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Long lay-offs
and Ninja cats – Sunday Shed Wrap
Ride more and
sell less is the message
January 20, 2026 – Guy 'Guido'
Allen
There are times when muggins develops a guilt complex.
Usually it's over one or more bikes that have been left to
languish in the shed for whatever reason.
With 25-ish motorcycles in the current herd, there are
layers in the main shed that you have to unwrap before you
get to the ones a couple of rows back. No problem, if the
weather is good and you can roll the others outside.
Some days, it's just easier to take whatever is at the
front of the grid and enjoy.
The lovely 1971 Honda CB750-Four
K1 is a recent starter – it was a little
embarrassing to finally roll it out of the gloom and
discover via its logbook that this was the first time in
four months it had seen daylight. Despite that I was
reasonably confident it would play.
Its battery had been charged the night before, I pumped
up the tyres, topped up the fuel with fresh 95 (plus a
dose of methylated spirits) and hit the starter.
Yes, I did think of oil and a little was visible low in
the tank. These are a dry-sump design that wet-sumps when
left standing and reliably return the oil to the tank very
quickly. I knew the bike was fine last time I rode it. So
the method is to check the tank level very quickly after
it's running.
Anyway, back to the starter. With fuel tap open and full
choke it fired quickly – not quite fuel-injected era
quickly, but close. Get off the choke and keep holding the
throttle until it warms up – which takes patience.
These engines have a unique drone – no other motorcycle
in my shed sounds like it.
So, after a four month lay-off, how was it? Lovely. These
things sold very well back in the day and deserved to.
Even now, it's a thoroughly enjoyable thing to cruise
around on.
Much depends on how you approach it. As a performance
bike in its era, it was a loose unit. The suspension,
brakes and frame could and can still be overwhelmed by the
engine.
On a sunny Sunday it has plenty of urge and does what it
should, so long as you cut it a little slack for being a
55-year-old motorcycle. I'd be happy if all my rides felt
so good.
Our next target on the neglect list was the 2009 Indian
Chief Vintage. Built a few years before Polaris
bought the brand, this premium variant was constructed in
small numbers (circa 300) and cost US$35,000.
Because it doesn't get out all that often, and has giant
pistons to turn over (it's a 1732cc or 105ci V-twin), I
have set it up with two lithium batteries: one in the
usual place under the seat and another connected in
series, in a pannier. Usually, that system works really
well, as the additional electrical grunt removes any issue
of the motor turning, hesitating, and then heaving for a
start.
Anyway, one of the batteries went to lunch and of course
it had to be the one under the seat. We had a spare in the
shed that fitted. Weirdly, the major challenge was finding
a set of nuts and bolts to connect the terminals – there
seem to be hundreds in the shed, but finding the right
thread and length was a long and frustrating challenge.
Why is it always the smallest issues that trip you up?
As for the bike, once up and running it was the usual
long-form carrier of torque. Dial in the throttle at
minimal revs and keep changing up. That's all there is to
it.
The thing is unusually generous in the wheelbase, which
means a little
more planning ahead for corners. It performs just fine,
brakes quite well (Brembos all round) and has
decent-quality suspension.
Of course the looks are outrageous, so there is no
sneaking around on this thing.
Meanwhile we put our year 2000
first-model Kawasaki ZX-12R Ninja on the market. The
idea was to slim down the fleet to something more
manageable and I'm pleased to report that has been a
complete and utter failure.
It's part of a larger set of speed kings from the turn of
last century, including a Honda Blackbird
and a few Suzuki
Haybusas.
Here's the problem: there is a big gap between what I'm
prepared to sell the bike for and what the market will
pay. The local and international markets for
run-of-the-mill albeit fast bikes like these are weak.
Which is fine. It's a 190-ish horsepower motorcycle in
good shape and is a formidable hoot to ride. It's now on
historic rego plates – so it costs sod-all to keep on the
road.
As you can see above, Grendel, one of our resident
felines has worked out the seat is just the right size –
so everyone is happy!
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