Looking at these Motorcycle Auction results took me down memory lane to my first love, bikes! How many of these did you own, lust after, curse at, etc? I totaled my dad's Honda SL125 while driving it to work and spent every penny I made that summer rebuilding it! Also had a Kawasaki 500 H-1 3-cyl 2-stroke street bike that I bought for $200. Had been sitting outside and looked like shit, but was one scary stoooopid fast mofo! Adjusting 3 sets of points was a beeotch!

Funny, after racing a Mach III modded to H1R trim in 500 Vintage for SOTP, OMRRA and WMRRA I got sick and tired of constantly tweasing on the bike to keep in from melting itself so I went back to the trusty Gixxr!
I might have been fast for its day, and part of that was just perception due to it wicked powerband, but nowdays its a plain slug.

BTW its for SALE

76 BMW R90/6.

Bought it wrecked, and rebuilt with the help of a buddy that restored Brit cars.

The big day came and I rode it 50 miles home. COuld not get above 90 MPH! Wierd.

Took it to a local guy who diagnosed TA-DA..bike had been running on ONE cylinder, still went 90, and seemed smooth enough DOH!

She really smoothed out when both jugs fired!

Drove it into a ditch one day, 5 days in hospital, still have the pin in my shoulder (22 years ago). It was a sweet ride, and I still miss it.

At the opposite end....Currently own a '76 Honda Passport that I use as a track gofer abd at horse show with my kids.

That Passport reminds me alot of my first motorcyle / non-mini-bike. A Honda S65. hacked off the fenders, put on knobbies and beat the snot out of it. Would rev to like 9000 rpm stock. Hit a fire hydrant hidden in a pile of leaf bags at 40mph dead on. The bike flipped over me and crashed. I was fine and the only damage to the bike was a bent front rim and the forks were teeny bit crooked. THATS IT! Tough little SOB.

i had a nice sportster i had fixed up from a wreck that i traded for my first 944...now i have a triumph but its a basket case.

My first bike in 1974 was a Bultaco El Tigre, the only street bike they made. I paid $500 for it and it spewed clutch parts out the casing a month later.

You're right those old Kawasaki triples were WILD. They would pick up the front end in a Heartbeat!!!

Here's my current bike, an old '82 Yamaha XJ750 Maxim



I paid $400 for her, but there's been some work and money since!!

A few more pics and the story here:
My Yamaha

I am happy to hear that I am not the only 914 guy that likes vintage bikes. Picture attached...

and another...

and another...

That BSA scrambler is wicked awesome!

I still have my worn out Harley. I don't think I've been over a 100 miles one way on a trip. The frist time I got crashed I striped the bike for splitting traffic. I bought the bike new in Nov. '92 and got hit April 11 '94. Check the mileage on the odometer. I stopped riding the bike in 02.
Joe
P.S. I had to stop riding in L.A.

I got a few more BSA's in the garage. Check out this domestic market Honda I bought in Japan last year... 50cc Retro model.

QUOTE (Joe Sharp @ May 12 2005, 07:28 PM)

I still have my worn out Harley. I don't think I've been over a 100 miles one way on a trip. The frist time I got crashed I striped the bike for splitting traffic. I bought the bike new in Nov. '92 and got hit April 11 '94. Check the mileage on the odometer. I stopped riding the bike in 02. Joe P.S. I had to stop riding in L.A.

Damn Joe, You have had some bad luck on bikes. The only bike I ride on the road is my Ducati. Generally up to Idylwild on the weekends for a cup of coffee. 19 minutes on a good day from home!

man, have a couple of bikes? Love the british bikes, my dad has a triumph, mine has to wait until the teener is done to be put together.

I have always loved British bikes. I have a 1966 BSA 441 Victor that I had restored in England near where it was made. There is a cottage industry in the UK where some of the old timers that made them, now restore them.

Ducks have gotta be the sweetest sounding bike, period. Sorta like a Harley that went to finishing school.

Dan: Not bad luck, the odds get you in the end. I love bikes, r/r an RD 350 in 73. Using a bike in L.A. is much more effective than a car. I road to the L.A. civic center and to Culver City for about 8 years, every day. After the 2nd year on the Harley I stopped washing the bike because you could not get the water stains off the bike. Ridding in the rain splitting traffic, 45 minutes in the worst traffic. 30 in the best. I think I've split millions of cars.
I will restore the bike when I retier and go ridding then. Just not here.
Joe

Yah! I love bikes, Dad owned a cycle shop when I was a kid. I worked there nearly everyday during Junior High and High School years. Kawasaki's and Triumphs. Here's an old photo of me and my '65 Triumph 650 . I built it from a basket case and chopped it back in 1971.....Love those old-school motors, two coils, two sets of points, two carbs, two cylinders, Yea!

QUOTE (Joe Sharp @ May 12 2005, 07:55 PM)

Dan: Not bad luck, the odds get you in the end. I love bikes, r/r an RD 350 in 73. Using a bike in L.A. is much more effective than a car. I road to the L.A. civic center and to Culver City for about 8 years, every day. After the 2nd year on the Harley I stopped washing the bike because you could not get the water stains off the bike. Ridding in the rain splitting traffic, 45 minutes in the worst traffic. 30 in the best. I think I've split millions of cars. I will restore the bike when I retier and go ridding then. Just not here. Joe

Well, when your ready let me know!

lemme see if i have a pic of dads bike even though its changed again now

now looks more like this...

xitspd,

That has to be the single coolest Honda I have ever seen!
(The BSA's are rather tasty as well)

Let's see, current bikes...

03' Yamaha YZ450F Sportsman class SuperMoto racer (SuperMotoUSA #707)
02' KDX220R Trail bike
98' BBR120 Minibike
89' Honda CB-1 400cc's and 13,500RPMs
00' Honda XR680RR Street SuperMoto (Absolute madness)
65ish Honda CB160, currently decorating the living room while I work on other projects

Past rides include:

65' Harley XLCH chopper
89' Honda Hawk GT 650
98' Honda 996 SuperHawk
82' Honda NightHawk 550
A couple of Honda XR350s just for giggles
A Honda FT500 Ascot road race bike
Uhmm... And likely a few others I'm forgeting.

Yeah, I kinda like bikes too.

Dan: Thanks, People know where my hart is and I get a couple of offers a year. I'd like to come up just to drool on your toys.
Joe

This is cool, all the moto heads have come out of this thread.

Maybe I'm too young and don't realize what a lousy bike an H1 would be today - but I would still love to get one. A little over $2k huh? Hmmmm......

Heres a pic that was taken of me two weeks ago

My 95 ZX11

parked this one in may 04

My new ZZR1200 with the ZX11

Not a great shot.

Here is my brother-in-law's custom chopper. He owns a custom chopper shop:
Southern Fried Choppers



You can see more pics of the bike here:
More Pics

It's pretty neat. It's a Jockey Shift with a Hurst Pistol Grip Shifter from an old Dodge. Honestly though, I think the Weber Carb sticking off the side would rip your leg off if you ever went down....

I wish I had the money to have them do a custom build.

Wow xitspd, some nice bikes you have there. I'm finally getting around to looking for parts to restore my vintage ducati 80 (I think I've posted pics here before):

QUOTE

Ducks have gotta be the sweetest sounding bike, period. Sorta like a Harley that went to finishing school.

A fat v twin sound is cool but ya gotta trail a Cam Drive VFR with a Pipe to send a chill down your spine
How can we attach audio file here?