It's almost like a confession in the motorcycle industry to admit that you have paid money for your own motorcycle. That is compounded when it is not some bright and sparkling brand new bike but, to put it mildly, a shed like my GT550.
   So why the GT when I have the cream of Kawasaki road and off-road fleet at my disposal? Well for starters, it is not the worst job in the world being able to thrap around on ZX-10R’s and assorted machinery when you like. But, when it comes down to a practical real world bike that you can potter
round on, and actually understand, there is no beating my little GT.
   Bought from a probation officer in the Fens, I was determined at all costs to avoid an ex-courier machine (being an ex-courier myself!) and this I managed. What I did not foresee was the horror of buying something from eBay without seeing it first. I thank my lucky stars that most of the problems were “superficial” but that said, it did take a month or so to get the old girl on her feet.
   The “damage” was confined to an awful and broken cheap full fairing which had to be chucked along with a marked inclination to stall or creep when gears were engaged from neutral. Being someone who’s glass is not only empty, but frequently unwashed, I assumed the worst and pulled the clutch cover off to have a poke about.
   With no outward signs of malfunction or wear, I did all the things you usually do with an old nail and replaced all fluids, filters, pads and rubber – the rear tyre being a Chinese thing which had no grip whatsoever. Oh yes, the battery was shot (and Chinese) too.
   With a new set of Bridgestone hoops, a new high quality (Japanese) battery and clutch reinstalled, my mind turned to lubricants, a cure of the clutch creep to be precise. To my aid came the nice chaps at Motorex who recommended their fully synthetic oil which, much to my amazement,
cured both the clutch creep and the somewhat sluggish starter motor, although, to be fair, that was probably the old battery.
   With the ship fully provisioned I rode to Corby Kawasaki and got the GT’s first MOT for three years and the love affair went into full swing. Like any bike – especially a 32,000 mile GT550 – there have been highs and lows.
   Lows have been confined to poorly adjusted primary jets (jerky off the line at  traffic lights), the aforementioned clutch creep and a crazy moment in Nottingham when both the speedo cable and indicators failed at once (what’s the chances of that happening!).
   The highs are its low-speed handling, engine flexibility, the cruising speed which is commendably high and the comfort which is better than many modern bikes (competitors’ models of course!). Oh, I forgot to mention, I just love the way it looks – no one understands me when I wax lyrical about it but beauty is in the eye of the beholder I suppose.
   That’s about it for the GT really, a bike which I derive endless hours of pleasure from, which is the butt of all Kawasaki UK car park jokes, and that I ride in all weathers to work and for pleasure.
   Mods so far are an adjustable span front brake lever and an “adapted” VN800 screen which looks like it should have been there all along.
   Next mod will be mounting a huge ZZR1200 pannier as a top box over the passenger portion of the seat to take all my assorted crap so I can leave the old girl at the airport when I have to visit our Dutch HQ.
   Still maybe I should ride it all the way to Holland for the next important meeting - you never know, I may just do that this year!