John Jeffares bike was probably a 1980 XS650 SG in Cardinal Red. Here it is at Sarah’s 21st

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I encouraged Sophie to buy the little Honda 250. I’m pretty sure that she bought it brand new.

I had borrowed it one day and was outside Mike and Jackies in West Street Feilding. I pulled out and, on a whim, lifted the front wheel. It was one of the few times that I fluked a wheelstand. I had the balance perfect and it felt like I could have kept it up forever.

I still remember Sophie going wide on the left-dip-right-up-left on Stoney Creek Road…. and slamming the far left bank when she should have been going right. I don’t think I was actually there at the time. Did she go to hospital?

We both had Garbro suits – hers red, mine blue. Seems pretty weird looking back but, at the time, they did what it said on the label. No real crash protection but great at keeping the weather out and the warm in.

We had a few arguments and, once, she took off on her bike and I chased after her on mine. We ended up somewhere out the back of Bunnythorpe at the side of the road. I have no idea what it was about but it was probably my fault.

She must have wondered about more horse power because I remember discussions about buying another bike. The only one that I remember talking about was a BMW650. This was probably after we’d broken up?

The little Honda suited her perfectly.

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This bike was never a success. We bought it because Hazel seemed to need something a little more than an XR100. Had we only known of trials then…. One of the first things that Andrew did when he first saw it was to jump on, go screaming off over the brow, and came screaming back trailing blood. He’d fallen off and ripped his arm on a radiator hose clip.

Neither Hazel or Captain were ever really comfortable on it and it got very little use.

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I have this tagged as 1985 but that doesn’t seem quite right… I am sure that Andrew had his 750 by then… and I can only see what appears to be his old CB400N

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Bikes I’ve owned or had the use/care of….

1. AG175
2. Kawasaki 100
3. CB350
4. RD400E (NEW)
5. XS400F (NEW)
6. CX500 (NEW)

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