Bought new in 1987 on the phone from the Isle of Man while drunk in a bar!
This was it outside a bar (surely not) somewhere in deepest darkest France en-route to a company Sports and Social Club coach trip (?) to Pietra Ligure just over the French - Italian border in Italy. The other guy is Warwick who had just stuffed his ex-my Honda CB900 F2C into a roadside petrol pump while trying to avoid a rampant French bus on his side of the road! Note the very bent right hand spot light!!!!
This was the weekend that the south of England got flattened by a mini hurricane. I had bought the bike by telling my bank manager to sell my company shares. He convinced me to hold off as there was going to be a share issue, potentially doubling my stake. He 'lent' me the money to buy it.
By the time I got back to discover my roof and fences gone and the share price having crashed, I couldn't afford new tyres, let alone the bike
He was very embarrassed and I paid no interest on the 'loan' for the next couple of years!!
This is it at the hotel in Italy....
And this, somewhere up the coast in what passed for the storm on the Med....
And this is somewhere north of Cahors on the way home.
Note the two cases of 1982 Haute Serre Cahors wine strapped to my pillion seat
There were another 6 bottles secreted about the panniers and crash helmets
)
This was it the day I drove it up to its new owner in Lincolnshire in 2013....
Note the mileage....
Go on, admit it, it is just a K1200S 20-odd years ahead of its time! 130 PS, a true top speed of 160 mph and touring comfort beyond belief. My bottom thanked Honda endlessly!
This bike had been languishing in my mate's garage for 24 years (don't ask) as it stubbornly refused to run. A new set of carbs (sound familiar?) for £30 off fleabay and it was as good as new.
The problem with 'new' is that it was still 25 years old, there was only one fork tube left on planet earth (€800 to you sir) from the mad Dutch.
It held its own against my mates new K1300S in a straight line and a few twisty bends. But, when it came to the real man's stuff, it was left wallowing in the BM's wake.
And, the fabulously comfortable ride almost put me in Swindon's new hospital on the way back from a weekend in Wales. I was actually in tears as I re-fuelled at junction 16 of the M4 and had to get off at every junction to massage life back into my 25 year older backside and knees.
Four days later I bought the K1200S.
