Linda and I have been working on the garage for the past month and today, we finally got the last piece of heavy equipment out of it so we can paint the walls & ceiling and epoxy the floor. That last piece was Suzi, my 1981 Suzuki GS1000G motorcycle. Here's a picture of her.



The old girl is a bit worn around the edges -- she's been sitting in that garage ever since we moved down here in 1989. Before Linda and I started dating, Suzi and I had some fun trips including a 2-week excursion from Connecticut to the Grand Canyon and back in 1983. She was the perfect balance of canyon cruiser and highway hauler. I had her outfitted with a Vetter fairing and Samsonite bags and with them and a tank bag, I could pack for 2 weeks with only one laundry stop necessary. In her prime, Suzi made 90 hp out of those 1000 CCs at 8,500 and she had a redline of 10,000 rpm. She sports an inline 4-cylinder engine, double overhead cams and a shaft drive.

When Linda and I got together, she told me how much she hated me riding the bike and so I decided that she was far more important to me than Suzi. The last time she was officially on the road was in 1984. She has 12,800 miles on her.

Linda keeps asking if I intend to put her back in the garage after it's all painted. I'm being evasive. But deep down, I think it's time I got Suzi into a home that will do the restoration work she deserves. I'll just have to get by with the memories. And there are some very sweet ones.

Jim