W/NW : Motorcycles

My BMW R80G/S being checked out by fellow riders on a trail ride with my local Enduro club in 1985. Pic on Hasselblad 500C with Ektachrome 64 film.
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Seeing a couple of Vincents here recently makes me miss my '48 Rapide. This is a photo of it in 2017 just after I added the saddlebags. I finally decided to sell it a couple of years ago since it became a bit much for me to handle, (not riding, just pushing it around). This was about a 15 year project from literally baskets of parts, with my brother starting it and me finishing it up.

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I still have this Vincent Egli style 600cc Comet single project. It started similarly from just parts and is really quite a bitsa. It is nearly done but I have to take it apart and paint it and complete the wiring harness. I plan to finish it but doubt I will be able to ride it. Getting mesothelioma 6 years ago took a bit of the wind out of my sails and started me back into photography as a less taxing but just as rewarding, (at my age), alternative.

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A number of my bike shots were taken at an AHRMA (American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association) event. In addition to racing vintage bikes, they also had a vintage bike show and a small swap meet. Just before I took off the owner of this Vincent showed up. He wasn’t there to show it — this was his daily ride.

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No oil spot! A well used and well maintained Series D, the last of the production twins from 1955. Mine was a Series B, produced just after the war. With parts still being produced today and the ability to keep up with modern traffic, Vincents are one of the few vintage bikes capable of being daily drivers now, though they are best at long distance touring. This one, like mine, has aftermarket twin leading shoe brakes, solving what was a weak point for riding behind modern disk braked cars safely. A bit like early Leicas, still keeping on regardless.
 
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Guth said:
Great memories Doug, thanks for sharing! I can still remember how I felt when my dad’s buddy brought his CB750 over. In a word, intimidated! Don’t get me wrong, even as a kid I loved pretty much anything with wheels and an engine. But the CB750 looked so massive to me with its inline four cylinder engine and that matching four-into-four exhaust. It was such an impressive bike.
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You're right, the CB750 was impressive, and it impressed other traffic with those 4 pipes. Guys with fast cars, for instance 396 Chevelle, would avoid doing anything provocative, just in case! I wasn't into swaggering so I kept my cool too. At the time, the "other" hot bike was the Kawasaki 500 triple-cylinder two-stroke: wheelie city!
The CB750 came immediately after I broke my ankle while riding a CB350. With a cast on my leg I strapped the crutches on the 750 with bungee cords and kept on commuting... Was I nuts or just dedicated?

Later I had a Yamaha 750 triple, appreciated the shaft drive. Then the same drive on a 1979 Yamaha 1100 XS Eleven (I had recently gotten married), a truly great bike I rode for many years.
 
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Boojum:
OK, Moose Jaw, but you missed Swift Current, Rat Portage and Medicine Hat. WC Fields said, "I was in Medicine Hat once, yeah. It was closed."

I did CT to CA in '82 on a '67 R69S and it was grand. I later toured all over the SW on an R100RT. The R69S was the better bike. Too much traffic now for scooters.

That is a serious ride too!
As to Moose Jaw, it's one of many unusual place names, and I thought it was special and deserved a visit. When I was in USAF in South Dakota, part of my job was plotting the weather on pre-printed paper maps: wind speed & direction, air pressure, temp and dewpoint, etc. The data came in on teletype printers from HQ in Omaha every 3 hours. The maps came with letter codes identifying the reporting location. I wondered what "MJ" was up there in Canada, and looked it up. Moose Jaw! What a name. So years later on my Honda 750 I made a point of stopping there.
 
Doug said:
Boojum:
OK, Moose Jaw, but you missed Swift Current, Rat Portage and Medicine Hat. WC Fields said, "I was in Medicine Hat once, yeah. It was closed."

I did CT to CA in '82 on a '67 R69S and it was grand. I later toured all over the SW on an R100RT. The R69S was the better bike. Too much traffic now for scooters.

That is a serious ride too!
As to Moose Jaw, it's one of many unusual place names, and I thought it was special and deserved a visit. When I was in USAF in South Dakota, part of my job was plotting the weather on pre-printed paper maps: wind speed & direction, air pressure, temp and dewpoint, etc. The data came in on teletype printers from HQ in Omaha every 3 hours. The maps came with letter codes identifying the reporting location. I wondered what "MJ" was up there in Canada, and looked it up. Moose Jaw! What a name. So years later on my Honda 750 I made a point of stopping there.
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I only put it up because Canada has such wonderful names for some of their towns. I believe those three have been absorbed into Kenora now. I went looking for them in 2000, with a big Dodge 2500 diesel and 30' AS behind it. Ooops, Swift Current still exists. Canada is nice, I've lived and traveled there, the folks are nice, but, sheesh, there's a lot of it. And do what the Canadians do, avoid the Lauentian Shield. I drove it and found out why: twist, turns and hills, lots of them. "Peace, Order and Good Government", not just a catchy slogan, a damned good idea.
 
Guth said:
My Honda CB1100, dwarfed by the aging Paul Bunyon statue in the Kenton neighborhood of Portland.

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Is that shaft drive?
I had a 1980 CB750F that I liked a lot, but traded it in on an '82 V45 Sabre which I considered my Japanese BMW. Got rid of it when I decided I'd like to see my kids grow up.
 
AlwaysOnAuto said:
Is that shaft drive?
I had a 1980 CB750F that I liked a lot, but traded it in on an '82 V45 Sabre which I considered my Japanese BMW. Got rid of it when I decided I'd like to see my kids grow up.
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No, it’s chain drive. I’ve hung onto it while contemplating whether or not my riding days are done. When it comes to bikes I was never more than a day tripper, but I did commute via motorcycle for a number of years in all but the worst of weather here in Portland. I’ve had plenty of close calls, but fortunately no accidents and I feel fortunate to have watched my son grow into a man.

I got my love of motorcycles from my dad. He owned a number of bikes during his lifetime. He finally gave it up after someone in a pickup intentionally ran him off of the road. A few years later at the young age of 52, he died of a heart attack — forever changing the way I would look at life.
 
boojum said:
IIRC the 750 was the real widow-maker. From the talk at the time, the power was such that full throttle could force a frame flex. Regardless, they were just too powerful for most of us.
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The 3-cyl 750 Kawasaki? Indeed! A peaky power band and light weight made that one a handful, much like the 500! There was also a 3-cyl 2-stroke 750 Suzuki. It was water-cooled and easier to handle, often called the "water buffalo."
 
See See Motor Coffee Company here in Portland was started by Thor Drake, the same guy who created and organizes the annual “The One Motorcyle Show”. After more than 15 years, The One Moto Show has turned into a really big deal. (I’ll admit that I haven’t gone in some time, in part because I tend to prefer things on a smaller scale.)

A number of years ago See See began to expand, opening up other locations in Portland and beyond. Unfortunately this didn’t always wind up working out as planned. I liked this smaller cafe that they opened up in Portland’s St. John’s neighborhood (just down the street from Blue Moon Camera and Machine), but sadly it is no more.

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