Bike project inspires more restoration
Tim Handcock not only inherited his father’s interest in motorbikes – he managed to secure one seriously old and unfinished project as well.
The 1971 TS250 Suzuki had been barely touched for 18 years before Handcock decided to take it on himself.
Three years ago Handcock began tinkering on the dusty antique and the do-up is finally complete.
‘‘ It was pretty bad, it needed everything done to it,’’ he said.
This is not the first motorbike the 30-year-old has restored – but it is by far his favourite.
‘‘This is the one I have spent the most time on,’’ he said.
Handcock would spent most nights and weekends on his beloved new toy.
He said the most difficult aspect of doing up the old model was sourcing parts.
Sometimes he would wait for up to a month for a part.
‘‘Trying to source parts [is the hardest], but I just worked on it while waiting for the parts,’’ he said.
And the best moment of it all was hearing that engine roar for the first time.
‘‘It means that I have done a good job,’’ he said.
It is one thing to have a bike that sounds good but many would argue that looks are just as important – the one element Handcock admitted he had not quite mastered.
‘‘I tried to do it [the paint job] myself . . . it was all right,’’ he said.
But not good enough for the selfproclaimed perfectionist.
The Suzuki is just another to add to an impressive list accumulated in 15 years of bike-building but if he is anything like his father it won’t be the last.