Volume 36 / Number 2 APRIL / MAY 2015 • $5

2015

Vintage WHAT’S INSIDE: Show 1967 CB450D: A History & Restoration 1973 Yamaha Enduro Collection Tips for Taking Photos of Your Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Review: The CBX Book II

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE CLUB OF NORTH AMERICA, INC.

IN THIS ISSUE FEATURES

EVENTS: 2014 Lake Mirror COVER STORY Classic 6 2015 Dania Beach PROJECT BIKE: Vintage Motorcycle Saved from the Barn: 38 the restoration Show of my 1973 kawasaki 10 350 S2 triple

PRODUCT REVIEW: Blind Bearing 19 Puller Tool

ODDS & ENDS: Tips for Taking Photos of Your Vintage 21 Japanese Motorcycle

EVENTS: 2014 International Motorcycle Show 22 DEPARTMENTS PRESIDENT’S LETTER: PROJECT BIKE: No Excuses this Summer ...... 5 Restoration of my Honda CL160 BACK IN THE DAY: 26 Kawasaki GPz550 / Bob Florence ...... 18 TECH HELP: COLLECTIONS: Tech Tip #7: Tools? I Need Tools? ...... 53 1973 Yamaha Enduro Collection ADVERTISER’S SPOTLIGHT: 31 Vapor Honing Technologies ...... 55 EVENTS CORNER ...... 57 BOOK REVIEW: Ian Foster’s CLASSIFIEDS ...... 59 CBX Book II 35 ADVERTISERS’ INDEX ...... 61

Volume 36 / Number 2 PROJECT BIKE: APRIL / MAY 2015 • $5 1967 Honda CB450D: a history 2015 & restoration Vintage ON THE COVER 42 Motorcycle WHAT’S INSIDE: Show 1967 Honda Yamahas and CB450D: A History & Restoration lined up 1973 Yamaha Enduro Collection Tips for Taking Photos of Your Vintage in the Japanese Japanese COLLECTIONS: Motorcycle Review: section of the The CBX Book II My Vintage Dania Beach

Japanese OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE CLUB OF NORTH AMERICA, INC. Bike Show 47 cover photo: Michael Fitterling VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE MAGAZINE 3

PRESIDENT’S LETTER No Excuses this Summer Official Publication of the VJMC APRIL / MAY 2015 hile it is nine degrees in Georgia as I write this, I look Volume 36, Number 2 Wforward to another great riding season with our VJMC Current VJMC Enrollment: 3883 members. For those north of the Mason-Dixon line, it’s time to grab all the seat time Mother Nature grants you. Hopefully, you PRESIDENT Tom Kolenko were able to put the winter months to good use and ready your 770-427-4820 rides for the season. New tires, oil and filter change, and batter- [email protected] ies have always been important to insure a trouble-free riding EDITOR season. For those complicated repairs and restorations, our tech- Michael Fitterling nical team of Ellis Holman, Jim Townsend, and other bright members have kept this 863-632-1981 magazine filled with tips and analysis. [email protected] Remember to dust off those riding skills with some practice sessions in an empty DESIGN DIRECTOR parking lot. If you had some replacement body parts added for knees or hips in the Nadine G. Messier [email protected] off-season, be sure and practice the riding fundamentals before any canyon carving or long rides. New medications can also effect balance and riding ability, so be hon- CLASSIFIED ADS Gary Gadd est with yourself if you have limitations. In other words, be prepared for the best and 817-284-8195 safest riding season ever. [email protected] Events fill a VJMC summer. Be good to yourself this riding season and frontload it DISPLAY AD DIRECTOR with fun times at the National Rally in Pigeon Forge, Mid-Ohio Vintage Days, and Bryan Bentley the Barber Vintage Festival. Blocking vacation time and budgets early will ensure 864-923-0559 you get the maximum return out of this summer’s events. Pete Slatcoff has made it [email protected] easy to pre-register for the National Rally online and will even take credit card pay- AD SALES REPRESENTATIVE ments over the phone (850-624-8811). We anticipate our largest rally ever with lots of Art Snow [email protected] events, rides, great meals, evening socials, bike show, and demonstrations. All rally registration revenues go to meeting rally expenses with the goal of breaking even. MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR Bill Granade Elsewhere, we support local events and dealer shows to help fill in the calendar with 813-961-3737 opportunities for meeting other members. [email protected] Each month the VJMC Board of Directors conducts club business over a one hour, CHANGE OF ADDRESS agenda driven conference call. This is a hard working group of volunteers that always Please direct these requests to Bill Granade: amazes me with their knowledge and skills. We recently had our advertising direc- [email protected] tor, Guido Cardillo, submit his resignation due to family commitments. We wish ADDITIONAL COPIES Guido our best and thank him for his outstanding service. Bryan Bentley, our club In order to minimize unnecessary expens- secretary, has volunteered to take on the post and use his business skills to secure es to the club, VJMC prints a limited number of each issue of Vintage Japanese Motorcy- advertising revenue to support our excellent magazine. We have a deep bench on this cle Magazine. However, we would be glad to Board, and the talent is amazing. It is a pleasure to work with such a talented group accommodate any requests for additional copies from members. that is totally committed to serving our members. Our Field Representative ranks These requests must be submitted before the have also grown with the addition of Frank Sereno (W. Missouri/E. Kansas) and 15th of the month preceding each issue. For ex- Floyd Finch (Hartsville, SC). Welcome aboard, guys. ample: for the Feb/Mar issue requests must be received by January 15. To honor our past, our membership chair, Bill Granade, and magazine editor, Mike Fitterling, have uncovered the names of some of our longest continuous members, MISSION STATEMENT: The purpose of this organization is to promote those with membership numbers under 100. These long riders and supporters of this the preservation, restoration, and enjoyment of club will be updating us on their exploits in future magazine issues. vintage Japanese motorcycles (defined here as On a side note, I often receive phone calls and emails from members and non-mem- those 20 years old or older). The VJMC also will promote the sport of motorcycling and camera- bers requesting current values for vintage Japanese bikes. As a good friend tells me derie of motorcyclists everywhere. over and over, “It’s only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.” I am not an ap- © 2015 Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club of praiser, just an observer of prices from Las Vegas auctions, eBay sales, and Craigslist North America, an IRS-approved Not-for-prof- it 501(c)(7) corporation. All rights reserved. postings, so I try and direct them to recent sales at these sites as a first stop. Non-run- No part of this document may be reproduced ners are best treated as parts bikes, especially those barn finds from the 1960s and or transmitted without permission. All articles copyright by their respective authors. 1970s. While the bike might be rare in Wisconsin, they might be tripping over them in Florida or California, so cast your net wide for valuations. Condition is everything Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Magazine is pub- lished six times per year, in February, April, June, for valuations, and restoration costs continue to rise to bring these treasures back August, October, and December. The views and from the grave or a leaky shed. opinions expressed in letters or other content are those of the author and do not necessarily represent VJMC policy. The VJMC accepts no lia- bility for any loss, damage, or claims occuring as Enough said; it’s time to ride. a result of advice given in this publication or for claims made by advertisers of products or ser- Tom Kolenko vices in this publication. VJMC President

VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE MAGAZINE 5 2014

Classic

An overview of Lake Mirror showing the 125 concourse vehicles spread around the circumference, including twenty vintage bikes; about 400 others vehicles were on display downtown behind the skyscrapers. 6 APRIL / MAY 2015 V intage Japanese Motorcycle Magazine 7 by Vince Ciotti / [email protected]

akeland is a small town in LFlorida, nestled about halfway be- tween Orlando and Tampa, hardly as well-known as Pebble Beach or Amelia Island, which are renowned for their vintage car shows. However, every Oc- tober, Lakeland hosts its “Lake Mirror Classic,” a stunning display of vintage vehicles from around the country that actually rivals those far more famous shows in both quantity and quality. On October 18th, Lakeland hosted its 15th annual show with over five hundred ve- ABOVE: hicles from across the country, includ- Panoramic view of Lake Mirror, in ing twenty vintage motorcycles. Over Lakeland, Florida. 30,000 spectators attended this stun- ning display of two-, three-, and four- wheeled treasures, featuring 125 entries LEFT & BELOW: Classic cars on in the Concourse d’Elegance displayed display represented around aptly-named Lake Mirror. an amazing array of So what chance can two 1960s-era wheeled technology. Japanese bikes have of winning awards at this classy show that featured cars from as long ago as 1898 and bikes as old as a 101-year-old 1913 Thor? Read the captions of the photos below to learn the full story: So if any of you “snow-birders” happen to be in central Florida next October, don’t miss this amazing car and bike show in Lakeland—they really appreci- ate vintage Japanese motorcycles! l

RIGHT: Twenty vintage bikes qualified for the concourse, including this Yamaha 650 on the end. One advantage of displaying on grass meant there were no visible drops of oil under the Brit bikes!

8 APRIL / MAY 2015 EVENTS

LEFT: Ronnie Dale (in the black baseball cap) brought this near-perfect 1964 Honda CB77 305cc Super Hawk. A labor of love, Ronnie painstakingly rebuilt every nut and bolt with one hundred percent OEM parts. His hard work paid off since he won the “People’s Choice International” award.

LEFT: ABOVE: My 1969 Sandcast CB750 won a trophy At VIN #374, my 1969 for being “Historically Significant”— Sandcast is one of the I must confess, I was pleasantly surprised, original specimens with but wondered whether the reward reflected all the trimmings: cut fender, my bike or my aging body? numbered pipes, recessed key, horn on the left, etc. I entered it with an explanation about how Cycle magazine just named the Honda CB750 as the “Bike of the Century,” spearheading the UJM revolution that ended the Brit bike domination of the 1960s.

LEFT: After the judging was done, we two-wheelers were the first to line up to receive awards. VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE MAGAZINE 9 from the

The Restoration of my 1973 Kawasaki 350 S2 Triple

10 APRIL / MAY 2015 March 13, 2012: 1973 Kawasaki S2 350 arrives from Muscle Car Ranch in Chickasha, OK. Barn Find, covered with Oklahoma dust!

VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE MAGAZINE 11

PROJECT BIKE

by Tim Harman / [email protected]

y love affair with motorcycles Mstarted around 1968 when an amazing miracle happened at our home—a beautiful black Suzuki 50 ar- Sometimes old rived. What a machine! I was fourteen memories are years old when that outstanding work of Japanese craftsmanship showed up. best left alone; We shared many adventures together— sometimes they jumped logs, sailed over small creeks, and realized the wonder of two-wheeled can be restored travel. and relived. After turning sixteen, I was then able to legally ride on the street. That fostered the purchase of a Yamaha 175 Enduro. friend, Terry, had that machine, and it Now, I was not only going to be able to always was faster than my beloved Su- jump logs with the greatest of ease, but zuki 350. So, from Muscle Car Ranch in also hit the streets with amazing speed OK, that 350 Kawasaki made its way to and power. Indiana and into my garage. Still needing to go faster (Don’t we all Beauty can be deceiving. I am sure the need that?), I found a Yamaha YZ 125 pictures and description of the Kawasaki mono-shock that proved capable of the were accurate, but when it arrived, well, speed I needed for the dirt. Soon af- let’s just say it looked a little sad. it was ter that, a Honda 250 Elsinore was the rusty and dirty with years of Oklahoma ticket, but then a beautiful, golden lady dust, and the motor in a milk crate. Not I was very excited to begin the restoration but made her appearance—a 1971 Suzu- to worry, eBay to the rescue. I had not paid much attention to the motor sitting in a crate. ki T 350 became a resident of our ga- Even though Kawasaki only made the rage. What a baby! It had speed, beauty, 350 model for two years, there are still and the handling characteristics of the parts to be found. The first job was to ’70s, in other words, good acceleration, take lots of pictures, then disassemble poor handling, and even poorer . the entire bike. I was able to find a lo- However, I was enamored with the two- cal farmer who had a powder coating wheeled beauty. I remember well the process set up on his farm. All the black first ride with my future wife, Rita. She frame parts went to him for nine hours was shy, and, as we started the two-up in a furnace to burn off all the years of ride on the Suzuki, there was no holding dirt, grease, and unwanted junk. Then a onto my waist. Not to worry, just a little beautiful black covering of powder coat wheelie took care of that, and we have was added, and back into the oven to bake. A couple weeks later, I picked up After a little more discovery it appeared there been holding onto each other for over may be a little more involved in the restoration forty-two years. I loved that 350, but the frame, and it looked awesome. My process than I first thought. Notice the left I loved my Rita more, so, while we be- powder coater was very careful to plug piston. There is a chip on the top edge. This ruined the cylinder, and later I discovered it came busy with home, family, and work, all the threaded holes so assembly could also caused a crack in the crank case. my two-wheeled friends went away. go smoothly. Fast forward forty years to 2012: I was Then, it was time to start working on looking for a project to restore. My eye the motor. Closer inspection showed caught a picture on the Internet of a the right piston had a chip out of the 1973 Kawasaki S 350 triple. I remem- top crown, the crank was rusted beyond ber that bike well from my youth. My repair, and the was cracked. VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE MAGAZINE 13

There was good news, though; the trans- mission looked pristine. EBay to the rescue again, I found a crankcase and crankshaft that could be rebuilt. HVC Cycle in Nebraska rebuilt the crank- shaft and provided new pistons, rings, and needle bearings for me to assemble. My loving and understanding wife shared her I purchased three cylinders from John- living room while I installed new Buchanan ny’s Vintage Motorcycle Company in stainless steel spokes. Wadsworth, Ohio, and had a local ma- chine shop them to .020 over stan- dard. After much reading and research, I started the assembly process, moving the gears and shifting forks from the original crankcase into the eBay crankcase, and installing the kick spring correctly, which took a couple attempts. I installed the newly refurbished crankshaft with new seals. It is very important on a two- like the 350 that each cylinder has good seals ABOVE & RIGHT: around the crank, or it will never run All the black metal parts were disassembled, and sent out well. Finally, I installed the new pistons, for powder coating. First step cylinders, and buttoned it all back up. was 6 hours in the furnace to remove all old paint and years I did take time before final assembly of grime. Then a high gloss black to do a three-step buffing and polishing powder coat was baked on.

VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE MAGAZINE 15 Finally, a rolling chassis! I also recovered an Several coats of orange paint, new decals, and Original transmission gears installed into an original seat foam with new cover from P & K several more clear coat layers and we are ready eBay crankcase along with a rebuilt crank Classic Bikes, UK. for installation. by HVC Cycle.

All the aluminum and chrome parts were polished with a three step process: Course grit, medium The completed motor is ready to mount into grit, and then a fine buffing compound. From this (LEFT) to this! (RIGHT) the frame.

16 APRIL / MAY 2015 of all metal parts. It is amazing what a internal pride and shouts of joy. It runs! I took my wife on a ride—she does little polishing and buffing can do for A few days after starting the bike, the hold on tightly now—and my two a forty-five year old motorcycle. The weather in Indiana was warm enough grandsons wanted a ride on the old mo- front rim polished up well; the back for an inaugural run. Testing the brakes torcycle, as well. was replaced with a re-pop from Diab- first, and then carefully nudging the Sometimes old memories are best left lo Cycle. Finishing touches on the rims shift lever into first, I was off. Wow, alone; sometimes they can be restored were new stainless steel spokes from the sound of a two-stroke triple is un- and relived. l Buchanan. Lacing the spokes was most forgettable. I know it is smoky, leaks challenging, and enjoyable, especially oil everywhere, and is annoying to the p.s. My 350 now has a partner in our since my Rita allowed me to set up an neighbors, but it was and is, a wonder- garage—a beautiful blue 1975 H1 triple. assembly table in our living room. She ful sound and smell to this old guy. Somehow they multiply. still talks about my “tink, tink, tink” as I was adjusting the spokes and rim for ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS tension and balance. Next, was mounting the motor into My amazing wife Rita, who supported me with encouragement, and much love! the frame, and the bike really started to • MUSCLE CAR RANCH: • JP MACHINE SHOP: take shape. A local painter did an ex- original 1973 Kawasaki S2 re-bore cylinders cellent job matching the original color. • Z1 ENTERPRISES: • STuMPS PAINT: We found a spot on the tank that had rubber replacement parts painting of tank, side covers, and tail fin not been faded by the sun and matched • JOHNNY’S VINTAGE MOTORCYCLE COMPANY: • HooSIER CYCLE: to it. After one-and-half years, I put 3 cylinders front and rear tires • HVC CYCLE: • DIABLo CYCLE: mixed gas in the tank and started to crankshaft rebuild carburetor rebuild kit, rear rim, decal kit flow gas to the carbs (also purchased • KAwASAKI TRIPLE PARTS: • PANAK CLASSIC BIKES: on eBay). After ten or fifteen kicks, it disk piston, seals, disk brake pads seat cover fired to life! I had recorded the moment • RECKoN PLATING: • TIM HARMAN: on video, however, my outward expres- re-chromed fuel cap 1.5 years spare time restoration sions were nowhere near the level of my

The finished beauty!

VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE MAGAZINE 17 BACK IN THE DAY

Kawasaki GPz550 by Bob Florence

his is me on my 1982 Kawasa- Tki GPz550 back in 1982. I still have the bike. l

18 APRIL / MAY 2015 PRODUCT REVIEW Blind Bearing Puller Tool by Ellis Holman / [email protected]

ometimes you get to a point in a restoration where nothing but the right tool Swill work. Case in point: I was restoring a 1971 Honda SL100 and needed to va- por blast the cases to clean them up and get forty-three years of grime and baked- on grease off them. To do the job properly I had to remove the bearings from the cases. That wasn’t a problem for all but one of the bearings. The left-hand case has a bearing that carries the left end of the transmission main shaft. It is a 6202 that measures 15 mm x 35mm x 11mm. The bore is rather small and is blind, that is to say that there is no access to one side of the bearing. That being the case, I 1 needed to employ a blind hole bearing puller. The blind hole bearing puller has “jaws” that expand to lock on the backside of the bearing so it can be pulled out. The center screw/bolt wedges the jaws outward to grip the bearing tightly. The attachment looks similar to these in PHOTO 1. The left end of the “jaw” is threaded to screw into a slide hammer. This provides the impact force to move the bearing out of its housing, see PHOTO 2. I visited my local Harbor Freight store and found what I needed. Their Pitts- burgh Automotive item #95987 is a five piece set that includes 4 collets that give you a range from:

• 3/8” ~ 1/2” (1 1/2” MAXIMUM BEARING DEPTH / 3/4” HEX DRIVE) 2 • 9/16” ~ 11/16” (1 3/4” MAXIMUM BEARING DEPTH / 3/4” HEX DRIVE) • 5/8” 1” (1 3/4” MAXIMUM BEARING DEPTH / 3/4” HEX DRIVE) ~ The weight in the center moves freely up and • 1” ~ 1-1/4” (2” MAXIMUM BEARING DEPTH / 1” HEX DRIVE) down the shaft.

In my case, the smallest collet was a perfect match to the 6202 bearing I needed to remove. The kit also includes a three pound slide hammer to provide the force needed to pull the bearing out of the case. A red plastic case provides handy stor- age and protection for the collets and slide hammer. The total cost for the set was $59.99. Another issue that cropped up is that there is an oiling orifice at the back of the case. That required careful placement of the collet to prevent damaging the oil- ing orifice. Using the smallest collet, I inserted it into the bearing and made sure 3 that it was centered over the oiling orifice and tightened the wedging nut to lock the collet into place. PHOTO 3 shows you what things looked like as I prepared to remove the bearing. Collet in place and ready to pull bearing. To help ease getting the bearing out of the case, I applied heat from a propane torch to warm and expand the cases. After a few minutes the case was warm enough that water would sizzle on the outside of the case. I attached the slide hammer and with five sharp, full pulls on the slide hammer the bearing was clear of the case, as shown in PHOTO 4. With the bearing out of the case, if you look carefully you can see where the collet is grasping the inner side of the bearing. Also, you can see that this bearing has a shield, which was on the case side of the bearing and not visible from the 4 outside. This shield is meant to help retain oil in the bearing. In summary, the Harbor Freight Pittsburgh Automotive item #95987 blind bear- Bearing removed from case with collet attached. ing puller is a cost-effective tool when faced with the need to pull blind bearings. While this is probably not up to industrial, every day, heavy use, it is quite usable for an occasional hobbyist/restorer to get out bearings when the need arises. l

VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE MAGAZINE 19 20 APRIL / MAY 2015 ODDS & ENDS Tips for Taking Better Photos of Your Vintage Japanese Motorcycle by Ambrose Knobel / [email protected] photos by Ambrose Knobel and Tom Retallack ’m sure that most Vintage Japanese IMotorcycle Magazine readers spent the better part of their lives using film cameras for their photography needs. Of course, I was one of them and had pretty much given up on photography. A camera like this Panasonic I was often disappointed when I picked Lumix LX-150 up my prints. Only a few photos were re- with a variable LCD screen is ally good, some others were so-so, and great for getting the rest were garbage—either over- or that low angle under-exposed, poorly focused, or the shot. horizon wasn’t level because I didn’t Panning…with a little hold the camera straight. editing software after a color photo is practice you can get some Now we have these fantastic digital taken. interesting shots. My friend, Tom Retallack, cameras where we can immediately look Many people just stand beside their did a pretty good job at the pictures we just took—a wonder- bike, point the camera and shoot, basi- taking this picture of me riding my ful technology! cally looking down at the bike. Instead, ‘76 GT-500. Still, taking good pictures of motor- try to kneel down and get level with cycles isn’t always easy, especially at the bike, or even lower. Cameras with motorcycle shows where bikes are of- variable or tilt LCD screens are great ten parked close together. Cameras that for that kind of work. Also, while you’re have a 28mm wide angle lens or, better on your knees, why not take a close up yet, a 24mm lens are great. With a wide of that beautiful vintage engine? Vari- angle lens you can be close to the subject able screen cameras are good for taking and “squeeze in” the whole bike. pictures of your grandkids and pets as When you have the opportunity to well—get down into their environ- Robert Pritchard (shown here) and I had intentions of taking take pictures of a bike away from a show, ments. photos of his Kawasaki using however, that opens up many more pos- “Panning” with your camera can also Westwood Lake as a background. Fog rolled in and spoiled that sibilities. You can then choose the back- result in some interesting photos. Select idea, so we took pictures ground, the time of day, and so on. a slow shutter speed and move with the anyway and it made for a nice The background is very important. It bike as your friend rides by on his vin- clutter-free background. should be uncluttered and free of pow- tage motorcycle. The result should be er and light poles if possible. Choose a an image with the bike in focus and the body of water, a flower bed, a rock or background blurry, giving a sensation brick wall—whatever you think makes of speed. Several passes will probably be a nice and simple background. required until you get that perfect shot. The time of day is equally important. I don’t want to get into camera func- On sunny days, morning and evening tions, like the aperture and how to con- if you anticipate your photo being print- are better than mid-day, when it’s too trol the depth of field, for instance. You ed at three by five inches, then it should bright. Try to have the sun on your back, can Google all that and get lots of info measure 900 by 1500 pixels. Bigger is but beware of your own shadow, it can there. OK, but not smaller. When emailing have a negative effect on the picture. If you intend to take pictures for a con- you article and photos in, it’s best to use Cloudy days can be OK, too, because tribution to the Vintage Japanese Motor- the “attach” feature. If your Internet ser- there are no confusing shadows. You cycle Magazine (and I hope you are) then vice provider has a size limit for sending may even want to switch your camera set your camera to a higher resolution; files, then you may need to send each to black-and-white for that real vintage magazine photos need to be 300 pixels photo attached to separate email mes- look. You can also do that with photo per printed inch or more. For example: sages. Happy shooting! l VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE MAGAZINE 21 22 APRIL / MAY 2015 2014

Motorcycle Show

VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE MAGAZINE 23 24 APRIL / MAY 2015 EVENTS

by Richard Holman / [email protected]

n December 12-14, the 2014 Pro- Ogressive International Motorcycle Show was held at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. Anyone who has driv- also had on hand Pete Bartholomew’s and had a great time sharing stories. The en in New York City, especially hauling unrestored 1966 Honda Dream 305 in most used line was, “I had one of those.” a twenty foot trailer, knows it’s always white, along with my 1962 Benly 150, A big thanks to Pete Bartholomew, Gary an adventure, but fortunately, the end on which I did a Moto Giro in the fall, Renna, Tony Desantis, as well as my result was worth the effort, even after and my 1964 C110. Both unrestored, grandson, Fred, for help at the booth. getting a sixty-five dollar parking ticket, my little Hondas weren’t pretty, but Oh, and, by the way, Ricky Gadson was again. fans still enjoyed them. I also brought on hand during the show to fire up the This year was kind of special for the one of my favorite daily riders, my 1978 new Kawasaki H2R—all 300 hp of it. l club. In the past, we would share a small KZ1000 street fighter, and my 1975 Tur- 20 x 20 foot space with Vin Moto NYC, bo charged Z1—always a head turner. which is a great bunch of guys and gals The highlight of the show for me was with the same passion as us toward vin- when a local artist from New York City tage bikes. This year, I had received an asked if he could use my 1973 Z1 as a email from the show promoter: “HELP!” model for his latest project, to which I They had a last minute cancellation and gladly agreed. The artist, Makoto Endo, asked if we could get more bikes to fill specializes in bikes and cars and uses a the space. Tony Desantis came to the chopstick instead of a brush to create rescue with a trailer load of vintage Ka- his works of art. The piece took him wasaki MX bikes, including a 1972 G5 two days to complete, which he did 100, 1975 F11-B 250, 1975 KT 250 trials during the show. When finished, it was bike, 1976 KX125-A3, 1976 KX250 A2 unbelievable, and I forecast that it won’t along with a 1975 H2, really great little be long until his work is known nation- 1971 MT-1 75cc Kawasaki mini bike, wide. and a 1970 Coyote MB1A mini bike—all During the show we signed up eight of which were meticulously restored. We new members, sold some VJMC regalia,

Photos from the VJMC booth at the show featuring the unique artwork of Makoto Endo.

VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE MAGAZINE 25 26 APRIL / MAY 2015 of my Honda CL160

VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE MAGAZINE 27

PROJECT BIKE

by James Alaimo / [email protected]

or the past fifty-two years I’ve been Fbuying, riding, repairing, modifying, and selling motorcycles. I’ve worked on forty-three specimens to date. Most of my more ambitious projects were res- to-mods, cafés, streetfighters, or just customizations to suit my personal tastes or modifications to what I thought My Honda the factory should have done originally. CL160 before, My strategy recently changed when I during, and after located a Honda CL160 basket case—a my restoration. bike like the one I bought new in 1966. So I went ahead and began the arduous task of bringing it back to its original state—every part being Honda OEM or reproduction, except for battery, tires, and stainless steel fasteners. Going stock has a whole new set of challenges: not only are the parts nearly impossible to locate, but they are incredibly pricey. If you promise not to tell my wife, I’ll tell how much I invested in parts alone. Time spent—what price passion? Es- pecially pricey are the vintage exhausts which perished early on in these old classics. Now that it is done, I love it while rid- ing around town bringing back the glo- rious memories of my youth, and it’s just a hoot to ride. Recently, I took it on a one hundred and twenty mile rally with my friends at Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club in Silver Springs Florida, and it never skipped a beat. With this challenge under my belt, I’ve embarked on another restoration project from my youth—a 1976 Honda CB400F, like one I purchased new in 1976. Where I could turn around a rebuild in a few months the way I use to do them, these authentic restorations take more than a year to complete and are worth every moment and dollar spent. Just to gaze on them makes me swell with pride and satisfaction.Wish me luck as there a few more bikes of personal significance left in my historical pipeline. l VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE MAGAZINE 29

COLLECTIONS 1973 Yamaha Enduro Collection by Allen Brotz / [email protected]

have been a motorcycle rider ever since II was fourteen years old thanks to my father, Dennis, allowing my brother, Dennis, Jr., and me to buy a 1966 YG1 80cc Yamaha. You can see a picture of me working on my bike and my dad’s bike back in the day in my family’s basement. Not sure which was mine. The year of the picture is 1971. I am in the white shirt and the little boy is my brother, Joe. The shifting mechanism was broken, so you had to remove the side cover to change gears. My father took it to work and had someone weld the shifting mechanism so all of the gears worked as they were designed to. My brother, Dennis, lost interest in the bike, so I was able to buy his half. As kids we were lucky to have an emp- ty field directly behind our house. It was owned by the Catholic Church that had plans to build something there, but nev- er did. I could drive out of my garage, valley. Those were magical times when through my backyard, and directly into you could ride in empty lots without the the field. We developed trails, and other owner or police kicking you out. I’m not sure how much later, but I spot- kids with mini-bikes and motorcycles When I first started dating my wife, ted a Yamaha CT3, which was the bike I started showing up. Sherry, I picked her up on my 125cc wanted back in the day, for sale five miles There was a large acreage lot that was AT1, in January! We lived in Wiscon- from my house in Kohler, Wisconsin, in called “the valley” about two miles from sin, and it was snowing. I also took it 1994. The bike had less than 2,700 miles my house. I heard motorcycles down in to work during a winter storm, because on the odometer, and I paid under five the valley and went to investigate on my cars could not get through with the hundred dollars for it. The only thing 125cc Yamaha street bike, one of a few huge amount of snow that day. That that needed replacing was the gas tank other bikes I had in the years to follow, should have let her know how crazy I filler gasket. This rekindled my desire and saw a pair of 250cc Yamaha enduros was about motorcycles. She, thankfully, for the Yamaha enduro machines. The stripped down for dirt riding. They has resigned herself to my motorcycle CT3 175cc is a blast to ride as the horse- were incredibly fast and could climb collection. By the way, it is not finished power-to-weight relationship is great, hills with ease. I tried climbing the same yet. but I was just too big of a person to ride hills with my street bike, but that did not As a young father, I chose to give up it. Then I began collecting bikes for my work out so well. motorcycling when we were blessed 1973 Yamaha enduro collection. Shortly after that embarrassing mo- with our four children. Once they had The next acquisition was a RT3 360cc ment, one of the 125cc Yamaha AT1s grown, I found a Suzuki GS550 on the machine from the original owner, in the that was also driven in the valley be- way home and called my wife and told summer of 1996. The RT3 was another came available for sale. I bought it and her to transfer $550 to the checking ac- cheaply priced bike which I got for un- that’s when my love of the enduro be- count because I was going to buy the der five hundred dollars. It was found gan, as I could then race and climb hills bike. She told me to put the money in with the help of a fellow named Arnold with the rest of the motorcyclists in the the checking account myself. Harris, who back in the day had access VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE MAGAZINE 31 to VIN Numbers of bikes titled in Wisconsin that had been in the RT3 series. After about thirty phone calls to people who bought the RT3 new in 1973, I found they were suspi- cious of why I was inquiring about the bikes. I explained that my quest was for bikes for a private collection, and then they understood. The 360 RT3 was in incredible shape, with only around 6,000 miles on the odometer. This is the one I drive off and on all summer long, and I get a lot of interest- ing looks while on it. (I think it is the exhaust sound.) The next purchase was an AT3 125cc machine, bought later in 1996. That bike needed a little help to look and run well, and so I called on Charlie Lacy, from the then-called Enduro Classics (now known as Cycle Center), and I was able to find a few parts that I needed. A NOS gas tank was found later at a swap meet, which looked incredible. Next was a DT3 250cc machine, bought in 1997 for only fifty dollars. I found it by chance, and when I brought it home the neighbors laughed at me, because it was a basket case. An article was published about it in Old Bike Journal magazine (no longer in print) that showed before and after pictures of the machine. I was lucky to find that a clip in the transmission had come off, so that was the problem with the engine not shifting and I was able to repair it. Once it was a running machine, I had the cylinder bored and installed an over-sized piston and rings. Finding a do- nor bike, parts were taken off and put on my 250. Once again, Charlie was a great help with parts. I have also since found a NOS rear fender and tank for the bike. This was a lesson that the fifty dollar bike was not a good investment, as it had a total of over $1,400 in parts alone to get it to its current state. Then there was an LT3 100cc that I found on the side of the road chained to a tree for sale back in 1997. Charlie helped with many parts again, which are more difficult to find for this model, as they appear to have made fewer units. A NOS seat was found at Speed and Sport out of Pennsylvania, and a NOS gas tank was picked up at a swap meet. The last of my quest was the GT1 80cc, back in 2000. An acquaintance I met at Mid-Ohio, Bill, knew I had the other five of the lineup, and his daughter had outgrown a GT1. A year or two later he brought it to Mid-Ohio to sell to me. It was missing a fair amount of parts but, again, Speed and Sport came through. With that bike, I then owned all of the bikes I had dreamed of in my younger days. The 1973 lineup was the last to have the first evolution engine that the 1969 DT1 has, which is a bike that has had such a great historical impact on motorcycling in the USA. Throughout the years, the bikes have been in different magazines, starting in the American Motorcyclist magazine November issue of 1997, showing the RT3, DT3, CT3, and AT3 in the article about Vintage Motorcycle Days at Mid- Ohio. The before and after pictures of the LT3 and DT3 were published in different months of Old Bike Journal. For over twelve years now, the bikes have come with me to Road America Big Bike races in early June, and, for five 32 APRIL / MAY 2015 CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: My enduros on the track, at Road America, and Mid- Ohio Vintage Days. years, to Road America the following week for the Vintage Weekend, now called “Rockerbox,” which has helped increase interest and attendance. The RT3 360cc has also been on the Inter- national Motor Speedway track during the MotoGP at least two times. My sons, Brian and Bradd, now come to these events and share my passion, as do my sons-in-law, Josh and Cory. On the first track lap at Indy with Bradd, it’s a good thing he didn’t notice the start/finish line (the bricks), as I was able to get the 360 up to 80 mph and pass his Triumph 900 Scrambler, for my one and only win. Back at the Fourth Annual Road America Motorcycle Classics show, af- ter all of the trophies where awarded, Richard Backus called me up to the mi- crophone and thanked me for continu- ABOVE: ing to bring my collection of enduros to Accepting the Editor’s Choice Award at the his show and awarded me the Editor’s Road America show. Choice Award and Plaque. This is an honor I will never forget, and it goes to show a love of certain bikes may not stand out alone, but the collection of some might. I have magazines that contain road tests for all of the bikes from back in VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE MAGAZINE 33 1973 and oil cans and 250cc models, also. Additionally, I have three of the period correct helmets, with the prop- er scalloping. I still have the motorcycle carrier that was composed of two units that would clip on the bumper of a car or truck so you could take your motorcycle with you. It is the unit that transported my 125cc AT1. Also, I have the kidney belt I wore back then, which must have shrunk over time, as it is too small now. As soon as my eight grandchildren learned to ride a two- wheeled bicycle without training wheels, they were allowed to drive a battery-powered motorcycle and then move up to a 1973 Honda Z50. It brings me great joy to see the smile on each of their faces as they learn to ride the motorcy- cles. My granddaughter, Rylee, was riding the battery bike, and it appeared she was going to dump it in a turn, but, to my surprise, she gave it a twist of the throttle, yelled “Woo hoo!” and continued on. I will never forget that. I am fortunate that my children understand my pas- sion, and they assure me they will not let this collection get broken up when I am gone. Also in my collection are the following: Kawasaki KZ650 1979, Honda ST90 1973, Honda Z50 1973, and my father’s 1966 YG1 80cc, a match to mine from back in the day. Next, I am interested in getting a 1973 Dodge Tradesman van and recreating the Yamahauler to pull my trailer full of enduros around and to camp in. l

34 APRIL / MAY 2015 BOOK REVIEW Ian Foster’s CBX Book II by Vince Ciotti / [email protected]

ne of the most classic vintage Jap- Oanese motorcycles of all time was Honda’s six-cylinder CBX, that rocked the bike world in 1979 almost as much as the first four-cylinder CB750 did ten years earlier. Many VJMC members may have bought Ian Foster’s The CBX Book a few years back, which was such a great tribute to these amazing bikes that copies occasionally go for sale LEFT TO RIGHT: The orginal CBX Book, on eBay for hundreds of dollars these and the follow-up, days. After the original book sold out CBX Book II. within a few months, Ian went back to the salt mines in his homeland of Ire- years and models, showing color op- Chapter 6, Personally Modified CBXs: land and started on The CBX Book II, tions by country and total production Seventy pages of bikes customized by which was just released for sale in the numbers in 230 pages of gory detail. owners to reflect their diverse personal- US in 2015—and what a book! Ian has ities in over a hundred wildly modified outdone himself with a second version Chapter 3, Shops & Suppliers: This sixes: streetfighters, Hailwood replicas, that literally covers every nut and bolt section of twenty pages lists dozens of custom, turbos, and trikes. of these amazing machines. The Table sources for original, used, and aftermar- of Contents sums up how thorough- ket parts throughout the world. Bibliography: Thirty pages of other ly he researched and documented this books and magazine articles that have “six-story:” Chapter 4, CBX Clubs: A compendi- also been published on this “joy of six”. um of dozens of CBX clubs around the Chapter 1, Design & Production: over globe: UK, South Africa, Belgium, Hong I’ve read quite a few books on motor- thirty well-illustrated pages covering Kong, Sweden, Germany, Austria, Swit- cycles in my day, and it’s only in com- the design process for the engine and zerland, Holland, France, Australia, parison to these many other works that chassis, pre-production prototypes, Canada, and the US. one can really appreciate the quality of and final factory production of the first Ian’s tome. It is printed on heavy high- 1978 models sold in Europe. Chapter 5, Aftermarket Frames & gloss paper (it weighs about 5 lbs.), with Bodywork: It’s amazing how many vari- heavy-duty hard cover binding and nice Chapter 2, CBX Model Range: Ian clears ations on Honda’s theme were made by large pages that are profusely illustrated up a lot of confusion about the various large and small firms over the years. with tables and photos. And the images

VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE MAGAZINE 35 36 APRIL / MAY 2015 are all of the highest quality—Ian must have spent months in Photoshop clean- ing them all up to where this looks more like an art book than a motor- cycle treatise. He published it himself, having it printed in Hong Kong, where he personally oversaw the high-quali- ty printing and binding. And, thank Buddha, no e-book version—this is for we traditional readers who like to hold 1 2 reality in our hands, just like the han- dlebars of a CBX. I also give Ian tremendous credit for letting the photos and historical facts tell the story. He doesn’t belabor the reader with his opinion of this manufac- turer or relay some story he heard one day. It’s all about the bikes, period. No politics, nationalism, prejudices, crit- icisms, war stories, personal rants, etc. What a breath of fresh air today! There is so much in this book for a vin- 3 4 tage Japanese bike lover to savor that I’ll only point out a few sections that really Kent UK, Norway, and Australia. This caught my eye. started me thinking, “Wonder what my 1979 CBX VIN number is?” I went out Page 7: The origins of six-cylinder bikes to the garage and, to my surprise, mine in Honda’s amazing RC165 & 166 GP is #201! If only I’d have known, my pic- racers of the sixties (PHOTO 1). Ian cov- ture would be on these pages, too. ers how the breakthrough 1969 CB750s and 1975 Gold Wings contributed to the Page 55: One handy table (PHOTO 3) ex- design and development. He actually sat plains all ten CBX color schemes: 3 for in person with several members of the 1978/9 models, 3 for 1980 bikes, 2 for 5 original Honda team who worked un- 1981 and 2 for 1982. So the next time der chief engineer Shoichiro Irimajiri you see a CBX, you might be able to fig- and interviewed them in Japan to hear ure out its year. of the original RC 165 and 166, a folder the CBX story first-hand: chief design- with some fascinating shots of Ian’s own er Minoru Moroika, clay model maker Page 127: Starts forty pages of “back in collection of all four years and models of Yoshitaka Omori, and designer Isao Ya- the day” pictures of CBX riders from CBXs side-by-side on a rainy day at his manaka. around the world, pulling wheelies, home in Ireland, and then four folders smoking tires, etc., on their new ma- on each year/model, from 1978/9 - 1982. Page 27: A real shocker: did you know chines (PHOTO 4). So you don’t have to scan any imag- the first forty-one pre-production CBX es from this book to share—they’re all were cast in sand molds, just Page 332: Dozens of wildly modified right there on the DVD. like the early 1969 Honda CB750 “sand- CBXs, including turbos, trikes, low-rid- So where can you buy this treasure? casts” were?! Only ten of these sandcast ers, side cars, etc. (PHOTO 5). Whew, as if Louis Mintrone (aka Mr. Used CBX CBX gems are still known to exist. six cylinders isn’t wild enough? Parts) is the US distributor. Email him at [email protected] or call Page 35: Details the VIN and engine Finally, after all these visual and ver- at (352) 522-0030. But get yours soon— numbering scheme, starting with 1977 bal treasures, Ian gives the reader a real this gem might sell out soon, and I hate pre-production prototypes: #CB1- treat at the end. Inside the rear cover is to think what they’ll be asking for it on 2000007 through CB1-2000025 (PHOTO a DVD with 4.7 GB of photos covering eBay! Also, if you like it as much as I did, 2). Ian then lists a few pages of low VIN every facet of the CBX story. If you ever let Ian know at [email protected]. Who numbers from around the world, from wanted a great desktop background, this knows, with a little eencouragement, he #44 to #262, located today in the US, is it! There’s a folder with rare pictures may even start on CBX Book III! l VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE MAGAZINE 37 ABOVE LEFT: ABOVE: A trailer full of bikes in Café racers in the swap meet the bike show LEFT: An attendee looking over some trailer gems in the swap meet BELOW: XS café racer

ABOVE: Old Soul Young Blood’s booth at the swap meet RIGHT: A clean Honda four-cylinder with those beautiful sweeping pipes FAR RIGHT: A Suzuki two- stroke in the show

RIGHT: Under all that bodywork is supposed to be a Henderson FAR RIGHT: A Stinger hiding among the Hondas 38 APRIL / MAY 2015 COVER STORY 2015

Vintage Motorcycle Show

by Michael Fitterling / [email protected]

sped southeast from central Florida early on Saturday morning, January 31st, Ipointed for Frost Park, located in a relatively small city nestled between Fort Lau- derdale and Miami. As I headed south, with the reduction of latitude and the rising sun, what started as a chilly morning became a sunny semi-tropical day. I was on my way to the Ninth Annual Dania Beach Vintage Motorcycle Show for the third time. Leaving the Everglades behind in my mirrors, I finally turned east toward the coast and my destination. As I rode into the sea of motorcycles in the parking lot it was obvious that this event has grown since its inception nine years ago, and grown dramatically since I first attended in 2013. The event was hosted by the City of Dania Beach and raised money for worthy charities. The city had over fifty dedicated volunteers making sure the event went on without a hitch. This year, Dania Beach was able to cut two checks, each for $6000, made out to Stray Aid & Rescue and Southeastern Guide Dogs. The Everglades Chapter of South Florida AMCA organized the bike show and judging portion of the event. The show had a total of 348 registered motorcycles. The VJMC MEMBER WINNERS Sportster was the featured class this year with other classes for Bob/Chop, Compe- tition, Rat, Scooter, Café Racer, European, American, English, and, of course, Japa- MARK ADAMS nese. There were also a Best in Show award (1939 Indian Four with Sidecar, owned 1972 CB750 by Jeff Zanetti) and Grand Marshall award (1955 Vincent Black Knight, owned by BILLY ALDRICH 1966 DREAM 300SS-1 Jimmy Sabino). Over one hundred and thirty awards were given out in all. In the Japanese Class, out of twenty-five awards, ten went to bikes owned by members of DICK ALTMAN 1975 XS650 the VJMC. BOB BRANDNER There’s a lot to attract attendees to this event, now the largest vintage motorcycle 1970 CL90 event in South Florida, in addition to the bike show. It is estimated there were 9000 OBIS BREA visitors this year who came to see the vintage bikes, several rows of swap meet ven- 1976 HONDA ELSINORE MT250 dors and motorcycle specialty businesses, to listen to really great music performed JOAO CHAVES 1971 SUZUKI T500 by Whipping Post (who’s performed for six of the years), and to enjoy some food STAN FRITZ and the camaraderie of their fellow riders. There were also seven riding competi- 1977 RD400 tions held in a roped off area in the middle of the ring of bike show entries that drew FRED KOLMAN a large crowd of spectators. 1970 75/5 The VJMC’s presence was center stage, with our tent set up in the middle of the GEORGE MCABEE 1965 CB160 field of Japanese motorcycle entries for maximum visibility. There wasRest much stop duringinter- MURRAY MILNE est in our club, demonstrated by attendees who continually approachedSaturday’s our booth ride 1973 YAMAHA RD350 for more information about our club and events. By the end of the day, there were sixteen new members in the ranks of our club, with several more who had visited VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE MAGAZINE 39 us likely going home to sign up online. This event was a perfect opportunity to let outside people know about our club, and by the end of the day many of those entering the grounds in the morning unaware of the VJMC left knowing who we are and what we do. Along with the event staff of Sharon Brea and Rob Schroeder, and member Andre Behrens, on hand were many of our Florida Field Representatives including Norm Smith, Norton Muzzone, Obis Brea, and Murray Milne, The Field Reps all stayed after for a short organizational meeting to prepare in advance for upcom- ing Florida VJMC events. After the meeting, our helpful fellow members had our banners, tables, tents, and chairs folded up and loaded in just a few minutes. We all said our goodbyes and rolled ABOVE: A nice KZ900 out toward our different destinations, now in the remains of a warm afternoon in the glow of a lowering sun. RIGHT: A racing Dania Beach Vintage Motorcycle Show and Swap Meet was a Honda in the welcome break from an unusually cold winter, even for Central Competition class Florida, and couldn’t be beat for the fun atmosphere and the huge display of interesting bikes. It was the perfect warm up in antici- pation of the coming spring and summer season of VJMC events. If you find yourself with the winter blues and your bikes locked away in a cold garage, make a break and head south; I highly rec- ommend a visit to the Dania Beach show. It’ll thaw you out and inspire you for the new riding season hiding just behind that next cold front. l

40 APRIL / MAY 2015 FAR LEFT: Beautifully restored bikes parked up next to the VJMC booth LEFT: A walter wolf special

ABOVE: ABOVE whipping Post & RIGHT: entertaining the Two “caféd” huge crowd Hondas

VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE MAGAZINE 41 42 APRIL / MAY 2015 PROJECT BIKE 1967

CB450D A History & Restoration

by Paul Paddock / [email protected]

his is how this 1967 Honda CB450D Tstarted on its road to recovery. It was rescued from a shed back in February of 2006 in Rifle, Colorado, by Pat Warick. A friend of Pat owned the farm and he learned of the bike being stored in the shed, covered with insulation. When the CB450 was first introduced, it had an incredible forty-three horse- power and a high-tech, double-over- head cam design. While the bike was Pat warwick and his friend, pulling the bike an engineering wonder, after a couple out of the shed in years, sales began to sag, partially due February 2006. to the looks of the bike. The big hump- back tank, large side covers, swoopy sil- nicely reshaped fuel tank, different tail- ver fenders, and plain CB mufflers sent light bracket and lens, and cross-braced Honda to the drawing boards to come scrambler-style handlebars. Honda’s up with a new look. The “D” model gave ID Guide also refers to this machine the bike a much different and sleeker as a CL450 Scrambler. In 1968, Honda look. The information about the “D” brought out the redesigned CB450 and model is sketchy. Some experts say that the new CL450 Scrambler. the “D” kits were shipped to dealers in Some Honda enthusiasts believe the America to install on existing Black “D” model kits, a sales incentive, shipped Bombers still on the showroom floors. to dealers to bolster lagging sales of the However, Honda’s official Model Iden- standard Black Bomber in their in- tification Guide shows the CB450D as ventory. Other authorities believe the a distinct model, first released June 24, CB450D motorcycles were shipped from 1967, with its own #283 product code. the factory. Regardless, this is a hard-to- It was available in three colors: Metal- find motorcycle. Reports say that there lic Silver, Candy Red, and Candy Blue. were less than 1,200 “D” models pro- All three colors had black upper forks duced. One expert calls the CB450D the and headlight shell (from the CB450K0 second rarest Honda sold in America. models). The distinct differences were Even the highly respected 1969 Honda The bike the the chrome fenders, attractive chrome CB750K0 “Sandcast” motorcycles had way it looked upswept exhaust pipes and mufflers on over 7,400 units produced. before I started the restoration, each side, redesigned side covers with So, Pat started digging for information July 2013. a “450” decal on a checkerboard stripe, about the bike and making a lot of con- VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE MAGAZINE 43 tacts along the way. Also, he gathered ABOVE LEFT TO RIGHT: The engine before removal from the frame parts that he knew would be necessary Engine sitting on my cluttered work bench for the restoration of the bike. Pat was A peek from the backside also a friend of my brother, who also lives in Rifle, Colorado. Many times FAR LEFT: The gummy, through the years, I would be talking to crusty internals my brother on the phone and would ask of the disman- tled engine if Pat was making any progress restor- ing the bike. The answer was always the LEFT: Here’s the same, “I don’t think he has done any- broken stud thing to it.” In December, 2012, I was from the top engine case. visiting my brother, and we were able It was just to go over to Pat’s house, where I would drilled out. see the bike for the first time. The bike had just been cleaned up, and Pat was LEFT: showing us some of the NOS parts he The seat pan separated had accumulated, along with other nec- from original brittle foam and seat cover essary parts, while getting ready for the restoration. pan, and then painted it. I then sent the Pat knew I had restored a 1966 Honda whole works down to TD Bash at Cool CL77 Scrambler to show-winning status Retro Bikes in Saint Petersburg, Florida, back in 2009, and I had just completed so he could re-do this seat into a muse- restoring a 1972 Honda CL450. I said to um-quality seat. He had never done a Pat, “If you ever decide to sell this bike, CB450D seat before, so he wasn’t sure let me have first bid on it.” He thought how the foam should be carved to rep- about it for some time and agreed to sell sion, the frame was rusty and banged licate the original. I sent a picture of the with two conditions: one, I don’t buy the up along the bottom under the engine. bike from a magazine ad. He had some bike to restore it and turn around and The left muffler had a dent near the trouble trying to get the foam just right, sell it; and, second, that I include his rear. When I pulled the engine out of the but the end result was outstanding. He name when showing the bike. So, we frame, the down tube behind the engine had the correct grain, which was called agreed on a price, and I had it shipped had a little freeze push-out from water “pebble grain.” The seat is as perfect as out in July, 2013, to Massachusetts, condensing inside the tube and freezing anyone could do. along with boxes of the parts he had ac- during those cold Colorado winters. I The frame and all related parts that cumulated. had a friend that was an expert in met- were painted black originally were bead I took a complete inventory, and there al fabrication who repaired those dents blasted to bare metal and taken to HTC was an amazing amount of parts, in- and the freeze crack. Racing, in Rockland, Massachusetts, for cluding two complete fenders (The front The seat was another state of affairs. a gloss black finish. fender on the bike wasn’t correct.), an The seat cover was just sewn vinyl, no- I then sent all of the parts that had to extra gas tank, all of the cables, a NOS where near looking like the original, be re-chromed to the guy I have used for speedometer/ unit, a box of the foam was brittle and crumbling, many years in the past, Jim Cherewan, almost every nut, bolt, screw, and wash- and the points in the edge of the pan in the Saint Paul, Minneapolis, area. As er that fit on the bike, NOS rear foot were mostly rusted away. I bead blasted always, he did show-quality chroming. pegs for the “D” bike, new gas cap, new the pan and cut eighteen little strips of The engine, now on the bench, was petcock, and much more. metal from a lid of a thirty-five gallon ready for the tear-down. The pistons So, now a compete tear-down was oil drum, cut points, and pop-riveted were standard, so I had to locate a pair needed. The engine had poor compres- them next to the vacant points on the of .025 over pistons and rings. One I got 44 APRIL / MAY 2015 These are some This is the freeze BELOW: of the points that crack on the frame These parts I replaced. behind the engine. were sent to Jim Cherewan for re-chroming. from a guy on eBay and another from a different eBay auction, and, of course, the rings were from someone else. Then the head, valves, cylinder barrels, and pistons were taken over to the Mid-Cape Automotive Machine Shop in Hyannis, Massachusetts. They bored the cylin- ders and reground the valves and the valve seats in the head. While the engine was on the bench, I checked the transmission and shifting ABOVE: These parts were forks, and all seemed OK in there. While bead blasted to the engine top casing was upside down, bare metal and resting on the long studs that secure taken to HTC Racing for powder coating. the cylinders and the head, I bumped it and it fell over. One of the small studs LEFT: A before and after hit the vise and was bent. When I tried picture illustrating to straighten it out, it broke off. I drilled the results of polish- ing eighty spokes. the broken piece out and re-threaded the for powder coating. casing. I was lucky enough to find some identical studs on eBay and replaced it. ABOVE: I sanded all of the scratches and dings All scratches and out of the side casings and then paint- dents sanded out and repainted ed them with bright silver engine paint. enigne paint They turned out really nice, just like the bright silver factory. I replaced all of the wheel bearings and seals, and the steering stem with tapered bearings. The tank and side covers were repainted Honda Metallic Silver by John Lang at All-Out Performance, in Har- wich, Massachusetts. The NOS tank LEFT: ABOVE: and side cover badges were riveted on. Completed engine ready Polished hubs and There were eighty spokes and eighty to be installed in freshly spokes just waiting powder coated frame. for re-chromed rims brass nipples to be polished—a very AMCA judge at Hebron, to be returned tedious job. When the rims were re- Connecticut, gigged me on “incorrect and turned, I laced the wheels and snugged gouged dyno cover.” them up, only to take the wheels to the I have since scored a correct dyno cover and mechanic at the local Honda shop to get sanded out the gouge. him to true them up. That is a special talent I do not have. LEFT: NOS speedometer/ The original speedometer was toast. tachometer with The glass was completely gone, the twin original mileage put in by Foreign needles were broken off, and the face of Speedometer the speedometer and tachometer was worn away. So, the NOS speedo/tach VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE MAGAZINE 45 unit was sent to Foreign Speedometer Shop, in San Diego, California. They lubed both units and set the mileage to the original mileage of 9,646. That way, there was no discrepancy with the title. As the parts trickled back, the assem- bly was going together quite nicely. The last shipment from Jim Cherewan was the twin header pipes with the muf- flers on Wednesday, July 23, and I got The finished the bike completed and running on product! Saturday, July 26. I took it to the Mis- selwood Concours D’Elegance show in Beverly, Massachusetts, on Sunday, July 27, where it won first place. Then, the following Saturday, August 2, I took it to Hebron, Connecticut, to the Yan- kee Chapter of the AMCA show and it scored 98.25 points out of 100. Some of those points I lost have already been corrected. I also took it to the Rice-O- Rama show in Spencer, Massachusetts, on September 7 (my wife’s birthday— and I didn’t end up sleeping on the couch) where it won first place in the 400-700cc class. September 13 was the Cape Cod Classics Car Club event, The Blast From the Past Car & Cycle Show, and it won first place there. So, the bike is off to a good start. The bike isn’t charging the battery up to par as this is written. It has a new battery and a NOS rectifier. It charges at 12.7 volts maximum with the lights off. I bought a new rectifier on eBay from technogearhead and it charges at 13.6 volts without the lights on; with the lights on it goes down to 11.5 volts. So, next I will check the alternator. Plus, I think the right coil is bad because the bike misses quite severely. These prob- lems will be remedied by the time this is in print. l

46 APRIL / MAY 2015 COLLECTIONS My Vintage Japanese Motorcycles by Nash Stanton / [email protected]

t all started when I moved to Boise, The first thing I did was to see if it IIdaho, to take on my first career in would start. It purred like a kitten with- engineering and design. At age twen- out any need of adjustment, even with ty-seven, I was looking for a new ad- the pod filters and stock jetting. It did, venture and asked myself, “Wouldn’t it however, need a lot of cosmetic work: It be cool to learn how to ride a motorcy- had CB750F side covers. The front fend- cle?” My dad had a 1978 Honda CB750F er was damaged. The seat was warped. when I was young, but I don’t remember The handlebars were mini ape hangers. much about it. The turn signals were hacksawed off to I wasn’t even sure if I would like rid- make room for a fairing. The chain and ing, so I decided to take a safety course. sprockets were shot. But mechanically, It turned out to be every bit as fun as I’d it was as solid as they come, especially hoped. At the end of the course, I decid- having only 14,000 miles, and the pipes My dad took a picture of me sitting on his ed it was time to buy my first bike. My were original and in nice shape, too! 1978 CB750F. dad sent me a link to a 1978 CB750K on I had restored a couple cars in the past, eBay that was in Ohio, and that became so I knew that motorcycles would be my first bike. It arrived twenty painfully much easier, faster, and cheaper. I wast- slow days later. ed no time and went right to work, but

VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE MAGAZINE 47 I took this LEFT: photo the A motorcycle stand day that it came in handy arrived. for cleaning and removing parts.

I also began learning more about the Coming together CB750 as I did so. I learned that many after rebuilding the feel the 1977/1978s are less desirable front end, seat, and than most others (no wonder why I got side covers it so cheap). I began to learn about some of the questionable design changes on these later-model SOHC CB750s. One of them was the color. This model came in burgundy with gold and blue pin- ABOVE: striping. 1978 was also the first year that I removed most of the Honda used an obvious two-step seat parts that I could and had them sandblasted for the CB750. I also didn’t like that the and powder coated. handlebar wiring was exposed. I didn’t care much for the pogostick-looking rear shocks of this era, as I favored the older, shrouded shocks. It became clear seat because it had a flatter profile that bodywork. I ordered reproduction that I quickly became influenced by the I thought was more reminiscent of the 1977/1978 CB750 tank decals, but I had older CB750s, but while still admiring older CB750s. It goes without saying, them use all gold, instead of the facto- what I had. It was solid, powerful, and but all of the safety-related items were ry gold and blue. Valley Green Metallic smooth. the first items I replaced and serviced: was also my choice of color, reminis- Over the next three months, I pur- brakes, tires, wheel bearings, steering cent of the earlier CB750s; Freedom chased everything I needed to replace bearings, cables, and the electrical com- Green had too much blue for my taste. the damaged parts. Luckily, I live next ponents. During the paint job, I was able to find to a cycle salvage yard, so it wasn’t too After ordering correct CB750 side some 1971 CB750 handlebars that al- hard to source these. EBay was only my covers from a talented gentleman that lowed for a sportier look and also gave friend when I couldn’t find things any- molds them out of tough urethane (fb- me the ability to route my wiring inside where else. I picked up a 1977 CB750K stuff.com), I was ready to begin the the bars.

48 APRIL / MAY 2015 VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE MAGAZINE 49

Picking up my We took the bike on 1972 CB450K5 a 400 mile round trip after restoration. The CB750 did RIGHT: just fine, but our aching, tall My dad took this bodies barely made the trip. photo after rebuilding the engine. In the end, I’d say the bike came out faces to complement the rest of the bike, excellent. I’m able to fool the novices instead of being the factory blue or green into thinking that it’s an early model at color. Around this time, I had gone to a quick glance. But the pros still know a truck show and saw a beautiful color that it’s a late model CB750—and they combination on a semi-truck: tangerine love it as much as I do. It won third place orange with silver accents. I wondered, in the 2014 People’s Choice Award at the “How cool would a motorcycle look in VJMC of Idaho’s show, and that’s pretty that combination?” flattering. I pulled the engine and shipped it off I had the itch to start another resto- to my dad, because he is more mechan- ration, but this time I wanted to go full ically inclined than I am. He was also It was important for me to stay organized frame-off and leave no stone unturned. excited to work on the CB450 engine, throughout my projects to stay on track and to I decided to go with Honda’s “big bike” as he’d heard great things about them not lose any parts! before the CB750—the CB450. I got when he was growing up. Actually, the lucky one night while browsing Craig- CB450 was his first bike! At this point, it slist and picked up a 1972 CB450 for turned into a father-son project. only a few hundred dollars. We couldn’t As he was doing the engine, I powder get it to run at the seller’s house. When coated as much as I could and started I got it home, I looked into the fuel tank the assembly. I installed tapered roll- and saw that it was empty! After fill- er steering bearings and also added ing it up with gas, I rode the thing for bronze, maintenance-free, months on end and learned all of the in- bushings for durability. I redid the wir- tricacies of the marvelous 450. One im- ing using factory fasteners wherever it portant thing to note was, even though needed it. I replaced any part that didn’t the CB750 was my first bike, the CB450 look near perfect. I rebuilt and powder Things are coming together. was the first bike that I used for actual coated the fork legs Cloud Silver. I heard transportation. It got me to the grocery great things about the UNI-foam filters, store, and it got me to work. It was just a that they have similar flow to the stock blast to drive around in town. filters, so I grabbed a set of those. Brakes As fall was approaching, I began the were rebuilt and a braided stainless steel restoration. I sandblasted and powder hose was used. coated just about everything. I’ve al- After about six months, I had finally ways liked the looks of the Black Bomb- finished my second restoration. It came er CB450s with the toaster tank. Just out wonderfully, until about seventy like with my CB750, I wanted to do miles later. My transmission started some retro touches, but I also wanted to slip while in first gear. My dad was to slightly modernize it by using high- then living overseas, so I had to tear er contrast styling options. This meant into the transmission myself to see what reducing the chrome down to half and was going on, which meant pulling going with Honda’s classic Cloud Silver the engine again. Being able to consult for the fenders. I also wanted the gauge with the CB450 master, Bill Lane, and The final result! VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE MAGAZINE 51 A few close-ups of the shiny new a Honda twins guru, Steve Lohmeyer, orange paint color. was a huge help. (These guys are crazy smart, and they are on HondaTwins.net giving out advice every day.) It turned out that the shift spindle was bent and causing havoc to the shift drum and forks. I replaced everything, including a custom-machined shift spindle, and assembled it all back together. Three hundred miles later, the bike is running smooth and solid, and I drive it like a bat out of hell! Honda really knows how to make a good bike while not being overly ag- Taking it out for a ride! gressive; there’s just no denying it. At this point, I feel like I’m ready to mature think once I can get my hands on a Ka- into something a little more aggres- wasaki Z1 900, then motorcycling just sive—something bigger and meaner. I may be reinvented for me once more. l

52 APRIL / MAY 2015 TECH HELP Tech Tip #7: Tools? I Need Tools? by Jim Townsend / [email protected] & Ellis Holman / [email protected]

Jim: Ellis, I was out in my shop the other three tie down straps after you slide it day, and it dawned on me that many of over the frame top and under the carb my “tools” might look like some useless stubs, with the eye bolt sticking up. You pieces of junk to someone not familiar put the swing set over the bike, attach with their use. One is an old kids’ swing the chain falls to the trolley and through set. Now just what in the world is that the eye on the U, and then you can lift useful for? the engine out of the frame. Then you I have had this piece of junk in my yard slide the trolley sideways and lower the for around seven years. It was given to engine onto a piece of 2-by-12 with cast- me by VJMC member Dan Kreger after ers. Then you can move it all over the his grown kids didn’t use it any more. I shop and work on it. cut the top tube of this A-frame down Another tool I’ve made is a valve to about six feet and took off all the spring compressor. I made mine using swings, slide, and other, useless to me, a 6” C-clamp and a short piece of pipe. junk. My next step was to make a trol- I cut a piece of 3/4” pipe about 2” long ley with a couple of rollers that fit the and then cut out a couple of windows top bar. Then I put a bolt through that on each side of it and welded it on to the so it would hang down so I could hook screw end of the C-clamp. something onto it. There is nothing very precise about ei- I now had a nice roller trolley that could ther of these tools and both work quite run back and forth on that top tube of well. The valve spring compressor was the shortened swing set. I still needed described in a magazine article by Ken a couple more pieces for my prize. The Carlson back in the August 2005 issue. next thing was a U-shaped frame made I find a number of odd things very use- out of a piece of about 1 1/2” pipe. ful in my shop. One is a number of small Looking at it sideways, the U has a long cans like tuna cans or cat food cans to leg that is roughly two feet long, the up- temporarily put screws or bolts in. Who right bottom of the U is about fifteen hasn’t put down a screw or nut and had inches and the shorter top side of the U it hide from them when you they to as- is fourteen inches long. After welding semble something. They have an eerie the three pieces of pipe together I put way of hiding under a rag or rolling un- on an eyebolt about 3/8 inch in diame- der a bench or whatever, but if it is in a ter, with an eye about 1 1/2” in diame- can, you can easily find the can. ABOVE: ter. The one thing missing was a short Another odd thing I use is a round Here is the “U” shaped pipe to block and tackle or short chain fall. Af- piece of hard wood to pound the steer- help lift engines out of frames. The green ruler is to help you get ter searching the catalogs and hardware ing head bearing races into place. some idea of its dimensions. stores, I finally found a short, light-duty chain fall that had a five hundred pound Ellis: Jim, that engine lift is pretty slick! all the scratches he’d put on the piston capacity. It would save the back when dealing trying to get the rings on the piston. I Now I had all the components of a tool with those big twin- or four-cylinder showed him the $3.99 lock ring pliers that I could use to remove motorcycle engines. that I had bought at Harbor Freight. engines from the frame without help! I I had a friend stop by the other day They look something like a pair of long could now take out the engine of a 900cc who was frustrated to no end. He was nosed pliers, but have flat ends that al- Honda four by myself. It is easy. You rebuilding an SL100 and, so far, had low expanding the rings without break- just tie the bottom of the U just under broken two sets of piston rings trying to ing them. There are also piston ring the carburetor intake stubs with two or get them on the piston, not to mention expanding pliers. Those have V-shaped VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE MAGAZINE 53 ends that grip and hold the piston rings to expand them safely. Another thing I showed him was my “piston blocks.” I got this idea from the Honda Common Service Tools catalog. The Honda ones are nice aluminum U-shaped blocks that fit around the connecting rod and under the piston. They look like a tuning fork. Rather than trying to make a pair out of alu- minum, I got some 3/8 inch thick plastic and cut blocks from that. Now, when I’m putting cylinders back over the pis- ABOVE: Ring expanding pliers and piston block tons, I just slip the blocks in place and it keeps the piston from falling back into ing on a CBX, you will have to use six of the engine cases while I’m trying to get them, one for each cylinder. It sure im- the cylinders on. proves my vocabulary. If you need plans of the piston blocks Jim: I have an addition to that, Ellis. or the engine hoist, contact Ellis for the It is hard to compress the rings when blocks or Jim for the hoist. sliding the cylinders on, so I just take a If you have a problem, feel free to ABOVE: Here’s a closeup of large screw-type hose clamp and put it contact either or both of us via email: my homemade valve around the rings to compress them just Ellis Holman, buddy.holman@gmail. spring compressor enough so the pistons will slide up into com, and Jim Townsend, jimvjmc@ and one of it in use. the cylinders. If you happen to be work- gmail.com l

54 APRIL / MAY 2015 ADVERTISER’S SPOTLIGHT Vapor Honing Technologies

by Bryan Bentley / [email protected]

his issue’s Spotlight is on Vapor THoning Technologies, located in Vapor blasting Connelly Springs, North Carolina. Since they are located a short ride uses a mixture from my house, and I was not familiar of glass beads, with this technology, I decided to pay them a visit and see what this vapor water, and blasting process was all about. What I compressed air found was a much better way to clean and return parts to their natural finish of the media and contaminates are without wearing down the surfaces. carried into the sump of the blaster. Vapor blasting uses a mixture of One huge difference I noted was the glass beads and water along with lack of leakage. I spend a lot of time compressed air to accomplish this. trying to keep my shop clean after The machines come in different siz- using a regular dry blast cabinet. No es, however, even the smallest would matter how good my dust collector is, work for our hobby. The blaster is and how hard I work trying to keep self-contained and does not require the cabinet sealed, I still end up with a a water supply after the initial fill or dusty shop. The Vapor Honing Tech- when changing media which, depend- nologies blaster solves this problem ing on use, should only be necessary completely, as there is no dust or leak- three to four times a year. age of the slurry. I was allowed to use a blaster to clean As good as this machine is, there are several parts that had been sent to some things it does not do well. It does the company for cleaning. One of the not clean cast iron or heavy steel very first parts I did was a carburetor. The well. If you are using it for any steel, process of cleaning the outside took be prepared to coat the finished part just over five minutes and showed me as soon as you finish the blasting, as what an improvement this would be it will flash-rust very quickly since it Before and after to our normal restoration methods. is so clean. There are some things that photos of a After vapor blasting, the carb should can slow this flash rusting slightly, carburetor. be cleaned in an ultrasonic cleaner to and the staff would more than happy ensure there are no beads left in any to discuss these with you. passages, then blown out, dried, and Although Vapor Blasting Technolo- reassembled. I noted how gentle it was gies will continue to process any parts when I observed that it did not hurt you send to them, their ultimate goal the rubber seal on the choke. The sur- is to provide these machines to the av- face finish is so good that any mold erage hobbyist and restorer. They have marks will show just as they should, machines available to suit our needs and it is very easy to inspect the part for as little as $3000. When I added the for cracks or defects. reduced cost of all the materials I use CONTACT INFO Vapor blasting is safe to use on all now, such as buffing pads, compound, our engine parts, as it doesn’t erode filters, masks, cleaners, and the time I Vapor Honing Technologies or hurt any surface. It will not damage will save, the machine is actually not Johnathon wise [email protected] any surface such as threads, bearings, much more than I spend now using (704) 530-1009 bushing surfaces, or machined gasket traditional methods, but produces su- www.vaporhoningtechnologies.com surfaces like traditional blasting. All perior results. l VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE MAGAZINE 55 56 APRIL / MAY 2015 EVENTS Events Corner

by Peter Slatco , Vice President, Events Coordinator / [email protected]

ext in the order of events is Bikes UPCOMING EVENTS Non the Beach in Panama City, Any member can Florida, May 2nd, held in conjunc- tion with the Spring Thunder Beach have an event MAY 2 Bikes on the Beach at Ron’s Kawasaki. Online registration anywhere anytime. Panama City, FL is now open, www.regonline.com/ I challenge locations 2015bikesonthebeach. MAY 9 The Main Event—our 2015 VJMC Na- nationwide to Spring Show tional Rally. Registration is now open step up their Kansas City, KS at www.regonline.com/2015vjmcna- tionalrally. We are a bit surprised at state’s activities! MAY 22-23 the number of current and past mem- Riding Into History St. Augustine, FL bers who have already pre-registered It’s easy to criticize when you are not for the rally. This year’s rally will take doing the work, but, please understand JUNE 25-27 place in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, June that any member can have an event 2015 National Rally 25-27, 2015. Our Rally Headquarters is anywhere anytime, but it will require Pigeon Forge, TN the Ramada Pigeon Forge South, 4010 that member to get involved, recruit Parkway, Pigeon Forge, TN 37863. a support team, and make it happen. JUNE 27 Once you have registered for the rally, That event could have an entry fee and Annual Rally Kansas City, KS you can call 1-800-523-3919 to book require preregistration or it could be your room at the VJMC discounted free with no registration—that is your JULY rate. call. So, if for any reason you don’t like Mid-Ohio Destination Eustis—Vintage Bike the way a particular event is struc- Lexington, OH Show was a huge success thanks to all tured, then you are encouraged to put the volunteers and the show entries. on an event that better suites your spe- SEPTEMBER The Florida group is extremely active cific requirements. West Coast Rally this year with plans for a couple rides Other emails reference Florida and TBD in March and April. One will take place the number and frequency of events SEPTEMBER 26 departing from Nick’s Powerhouse in that take place. In Florida we have Bike Fest Winter Haven, Florida, another will be formed a statewide event team of Tallahassee, FL a visit to the Kennedy Space Center in twelve members and a couple friends. Cape Canaveral, Florida, followed by a This team collectively supports a va- OCTOBER 9-11 lunch ride, and a third will be a Light riety of activities that geographically Barber Vintage Festival House tour leaving from Lake Wales. includes the entire state. Due to this Leeds, AL Watch your email for current events, team, Florida can now boast that they OCTOBER 15-18 dates, times, and locations. have more active members than any AIMExpo The Kansas City group has a couple other state in the club. This is a direct Orlando, FL of events coming up—the May 9th result of the large number of rides, Spring Show and June 27th Annu- shows, and social gatherings that take NOVEMBER 6-8 al Rally. Check out the VJMC Events place in Florida throughout the year. Florida VJMC Rally Calendar for more details. I challenge other locations nation- Ocala, FL Recently we have received emails wide to join Arizona, Indiana, Kansas, complaining about various aspects of Ohio, and Florida in stepping up their DECEMBER Florida VJMC Christmas Ride the events program; especially about state’s activities and in stimulating TBD how they are executed, preregistration members to participate in those areas requirements, fees, and their locations. like we have. l VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE MAGAZINE 57 ADVERTISEMENT

58 APRIL / MAY 2015 A “Vintage Japanese” motorcycle is 20 years old or older and, of course, CLASSIFIEDS Japanese. Please be aware that ads may/will be edited to conserve space. 12 lines will be free. PLEASE NOTE: Please be aware of publication deadlines. For an upcoming issue, ads are due by the 20th of the month of the preceeding issue’s release. For ex- Ads will be run for oNE ISSuE oNLY. Please ample, ads for the August/September 2015 issue are due by June 20. resubmit via www.vjmc.org or contact our If you have business related ads, please consider taking out a commercial display ad. Contact Bryan Bentley ([email protected]), Art Snow (art@ Classifieds Editor Gary Gadd by email: thewatermarkgroup.com), or me for details and rate information. [email protected] if you wish an ad to run we can now offer color photos to accompany your ads. Cost is a min- longer. Also please contact Gary if your post imal $10 per photo per issue. Payment via Paypal is available on the VJMC website. For payment by personal check, please address payment has been fulfilled. This will help keep our to “VJMC” and send to the address below. Photo ads will appear in the classified ads as current as possible. magazine issue following payment. GARY GADD • 3721 HOLLAND ST. • FoRT woRTH, TX • 76180 / 817.284.8195

1966 Honda CL77 305 Scram- 2nd owner since 1971. Runs and right owner. This bike has been bler. Disassembled for complete shifts like new. Carbs flushed, restored to 95% stock by a Hon- FOR SALE restoration. Tank, fenders and no tool kit, 14444 miles. A real da professional tech and is in side covers painted silver. Frame gem, plenty of additional pho- excellent condition. only +1700 needs paint. Engine needs re- tos and full details available. miles. Bike has fresh paint, build. Chrome parts need re- Titled as a 1968 model. $6700, stock exhaust, carbs just done. BRIDEGSTONE chrome. Front forks and brakes will dicker some. RA white, 864- Clean title and registered until are large hub. Speedo rebuilt. 457-2293, Campobello, South Sept 2015. $4000 or best offer. 1967 Bridgestone C210 Moun- $1500 plus shipping or you Carolina Only serious buyers please! tain 90cc. I got this bike to re- pick up. Gary L Rold, 619-440- Tim Tingey, 916-685-0935, store but have too many proj- 1167, San Diego, California, [email protected] ects. All there except for the [email protected] 1970 Honda SL100. 950 miles front brake lever. She turns since restoration. Runs and over, has a key and a title. will looks new. Clear Florida title. need lots of TLC. The exhaust is 1967 Honda CA77. 305 Dream Asking $2000. Richard Eichel- solid and the seat is remarkably in very good, mostly original berger, 352-326-3526, Lees- good. Last registered in 1993. I condition. Speedometer, -muf burg, Florida have a number of photos that flers, newer tires and battery. I will be happy to email to you. Nice original red paint. Two Asking $250 for the bike. Mike time AMCA award winner. Ashford, 360-352-0694, olym- Comes with original and solo pia, washington, michael@ seat. Runs great from recent evergreenstudios.com tuneup. Can be seen on You- Tube. Pictures available. $3800 1974 Honda cb750k4 - frame obo. Rallen Fontenot, 337-230- #2323349, engine #2327025. 8283, Youngsville, Louisiana, owned since mid-90s. Partial HONDA [email protected] restoration, recent paint job. Front brake re-build. Runs great! Asking $2500 or best 1967 Honda CL77 Scrambler. 1972 Honda CL450. Partially offer. Mike, babsnmike@ Black/silver, 15k miles. Excel- restored with NOS parts. 12000 netzero.net lent shape, completely restored miles on odometer. Everything in 2010 including tires, paint, is here, but engine does need and chrome. Serious inquiries. a new rectifier. Has been sitting 1974 Honda XL125. Clean, clear $6500 obo. Local pick up or in shop for many years. Needs title, runs great. only $650. you arrange shipping. Richard someone who knows and loves Call for details. S. wright, 217- Eichelberger, 352-326-3526, these bikes to get it back on the 246-7336, Litchfield, Illinois, Leesburg, Florida highway. Asking $2500. Gene [email protected] 1966 Honda CA160. Bike has McDaniel, 334-657-5582, Prat- new tires and battery but all else tville, Alabama, melharley@ is original. Starts and runs great. charter.net 1976 Honda CB550F Super It has a few small flaws and is Sport. Excellent original con- not perfect but beautiful to look dition. Exhaust, wheels, tank and ride. I have extra parts like are all in very nice condition. crash bars, windshield, etc. that No rust. Carbs rebuilt, new go with it. Vermont registration battery, good tires. Ready to that I can sign over to you. Email show or go. $4000. Dan Drexel, for more information. Asking 585-750-1018, Rochester, New $2500. Tim Taraska, 910-274- York, [email protected] 8387, Coastal North Carolina, [email protected] 1967 Honda 450 with CB style exhaust. All original except for 1982 Honda VF750S Sabre. seat cover and rear tire. Has op- Clean, low miles, Honda sport www.vjmc.org tional sheet metal for 1967/68. 1973 Honda CB500F to the fairing, racks, Corbin seat.

VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE MAGAZINE 59 CLASSIFIEDS

Have original parts. Stored 2 first place at the Dania Beach covers. For CB750. Gas tanks. years due to health reasons. Vintage Motorcycle Show in For Bridgestone 100/150 seat, $2500. J. George Swisher, 319- the Japanese division, com- very nice, $100. Dream and Su- WANTED 341-0110, Iowa City, Iowa, peting against approximately per Hawk frames with attached [email protected] 75 other worthy competitors. fenders, electrics, wheels, etc. $6700. Dick Altman, 561-722- 1965 Honda dream engine 150 HONDA 4844, Palm Beach County, Flor- cc, $100. Ask for prices or deal KAWASAKI ida, [email protected] on large or whole lot. Locat- ed near Rhinebeck, New York For 1957/58 Honda JC57-58 125cc, need exhaust pipe. Dirk, 1993 Kawasaki KZP1000. Po- AMC super meet site. This stuff 1978 Yamaha RD400. Café style has to go.Ken Krauer, 845-266- 989-329-3840, Dmckimmy@ lice bike. Complete front fair- RD. Has many aftermarket per- sbcglobal.net ing with wiring and mounting 3363, Salt Point, New York, formance parts including Spec II joankrauer@ yahoo.com hardware. Complete saddle pipes, carbs, electronic ignition, bags with all hardware, bag etc. Has new rear brake master For 1962 Honda CB92, need guards and pursuit lights. Radio cylinder, rebuilt front and rear the drive gear and bush- box with new wiring harness 1960s and 1970s Sales Bro- ing for the CB92 race kit ta- caliper, new fork seals. Starts chures and Manuals. 13 car- and mounting plate. Solo Po- within three cranks when cold chometer. Part Number lice seat, good condition with tons of material, sales bro- 12431-205-000 and 12441- and first crank when warmed chures, parts manuals and shop hinges. Ralph Rodriguez, ral- up. Has no turn signals, could 205-000. Steve Gilmore, 360- [email protected] manuals. Honda part manuals: 210-5363, [email protected] use better rear view mirrors. 1963/65 50, CA125 and CA95, Hi-lo beam switch needs repair. S90, C200, CA/CB160, CB550, SUZUKI $3750. Dick Altman, 561-722- CA/CB/CL72/77, CB/CL450, 4844, Palm Beach County, Flor- 1969/70 CB750. Yamaha parts For 1963 Honda Cuby 19.7cc, 1976 Suzuki RE5. 2nd own- ida, [email protected] manuals: YL1 and YL2, YD3, information. Need help from er, 19500 miles, runs good, YDS-3, YM1, YJ1 and YJ2, U5, any members with knowledge looks good. Equipped with 1979 Yamaha XS650. Stored YG1, TAS-1C and YAS2C, YGS- of the Cuby. Trying to write a windjammer and saddlebags. 3 years due to health rea- 1. Shop manuals: Honda C200, book about the engine, used as Gene, Apache Junction, Arizo- sons. Extra tank. $1500. CB/CL125, CB/CL175, CA95, 50 a training object in early 1960s na, [email protected] J. George Swisher, 319- and 65, Hodaka 100-MX, Suzu- Japan. we have several engines, 341-0110, Iowa City, Iowa, ki T125, B100P, Yamaha DS6, known in Japan as XT-10 en- [email protected] YAS-1, G6S-B, 305 Catalina, YL2. gines including all six accessory TAKA Various Clymer manuals. Other packages manufactured for this subjects, boats, marine engines, engine. Our book is to contain automobiles, ask for additional maintenance photos, assembly 1974 Taka 100cc. Orange and information. Most of the litera- photos, kits, and a complete black. A rare and fun little mo- ture is mint perfect. would pre- history. A contact with Ameri- torcycle. Despite its age the fer to sell as a lot. Greg, Canada, can Honda would possibly help. original Taka tank is in good [email protected] Have lots of unresolved ques- condition with a few flaws in tions such as discrepancies be- the paint. Only 815 miles. Orig- tween the manuals and actual inal owners manual and 2 keys. Japanese Bikes. Retiring, selling parts included in the accessory Mechanically strong. Don’t miss my 4000+ lines of Kawasaki, Su- kits. Also need more informa- this opportunity to own this zuki, and some Honda NOS vin- tion concerning production, fine vintage motorcycle for just 1980 Yamaha XS650 Special II. tage parts. Listed at my site, Vir- customer locations, etc. Please $1100. For more information Original and in excellent condi- tuallyJunk.com. Asking $10k for contact us if you think you can best to call. Jack Gisler, 541-815- tion. 19000 miles. $2900. Jeff it all, including rights to my site help with completion of our 0966, Bend, Oregon, jtgisler@ Keiffer, 575-776-8676, Taos, and contents. Bruce Mangels, book. Volker wolff, Germany, gmail.com New Mexico 520-457-3035, Tombstone, Ari- [email protected] or Hans zona, [email protected] Peter Engel, hans-peter.engle@ osnanet.de YAMAHA MISC. FOR SALE 1959/79 Honda collection. 49- 1047cc. Selling 50 year collec- For Honda S90, where can I find 1970 Yamaha RD200. Complete Literature. Selling off some of tion. From junkyard to museum tires for my restoration that look high pipe scrambler. No rust. my original brochures and tank/ pieces. Paul Crippes, 707-894- like the original ones. 2.50x18? Nice first year for a real 5 port. side cover emblems. 1960s-80s. 3174, Cloverdale, California, preferably a Japanese company This is a rare RD. David K, North- Email me for a complete listing. [email protected] but it wouldn’t have to be. John, ern California, 916-939-4288, Rick, [email protected] 248-820-8935, Holly, Michigan, [email protected] Japanese bike parts supply. [email protected] 1968/81 Hondas. 50 Japanese 10s of thousands of parts, new 1975 Yamaha XS650. Complete. bikes, mostly Hondas, $100 and used. Reasonable price 1969/73 Honda CB175. Look- Every nut and bolt restoration each or will part out. Also in- in order to make a speedy ing for either a project bike both mechanically and cosmeti- cludes 1978 Gold wing engine, deal. Gene Crump, 662-369- in good restorable condition, cally. Engine work performed by front wheel and fender, carb set 4542, Aberdeen, Mississippi, a nice driver, or a restored Norton Muzzoni at Legacy Cy- and manifold, cooling fans, and [email protected] show bike. Jack Bacon, 763- cles in Melbourne. Bike has 200 other Gw parts. Deal on whole 291-1298, Loretto, Minnesota, miles on it since resto. All in- lot. Also 2 Yamaha Big Bear [email protected] voices available for work done. scramblers and Yam and Honda Clean title. This bike just took mopeds. Lots of seats and side 60 APRIL / MAY 2015 ADVERTISER’S INDEX

For 1972 Honda CB450, look- shield, all black screws w/nuts ADVERTISERS APPEARING IN THIS ISSUE: ing for a red fuel tank with for cowling, engine gaskets, case gold stripes. Johnny’s Vintage cover gaskets. Any other parts Atlanta Motorcycle Works ...... 40 Motorcycles, 330-335-7365, considered. Jay (Lindy) Lindquist, number35@johnnysvintage 631-874-4855, Long Island, New B & L Machine (Fork Seal Drivers) ...... 35 motorcycle.com York, [email protected] Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum ...... 50 1972 Honda Z50 K3. Looking for excellent original bike in candy YAMAHA Buchanan’s Spoke and Rim ...... 47 gold color. would like to find an original paint bike. Sean Mor- For 1969 Yamaha R3 350cc, Classic Cycle Events (Hanford) ...... 16 phew, 562-698-7484, whittier, looking for exhaust/muffles. Ed California, vintage1948house@ Lederis, 250-881-1929, Canada, CMSNL ...... 64 yahoo.com [email protected] David Silver Spares ...... 63

For 1975 Honda CB400F, need MISC. WANTED Diamond Gusset Company...... 34 frame with title or rolling frame with title. Tom Sanders, 321-689- Dime City Cycles ...... 2 7822, winter Springs, Florida, Need bikes for museum display. [email protected] Kawasaki w1, w2 and w650 and a 1969 H1. 1969 Honda CB750 Gasolina Boots ...... 32 For 1981 Honda CB750K, look- with sand cases and a 1969 die ing for hard or soft saddlebags in cast case model. Also an early Hagon Shocks ...... 24 good condition for restored mo- 1968 Honda Z50 Mini Trail. Al, torcycle. Terry Coker, 575-526- 559-688-8844 Historic Motorcycles (Caxton Press) ...... 58 3670, Las Cruces, New Mexico, [email protected] Honda Restoration ...... 48 Honda CBX 1000cc 6 cyl. memor- rabilia for museum and the “CBX JDV Products/Vessel...... 18 KAWASAKI Book” I am presently writing. Any brochures, adverts, posters, Jess Bikes ...... 35 owner’s manual, workshop man- ual, set-up manual, toys/mod- For 1971 Kawasaki F8 Bison Johnny’s Vintage Motorcycles ...... 49 Enduro bike, need barrel and els, old photos, etc. related to the 1979-1972 CBX. Also period head. Other parts as well. Let Kenda Tires ...... 4 me know what you have. J Tem- aftermarket fairings/bodywork. Let me know what you have and ple, 204-444-2304, Cooks Creek, LeMay America’s Car Museum ...... 34 Manitoba, Canada, ajtemple@ how much you need! Thanks. Ian, highspeedcrow.ca 626-444-9358, California, ian@ netvigator.com Marbles Motors ...... 32 MikeXS, Inc...... 15 SUZUKI Japanese NOS mopeds and motorcycles from the 60s and Motorcycle Yamiya 750 ...... 30 70s for our showroom. If you For 1967 Suzuki T20 X6 Hustler have anything to offer please Motorsport Publications ...... 20 250cc, need a tachometer cable. contact me. Mike Buttinger, Cam Norris, [email protected] [email protected] National Motorcycle Museum ...... 20

For 1968 Suzuki T500, need Dealer memorabilia. Collector Nor’Easter Blastworx ...... 16 an ignition switch with key. seeks 1950s-1980s Japanese only 1968/70 will fit this bike. dealership items including ban- Precision Motorcycle Painting ...... 49 Fred Sauter, 905-640-2851, ners, signs, ashtrays, lighters, Stouffville, ontario, Canada, hats, clocks, promos, etc. Rare, Rick’s Motorsport Electrics, Inc...... 54 [email protected] weird and old is good. Tom Ko- lenko, 770-427-4820, Atlanta, Speed and Sport Yamaha ...... 28 For 1983 Suzuki XN85D Turbo, Georgia l looking for original, clean wind- Vapor Honing Technologies ...... 12

Vintage Suspension (Race Tech) ...... 24

Western Hills Honda ...... 24

Wolverine ...... 56

Workshop Hero ...... 36

Yamaha Powersports Division ...... 14

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