The S1c page, Graham & Jane

My Original Bike

KAWASAKI S1C, 350cc, Bought in June 1975.... still mine!

This is the very first disc, which I have now put (a copy) back on, 8 quid,that was a weeks wage!

These are two very early Polaroid's taken at home around 1975 - 1976, sorry about the quality! This is the original colour scheme ...Halibut blue! she was still 250cc at this time, the backrest was a permanent feature in those days and still lives in the garage.

The gearing was fiddled to make touring easier in 78 and then the 250 pots were swapped for 350 in 79 and the gearing upped again.
She was converted for Left hand drive in late 76 and did a tour of the south coast, then in 77, we travelled the south coast and went to France for the first time, just as far as Calais.

France 1978, Have I got enough kit? The picture was taken somewhere in the Loire Valley, still 250cc and Blue at this time, the cord behind the helmet was connected to a cassette player in my pocket! after meeting up with a couple from Birmingham and Stuart from London the journey continued into Andorra and Spain, leaving them in Lloret de mar several days later, I carried on along the french riviera to St Tropez and St Maxime for a few days before the long slog home on the RN roads (very few Autoroutes in those days).

I did a similar run in '79 and '80 complete with girlfriend, Adding Italy and Switzerland in the '80 ride. I later splashed out on a full fairing, this also still lives in the garage, it made touring a lot more comfortable, but suffered a crack when the bike keeled over (just look above) on the side stand one day in Andorra due to being top heavy, the usual headlamp mounting and indicator earth washer also suffered at the same time. The very same (bad) day, some ba_*_d nicked all the plug caps!
Each trip added about 3000 miles in a fortnight. We needed a holiday to recover from the holiday! By 1980 the clock was up to 37000, in the last 20 years its only gone up another 10,000.
I managed to dig up a few more pics......

The Marina at St Tropez, Just to the left out of sight are all the boats where those that have, can watch those that haven't... and vice versa, of course, got a parking ticket in 87, the front closes to traffic at 15:00, at 15:03 there was a ticket on my bike, I'm sorry to say that I am now a parking fine fugitive.

Typical French town square any time any day, this one somewhere in the south, can't remember where.

The same old campsite in Andorra La Vella, it's amazing to see just how much things change when you go back time after time.

Just outside Calais on the return journey, just as well too, the two stroke oil window was empty and a mortgage was needed to buy the French stuff (Huille de deuxieme temps).

Home at last 1979.

In the Eighties I had my own place so, my bike lived indoors. It was a little awkward to get in and out so she was in for winter and out for summer but no daily swapping around, she was also stripped and lived on cardboard sheets for a year or two, that kept the dust off the carpet though!

Did the whole South of France thing again in 87 but cheated a little this time and caught the overnight train to Perpignan, this was 8 years later Andorra la Vella, Exact same spot, same bike, same tent, no fingers!

Life on the bikey front was quiet but very comfortable during the eighties, It was a little difficult to get her in here, but getting out again was easy... downhill (stairs) y'see. The neighbours must have thought I was nuts.

Some more pictures taken from video in 97/98 outside home with Jane's Bee em.
In '99 we found the Triples Club and had several good rides out, we did over a thousand miles, Scarborough in May, was one of the very first places I ever went in 1975 with my new bike!

Nabs Head bike show near Blackburn, also in May, the Club Rally near Nottingham in July and Devils Bridge to Windermere.

This was taken alongside the lake at Windermere on the ride out in 1999, Who's the Mr cool then? The engine was still smouldering from the thrash up there..... As you can see the weather was fantastic thanks to El Presidente, Rick's choice of dates (again), I was very lucky not to have my head cut off in the picture.....

Finally, she gets her long awaited restoration...

Her restoration began in 2000 after the Classic Kawasaki Northern Rally, when we got home I took the front wheel off, then there was no turning back. I had done many things to her in the past, mostly deterioration prevention, but this was going to be different........... her first actual Restoration.

Many things had been filled and painted in the frame to cover Kawasaki's crap welding and bracketry, then I had the frame metal sprayed and painted hammerite green! Yuk! The things you do when you're young. Nuts and bolts were the worst things to replace, I had chucked the standard size originals back in the late seventies and replaced them with a CDS screw kit in a tub, stupid!

Absolutely everything (and I mean everything) was stripped right down to it's underwear.

This was bleedin' hard work, only a few done in an evening, start with file, progressively done lengthways then spun then lengthways again, then with finer and finer emery cloth until the final polish with wire wool and off to the plating bath, nipples were also cleaned up, after plating they went into a chromate solution to colour the new zinc yellow.

Some parts during their rebuild and refinish, all except the chrome and paintwork were restored at home by me.
These were zinc plated and some yellow chromated at home.

These were all done at home, the wiring went in the washing machine, the outer case was blasted and painted black silk finish, legends were repainted with yellow or white humbrol, all the internal metal mountings, screws, plates, springs and ball bearings were zinc plated and yellowed, the horn button unsoldered and stripped to the tiniest of pieces and re zinced, then all the switches were given a little bit of new grease and reassembled

She was starting to come back to life but then the restoration stalled due to a house move and lack of finance so she looked pretty much like this for almost two years.

And there is the final result, it has been well worth the wait and very satisfying to have put her back almost as God intended, she went to the Southern Rally for the first time ever and won 1st prize Standard S Series, however, she the was the only contender.... it would have been nice to have had some competition though.
Here are some more Pictures, taken March 2008.

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			This is the very first disc, which I have now put (a copy) back on, 8 quid,that was a weeks wage!
			These are two very early Polaroid's taken at home around 1975 - 1976, sorry about the quality! This is the original colour scheme ...Halibut blue! she was still 250cc at this time, the backrest was a permanent feature in those days and still lives in the garage.
			The gearing was fiddled to make touring easier in 78 and then the 250 pots were swapped for 350 in 79 and the gearing upped again. She was converted for Left hand drive in late 76 and did a tour of the south coast, then in 77, we travelled the south coast and went to France for the first time, just as far as Calais.
			France 1978, Have I got enough kit? The picture was taken somewhere in the Loire Valley, still 250cc and Blue at this time, the cord behind the helmet was connected to a cassette player in my pocket! after meeting up with a couple from Birmingham and Stuart from London the journey continued into Andorra and Spain, leaving them in Lloret de mar several days later, I carried on along the french riviera to St Tropez and St Maxime for a few days before the long slog home on the RN roads (very few Autoroutes in those days).

			The Marina at St Tropez, Just to the left out of sight are all the boats where those that have, can watch those that haven't... and vice versa, of course, got a parking ticket in 87, the front closes to traffic at 15:00, at 15:03 there was a ticket on my bike, I'm sorry to say that I am now a parking fine fugitive.
			Typical French town square any time any day, this one somewhere in the south, can't remember where.
			The same old campsite in Andorra La Vella, it's amazing to see just how much things change when you go back time after time.
			Just outside Calais on the return journey, just as well too, the two stroke oil window was empty and a mortgage was needed to buy the French stuff (Huille de deuxieme temps).
			Home at last 1979.

			Did the whole South of France thing again in 87 but cheated a little this time and caught the overnight train to Perpignan, this was 8 years later Andorra la Vella, Exact same spot, same bike, same tent, no fingers!
			Life on the bikey front was quiet but very comfortable during the eighties, It was a little difficult to get her in here, but getting out again was easy... downhill (stairs) y'see. The neighbours must have thought I was nuts.
			Some more pictures taken from video in 97/98 outside home with Jane's Bee em. In '99 we found the Triples Club and had several good rides out, we did over a thousand miles, Scarborough in May, was one of the very first places I ever went in 1975 with my new bike!
			Nabs Head bike show near Blackburn, also in May, the Club Rally near Nottingham in July and Devils Bridge to Windermere.
			This was taken alongside the lake at Windermere on the ride out in 1999, Who's the Mr cool then? The engine was still smouldering from the thrash up there..... As you can see the weather was fantastic thanks to El Presidente, Rick's choice of dates (again), I was very lucky not to have my head cut off in the picture.....

			Her restoration began in 2000 after the Classic Kawasaki Northern Rally, when we got home I took the front wheel off, then there was no turning back. I had done many things to her in the past, mostly deterioration prevention, but this was going to be different........... her first actual Restoration.
			Many things had been filled and painted in the frame to cover Kawasaki's crap welding and bracketry, then I had the frame metal sprayed and painted hammerite green! Yuk! The things you do when you're young. Nuts and bolts were the worst things to replace, I had chucked the standard size originals back in the late seventies and replaced them with a CDS screw kit in a tub, stupid!
			Absolutely everything (and I mean everything) was stripped right down to it's underwear.
			This was bleedin' hard work, only a few done in an evening, start with file, progressively done lengthways then spun then lengthways again, then with finer and finer emery cloth until the final polish with wire wool and off to the plating bath, nipples were also cleaned up, after plating they went into a chromate solution to colour the new zinc yellow.

			Some parts during their rebuild and refinish, all except the chrome and paintwork were restored at home by me. These were zinc plated and some yellow chromated at home.
			These were all done at home, the wiring went in the washing machine, the outer case was blasted and painted black silk finish, legends were repainted with yellow or white humbrol, all the internal metal mountings, screws, plates, springs and ball bearings were zinc plated and yellowed, the horn button unsoldered and stripped to the tiniest of pieces and re zinced, then all the switches were given a little bit of new grease and reassembled
			She was starting to come back to life but then the restoration stalled due to a house move and lack of finance so she looked pretty much like this for almost two years.
			And there is the final result, it has been well worth the wait and very satisfying to have put her back almost as God intended, she went to the Southern Rally for the first time ever and won 1st prize Standard S Series, however, she the was the only contender.... it would have been nice to have had some competition though. Here are some more Pictures, taken March 2008.