Dreams Can Come True

George Acolina shared with me his story of owning his first 400F.  What a great story.

"This bike, along with Karim's yellow 400, were the last batch sold in Gibralter in 78.  The white one was burgundy.  I bought in 79 and paid £825 for it because the owner (a guy in his sixty's) wanted what he had paid for it new £850.  It had 2000km and was in very good condition and such was the demand for these bikes then that everybody wanted one! 

Had a crash racing a Mazda rx7 that spun in front of me and a spinning car stops quicker than a bike, smashed the front end and i landed on my feet after flying over the bonnet unhurt but with my pride and joy with bent forks and dented tank.  I felt that to repair as soon as possible.  

I bought a CB250 front end, painted the tank in white and a week later was on the road again. In 1980 went to Greece from Gibvia Morocco the frontier was closed between Spain and Gib so we had to go to Morocco and from there to spain!!!  This road trip we did with three four fours as we used to call them, two friends and me we crossed Spain, France and Italy and then disaster; one of my friends 400 was smoking like a two stroke.  This was in the middle of August and in Italy everything closes in that month.  I remember they were playing the World Cup and Naples seemed like a ghost town.  We had stripped the engine in the camping site; the rings had broken scratching the cylinders we were looking for spare parts but every dealer in Italy seemed closed.  We found a place that had a smashed up 350 four and bought the top end with no new gasgets.  We repaired the engine in two days and soon it was running again but still smoking my friend threw in the towel and returned in train back home only to find out that after running for a couple of days the smoke disappeared.  It was the oil in the exhaust.  Me and other friend Eddie finished our plans and went up to Greece and came back home safe and sound.

I had the white bike til 1982 when i sold it and bought a Ducati Pantha 600 from UK and Eddie bought a BMW RS600 but that's another story. 

After I sold the bike it was smashed up completely in an accident and I always remembered that four four.  Years later I found a side panel off the white bike in the police compound and have kept it for years thinking maybe one day I could have one again.  Last year I threw it away thinking I'd never have one these bikes again - until i found out about you people, and it all came back.  I wanted one again.  The red bike I was looking in Facebook opened a page of cars and bikes for sale and there was my baby.  I called the guy and he had bought it in UK and brought it over registering it in Gibraltar.  The next day I tested and bought it.  It belonged to a lady for the past 28 years and now it belongs to me! So sometimes if you wish enough your Dreams Come true?"