The Pillion Seat Part 1

When I first met my husband, he owned a Suzuki Bandit 600. He did take me out on it once, but I was glad I wasn't on it very long - lets just say the pillion seat has got significantly less padding than my backside requires.

About a couple of years ago, my husband decided we needed a more coupley bike. Besides, he wanted a bike that was a bit more a mile muncher than a sportster. Finally, he decided a Honda Pan European (ST1100) would fit the bill:

There's plently storage space;
it can go some when required;
it has a shaft drive - so no more chains to oil, clean and replace
and it has reasonably seats.

To name a few advantages.

So, after a couple of months looking, he finally found an L reg ST1100, which required a little (or so we thought) TLC. The exhaust needed replaced and the fairing was a bit tired, but nothing that a few hours with some T-cut and colour matched wax would sort. After a bit of discussion, which went along the lines of:

My husband: "So, what do you think?"
Me: "Well, I'm not going to be driving it and I don't know much about motorbike engines"
My husband: "You know enough about car ones - it's still an engine. Will you come with me on it? There's no point me getting it if your not going to come out on it with me"
Me: "I have no kit"
My husband: "Er...you can get some"
Me: "Seems a reasonable bike; do you think I'd be able to get a red lid?" (NB a lid is biker speak for a helment)
My husband: No words, but an interesting expression!

So, he said goodbye to the Bandit and hello to the Pan. And the task of restoring it to its former glory began...

Unfortunately, it needed a little more than TLC. After about 2 months, the centre stand broke when my husband was parking it. The way it broke, part of the remainder on the bike was rubbing on the (now new) exhaust, so the bike was, in effect, off the road. This was also the end of October, we don't have a garage and in order to get the remainder of the stand off, my husband had to lie under the bike with a hacksaw...as you can imagine, he didn't do it in a hurry.

Consequently, we didn't use the 1100 Pan very much, as my husband had lost faith in it. Apparently, the condition of the centre stand is a good indication of the condition of the swing arm.

As regards getting me kitted out - I did get my red helmet...
I also got trousers, gloves and a jacket. All of which with so much padding I couldn't bend properly when I got the kit.