Topic: Gifted

[Damage Inc]

My 83 year old uncle has hung up his riding boots and given me his ride.

[calj737]

Nice bike 

[ekpent]

 Nice Bike. When was the last time your good ole' uncle rode it ?   Wish I had a better family !! 

[Damage Inc]

He last rode it 10 weeks ago. He was very emotional when he offered it to me. He asked me if I wanted to buy it cheap and said for me to make an offer. At the time he was in hospital recovering from a cancer op.  So I really didn't press him for much info on the bike. Not knowing the year or kilometres on the bike(97 with 115000km) I had a look online and they go for $1500(rough)-$6000(mint)this one I would say is in the 3k-4k range. When I said this he said $500 was all he wanted, a couple of weeks later when I went to pick it up he wouldn't take anything. I'm very fortunate to have family like that, he has always been a top bloke.

[chewbacca5000]

Still riding at 83 sport bikes at 83 years old God bless him.  What an encouraging story.  Wishing him a speedy recovery and you some epic adventures.  Stay safe.

[BomberMann650]

Nice bike but DAMN tell us more about your uncle!!

[Lostboy Steve]

Cancer? lol. I ride a rocket ship and I'm 83 years old! Hope he gets well quickly.


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[Terry in Australia]

Well done mate, the bloke I bought my minty VFR750 was 71, and you could tell that he loved it, all the plastics are like new, never been dropped, etc etc. He only sold it because he hadn't ridden it for over a year due to health issues too, did your uncle buy it new? 115000 Klicks is a lot for a sports bike, but if it's been looked after it's probably fine. Good pick up! Cheers, Terry.

[Damage Inc]

I attribute my love of bikes to my uncle and his son, who is a similar age to me. I remember going to stay with the family on weekends, they lived in the Otway Rangers, in a town in the middle of the forest. He was a trucker in the logging community. It was the mid to late 70's, he had a dirt bike which was an Elsinore cr250 ( I have a vivid memory of the steel tank) and think he rode a Honda road/trail to and from work. My cousin had upgrade from a z50 to an xr75. My parents never bought us kids any bikes, but we did inherit the z50 a few years later. I still remember the butterflies I'd get when I went there and we were about to go for a ride. My cousin is a good rider, he use to ride that Elsinore before he was a teen. He upgraded the Xr for a cr80rc. Then was when I fell in love with 2 strokes, till then the Elsinore just scared the pants of me. It was a bit of a brute. The cousin has had many bikes including a cr500 along the way(crazy). Back to my uncle, he's had many bikes as well. The 2 most memorable are a cb750four(I'll never forget how the sound of it made me feel) and a cb1100rc a beautiful bike. So you can see the Honda theme. So in my 30's, which is a while back, I started to fulfill some childhood dreams. I now have a 2001 cr250, a CB500FOUR cafe project, which is moving at treacle speed and now the blade. The twist to the whole story is I don't have my license (so best I get one) I get to ride the dirter occasionally, the cafe is unridable and by all accounts I'll legally be aloud to ride the blade in 3 years from when I get my license. More torment.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Those older CB900s are fun to ride.  They were one of the cool bikes to have when I was a younger man,  My buddy had one about six years ago but he never rode it enough to keep the carburetors from gumming up.   Make sure to run it as much as you run your old CBs.

[Terry in Australia]

Yep, I'm always surprised when my VFR750 starts right up after sitting for months, I'd hate to tackle those carbs......

[Damage Inc]

So I need to correct an error first. My uncle is 80 years old not 83. He came into my work today with some more parts that he had found and a bike cover. I'm happy to say he is looking much better and although he still has some operations ahead of him, he is feeling 100% better. So much so he is looking at a new bike. A 1100 blackbird. Ha ha. I offered to give the blade back but he said it was the riding position that he can't go back to. Phew!

[Terry in Australia]

Well done for offering to give it back mate, but a big Blackbird will suit him way better. If he's got lots of money though, tell him to buy a new Yamaha FJR1300, way better than a blackbird.

[Damage Inc]

Honestly, I don't think he would consider anything other than a Honda.

[Terry in Australia]

Fair enough mate, Blackbirds are getting a little long in the tooth now, but Honda don't make a good Sports Tourer now (unless you count the VFR1200) so if he's a die hard Honda fan, his choices are limited.

[MoMo]

Cool story   Hope your uncle heals completely.  I hope to be riding at that age, which isn't all that far away ..Larry

[Damage Inc]

Thought I'd add a snap after she's had a tub up.
My uncles health continues to improve. The last time he called past for a chat, he was telling me that he's been watching a couple of blackbirds that are up for sale and just waiting for the right one to come up.

[jas67]

Thought I'd add a snap after she's had a tub up.
My uncles health continues to improve. The last time he called past for a chat, he was telling me that he's been watching a couple of blackbirds that are up for sale and just waiting for the right one to come up.

Nice looking bike!

Good news on your uncle's health!

Hmmm, maybe gifting you the CBR900 was a ploy to get a blackbird! 

[Terry in Australia]

Well that'll be good for Damaged too Jas, old unky isn't gonna be riding for too much longer, so he'll probably give away the Blackbird to some lucky nephew too!

[Damage Inc]

Hehe! That’s a thought Terry. Really I’m more than satisfied with the blade.
So an update, uncle has got himself another bike, in the process proving some people are never to old to change. He has purchased something other than a Honda. He got himself a 05 R6. Saying that if he modifies the seat and rear cowl, he won’t have to lift his leg as high when hopping on or off. Therefore not aggravating his hip. I suppose he just could change his love for sports bikes.

[innovativems]

amazing gift!  Thats a clean cbr900!  Love those bikes!

[spotty]

cool thing to have given to you, uncle sounds like a cool old chap,

sounds like your uncles family probably would have known some of my mates who crawled out of the primeval swamp known as colac back around then and were seriously into dirt and associated racing. from what they've told me most riders knew each other back then (and lets face it, where they're from, they were probably related too...), maybe ask them if they knew the Neaves or O'bornes, mostly still going and still riding

shame about the licence but get onto it now and 3 years will just fly by. shame things are a little more regulated these days, you used to be able to just go to the colac cop shop, get your learners permit and 3 months later front up there again, the cop would come out, check the bike and send you off for a ride, check the bike for any new damage on your return and if you hadn't fallen off he'd give you a licence

[Damage Inc]

Thx Spotty, they lived in Carlisle initially then had a property on the edge of the Gelibrand river. Great dirt bike county. I’ll mention those 2 families next time I see them. I know they followed the motocross back when Craig Dack was winning.

[Terry in Australia]

Ha ha, well all the best to your uncle mate, I've got a couple of sportsbikes and am struggling with the high footpegs with my 57 year old hips, that's why I like my CB750, or my cruisers for any rides longer than an hour, by which time I need to visit my physio. Good on him though, I met another 83 year old up in Kinglake West on a cruiser (Yamaharley) who was an old bricklayer, he was amazingly fit for his age, and rode his bike every day. I hope I can too, if I make it to that age.