Here's my one

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aet1

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I keep seeing wonderful workshops - some seem to lack a vital element - where are the sawdust and woodshavings, they look like hospital surgeries.

Some will have noticed I am hard up, I am an old codger, my days of having space in a workshop went once I returned to the UK so my single garage is my workshop, storage room, place to keep my fantastic classic bike and whatever else I have to try to squash in it. I am currently focussing on working in wood but I have quite a range of interests and have equal skills in many fields.

I do not have a proper bench, I shift stuff about on a daily basis to make enough space for the job/s in hand. I have drop on formica topped covers for my table saw and the silly workbench (It's a collapsible Wolfcraft work and machine table - one of my routers is usually fitted under it).

If it's a quiet job I might open the garage door, if it's noisy I try to think a little of the neighbours, fortunately they are all out working most of the time.

Add a bench drill (birthday present from wife) that sits next to the bench grinder - the grinder is bolted down with wing nuts so I can easily take it off for larger pieces to be drilled. I use a couple of clamps to hold my metalworking vice down so that can be out of the way.

Of course it gets a bit crazy when I need my planer, bench saw and router table, it gets like musical chairs.

You will see lots of toolboxes under the benches, I keep hand power tools in them, plus the rarely used woodworking tools, another with metalworking tools, a case with electrical tools, one toolbox with car repairing tools and a crate with the oils / greases/ paints etc used on mechanical servicing or repairing (car, lawnmower, washing machine ...). One has building type tools (trowels, cold chisels, bolster and larger ball pein hammers etc.), another small one has upholstery tools, there is one for tools likely to be used for small items, watches, phones and the like, a small one for sewing (recently renovated wife's old teddy bears and put a new jip in my favourite work fleece)- my sewing machine is indoors, and yet another with tools etc for electronic use.

The photo is a few months old as I've recently used the drawers from an old dressing table and now there is a row of drawers along the left hand side under the shelf, they seem to be quickly filling! I noticed a small space on the cupboard to the left of the window - now my best set of chisels in on there.

Thought you might like to see a contrast to those roomy things on here.

IMG_20221206_130713.jpg
 
You've more room than I have :)
Machinery steals a lot of space !
Thanks for sharing and I applaud and share your diverse interests, except for the sewing :))
 
How about a photo or two of your classic bike - what is it, please tell?
Ok, you've forced me into it, but don't expect just a photo, you have to put up with the whole story, which is probably why I only have one friend who is as mad as me and lives a few countries away.
My wife loved, and still loves motorbikes, so in advance of her being licenced to ride she bought a 50cc and would sit on it in the hall and polish it. Of course once she got her provisional licence she was out and about - and soon realised a 50cc was not as exciting as she hoped so she bought one of these, the driving examiner was quite amused when she turned up to her test on it and swapped to a baby bike to do the test. A time later someone drove out of a sideroad and wrote the bike and very nearly my wife off. Once able to walk she bought this bike, it was 3 years old, then used it to bribe me into marrying her.

1983 Suzuki N85 Turbo. 650cc. 1120 made, 100 imported into the UK with probably under 12 still roadworthy. Then Suzuki took a lot back and apparently destroyed them. Used as a test bed for their latest innovations, so as well as the turbo it has electronic ignition and electronic fuel injection. First production bike to have a larger rear wheel than front one, first to have fully floating suspension, first to have oil sprayed up onto the pistons to cool them. LCD elements on the dash display.

This one is one of the very few with a genuine black chrome silencer and downpipes although they dont' shine much now.

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That's nice! Not sure of the styling for the rear indicators, but the rest look pretty darned good!
You're making me wish I'd kept my Honda CX500 now, first shaft-driven bike ever. The crank was a BIG solid block of metal.
Them were the days....sigh. Shudder to think what one would cost to buy now. Right! I'm off to google it.
Thanks for the photo and story.
 
@aet1 - that looks a bit of a beast!! I stopped riding when I was in my mid-fifties, last bike I had was a Ducati 996 my 2nd bought from new and sold with 35k on the clock - I used to commute 80 miles a day on it!!
Happy days - eh? !!
 
Oh the indicators are not Suzuki, they are a frame for Krauser pannier cases, true to age. Not the size of box you want when weaving through London, they get stuck on people's cars 😄
 
I have a visually very similar 1985 GSX 750ES. No turbo and four carbs rather than fuel injection. Mine currently buried in the garage so can't get a piece but same colour scheme as this image. When I last checked you could still buy the original exhaust from Suzuki, but about £1200!!!. Mine has a stainless four into one, but have always intended to get one custom made in stainless to the original design. Nice bike.
 

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Oh the indicators are not Suzuki, they are a frame for Krauser pannier cases, true to age. Not the size of box you want when weaving through London, they get stuck on people's cars 😄
Haha! - I at one time had an FJ1200 fitted with Krauser panniers and a top-box, and yes I did use it for commuting daily between High Wycombe and east London - Docklands before it was fully built up! I mainly used the top-box but did on occasions use a single side pannier and yes I did have the odd nudge from passing vehicles due to misjudging the width. To be fair on most occasions I would stop and check for damage and most of the drivers were pleasant and I deduce surprised I'd taken the trouble to stop. On the motorway it was a bit of a 'mare since the aerodynamics of the top-box occasionally induced a very gentle weave....
 
in the old days I had an hours plus commute into London.....
Wanted a Pan European but they were too new a model for anything secondhand..
So bought a 1100 K series LT brick...
I was a bit of a hooligan on it....got sick of buying new mirror heads..u clip em they fall off...
so modified em with a couple of zip ties.....only had to stop and bang em back on..
one good thing about the bang on mirror heads tho.....used to keep a £20 note in each one just in case.....nobody would ever know....hahaha....
never clipped a pannier tho.....
I used to get 6 weeks out of a rear tyre and every 12 weeks a full new set.....happy days...

we need more bike photo's please...esp the old ones......

my project starting this coming winter......
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but will look like this'ish.....
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in the old days I had an hours plus commute into London.....
Wanted a Pan European but they were too new a model for anything secondhand..
So bought a 1100 K series LT brick...
I was a bit of a hooligan on it....got sick of buying new mirror heads..u clip em they fall off...
so modified em with a couple of zip ties.....only had to stop and bang em back on..
one good thing about the bang on mirror heads tho.....used to keep a £20 note in each one just in case.....nobody would ever know....hahaha....
never clipped a pannier tho.....
I used to get 6 weeks out of a rear tyre and every 12 weeks a full new set.....happy days...

we need more bike photo's please...esp the old ones......

my project starting this coming winter......
View attachment 158177

but will look like this'ish.....
View attachment 158178
I also have a very early K100 RT, it was actually one of BMW's demo bikes when they were launched. Still one of the best mile munchers out there.
 
Rode old 2 strokes for years. RD250, RD400 both Marine Blue and briefly, a red GT750 water bucket. Proper sounding bikes.......
Always wanted a CB400 Four but never had the chance.
 
Ok, you've forced me into it, but don't expect just a photo, you have to put up with the whole story, which

1983 Suzuki N85 Turbo. 650cc.

View attachment 158045
Can see some similarities with the GS650 Katana I had which ultimately disappointed me with its shaft drive and its crankshaft that ran on shells as opposed to the indestructible GS550 I had previously that was roller bearings everywhere!
Last toy I had was an FJ1200 (non abs type…) but after finding I don’t bounce when things take an unexpected twist like I used to as a nipper, decided to draw a line under my two wheeled exploits. Lots of fun had on them but it’s a vastly different world now and the attraction has faded for me.
 
Rode old 2 strokes for years. RD250, RD400 both Marine Blue and briefly, a red GT750 water bucket. Proper sounding bikes.......
Always wanted a CB400 Four but never had the chance.
I had an RD 250 lc, back in the days when you could ride a 250 without a test. Massive fun. Once had a go on a mate's RD500, that was scarily fast job to keep the front wheel on the floor of you weren't careful with the power band. Could certainly see why so many got crashed. I had a succession of MZ two strokes as commuter bikes, still got a 251 Saxon and an ETZ 125. Great bikes to tune, used to be the bike of choice for many city couriers as they are virtually indestructible.
 
I had an RD 250 lc, back in the days when you could ride a 250 without a test. Massive fun. Once had a go on a mate's RD500, that was scarily fast job to keep the front wheel on the floor of you weren't careful with the power band. Could certainly see why so many got crashed. I had a succession of MZ two strokes as commuter bikes, still got a 251 Saxon and an ETZ 125. Great bikes to tune, used to be the bike of choice for many city couriers as they are virtually indestructible.
My brother had an RD500. The closest you could get to a track bike on the road at the time. I was riding a GPz900 at that time. The RD500 had terrible fuel economy and a small fuel capacity. We did Lands End to John O’Groats in a day and on three separate occasions he ran out of petrol. Way back then there was little in the way of police patrols so we simply brought the bikes in side by side and shared foot rests so I could push his bike. We still continued at well over the speed limit to the next garage.
 
My brother had an RD500. The closest you could get to a track bike on the road at the time. I was riding a GPz900 at that time. The RD500 had terrible fuel economy and a small fuel capacity. We did Lands End to John O’Groats in a day and on three separate occasions he ran out of petrol. Way back then there was little in the way of police patrols so we simply brought the bikes in side by side and shared foot rests so I could push his bike. We still continued at well over the speed limit to the next garage.
Used to work in a bike shop where we had a 500lc in for a major engine rebuild that took forever (only after ordering and getting 4sets of pistons and rings did we find out they were actually handed left’s and rights and only after sorting that mess out did we discover the front pistons were different to the rear ones!) but muggins here got to take it for a quick spin after it’s rebuild to make sure everything was fine. Was merrily whizzing down the A52 from the M1 en rte back to the shop when it made a horrendous noise and lost all power…”****,I’ve seized it” thought I. Nope,fuel tap was in on position and only had reserve left..talk about a sudden transition from go to no go.
 
My wife asked if I was getting it taxed this year! Looks like I might have the ok to get it on the road. Needs new tyres (a silly size) might need front brake pistons, I'll have to see. Next year it will be old enough not to need tax or not test, although I still think it's rather silly that older vehicles don't need tests!
On not had it on the road for quite a time. We ran out of money and had to sell my wife's sv650s and not been able to buy another bike for her so I feel bad that I can ride and she can't (I keep saying she should ride this but she refuses). I would love a bike for her, she has a progressive eye condition that will definitely lead to blindness in one eye and we don't know about the other yet, so it would be great if she could enjoy herself while she can. She has several chronic conditions, life is no fun for her.
 
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