Volume 37 / Number 5 OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2016 • $5 2016 at Gettysburg WHAT’S INSIDE: Bleeder Screw Repair VJMC at Mid-Ohio Vintage Days The Thirty Year Itch My Honda CB400F OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE CLUB OF NORTH AMERICA, INC. IN THIS ISSUE Features EVENTS: KCVJMC’s 6th Annual COVER STORY Spring Show Exceeds Expectations! 2016 Northeastern Rally 7 at Gettysburg 38 ODDS & ENDS: Twists and Turns 13 MAINTENANCE & RESTORATION: Blender Screw Repair 20 EVENTS: VJMC at Mid-Ohio Vintage Days 28 ODDS & ENDS: The Thirty Year Itch 32 Departments PRESIDENT’S LETTER: EVENTS: Expanding Circles of Friends ..............................................................5 2016 VJMC Midwest Rally BACK IN THE DAY: 34 Vintage Yamahas / Al Lantham ..........................................................9 FROM THE EDITOR: PROJECT BIKE: My Honda CB400F Thanks, New Columns, Spokes Revisited, & Responses Requested ................................................................... 11 45 CUSTOM CONNECTION: Rough Enough .................................................................................... 15 EVENTS: 2016 Santa Fe KICKSTANDS UP AT DAWN: Motorado Bike Show Peace, Love, & Motorcycles or Why this “Lady” Rides .............. 25 48 ADVERTISER’S SPOTLIGHT: Y amiya750.com ................................................................................. 53 TECH HELP: Volume 37 / Number 5 OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2016 • $5 On the Cover Tech Tip #16: Sellers’ Terms .......................................................55 2016 Jay Lindiquist’s at Gettysburg beautiful and rare EVENTS CORNER ............................................................................ 57 WHAT’S INSIDE: Bleeder Screw Repair 1983 Suzuki XN85D VJMC at Mid-Ohio Vintage Days The Thirty Year Itch turbo graced the CLASSIFIEDS .................................................................................... 59 My Honda CB400F bike show in Gettysburg. ADVERTISERS’ INDEX ................................................................... 61 cover photo: OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE CLUB OF NORTH AMERICA, INC. Michael Fitterling VIG ntA E JAPANESE MotorcYCLE MAGAZINE 3 PRESIDENT’S LETTER Expanding Circles of Friends Official Publication of the VJMC ne of the major perks of the job for most of us on this OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2016 Board of Directors is the yearlong opportunity to meet Volume 37, Number 5 O our members at a wide variety of events. This club makes it PRESIDENT Tom Kolenko so easy to start new friendships, convert email acquaintances 770-427-4820 into recognizable faces, and expand the group of riding bud- [email protected] dies. We are all volunteers, and maybe that makes it easier EDITOR Michael Fitterling too. 863-632-1981 [email protected] I was lucky enough to participate in the Northeast Rally in Gettysburg, where DESIGN DIRECTOR new faces surfaced and the riding was amazing. Battlefields encompass the Nadine G. Messier town, and our riders were reminded of the steep price paid by our forefathers [email protected] shaping this great nation. Saturday brought the storm that walloped Baltimore CLASSIFIED ADS Gary Gadd and floated cars, but the VJMC was cool and dry in the rally hotel and ballroom 817-284-8195 bike show. Perhaps it’s the great food and the chance to share the meals with [email protected] other passionate riders at the day’s end that forge new friendships. MAGAZINE DISPLAY ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Die-hard members from Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, the Canadian provinces, Bryan Bentley Missouri, Florida, and all corners of the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states 864-923-0559 [email protected] rode to these rolling hills of Pennsylvania to share three days of VJMC fun. MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR More women were also sharing the fun as riders, passengers, and supporters Bill Granade in Gettysburg. Hats off to Pete Slatcoff’s rally team of Julie, Rob, Kent, Chazz 813-961-3737 [email protected] and Bill, Tom S., John M., along with Field Reps Steve Gauding and Richard CHANGE OF ADDRESS Holman. Volunteers make it happen for all. Please direct these requests to Bill Granade: Jack Stein and Bob Leonard created a West Coast Rally experience that ex- [email protected] panded the circle of VJMC friends on the Left Coast. Friendships made at these 13309 Moran Drive, Tampa, FL 33618 Membership check renewals: events expand the pool of volunteers. It’s great to see members bringing more 1 year - $30 / 2 years - $55 / 3 years - $80 friends and family to these fun gatherings year after year. Often, these volun- Outside North America: 1 year - $50 teers choose more defined roles as Field Representatives and build an even larg- ADDITIONAL COPIES I n order to minimize unnecessary expens- er circle of friends. es to the club, VJMC prints a limited number of each issue of Vintage Japanese Motorcy- It is my privilege to announce our newest VJMC Field Representatives just cle Magazine. However, we would be glad to approved by the Board of Directors: Todd Tagatz (MN) replacing long serving accommodate any requests for additional copies from members. expert FR Chip Miller (Thanks, Chip, for your leadership and service), Noel These requests must be submitted before the Moss (St. Louis), Mike Russum (MO), Don Stockett (northern CA), and Bren- 15th of the month preceding each issue. For ex- dan Durrett (southern CA). More volunteers mean more events at the local level ample: for the Feb/Mar issue requests must be received by January 15. and more friendship opportunities. If you are interested in becoming a VJMC MISSION STATEMENT: Field Rep, please contact our National Field Rep Coordinator, Sean Carrigan The purpose of this organization is to promote the preservation, restoration, and enjoyment of (859-391-8736), who can walk you through the process, starting with the Field vintage Japanese motorcycles (defined here as Rep application forms on our website. those 20 years old or older). The VJMC also will promote the sport of motorcycling and camera- As you are reading this issue, many events are wrapping up for the year. The derie of motorcyclists everywhere. Barber Ride-In, the Barber Vintage Festival, AIM-Expo, and the Florida State © 2016 Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club of Rally hopefully provide opportunities to share new rides, enter bike shows, or North America, an IRS-approved Not-for-prof- it 501(c)(7) corporation. All rights reserved. just volunteer to help. Pull the trigger on these opportunities and expand your No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted without permission. All articles circle of friends who are just as passionate about these vintage rides as you are. copyright by their respective authors. I look forward to meeting and riding with more of you in the months ahead. Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Magazine is pub- lished six times per year, in February, April, June, August, October, and December. The views and Ride safe and often, opinions expressed in letters or other content are those of the author and do not necessarily represent VJMC policy. The VJMC accepts no lia- Tom Kolenko bility for any loss, damage, or claims occurring as a result of advice given in this publication or for VJMC President claims made by advertisers of products or ser- [email protected] vices in this publication. VIG ntA E JAPANESE MotorcYCLE MAGAZINE 5 EVENTS KCVJMC’s 6th Annual Spring Show Exceeds Expectations! by Mark Bayer, President KCVJMC, Kansas/Missouri Representative / [email protected] he Kansas City Chapter of the TVJMC held its All Japanese Motor- cycle Show and Swap Meet on Satur- day, June 18th. It was held in an area called the West Bottoms, an old in- hot! It seems that it is either heavy dustrial area dating back to the early rains, nonstop drizzles, excessive heat, 1900s. The old stone buildings were a or strong winds which impact activi- great backdrop for our vintage motor- ties, but this is what we often have to cycles. The area is also a place where contend with in our region. Neverthe- there are a number of small custom less, we schedule our events and hope motorcycle builders, a shop called for the best, sometimes having great Café Racer, and several other attrac- weather and other times not being so tions for motorcyclists. The location lucky. The only negative impact was has been used before for other motor- that a few left the event early because cycle shows and events. The area that of the heat. we had previously used for this event We had around a hundred bikes was no longer available to us because throughout the day, and I’m sure well of a business move. We missed the old over several hundred people in atten- location but liked the new one as well. We used a large, dedicated fenced- off lot as our event area, which was provided by the events coordinators overseeing the general area. Amber, of Full Moon Productions, was our con- tact person, and they were very gener- ous and helpful to our club. We truly appreciate their support. We actually had three groups which worked with us to support the show—Café Racer, Full Moon Productions, and a group called Hickory Union Moto. The latter is an organic group of motorcycle en- thusiasts who build, restore, and cus- tomize old motorcycles, many being old Japanese bikes. They held an open house the day of our show, and many visited their facility. We have worked hard to create positive working rela- tionships with these sponsors. The event was a success and lots of fun. The heat kept some away, with temperatures having been around or over the 100 degree mark for sever- al days. You would hardly need a fire to cook your hamburgers; it was that VIG ntA E JAPANESE MotorcYCLE MAGAZINE 7 dance. We signed up a number of new the New Century Airport. New Centu- VJMC members, sold several hundred ry is around thirty miles south of Kan- dollars’ worth of T-shirts (all money sas City—a nice riding distance. The going to MDA), and above all, had a event will be held at the Commemora- good time. We met dozens of new peo- tive Air Force Museum, as it has been ple from as far away as Colorado and since the event’s inception.