Memories of my Water Bottle: Copyright Roderick C Taylor 2009

    I remember pulling up outside a bike shop in 1975. I was riding my 1973 Suzuki GT 750 and had just parked it when this old bloke smelling of oil walked up and started to marvel at the big two stroke triple with a radiator.
"That's not a new idea, I used to own a Scott flying Squirrel" he announced. "That was a 600cc two stroke with water cooling right back in the 30's" he continued with the air of proud Englishman.
Now even though I was only 20 years old I was a keen Motorcycle nut (even back then) and I knew what a Flying Sqirrel was. Surely only the Brits would call a 600cc bike that was used successfully as a Grand Prix racing bike a 'Flying Squirrel'. We soon got talking about bikes both new and old, he was currently riding a Triumph Bonnieville parked a couple of bikes from mine. It was a well worn example of a true British Classic owned and maintained by a man who had had spent a lifetime propelling himself around on these trusty (usually leaky) steeds of steel.

"How does she handle" he asked with a wry smile.
"Like a large refrigerator with Wheels" I replied with a smile.
"Thats' why I'm here, Iv'e come for some Koni Shock absorbers and new tyres."

In those days the Japanese had mastered the art of producing high quality motorbikes, with good electrics, starter motors and oil tight reliable engines.....but the frames seemed to be welded together like scaffolding, the tyres tragically incapable of gripping the road and the high speed steering could only be described as scary. But with a bit of reverse engineering and some well designed bolt on bits, my bottle was ready for some serious centre stand grinding. Come rain or shine that bike was always a joy to ride. It was super reliable, extremely cheap to maintain and just ate up the miles without torturing my bum or my nuts. (Like so many other bikes).

After 100,000 klms I pulled the head off to de-coke the top end, there was no wear at all on the bore or pistons. When I sold it a couple of months later it was still running as good as it was when it was new. The triple cylinder 750cc two stroke had inherent primary balance, so it was as smooth as silk without the need for complex balancing weights and chains. The motor was rugged and very simple, the two stroke oil was fed through the big end bearings using the Suzuki CCI injection system before being mixed with the fuel. They were a heavy bike by modern standards, but actually were an easy bike to ride. The motor had a lot of low down 'grunt' and a fairly mild state of tune, but it still had plenty of go when needed. The twin disks were very capable and the quality of finish was very good.

I owned a 750K6 Honda four after the bottle and both bikes were freindly comfortable tourers with indestructable motors. My K6 was also modified with better suspension and was a better high speed mount than the Suzuki. I loved them both because of the sheer pleasure of eating up the miles knowing that either bike would get you there. I have owned a lot of bikes over my Thirty odd years of riding but few bring a tear to my eye like a water bottle does. I think of those long summer rides through twisty mountain roads with my mates.

The Water bottle was my first big bike and when I rode it home my mother cried. It's too big darling, you'll kill yourself on it...it's a monster. But nothing could be nearer from the truth. In the early 70's there was indeed a lot of bikes that were overpowered, evil handling and darn right lethal in the wrong hands (especially over the shelf with Jap suspension, tyres and brakes). You could go and sit a simple test at 17 years and nine months old and get your ' L' plates with no riding test what so ever. You could then march into a bike shop and buy a 900cc Kawasaki and hurl yourself into the nearest on coming Kenworth. The Water Bottle was tame enough and predictable, it didn't have a power band (that you could notice) and it behaved well in cross winds and bad weather.
The Electrics didn't fail when it rained (like my early Ducatis) and for a big two stroke the petrol consumption was surprisingly good.

Tips for the Restorer:

Today Water bottles are very collectable and if you want a simple reliable bike from the past that can tour all day long, then they are still a realistic alternative to many modern bikes. Especially with modern tyres and shockers. Don't even think about running them on premix if the two stroke oil feed CCI system is not working, you will wreck the big end. Check the swing arm bushes, they actually came with nylon ones......imagine that (big speed wobbles). I replaced the ones in my bike with aftermarket brass bushes. If the bike has been sitting around the seal between the motor and gearbox will probably be worn. (Common problem with old Suzukis). This means that the gear box oil will leak into the crank case and burn. This will foul the plugs very quickly and belch out some very nasty smoke. This is a big repair job so take particular attention when checking out a prospective bike. A steering dampner is a good add on if you can get one, bottles could get the high speed shakes if not set up right. I found that Metzler Tyres designed for BMW's improved the handling and straight line stability a great deal.

I don't know if you can still get them but I fitted a set of Gold Lodge Spark Plugs. They were expensive but had four electrodes rather than one. They literally never fouled up. I fitted a set when the bike was fairly new and never had to change a plug again (this is a two stroke remember). They were still in the bike when I sold it.

I miss my bottle.....................

Morris the Ogre a Great Ripping Yarn by Rod Taylor

 

 

 

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