Volume 35 / Number 2 APRIL/MAY 2014 • $5 DANIA BEACH VINTAGE MOTORCYCLE SHOW WHAT’S INSIDE: Kentucky Kickdown Catching Up With the ’70s Iron & Clematis OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE CLUB OF NORTH AMERICA, INC. IN THIS ISSUE FEATURES EVENT: Kentucky Kickdown 6 PROJECT BIKE: Catching Up, With the 70s 12 MAINTENANCE & RESTORATION: COVER STORY Oil Usage and the 19 Breather Assembly DANIA BEACH VINTAGE HISTORY: The Sound of MOTORCYCLE a Memory Calling 31 SHOW 26 EVENT: Iron & Clemetis 36 DEPARTMENTS PRESIDENT’S LETTER: ODDS & ENDS: .............................................................. Planning a Big Show Continuing the Momentum 5 BACK IN THE DAY: 41 1981 L70 Passport ............................................................................16 CLUB NEWS: RIDING SAFETY: The Importance 2013 Freebie Four Winners ............................................................ 17 of “Covering” TECH HELP: 51 Tech Tip #1: Beginning Your Retoration ......................................53 EVENTS CORNER .......................................................................57 Volume 35 / Number 2 APRIL/MAY 2014 • $5 CLASSIFIEDS ................................................................................58 DANIA BEACH VINTAGE MOTORCYCLE SHOW ON THE COVER WHAT’S INSIDE: Just one of several Kentucky Kickdown Catching Up rows of vintage With the ‘70s Iron & Clematis Japanese motorcycles at the Dania Beach OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE CLUB OF NORTH AMERICA, INC. show cover photo: Michael Fitterling V INTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE MAGAZINE 3 PRESIDENT’S LETTER Continuing the Momentum Official Publication of the VJMC APRIL/MAY 2014 Volume 35, Number 2 Current VJMC Enrollment: 3809 t’s time to ride! Winter is over and spring means start your PRESIDENT Tom Kolenko Iengines in most parts of this continent. Even our Canadi- 770-427-4820 an members have fired up their Japanese iron for the 2014 [email protected] riding season. Hopefully, those winter restorations are being EDITOR road tested right now. The indoors has moved to the outdoors Michael Fitterling 863-632-1981 where the real fun can begin. After this brutal winter, riding [email protected] redemption is coming to pavement near you. DESIGN DIRECTOR It is evident that preservation and the enjoyment of vintage Nadine G. Messier Japanese motorcycles continues to grow. Perhaps you heard [email protected] about the sand cast Honda 750 prototype that recently brought $148,000 on eBay. CLASSIFIED ADS Gary Gadd That landmark sale will undoubtedly raise the values for all other early Honda 750s, 817-284-8195 at least in the eyes of their current owners and future buyers. If you fancy one, get [email protected] them while they are “cheaper.” DISPLAY AD DIRECTOR Our club membership continues to grow, now surpassing 3800 members. Recruit- Guido Cardillo 404-587-0190 ment efforts at popular events like the IMS shows, AIM Expo, the Las Vegas auctions, [email protected] and other major vintage motorcycle community venues feeds the ranks of this club. AD SALES REPRESENTATIVE To all those booth volunteers and field reps who made it happen, the VJMC Board Art Snow of Directors thanks you. We are a niche club, but filled with passionate ambassadors [email protected] of oriental engineering. Bring a friend onboard and help us keep growing the fun. MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR Bill Granade Check the event calendar in this issue and on the website for the upcoming VJMC 813-961-3737 events. We have more events planned than ever before in club history meant to bet- [email protected] ter serve our members. Case in point: Peter Slatcoff has put together our advanced CHANGE OF ADDRESS online registration process for the National Rally in Spring Mill State Park, Indiana. Please direct these requests to Bill Granade: [email protected] Our first rally there was amazing, and we are returning due to popular demand. Peter promises a bigger and better rally as we take over the whole historic inn—great ADDITIONAL COPIES In order to minimize unnecessary expenses riding, great food, Midwestern hospitality, and several bike shows. Make your reser- to the club, VJMC prints a limited number of each issue of Vintage Japanese Motorcycle vations online today so that you do not have to stay at the overflow hotels in the area. Magazine. However, we would be glad to For those twenty-five percent of our members not Internet linked, call Peter directly accommodate any requests for additional copies from members. at (850) 624-8811 evenings & weekends and he will get you registered. These requests must be submitted before the With growth has come challenges. The biggest current challenge facing our club is 15th of the month preceding each issue. For example: for the Feb/Mar issue requests must the necessity to upgrade our website. Our website is our second most valued benefit be received by January 15. of membership, after our excellent magazine. The current website is over five years MISSION STATEMENT: old and was built before smart phones and tablets. Our talented technology com- The purpose of this organization is to promote mittee of Peter Slatcoff (Chair), Ellis Holman, and Bill Granade have been working the preservation, restoration, and enjoyment of vintage Japanese motorcycles (defined here tirelessly, putting together a needs analysis, constructing a RFP, and soliciting con- as those 20 years old or older). The VJMC also will promote the sport of motorcycling and tractors to bring our website up to speed. Please be patient as these dedicated volun- cameraderie of motorcyclists everywhere. teers work hard to change the face of the VJMC online. © 2014 Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club of Just as you safety check your bike for the riding season ahead, be sure and practice North America, an IRS-approved Not-for-prof- it 501(c)(7) corporation. All rights reserved. those riding skills that might have gotten rusty over the harsh winter. Ride safe all! No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted without permission. All articles Ride safe in the year ahead, copyright by their respective authors. The VJMC Magazine is published six times per Tom Kolenko year, in February, April, June, August, October, and December. The views and opinions ex- VJMC President pressed in letters or other content are those of the author and do not necessarily repre- sent VJMC policy. The VJMC accepts no liabili- ty for any loss, damage, or claims occuring as a result of advice given in this publication or for claims made by advertisers of products or services in this publication. V INTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE MAGAZINE 5 Kentucky Kickdown Friday night gathering at the Monkey Wrench 6 APRIL/MAY 2014 V INTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE MAGAZINE 7 8 APRIL/MAY 2014 EVENT The VJMC booth on Barret Avenue in the historic Highlands section near downtown by Sean Carrigan / photos by GoodSparkGarage.com he first-ever Kentucky Kickdown vintage motorcycle event was held in Lou- Tisville on September 13th and 14th, 2013, and VJMC was there to support the event and spread the word about our club. From the eye-catching promo art image of a guy kickstarting an old Honda CB350, to the awesome variety of bikes that filled the street, the event was cool or hip, depending on your age and style of dress. There were bikes to please any style, no matter if you prefer stock, café, bobber, chopper, or tracker style. There was even a Miss KKD contest. The show was open to all makes of bikes twenty-five years old or older. About a hundred bikes were entered, and organizer Scott Halbleib estimates nearly 1,000 folks V INTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE MAGAZINE 9 Vintage bikes line the street, closed off to traffic for the event 10 APRIL/MAY 2014 attended. Scott’s co-organizer is Scott the featured club at Mid-Ohio Vintage tive comment on the event’s Facebook Shuffitt, founder of the popular Beaters- Days last summer and will be again page: “I kept coming back to see that ville Car and Bike Show, also in Louis- this year. The mission of the Kickdown black bomber.” Lexington member and ville, that features an outrageous display is to “gather vintage enthusiasts as a avid collector Steve Pieratt was certainly of rat rods. Scott began envisioning the community to celebrate, educate, and thankful he attended. A guy was selling Kickdown in 2011 after attending small- further bike culture.” This event suc- an unrestored 1964 Honda C110 Sport er shows. He believed the potential was ceeded in doing that. We have several 50, with just the right blue body parts there for a bigger and better event so he members who are involved with both Steve needed for a restoration project he contacted Shuffit in early 2013 to tap groups. VJMC booked a double tent has been trying to complete. into his experience organizing shows. spot and had fifteen members, plus a The top Japanese machine went to As seen in the photos, an entire city few spouses, there from the Louisville member Steve Miles, with his 1984 block was roped off for the show, which area, northern Kentucky, Lexington, Harris-Kawasaki race bike. It was stun- took place on Barret Avenue in the his- Kentucky, and Cincinnati, Ohio. Sever- ning. Congrats Steve. We hope to see toric, vibrant Highlands section near al brought bikes to display, while others more classes for the Japanese bikes in downtown. In addition to the bike dis- entered the show. 2014’s Kickdown, which is scheduled play and show on Saturday there was a Longtime member Jim Turner, from for September 20th this year. Next year Friday night gathering at the Monkey Louisville, brought his super nice col- they may need to expand the space for Wrench bar and then a concert and lection of big 1970s Kawasakis, while the event. If it doubles in size, Scott helmet art display at a local venue. Our Bill Hovis of Cincinnati and Don Cec- wants to be ready.