I grew up on Magnetic Island off Townsville, we moved to a farm in NSW in 77 and I worked on our farm and a friends and made enough money to buy my first bike, a late 60's Suzuki A 100 road bike, I fitted knobby tires and a small dirt bike front guard and had great fun on our farm for many years.
In my early 20's my best mate worked for Yamaha in Melbourne and bought a very mint TY250 that had been traded in. He had quite a lot of bikes and I took a shine to the TY250, I was leaving Melbourne to move to Perth and at the time was into racing small tunnel hull boats, I cam home from work the night before I was due to leave and found the TY250 tied down 1/2 in my boat and the front wheel hanging out the back. My best mate said, you love it, take it, I wont give it to you but as long as you look after it I will get it back in a few years. I carried that bike in the boat to Perth and lived there for a few years then decided to move home to Townsville via Darwin. I rang my mate and he decided he had done Melbourne and would meet me in Port Augusta, from there we drove up to Darwin, me with the boat and TY in tow.
Like a lot of people the plan to stay in Darwin for a week turned into 8 years, I met my wife there and eventually we moved back to Townsville to raise a family, we still live in the same house now.
About two years into living in Darwin, my best mate was killed in an Ultra-Light plane crash; his family thought I should keep the TY250. I found it very hard to ride the bike or even look at anymore and gave it to my brother; he had no sentimental connection to it and eventually sold it in Darwin. It was pretty sad, but these are the things that life throws at us and needless to say I have pretty well regretted giving it away at all.
I have attached a pic of the TY250 in my boat in Kalgoorlie, what now seems a very long time ago.
Life moves on and I am very proud to say that my 13 year old son bought his first bike last weekend after 3 years of doing jobs and saving money. It is a 1/77, TY175JC (thanks David Lahey for identifying it) it was his choice and his money.
The bike is mechanically very sound but cosmetically very sad, as young Max’s saves the $, I will give my son the skills to pretty it up as my father did with me and my Suzi A100.
Funny thing, my sons TY175 was made in the same year I got my Suzi A100.
Is life not Grand?
Murray.
(I have had a lot of other bikes in between and ride a HD road bike these days, but the TY250 will always be the most important bike)
- Max's TY175JC 28-03-2010
- TY250 in my boat.
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