What follows is a pictorial timeline with some brief bike descriptions. It all started back in 1981 when after owning a string of Suzuki's I decided to turbocharge my GSX1100ET.

Having 170hp on tap with a standard chassis did not equate to good handling, hence my first contact with Spondon in 1983 with the Reynold's tube steel wrap around chassis with De Carbon rear shock, Spondon 2-pot calipers and all the GSX1100 turbo donor bits.

Unfortunately the Spondon was built and crashed in the space of two weeks, Breaking my back and putting me in hospital for 5 months. Bob and Stuart were very sympathetic and the frame was repaired by Dave. (the steel frame braising Guru).

During 1984/85 the second incarnation had Marzocci front forks with mechanical anti dive, Spondon discs and 4-pot calipers.

The Spondon's turbocharged engine had a brief holiday in a longer GSX1100E chassis with Spondon swingarm during my drag racing exploits of 1987/88.

During 1988 the 'Performance Bikes' 'Mission Improbable' project was built, based on a GSXR1100H with a tuned 1260cc engine, Keihin flatslides and Cobra exhaust. The Spondon was fabricated out of double hollow 7020 aluminium tube, used Whitepower forks, Ohlins shock and Marvic wheels with Spondon 4-pots and Harris Bodywork.

The third incarnation of the steel-framed Spondon came in 1989, with a beefed up Spondon swingarm, new EG engine, aluminium crafted bodywork, Marvic wheels, Ohlins rear shock, drilled 320mm discs and twin whitepower dampers to stop the tank slappers.

The steel-framed Spondon was once again wrecked during a wheelie demonstration at Aintree Truckfest 1990. (If you look closely I still had time to wave to a friend in the crowd!) Eventually it was rebuilt with the 1260 GSXR engine and retired! (currently residing in Cumbria). 

The GSXR engine had a short life in what some say was one of the first 'street- fighters'. It survived during 1991 with Marvic wheels, Forcella Italia forks and Spondon swingarm extensions, before I killed it later that year (there is definitely a theme running through all this!).

Next came one of the more well known of my bikes, the well publicised 'monster' bike, which was featured in PB from Dec 91 until June 92. The Spondon round tube 7020 aluminium GSX came about because Bob from Spondon was sick of getting requests to build the steel framed bikes, when he wanted to transfer his manufacturing base to Aluminium. But I recognised the muscle bike styling of the round tube, 'The Monster' was born!

Being caught doing a burnout in Amsterdam doesn't go down too well with the local plod!

It's alright building these bikes, but what do you do with them when they're finished? This is the content for Layout P Tag

I was sick of crashing them, so I decided to let someone else have a go at that and enter the world of bike racing murder in the most public of scenes, "World 24Hr Endurance Racing". My first attempt, whish lasted from Spa 1993 until the Bol D'or 1995 was with the Yamaha YZF750SP: Spondon Petroltank and banana style swingarm with quick release ends developed with Spondon and used on most of the current IOM TT Superbikes. Fork bottoms quick release pivot type as per HRC.

Along the way I had fun with making the odd one-off bike, in this instance a butchered Yamaha B-Wiz, chopped and turned into a dinky pit bike.

The next World Endurance bike to get the Spondon Burns treatment was the Honda VTR in 1997. It was under the direction from Honda Britain to develop racing parts to convert the standard roadbike into a racetrack performer and campaign it at the Bol D'or 97.

The Spondon involvement lists: Swingarm, subframe, fairing bracket front radiator, footrest assembly and fitment of swingarm support brackets.

1999 and 2000 saw a return to World Endurance racing with a Yamaha, the R1 2001 with the Suzuki GSXR1000 in World Endurance and the Macau GP 2002 with the Kawasaki ZX9-R

2004 with the Kawasaki ZX10-R