Motorcycles
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1951 Triumph TR6 Thunderbird. |
My first memories of motorcycles is my Dad (Dean Borrett) riding his
1951 Triumph TR6 Thunderbird 650cc to work and the old Rudge
with sidecar unit down in the back yard. Later, I can also remember Dad
taking me to kindy garden on the "Trumpy".
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Lloyd ready to head off to kindy on the Trumpy. Come on Dad! (Circa 1960). |
Eventually, Dad couldn't afford to keep the Triumph
running and it was parked in the back yard near the sand pit.
I played on it a lot during my primary school years. The Rudge
ended up being taken to the Whyalla tip!
The Triumph is now with my brother Paul Borrett in Perth, WA.
Suzuki 120
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Lloyd and Scamp on the Suzuki. (December 1973).
It'll Do & Jurra boats in the background at 23 Wood Tce, Whyalla. |
My first motorcycle was a Suzuki 120 purchased for $60,
very second-hand from the BHP Steelworks in Whyalla. I gained
access to it the day I finished my last HSC examination in
December, 1973. It had been stored by Dad out of the way in our
neighbour's chicken coup. A quick clean up and going over saw it good
enough to pass a roadworthy and get registered.
But the Suzuki didn't run well. I had to carry three spark plugs
wherever I went: one to get me there; one to get back; plus a spare.
The spark plugs would quickly foul up and have to be cleaned.
Nothing we tried to fix the problem worked very well.
Down a very steep hill, with a strong following wind,
the Suzuki once clocked 85 kph!
It seized one day early in 1974 and a complete strip down and rebuild was carried out.
Thankfully Dad was making frequent trips to Indonesia at
the time, where there was a good supply of spare parts for
that particular model.
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Suzuki 120 after rebuild in mid 1974. |
Restoring the Triumph TR6
In 1974, I first got serious about restoring the 1951
Triumph TR6 Thunderbird 650cc motorcycle my father
purchased in 1952. I ending up spending about $2,000 on
bits, re-chroming etc. But I left home to spend a year in
Tasmania before I finished the job and never got back to
it.
At the time I wasn't planning to do a full restoration,
but now I think that would be the best thing to do. But
this means I'd have to find a tank, headlight nacelle and
instruments, exhaust system, etc. The real hard part was
getting my Dad to dig out all of the bits that are
stored away in various nooks and crannies at his place in
Sydney!
Eventually, all of the Triumph TR6 Thunderbird made it's
way to Melbourne. In 2024, it was dispatched to Perth for
my brother Paul to finish the restoration.
1976 Yamaha DT175 Trail Bike
In 1976 I purchased a Yamaha DT175 trail bike new. With
my mates we'd head off for the day riding in the saltbush and
mallee scrub around Whyalla. They all mostly had large old British
bikes, which would make it a really tiring day for them.
When I think back to some of the riding antics we got up
to way out in the middle of nowhere, I now shudder.
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Lloyd & Kym Borrett heading off to play
basketball for the Whyalla Steelers on the Yamaha DT175 (1976). |
1978 Honda CX-500
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Lloyd's 1978 Honda CX-500. |
Not long after moving to Melbourne in 1977, I decided
the Yamaha DT175 wasn't really that suitable around the
city. I purchased a new Honda CX-500 water-cooled, V twin,
shaft drive road bike. A very big and heavy bike for its
engine capacity, which was accentuated by the full fairing,
twin Krauser panniers, tank bag and Hallmark back pack
accessories I added. A great touring unit though.
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Lloyd touring on the 1978 Honda CX-500. |
I made a few trips to Sydney on the Honda, and of course
numerous trips to Waikerie to go gliding. The CX-500 would
sit comfortably all day on 150 kph and I'd get off at the
end of the day feeling just fine. Unfortunately the police
didn't approve and I was booked many times. The things we
do when we're young!
Bush Bikes
In 1990, after moving out of the city to my rural
retreat "Raydon" at Glenaroua, the Honda was sold.
I then had a succession of dirt bikes to ride about the place.
Local time: 7:08 am Sunday 26 October 2025
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