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5 years down the road, after being given 3 to 5 years

User
Posted 07 Jul 2025 at 10:56

Hi guys. My bike is a 1973 Kawasaki s2A 350 triple 2 stroke which I bought in 2021 to rebuild and keep me busy instead of moping about worrying about my PCa. Well it was quite a bit worse than I expected and last registered in Vermont in 1979 and looked like it had been kept in a pond since then. But I managed it eventually and it starts and runs but needs fettling now to finish off hence the new coils and better quality throttle cable. Wish I could share some photos. 

I started with bikes at 15 with a Tiger Cub then a slightly tuned BSA 250 . Then my first rebuild a 1958 Ariel 350 when I was 17 as we’d had one as a field bike. It was a real bitza with a Honda 750 seat and BSA tank and wheels. Styled like a US flat tracker. Also polished and smoothed everything inside the engine and fitted an MGA piston with domed head, Amal concentric carb and straight through Goldie silencer . Increased performance significantly but busted a con rod at 80 😬…

Favourite bike 🤔, either my DT400 enduro (‘76) or my Ducati Desmo SS 500 (‘78). But most awesome bike was a ‘79 GS1000 with special seat , lower bars and bikini fairing. Was almost new when I got it.  Went like stink and would wheelie so easy with my girly on the back. She was only 15 and very petite so hardly noticed her on the back till her feet started to lift off the pedals. Sold to go on our first holiday together. Been married 43 years this year. 

I never was in a bike club but used to frequent the biker pubs then. Was in a sailing club though. I had a very fast 16ft racing dinghy which I capsized so many times I wrecked it and so that needed a rebuild too. Luckily the design is ‘open’ so I rebuilt the whole interior differently. I was pretty pleased with myself as it looked and worked really well. Unfortunately the missus wasn’t as keen on the boat so it went …! 

Craig, I was very close to buying a T500 cobra once and also remember the GT380 well. My mates had new Jap stuff but I couldn’t afford anything better than my BSA at the time.
What SV have you got? They get really good reviews. 
Barry , I think I could’ve liked an Xj900 a few years ago. I had a Bandit 600 which was ok but never got me going… ok if you wound it up but rather boring. I also had a DR350 enduro which was fun on the roads and a 250 trials Yamaha for messing about with my son on his TY80 ( which I also rebuilt 🤣).

Anyway, I need a cup of tea and gotta see how the guys doing laying laminate in the conservatory. 

Take care chaps. 
One thing to remember is at least we had our time with the bikes. Some people never have the inclination or even the guts to try ….👍 They missed out. There’s nothing like having your girlfriend hanging onto you. 

Phil

User
Posted 07 Jul 2025 at 20:30

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member
Hi Craig,

Hope you feel able to get out on that bike again soon. My XJ900 Yamaha languishes in my garage because it's now too heavy for my arthritic joints to cope with. It will be hard to let it go as it will never be replaced.

Sorry to hear that, Barry - love the big XJ, so much grunt, they're a delight to ride.

 

User
Posted 07 Jul 2025 at 20:46

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member

Hi guys. My bike is a 1973 Kawasaki s2A 350 triple 2 stroke which I bought in 2021 to rebuild and keep me busy instead of moping about worrying about my PCa.

One thing to remember is at least we had our time with the bikes. Some people never have the inclination or even the guts to try ….👍 They missed out. There’s nothing like having your girlfriend hanging onto you. 

Phil

 

Cor, why didn't I think of Kawa triples? An S2 is a vanishingly rare thing over here.  Cracking bikes, I only ever rode an S1 and a KH400. 

With yours being a US bike, is it on factory electronic ignition or points?  I got to 'black belt' standard with my GT380, so that I could get the points gap and timing dialled in all inside 30 minutes  😎

That GS thou sounds nice, too.  My sister's fiancée had a GSX1100 with some Yoshi bits (cams, exhaust, carb mods) and I remember being on the pillion with 140 on the clock and it was still accelerating .... 

Mine's a 2017 SV650.  Thoroughly modern bike but so much fun to ride.  Instant throttle response and excellent handling (mind you, after a GT380, anything handles well!).  But I do miss the sounds and smells of strokers.

You're spot on about bikes.  Very few things can ever compare.

  

User
Posted 09 Jul 2025 at 15:24

Sorry to hear you're feeling flattened by everything just now Craig, I'm often minded by the Marco Simoncelli quote:

"You live more for five minutes going fast on a bike, than other people do in all of their life" 

I hope you get a fair few more of those five minutes soon. 

User
Posted 09 Jul 2025 at 16:21

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member
"You live more for five minutes going fast on a bike, than other people do in all of their life.

As DaveDob1964diag2017 has said on here, "If you love riding fast bikes it reduces the risk of dying from prostate cancer". (Or words to that effect) 🙂

Edited by member 09 Jul 2025 at 23:21  | Reason: Typo

User
Posted 10 Jul 2025 at 11:55

Hi guys.

"You live more for five minutes going fast on a bike, than other people do in all of their life.

So true. I only found out recently that when my mates got their bigger bikes ( like over 250) they never ever had them flat out. I was amazed - I had mine against the stop everywhere even my 1000. As I was only a little runt and I had the nice bikini fairing I once held onto an indicated 150mph with a pillion as well. Poor bugger was shaking when we got home as wed done well over a 100 miles like that… 🤣

I used to get told off for overtaking my mate on his 750 Triumph on my back wheel on my 400 Enduro. 🤣

I used to sail my boat like that too. I think maybe I needed the adrenaline as I found out in counselling I had repressed emotions from childhood. 

Regarding my 350 I added the new electronic ignition as the whole contact breaker plate was a mass of rust. But we found we’d got a loose pickup which is unheard of but we had to replace that to get our nice 3 sparks again.

Not sure if I said but I’m writing up my little rebuild as a story to put in the Kawasaki Triples club monthly. If I can store it somewhere on the web I’ll put the link on here. 

Take care chaps, 

Phil

User
Posted 10 Jul 2025 at 18:04

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member

Sorry to hear you're feeling flattened by everything just now Craig, I'm often minded by the Marco Simoncelli quote:

"You live more for five minutes going fast on a bike, than other people do in all of their life" 

I hope you get a fair few more of those five minutes soon. 

 

Thanks Mark! And Marco wasn't wrong. My last ride a few weeks ago was through the Tanat valley from Oswestry then over the top to Bala.  My goodness, a LOT of living happened in those 30 miles :-D

 

User
Posted 10 Jul 2025 at 18:08

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member

As DaveDob1964diag2017 has said on here, "If you love riding fast bikes it reduces the risk of dying from prostate cancer". (Or words to that effect) 🙂

Ha! Statistically, that's spot on :-)

User
Posted 10 Jul 2025 at 20:19

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member

Not sure if I said but I’m writing up my little rebuild as a story to put in the Kawasaki Triples club monthly. If I can store it somewhere on the web I’ll put the link on here. 

 

Yes please, would love to read that. 

The best thing I ever did for my 380 was around 2006/7, a bloke on the Suzi forums had a big job-lot of spares he wanted to sell.  I got 11 cylinder barrels, 4 cylinder heads, about a dozen pistons in various sizes and more for .....  £50.  Meant I was able to measure everything carefully, take the pick of the bunch and with a bit of fettling pretty much blueprint the top end.  With the LE Sport spannies, it transformed the bike.

User
Posted 10 Jul 2025 at 20:47

That sounds like a very good ride indeed Craig, so glad you enjoyed it. I’ve done a few trips to mid & north wales in recent years, great roads and a great place to be. 

User
Posted 11 Jul 2025 at 11:09

Craig. 

Sounds like good fun sifting through pistons and barrels to get the best match and really good it worked out well. 


I’ve never rebuilt a stroker only 4 stroke singles. But I had my BSA 250 off Pat. As I’d raised the compression ratio slightly from 10.5/1 I needed a supply of head gaskets ready to go on every week. I also used to carry a load of carburettor bits as I was constantly fiddling with the settings 🤣

With regard to nice rides we would put my Enduro and my son’s trials bike on a trailer and drive down to Somerset where we knew a farmer and used his fields. Good fun. But also the roads down there were magic on my Enduro with my 8 year old on the back. Oldest boy would rather go in the car and stay dry… 

My youngest was a natural and straight away I noticed he wasn’t using the clutch . I asked him about it and he just said you don’t need it… 

On the lanes in Exmoor you can brake so late on an Enduro type bike and whip it back up . Absolutely leave a sport bike for dead. And the pubs will welcome you in even if you’re soaking wet and dry your stuff out by the fire.

Great memories. 

Phil

User
Posted 23 Jul 2025 at 20:42

Hi guys. I’ve managed to save my rebuild story as a word document so if anybody is interested to read it I can email it to you if you pm me your email address. 

cheers 

Phil

 

User
Posted 24 Jul 2025 at 12:54
Hi Phil, having trouble PM-ing so please send to craig_coward at yahoo dot co dot uk

Should be easy to decode ;-)

User
Posted 24 Jul 2025 at 13:01

Hi Craig. All done , hope it turns up ok. 

Phil

User
Posted 24 Jul 2025 at 13:47

Would be great to read that Phil - I've pm'd my e-mail address - hopefully it'll get through.

 

Cheers, Mark

Edited by member 24 Jul 2025 at 13:48  | Reason: Not specified

User
Posted 24 Jul 2025 at 14:32

By the way when you receive the file it may need you to click ‘download full file’ or something like that. 

By the way , apologies for hijacking your thread Craig….! And hoping that you’re still feeling ok ? 

Phil

User
Posted 02 Aug 2025 at 10:43

This is Jenny, Craig's wife.

Craig asked me to 'close his story' on this board and so this is to let you know that Craig sadly passed away on Saturday 26th July.

Craig always said that he thought it was sad that you only really get to know how special someone was after they have died, and Craig is clearly no exception. Even those closest to him have been surprised by the number of people whose lives he evidently touched as evidenced by the many lovely messages we have received since his passing and the many generous donations to the fund we have set up to support the East Cheshire Hospice where Craig spent his final days.

Craig was clearly many things to many different people: a kind man, a loyal friend, a good colleague, a loving son and brother, and a devoted husband and father. He loved to chat to strangers on the internet about his favourite hobbies: music, motorbikes, and letting people know they were wrong, and many of these strangers became lasting friends. It seemed that once you’d met Craig, you tended to stick around.

The last few weeks of Craig’s life were not easy for him as life become more difficult and his world slowly shrank. However, I  think it didn’t shrink … it just got distilled into the very essence of what was most important to him: his family and closest friends, those people who had shared the very best and very worst of life with him and everything in between.

Any donations to support the hospice where we were all so loving cared at the most difficult time for our family, however small, would be gratefully received. This invaluable service relies predominantly on fundraising and private donations and we owe them so much: https://craigcoward.muchloved.com/


User
Posted 02 Aug 2025 at 11:16

Jenny.

Thank you so much for letting us know of Craig’s very sad passing. Please accept my sincerest condolences. 

You are right about Craig . I’ve only known him a short time and we shared a bit about our motorbikes by email and I would’ve loved to have known him in person. 

 I’ll look at a donation to the hospice as they do an amazing job.

Thinking of you and your family.  Best wishes 

Phil

User
Posted 02 Aug 2025 at 12:50

Jenny,

Please accept my deepest condolences.

Unfortunately, I only knew Craig as a cyber friend. He was a valuable asset to our community. Always kind and always tried to help others. I feel privileged to have known him. He will be sorely missed.

Adrian.

Edited by member 03 Aug 2025 at 06:28  | Reason: Spelling

User
Posted 02 Aug 2025 at 14:20
Thanks for letting us know. Rest in peace Craig...
User
Posted 02 Aug 2025 at 16:47

My deepest sympathy and condolences to the family.

User
Posted 03 Aug 2025 at 08:18
RIP Craig. Sincere condolences to his family and friends.
User
Posted 03 Aug 2025 at 09:06

Very sorry to hear this. Craig was an inspiration on here.

Jenny, please accept my sincere condolences to you and your family. RIP Craig.

User
Posted 03 Aug 2025 at 09:20

I'm so very sorry to hear of Craig's passing Jenny; thank you for letting us know.

Like many on here, I only knew of Craig virtually via this forum, however he came across as a strong, determined and caring man. The happy pictures and memories from others on the Sunflower's page bear this out. 

Take care.

 

User
Posted 03 Aug 2025 at 12:30

Hi Jenny, 

So sorry to hear about Craig, I have only been on this forum for 4 weeks and Craig was one of the first to share advice and support with my partners diagnosis....shows that even those who have very recently entered this crazy world of PC and all it brings, he was there to offer advice with a dash of humour which resonated with me. Wish you and the family all the very best ♥️

User
Posted 04 Aug 2025 at 16:57
Didn't see this coming, incredibly sad news.

Thoughts to family and those that knew Craig better than me on here. I am newly diagnosed and Craig reached out to me only 4 weeks ago for which I will always be grateful. I'll be raising a glass or two for you, RIP mate. 🍻

User
Posted 04 Aug 2025 at 20:30
Hello Jenny,

Just to add my condolences to his family and friends. It's a lottery how you survive this rotten disease and you can only make the most of the time you have.

Barry
User
Posted 12 Aug 2025 at 18:52

Hi Jenny,

I haven't been on here in a while.

Having just read your update, I had to remove myself from the sunlight.

I am so so sorry for your loss.

Bless every single ounce of your soul Craig.

 

Jamie.

Edited by member 12 Aug 2025 at 18:57  | Reason: Not specified

User
Posted 12 Aug 2025 at 19:11

Hi Jenny, 

Really sorry to read this, sorry for your loss.

RIP Craig. 

 
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