The magazine for classic Japanese motorcycles

At all costs

Like all hobbies, there is a cost that you need to write off. A year’s golf membership for example can cost the average golfer £2000 a year at some courses. All he/she gets is a load of frustration and the occasional great shot – a long walk spoiled as someone once said.

If you take the example shown in my bike’s before and after pictures, you don’t really need an explanation as to the value of the feeling you get when she starts for the first time… priceless!

I rescued my 1980 Yamaha XJ650 from the oblivion of a garage earlier this year. It had been standing in less than ideal storage since 1994, but once the usual blood, sweat and tears had been applied, the result is that priceless moment I mentioned earlier. This wouldn’t be possible without those professional services you advertise within your pages: I’ll mention CCL Carb Cleaners as a prime example of decent, honest professionals. Spending a fortune on something that will never give me a return isn’t the point.

Keith Harding,
via email