. I also owe a debt of gratitude to the many people who carried various bits and pieces from Europe and the US to Zimbabwe.
To cut a long story short – you can (one day) read the full rebuild story here: – two years later, on 11 August 2018, exactly 40 years to the day after I bought the bike, I pushed the starter button, for the first time in 37 years …. Vroooom! !
So finally on 23rd Sep, we were ready for a trial run.
This was not too successful because the new, modern regulator I fitted didn’t work and after about 150km the bike switched off, 40km from home, due to a completely discharged battery. Thankfully Luka was on hand to bring out a spare and we made it back with no further fuss. Electrical problems sorted, a few more trial runs were undertaken …
And the countdown began!
Belfast-2-Belfast-By-Bike 