Well with a title like that I bet I grabbed your attention for all the wrong reasons. As photographers we all have our favorite subject matter, for some it's the human form, others nature, maybe for you it's abstract, myself underwater photography comes first but a close second is my life long passion for motorcycles.
Over the years I have owned more than I could count and currently have many in all shapes and forms, vintage, modern, road race or dirt bikes I love them all. My happy place is in the workshop tinkering, be it maintenance of a daily ride or rebuilding a classic.
I have no favorite as they all serve a different purpose, off road is the place I ride for the most fun as I have raced since a young child and the novelty has never worn off but at the same time I get massive enjoyment from going out for a ride out in the country with the wife on our road bikes, yes "our bikes" iv'e always believed there is no such thing as a bike made for two and since introducing her to bikes the better half agrees with me, trust me there's plenty we disagree on.
So although I have no outright favorite there are some that are more special to me than others, often this is because they are old bikes that some would think are ready for the scrap heap and there is a major satisfaction in bringing them back from the dead, today I would like to share a couple of shots of a classic Honda I rebuilt for the wife a few years back (the wife is called "Koz" by the way).
I didn't take any photos before the restoration so you will just have to enjoy the results of my labour. Koz is as bad as me when it comes to bikes, she also races motocross, rides a superbike and runs around town on a vintage moped. For her 40th birthday I wanted to do something special and knew she would appreciate something two wheeled so I chose this as a nice addition to her collection.
The beautiful 1976 Honda cb 400/4.
This classic piece of Japanese machinery was in poor condition when I bought it, covered in rust some parts beyond saving and the engine sounded like a bucket full of spanners. I had about 6 months before her birthday so went straight to work, taking everything apart and labeling all the bits and throwing away what could not be salvaged. First up was a total engine rebuild, which required dismantling and vapour blasting all parts to make look like new, internally there was much to do but all parts were readily available and after a couple of weeks she was purring like a kitten on the work bench.
Back in action.
The next couple of month any spare time was spent on this baby, polishing, painting and sourcing parts but it proved to be a relatively easy job and I enjoyed every minute of it.
Stunning curves.
And a shapely rear end.
Tidy up front also.
All the hard work done the biggest problem was keeping it a secret for 7 weeks until the special day, difficult when you have friends who ask how the bike is coming on right in front of her, so a couple of close moments with awkward changes of subject later the day arrived. Unbelievably she had no idea and was a little tearful with her surprise gift, all the hard work was worth it later that day we took it for it's first ride out myself on a old Kawasaki to keep it a classic Japanese affair.
Thanks for dropping by and having a peruse at my post, until next time stay safe folks!