Japanese

My First Motorcycle was a bike just like this one. I picked this up In early
2003, and did a complete restoration using NOS parts. It may be kind of crazy to
do this, but my collection would not be complete without it.

In 1971 I bought a new honda 750 from Salem Honda, which is the bike shown on the
left below. As you can see, I accessorized it, with triple A footboards,
Sportster saddlebags, Wixom Ranger fairing, crash bar, sissy bar, and a dash
panel thats not visible. As I remember it cost $1,495.00. It was a important
bike as it made me in to a Touring Rider. This was probably due to the fact that
the Harleys I had been riding were not particularly reliable, and this could go
anywhere just by adding gas. When I traded it off on a 1972 FLH It had 58,000
miles on it, and I had no problems with it. I saw the bike on the lower right in
Davenport Iowa in September 2001, and just had to buy it. It was last licensed
in 1984. With new Tires, a rebuild of the Carburetors, Front Brake and a
Complete Ignition Tune up, It seems just like 1971 again.

The W-1 is a copy of a BSA A-10 model Pre-
Unit 650 Twin. These were not popular in
the US in the 1960's, Kawasaki has revived
the idea with the W-650 that they came out
with last year. Although it is "Barn
Fresh" This example is in surprisingly
good condition, way to nice to restore.

After the 1974 Superglide, I traded into a 1975 FLH, which was really garbage.
The transmission locked up in the first week when the main drive gear seized. A
few months after I got it, the Gold wing came out, and finally, something as
reliable as the Honda 750, and as comfortable to ride long distance as the Harley.
The one on the left below is the original bike, and that picture was taken in
Ontario Canida in the summer of 1975 on an 8,000 mile trip I took. I traded the
bike off in 1978 with about 80,000 miles on it. In July of 2002, I found the one
on the right, which is an original 1 owner bike with just 9,700 miles on it.

This was quite an advanced bike for
the time. The first Oil-Injection,
6 speed machine from Japan. With
only 250CC it can go about 90MPH
right out of the box. This example
sat with the rear end sticking out
of the woodshed for 18 years before
being rescued and restored.