W/NW : Motorcycles

Wow! A red Ducati and a yellow Guzzi. My socks are knocked off....
That ‘Giallo Metallico’ is quite an amazing colour in person — it’s a satin/matte metallic yellow. I think they only offered it for a couple of years.

If it’s still available at the end of this month I’m planning on putting a deposit down on it — my official return to motorcycling!
 
Wayback Wednesday -- Going through photos of motorcycles from times past.

This is from around 1987 - I purchased my '81 Honda CB900F in the fall of '86, and I was looking for another bike that was more vintage and a bit of a little project. I found this 1973 Honda CB350G in (I think) the newspaper classifieds. I got it for $400 which I thought was a very good deal. It came with this rather hideous white Wixom-type fairing which I promptly removed (can't recall whether I threw it in the garbage or re-sold it). My motorcycle mechanic at the time, Rick Sutcliffe of Raceline Cycles in Scarborough, installed the 2-1 MAC exhaust, which gave it a nice sound and a bit more pep. Oh yeah I think I also had to replace the headlight assembly - I think it came from a larger Honda, like a CB750. It actually looked really good, being that it was a bit larger than the original one.

I rode this bike a fair bit around Toronto and the surrounding backroads. Eventually I sold it to a coworker of mine. Don't think he held onto it all that long, so who knows whatever happened to it. Hopefully it's still running around the streets of Toronto.

Sheesh looking more closely at that photo, I think I still have those gloves.

Vinny CB350G.jpg
 
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Here's my near-new BMW R80GS in 1984 on its first ride to an overnight camp. It never looked this clean again. It went through a lot of dirt roads over the next few years. I sold it in 1989 to buy camera gear. It was a sad day.
 
Another installment from the Wayback Machine....

This is from the summer of 1988 - this is from part of the trip from Toronto to the southern US states (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida etc) and back, and this photo was taken just over the state line from Arkansas into Texas (hence the town name of Texarkana). Funny how just a few short years later I'd be moving to the US and spending the next thirty years there.

I think this trip was about 12 days long. The bike was my 1981 Honda CB900F, which was fairly modified by this point (too many mods to list, but those of you with a keen eye can likely spot a few obvious ones). The thing about motorcycle trips is that often the ride itself is the 'vacation'. I'm not sure if it's some kind of personal endurance test (an 'Iron Butt' as one well-known motorcycle rally is called), but it seems that many motorcycle trips I read about or see on YouTube are basically that. Not enough time spent stopping and smelling the roses, so to speak. I suppose this trip was a bit along those lines, though I did spend a day in Memphis visiting Graceland, a few days in Louisiana visiting relatives as well as visiting New Orleans. Other than that I think it was just riding.

I think the days of long bike trips are over, but hoping to soon give motorcycling one more go. It's too rewarding not to.

Vinny In Texas 1988.jpg
 
First Street Bike, 1981 Honda CM400T, bought new. Custom painted the Vetter Quicksilver fairing to match the paint scheme of the bike. Rode this one to Canada (as was the dream of those of us who grew up in the 1950's & 60"s). Fun bike, darn reliable. Not the most comfortable on long rides.

1981CM400T.jpg

Best,
-Tim
 
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