About

About the author of this website

My name is Paul Mercer. I live in the North West of England.
I have a general interest in most classic motorcycles although my favourites are mostly Japanese and from the 1970s & 1980s.

I was only eighteen years old when the Vetter Mystery Ship was introduced in 1980. At the time, I had a Honda 400 Four.
I remember reading about the Mystery Ship in some of the magazines around that time.

Moving on to 2012, I was doing some research into the Vetter Mystery Ship in order to feature it on one of my websites, KawasakiZ1.com. I purchased one of the original Mystery Ship sales brochures from Craig which he signed for me.

Mystery Ship brochure signed by Craig Vetter
Mystery Ship brochure signed by Craig Vetter

Craig was very obliging when I asked if I could use some of his photographs on my website. He asked me if I had ever seen the October 1980 issue of the American “Cycle” magazine which had featured a comparison of the Kawasaki engined Bimota KB1 and the Vetter Mystery Ship.
I told Craig that I did not get to read that particular magazine back then…
…and he was kind enough to give me a copy from his private collection which he signed on the front cover for me.

Cycle Magazine October 1980 - signed by Craig Vetter
“Cycle” magazine – October 1980 – signed by Craig Vetter

I suggested to Craig that we put together a website to tell the stories of the individual Mystery Ships… and that is how this website came into being.

… so please look out for more information soon.