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I was too young (and forbidden) to ride at that time. But I remember these Japanese standard bikes. I did have a 93' Nighthawk, but the styling was not really vintage like this 1100. Also, 76' I remember Debbie Jensen, kind of hippyish with her long hair and cutoffs. The summer girl of 76'. I wish I still had the picture she let me take of her.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbuLh6RnUmI
Now there's a great looking bike.
I think we had similar experiences, except mine was in '66.
Great bikes. Most were called UJM's. Universal Japanese Motorcycles. 4 cylinders across the front, usually four separate exhaust pipes, and shaft drives. Those were the days. :yes:
Those were the style of bikes that got the "touring" bike craze started. 1967, Honda CB750 started it all. Add Vetter fairings, and bags, and you had the early GW style--before they came out.
The base bikes got bigger engines, and away it went. I had at least two bikes that I "Vettered" up. 78 KZ650 and 82 or so Suziki 850. Then...I went to an 83 Venture.
What a neat do-up of a retro bike! The designers must have had fun doing that. I appreciated the nice music in the background of that video.
I was there too, "Vettering" an '80 Suzuki GS1000G and adding Samsonite triple cases. When Yamaha came out with the Venture in '83, I grabbed me on of those. Then a '92 cuz the wife retired and we were doing some serious touring and the larger cases were needed. I have no idea how many miles are under me, but my wife, as passenger, has @ 200,000.
The year is memorable for me cause I got a case of the chickenpox, at age 15 no less! That July sucked......
A few years before the summer of 76.......... owned this 350 Honda when I was living in Taiwan in the early 1970s........ think I bought it about 1971, but it was used......... don't recall what model year it was. Had extended front end, custom made seats, reverse cone megaphones, ape hangers, custom tank, fenders, etc. Had it custom painted metal-flake blue. Picture is pretty old and faded. It was way too much bike for the road conditions in Taiwan. 60 klicks was the max highway speed there .........
Yes, I had a Chinese driver's license.
http://www.tanwater.com/pics/350honda-taiwan1250px.JPG
That is a beautiful basic bike that I would love to have to run errands on. But I have sworn off anything that is chain driven. My last chain driven bike was a ZZR1200 back in 2014. It will either have a shaft or belt drive for me to own it now.
I am with you on that. Living on a dirt road and it rains a lot here too, chains and sprockets last about 8,000 miles max. My last chain drive was a Honda 400 back in about 76. It has been all belts or shaft drive since then. Never got less than 50,000 out of a belt.Quote:
Originally Posted by blacklightning
I was lucky I was too young to go to Vietnam. Just like my dad was my age during WW2 and missed all that fun.Quote:
Originally Posted by Grandpot
I grabbed an 83 Venture also. It took my wife and I all through the western United States without so much as a hiccup and ran flawlessly for many years. It had almost all the features that my spyder has except for the shaft drive and one less wheel.Quote:
Originally Posted by RICZ
I had these. Sold the 400 Hawk and the CB 650 Custom three years ago. The Suzuki is still here. I found them in non-running condition and nursed them back to health. The Suzuki is my solo touring mount and I put more $$$ in it than I'll ever be able to get out of it so it stays. Old bikes are cool.
Navydad, I too had a 1980, CB650 four, Custom Honda. It was a great bike. It took me from the Canadian Maritimes to Texas and all of SE States. I sold it in 86 and it had 88,000 miles on it. It needed a 6 speed transmission instead of the 5 speed. Bruce
This is an 81 and I totally agree that a sixth gear is needed. It is getting tough AND expensive to find parts for these older bikes.