I might be getting closer to owning that Kawasaki...

I mentioned the otther day that I had found a local, 1978 Kwasaki KZ650 Custom that I was very interested in. Today I got to see it up close and personal and now I really want it! For it's age it is remarkably original and very clean. The current owner has done a thorough job of reconditioning it and done all the right things that should be done on a bike this age. It starts and runs like a brand new bike, firing on the first push of the button and idles smoothly and revs cleanly. The paint is beautiful even if it's not the original color or trim and I wouldn't change it. It could use new tires and the rear turn signals aren't original but otherwise it is perfect.

I might have even figured out a way to pay for it!

I haven't figured out how to tell the spousal unit about it though...

Too cool not to share- another motorcycle video

I found this one by browsing the forums at ScootDawg tonight and I figured this one was nearly as wild as the one I posted a few days ago. Check this out-


Reading a little further, it appears it might be a trick. Doesn't matter, it's still cool.

I'm not certain I would even walk on this trail-

Yet these guys ride trail bikes on it. This is too scary for me!

The little Ninja that could-

Watch this video. It is an amazing story and the author deserves an Iron Butt patch for his jacket!

San Diego to Jacksonville, Florida then Key West Florida to Prudoe Bay Alaska and back to California, 15,000+ miles on a 250 Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle.

Remarkable! My helmet is off to this guy!

I saw the neatest motorcycle today-

It was parked outside a local Subway Sandwich shop this afternoon and it was so clean and unusual that I had to get out of my truck to check it out. This little 1977 Honda Trail 125 looked like the offspring of a Honda Trail 90 and a Honda MT125 Enduro motorcycle. Remarkably, the odometer had just 241 miles on it and the bike looked like it was accurate. I don't know if I have ever seen a more original motorcycle than this little trailbike! It was beautiful and if I ever happen to see it with a For Sale sign taped to it, I will buy it. There's no question in my mind that that little bike would be a great commuter and a desirable collector bike. It was a beauty!



As always, click the little pictures to see the full size pictures.

I shouldn't make fun of this, but I'm going to...

Just outside the building I'm working in now, there's a dedicated motorcycle parking area. I parked Sleek Black Beauty there on the days I rode it for a couple weeks before the weather turned into winter. There's a motoercycle that parks there too, a Suzuki as it turns out that is really something to see. Check out these pictures and, as always, click on the thumbnails to see it in all its full size glory-











I think whoever owns this bike found an accessory catalog and rubbed the numbers off his credit card buying everything single geegaw that would fit his bike! The fairing and front fender have leather covers, there are flame cut covers on the fork legs and more studs than I would care to count! How about the giant white lettering on the tires, that's classy right?

I looked at this JC Whitney refugee for quite awhile before I even figured out what company originally produced it and was just in awe, (not really) of the owner's creativity. I'm certain the owner is mighty proud of his bike but I'll bet he will have a dickens of a time if he ever decides to sell it!

Well this looks like an exciting ride!

Can I get a test ride on this? Apparently it is a Brudelli Leanster. Its a 645cc KTM powered, leaning 3-wheeler and it looks like a real blast to ride. Make sure to check out the galery of pictures!

Instead of an old motorcycle-

Maybe I should just build a bigger scooter with this chassis from Scootster. Then I could take off and go for rides with my buddies that have big bikes. I do think some scooter styled body panels might be called for though, similar to the Torpedo.

I need this motorcycle!

No, really, I NEED this motorcycle! Since there are a number of bikes displayed on this advert, I'm talking about the 305cc Honda Dream that is sitting in some other guy's living room right now, waiting for me to buy it.

If you don't know, my first motorcycle, purchased at the wet-behind-the-ears age of 16, and no-kidding, found in a barn, was a 1964 Honda 305cc Dream. I bought it for just $200 from a guy a few blocks from my house, pushed it up over the bridge to get it home and when it was safely in the yard, Dad took me to get my drivers license, tags and insurance for my pride & joy. I bought a set of cheap, imitation leather saddlebags for it, Mom made me some naugahyde chaps to wear in the cold weather, and Brother Tim and I rode that thing to school every day until the snow started flying in December.

In between, I rode that bike everywhere, as long as I could keep the battery charged. Some (expensive) part of the charging system didn't work and it was just outside my financial reach so I couldn't fix it properly. Instead, I complied with Indiana's "headlight on" rule by adding a 6 volt lantern spotlight to the handlebars and strapping the dry cell battery on top of the engine cases. That extended my run time considerably but I still ended up pushing that bike home a couple times when all the electrons quit moving in the charging system because I had failed to hook up the battery charger for too many nights. There was even a summertime vacation trip to Michigan where that bike and Dad's got trailered along and I got to go riding with a favorite cousin all around the area.

So you can see why I need this motorcycle. But the BSU can't see the same picture. She especially can't see an ancient red motorcycle sitting in her living room as the current owner is doing. Which I think is mighty curious because she can get a really good idea of what it might look like since the current owner has the exact same couch and hardwood floors as we have in our living room. This bike is a classic and I wish I had a simple way to run out and pay for it. I'd suffer the spouse's disapproval to have this beauty parked under my carport, ready for a jaunt when I felt like a change from riding Sleek Black Beauty.

As a couple sidenotes, I wouldn't mind having that 77 Kawasaki KZ1000 LTD that is also for sale at that advert. I was selling those things in 1977 before I found my way into the Air Force and they were the top of the line bike back then. Also, after editing this post and applying a parental/historical outlook to it, I can see why my parents might have been so insistent that I pay for the electrical parts that I never could afford. Had that bike not been quite so dependent on a power cord and a battery charger, I might would have been tempted to wander even further away from home than I did.

Look what I found-

So I'm sitting here browsing through the KSL classified ads, just for fun mind you 'cause I've got no money to spend. And just look at the two neat little motorcycles I found for sale, a 1981 Honda CB125 and its 2-stroke cousin, a 1975 Kawasaki 100. Both of these bikes looks as new and tidy as the day they came off the boat from Japan and they really are neat reminders of how simple motorcycling used to be.

I'd buy either one of these bikes, or both if I could to ride just for the fun of it and to save them from being banged up or misused by another owner that might not appreciate their terrific character.

[UPDATE] I don't know why I'm on such a small displacement cycle roll right now but they seem to be popping up all over. I'm guessing people are rolling bikes out into the sunshine from the back of every barn and garage due to high fuel costs. But for whatever reason, there seems to be a bunch of neat little motorcycles for sale near me. Here's a real rarity, a 1975 Hodaka Road Toad for sale not 45 miles from the house. I really need to start a small bike museum for fun machines like this!

Aren't those two three bikes neat?