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I guess this would be the subforum for this posting 
In '85 I bought a white Suzuki GSX400E (GS in the states, in Europe the 4v engines were called GSX, the 2v engines are GS). Brand new, cheap because of the 25 years Suzuki was available in the Netherlands. Been riding it ever since, a lot of times it was my only means of transportation. Also I almost traded it in, first time for a CB750K, second time for a XJ/FJ600F. In the end, I just kept it.
Since 2001 I've bought some other bikes. First a Kawa GT550. Sold that and got a BMW R1150GS in 2003, bought a Kawa GPZ600R in 2005, sold the lot (exept the Suzi) in 2008, got a K75S, a R65 and a 500Shadow for the wife, sold the R, got a XT600Z and finally sold the XT to buy a second GSX400. A red one.
Plan was to use the red as a parts donor for my trusty old GSX. While having different bikes in my garage, I still used the white Suzi every now and then. Planned to mod it, but first I did some maintenance which it needed. Short time after I did everyting it needed (valves, oil, filters, fork seals, chain & sprockets, brakes, the lot) it got trashed by a joyrider in 2009. That was the reason the red one was bought early 2010.
By the time the red one found a place in my somewhat crowded garage, the white one was starting to take shape. Inner fork tubes where repaired, new front wheel, some small parts and it was time to put things together again. Ah, the red one was ehh adopted by the wife (two years earlier she stated "I don't want a red bike and not a moped like that" pointing at my Suzi, got the red one and she went "Ahh, what a nice little bike"). So parting it out wasn't an option.
Ok fast forward to 9/11 2011. The BMW K75 needed an oilpump seal, new oil, stuff like that, so it was parked on my motorcycle lift at the back of my garage. When I was done I started it, ran fine, let it rev a few times and then it caught on fire. Still don't know why. One of my friends is a motorcycle mechanic and he guessed it was probably a faulty fuel line.
So, with the fire underneath the aluminium gas tank, I ran outside to get the fire extinguisher but when I got back I wouldn't go inside anymore. Lot's of smoke. The fire department took care of it (10 minutes on a sunday morning, great guys and two women).
Result: back of the (wooden) garage gone, including the beemer. Some bicycles, a lot of other stuf, almost all of my tools.. The other motorcycles (two Suzuki's and the Shadow) took damage from the smoke and water but the White Suzuki was damaged the most. It stood near the back because it was next to put on the lift.
So: I ended the registration, wiped a tear from my eye and started to take it apart. It's the parts donor for the red one now so it's not really gone (regulator, rear wheel, rear fork, shocks are rolling again.
But it's still sad. The white carried a lot of memories. Even my mother (who passed away in 2010) was attached to this little motorcycle. So there it is: gone, but not really gone
In '85 I bought a white Suzuki GSX400E (GS in the states, in Europe the 4v engines were called GSX, the 2v engines are GS). Brand new, cheap because of the 25 years Suzuki was available in the Netherlands. Been riding it ever since, a lot of times it was my only means of transportation. Also I almost traded it in, first time for a CB750K, second time for a XJ/FJ600F. In the end, I just kept it.
Since 2001 I've bought some other bikes. First a Kawa GT550. Sold that and got a BMW R1150GS in 2003, bought a Kawa GPZ600R in 2005, sold the lot (exept the Suzi) in 2008, got a K75S, a R65 and a 500Shadow for the wife, sold the R, got a XT600Z and finally sold the XT to buy a second GSX400. A red one.
Plan was to use the red as a parts donor for my trusty old GSX. While having different bikes in my garage, I still used the white Suzi every now and then. Planned to mod it, but first I did some maintenance which it needed. Short time after I did everyting it needed (valves, oil, filters, fork seals, chain & sprockets, brakes, the lot) it got trashed by a joyrider in 2009. That was the reason the red one was bought early 2010.
By the time the red one found a place in my somewhat crowded garage, the white one was starting to take shape. Inner fork tubes where repaired, new front wheel, some small parts and it was time to put things together again. Ah, the red one was ehh adopted by the wife (two years earlier she stated "I don't want a red bike and not a moped like that" pointing at my Suzi, got the red one and she went "Ahh, what a nice little bike"). So parting it out wasn't an option.
Ok fast forward to 9/11 2011. The BMW K75 needed an oilpump seal, new oil, stuff like that, so it was parked on my motorcycle lift at the back of my garage. When I was done I started it, ran fine, let it rev a few times and then it caught on fire. Still don't know why. One of my friends is a motorcycle mechanic and he guessed it was probably a faulty fuel line.
So, with the fire underneath the aluminium gas tank, I ran outside to get the fire extinguisher but when I got back I wouldn't go inside anymore. Lot's of smoke. The fire department took care of it (10 minutes on a sunday morning, great guys and two women).
Result: back of the (wooden) garage gone, including the beemer. Some bicycles, a lot of other stuf, almost all of my tools.. The other motorcycles (two Suzuki's and the Shadow) took damage from the smoke and water but the White Suzuki was damaged the most. It stood near the back because it was next to put on the lift.
So: I ended the registration, wiped a tear from my eye and started to take it apart. It's the parts donor for the red one now so it's not really gone (regulator, rear wheel, rear fork, shocks are rolling again
.But it's still sad. The white carried a lot of memories. Even my mother (who passed away in 2010) was attached to this little motorcycle
. So there it is: gone, but not really gone
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