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Sixes and a pile
of parts
Sunday shed wrap
September 14, 2025, by Guy 'Guido' Allen
With a formidable list
of writing and publishing responsibilities out of the
way, this morning we got back into what was a bit of a
mission spread over a few days.
The background is the
weather in beautiful downtown Melbourne has been
patchy in the extreme over recent months and, since
I'd rather ride than clean bikes, the shiny transports
of delight have mostly been stuck indoors. Meanwhile I
have a sacrificial anode for getting wet and dirty – namely the
BMW R1150GS – so I can keep riding.
However the culture at
Chateau Guido is all the machines are ridden and not
turned into static displays. Making that a challenge
was, over the last several weeks, it started raining
every time I picked up the keys to take something nice
for a run.
In recent days, with a
bit of a break in the curtains of drizzle crossing the
city, we started getting a few toys out for a gallop
on our local exercise loop.
The three-day list of
what we rode looked like this:
Friday – Triumph Daytona 1200 + Ms M's Suzuki SV650 +
Kawasaki ZX-12R;
Saturday – Honda Valkyrie Interstate + Honda CBX1000C
+ Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird + Triumph
Thruxton 1200 R;
Sunday – Suzuki
Hayabusas x 3 + Vincent Rapide + Ducati 916 +
Moto Guzzi Daytona + MV Agusta F4 1000 + Honda
CB750-Four.
That last effort was an
exhausting day!
Somewhere in there I
found time to fit a new starter solenoid to the
CB750-Four. It's an aftermarket unit that's filling in
until the genuine part (on backorder) turns up.
Anyway, it was the two
sixes on Saturday that got my attention. The Valkyrie
is my second and, given a little confidence on
the part of the rider, is a surprisingly capable
motorcycle. It's quick enough, sounds good when angry,
handles better than its gothic looks would suggest and
drinks like a sailor when you get stuck into the
throttle.
It's also the progeny of
the famously solid and reliable GL1500 GoldWing
platform. At the time of writing, I am agonising over
whether to take this or the BMW K1200LT for an
imminent Melbourne-Brisbane round trip of circa 4000km
(2500 miles). Watch this space...
Meanwhile the
CBX1000C is one of those bikes that keeps its
owner on their toes, with its mechanical complexity
and optimistic engineering for the day. It's
wonderful, sounds as sexy as hell with the air-cooled
straight six on song, and generally makes you pay
attention.
I really must get on to
doing a proper story about this machine.
There was a time several
decades ago when I literally dreamed of owning a
six-cylinder motorcycle. And yes, I know it's not
everyone's idea of nirvana. It is nevertheless fun and
idiotic to have two to play with.
My recent
overly-ambitious bike acquisition efforts have had a
knock-on effect in the home spare parts department.
When I identify an issue I know I can deal with, I
immediately order the parts, as they'll serve as a
reminder to climb down from the writing throne and get
into the garage.
Though essentially a
good plan, it has some downsides. The recent bitterly
cold and wet weather in my end of the world means
muggins has had absolutely no desire to move more than
the length of a house cat away from a nice warm
fireplace. Forget the sodding shed.
Plus, I've filled the
shed(s) to the point where something needs to be
kicked outside so I have space to work. I don't mind
doing that, but am not rolling shiny toys out into the
rain. Also, I've been busy and distracted by other
things.
The catch is that,
within weeks, the pile of parts and projects builds up
to absurd dimensions. Once I return from the imminent
long ride, I need to get back into the habit of just
picking one part out of the pile and dealing with it.
Every day. It's happened before and seems to work.
Some of the tasks are pretty easy – such as the Moto Guzzi Daytona mirror that needs to be swapped, or the tank badges for the 1975 GoldWing. Others are more complex, such as the long list of jobs to be completed on the Triumph T160. What it requires is focus – is there a part number for that?
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