KIWI RIDER JULY 2020 VOL.2 | Page 45

HONDA TLR250 The new shocks totally blend in, you wouldn’t know they weren’t original... to the box that a new set of ‘Ozo’ shocks came in – of course the shine of the new shocks looks kind of conspicuous against the general decrepitude of the rest of the poor bike. And in my ‘stores’ I now have a new set of fork seals, new wheel bearings and a set of steering head bearings (having found the existing ones to be just about crumbling). And I have a new-old exhaust. It’s almost original but features a neat modified and polished muffler that looks – to me anyway – kind of trick. Well, it’s individual at least. FUN FUTURE So the plan now is – once the last remaining chores around the house are sorted (involves a lot of painting) – to fit the new bearings and the new exhaust. Then there’s a small matter of dealing with a leak from the fuel tank (it’ll need a fancy lining) and then – virus allowing – I’d like to have a go at the Kent Centre Twin Shock Championship, intermediate grade. If all goes well I’ll go for experts level next year (gulp) – it seems within reach. And in 2021 I’d like to ride the Manx Two Day Classic. And at some point, I’d like to rest the Honda – I’d love a Fantic 240 as a ‘spare’ – so that I might just do a ‘sensitive’ restoration on it. Get the frame and swingarm blasted and repainted. Check the motor over, maybe a new camchain etc, then repaint that, too. Then clean up the bodywork with new authentic style mudguards and a repaint KIWI RIDER 45