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tomb393

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And then there were the Type IIs, which never came to the states. 

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14 minutes ago, bmart said:

Cheater! lol That's been modified. Like the frame. 

 

I don't know if color changes can be considered "modifications".  😉

 

Bike is stock except for the adapted Yoshi slip-on, tucked taillight, shaped rear fender and shorter winker stays.

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71 last year and still going strong 

 

I started on an old New Hudson with handchange riding around some waste ground/bombsite and bought my first bike on my 13th birthday, a 125cc D1 BSA Bantam

 

Had literally 100’s of different bikes almost exclusively European, gave that up when they became collectible and moved on 

 

The RC79 is my first viffer, absolutely love it, so f**king complicated though so bought the RC24 to actually wield a spanner on with confidence 

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3 hours ago, Captain 80s said:

Gotta love em!

 

20210203_194002.thumb.jpg.1d8d54efb2c6b715b85e2df2f2d2a672.jpg


as a 90's honda rider, i think you need to give that up because yer screename is 'captain 80's'. 
As such, I have moved a bike over so it'll fit in nicely here. See you this weekend. 

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7 minutes ago, 3rdgenred said:


as a 90's honda rider, i think you need to give that up because yer screename is 'captain 80's'. 
As such, I have moved a bike over so it'll fit in nicely here. See you this weekend. 

 

I totally would...  but it's a 1989.

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54 years old.  Second VFR.  First was totaled with lots (I don't remember how many) of miles and the second, a 2002 VFR, with just over 90k miles.  These things just keep going!

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I'm turning 74... so I'm reminiscing the milestones during 57 years of
Riding and Racing...


1963... It all started with a set of mini bike plans from the back of
Popular Mechanics...


1964...

My first ride was on a step through Honda 55 in 1965 and I recall the
experience vividly... I got on the saddle and screwed open the
throttle and took off like a shot across the yard... my senses became
over whelmed with this new feel of acceleration... I froze on the
controls and fixated on the fence growing in my path... will it end
the madness??? no to my horror the front wheel just scales up the wire
without slowing down driven by the rear wheel digging in the dirt... I was
so impressed with the amount of force of 5 whole horse power that I did
the one thing I knew would stop it... I lifted the rear wheel off
ground... as the engine raced and with the back tire spinning madly I
finally remember to close the throttle... Mercy!!! this is not as easy
as it looks...


1965... First bike I purchased was a Honda C 200 a iron barrel push
rod 90... it lasted two weeks before I traded it in on a Honda S90 at
Bar-B Marina...

265319429_72248cf6bc_b.jpg


1965...  First new bike was a Honda S-90... I'd wake up in the morning
and just ride... anywhere was good... across the Bay Bridge it didn't
matter... just racing at 60 mph was enough of a challenge out of
8HP... it helped to have a tail wind...

I'm being honest... when I'm on a bike and it don't feel right to
me... I stop thinking about riding and start thinking about a
solution... and thats been true since 1967 when I inadvertently spun a
donut in the dirt on my Honda S90... I thought there was something
wrong because it had never done that before... I stopped riding and
disassemble the whole bike looking for clues... only after the engine
was on the ground that it finally struck my mind that maybe sliding
was something to be played with... I assembled the whole mess back
together and so began my love affair for donuts and dirt...
2545714215_eebd92d46c.jpg
THcdxxj.jpg


1966... Honda CL160... wow real power for two up riding and romance...
in fact Mary and I first kiss happened on a ride...
265294189_20a03b9194_o.jpg
1Onr5CT.jpg


1967... After we got married and moved to San Bernardino... Mary felt
daring enough to take pics of my CL160 as it jumped over her...
265294194_21292d953f_o.jpg

First competition was a USAF sponsored gymnkana or skills test... I
was surprised to take 4 of the 5 trophies... I'm never 100% happy with
my riding skills...
265294197_fb45e59395_o.jpg


I thought the Honda CL160 was a dirt bike... it was good on jumps but
poor on landings... taking 3 bounces to settled down...
1Onr5CT.jpg


1969... Busy Little Shop #1 was the living room in our first
cottage... our Land Lady wasn't happy with bike parts inside her spot
less rental... so I used  the lamp shade over the frame trick to hide
the fact I was building a  motorcycle... never the less she swore I
was a member of the Hells Angel...
265294203_73ae525766_o.jpg


1970... Kawasaki 350 BigHorn... I was asked to perform movie stunt
work for a Air Force Now film but after my wheelie crash the USAF
enlistment board denied my request for enlistment based on their
initial perception that I had "no personal concern for my safety"...
My film director had to set the record straight...
265294215_19e29b552f_o.jpg
265294212_bd89ca04d7_o.jpg
a3pUdh3.jpg


1972... CR 250 Husqvarna that I raced in the CRC SoCal Motocross...
zULwkYX.jpeg
265302568_e55c767451_o.jpg

 

I loved the sandy beaches of Ensenada Mexico...
265319434_b476ea92a6_o.jpg


Busy Little Shop #2 was in the spare bedroom of our Land Lady's second
rental... she never gave up the notion that I would move the bike
outside and  make room for kids inside... little did she understand
that some of us like  motorcycles better...
265302571_000494349d_o.jpg


1976... WR250 Husqvarna... my version of a street legal dirt bike...
265302578_3897dfbbb0_o.jpg
1zucqjc.jpg
265309902_98ed35e879_o.jpg


1978... My first time over 100mph was on Waldo's hand built Z1
complete with Ocelot fairings... I though you must be nuts to ride at
those speeds...
265340238_afc01735d8_o.jpg


1979... While stationed in Japan I bought a CR250R Honda direct from a
Honda factory worker who must have pilfered some extra parts... I
recall that  the Japanese government turned me down 5 times for a
street legal license  plate... So I raced the CR in the black sands of
Fuji MX park...
265342455_b98d5b794f_o.jpg
265342457_6d133d100b_o.jpg


1980... Busy Little Shop #3 was inside our home in Japan... P5
Ushihama Heights Tokyo To...
265302580_4f26fc2e39_o.jpg


1981... I'll never forget meeting Hirotoshi Honda #1 son of Soichiro
Honda
gallery_3131_51_35791.jpg


1980... Z400FX Kawasaki... Japanese 4 unique to the home market... I
painted the wheels School Bus yellow and installed a Honda fairing and
tail cowl... It was deemed the Circus Wheeled Kawasaki by the Honda
factory  workers at the Saitama Honda Plant they christened the frame
with a sticker  "Made by Honda Motors LTD"...
265309906_7de7e9b98e_o.jpg
265309911_68cafa666f_o.jpg


1981... While stationed in Wichita Kansas I ordered a new GPz550 from
East Side Honda... 3 days later I was off for a 1500 mile round trip
to New York and back... next summer I rode home to California and
back... I got  the 3 spoke magnesium Dymags direct from Harris
Performance while on a TDY  to England courtesy of the USAF...
265314032_ed2c82b432_o.jpg


1986... XC400 Husqvarna... another Husky I made into a street legal
dirt bike... I mainly rode Little Sahara State Park... the Park
Rangers would check  for your steel whip antenna and orange flag at
the entrance... I didn't mind  the flag but steel whip antenna would
give my helmet a nasty whack every  time I stopped... it got so that
I'd jettisoned the antenna and then ride out of  sight from the
rangers patrolling in their dune buggies...


1984... 84 VF500F Interceptor... my first love affair with the V4
begins...
265309913_0840ff67e5_o.jpg

1988... 86 VF500F Interceptor from Golden Gate Cycles... I engineered
this into famous Belt-0-Ceptor... I racked up 98,000 trouble free
miles...
265309914_1ba92a19cd_o.jpg
ce5BVi3.jpg

gallery_3131_51_14630.jpg


1998... 94 RC45 found in Tijuana Mexico for 8K...
17257358129_ed08516cb1_o.jpg
16821079034_c45d15939c_o.jpg

 

Full circle... the yard where I first rode a motorcycle in 1965...
2545714215_eebd92d46c.jpg

 

Same yard 43 years later on Mr.RC45...
2544425302_2536d4d300_o.jpg

 

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Lovely post. Great pics. You got to kiss a hot chick, ride with no hands, and have too little gear on! Great memories...

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What a wonderful life!!  Thanks for all the pix and memories!  Are you still the wild dude in the pix??!!

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Larry, you've got to tell me a little about the Air Force Now film.  Can you remember the title (number)?  I'd love to see if I can find it archived somewhere.   

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On 2/15/2022 at 10:43 PM, BusyLittleShop said:

I'm turning 74... so I'm reminiscing the milestones during 57 years of
Riding and Racing...


1963... It all started with a set of mini bike plans from the back of
Popular Mechanics...


1964...

My first ride was on a step through Honda 55 in 1965 and I recall the
experience vividly... I got on the saddle and screwed open the
throttle and took off like a shot across the yard... my senses became
over whelmed with this new feel of acceleration... I froze on the
controls and fixated on the fence growing in my path... will it end
the madness??? no to my horror the front wheel just scales up the wire
without slowing down driven by the rear wheel digging in the dirt... I was
so impressed with the amount of force of 5 whole horse power that I did
the one thing I knew would stop it... I lifted the rear wheel off
ground... as the engine raced and with the back tire spinning madly I
finally remember to close the throttle... Mercy!!! this is not as easy
as it looks...


1965... First bike I purchased was a Honda C 200 a iron barrel push
rod 90... it lasted two weeks before I traded it in on a Honda S90 at
Bar-B Marina...

265319429_72248cf6bc_b.jpg


1965...  First new bike was a Honda S-90... I'd wake up in the morning
and just ride... anywhere was good... across the Bay Bridge it didn't
matter... just racing at 60 mph was enough of a challenge out of
8HP... it helped to have a tail wind...

I'm being honest... when I'm on a bike and it don't feel right to
me... I stop thinking about riding and start thinking about a
solution... and thats been true since 1967 when I inadvertently spun a
donut in the dirt on my Honda S90... I thought there was something
wrong because it had never done that before... I stopped riding and
disassemble the whole bike looking for clues... only after the engine
was on the ground that it finally struck my mind that maybe sliding
was something to be played with... I assembled the whole mess back
together and so began my love affair for donuts and dirt...
2545714215_eebd92d46c.jpg
THcdxxj.jpg


1966... Honda CL160... wow real power for two up riding and romance...
in fact Mary and I first kiss happened on a ride...
265294189_20a03b9194_o.jpg
1Onr5CT.jpg


1967... After we got married and moved to San Bernardino... Mary felt
daring enough to take pics of my CL160 as it jumped over her...
265294194_21292d953f_o.jpg

First competition was a USAF sponsored gymnkana or skills test... I
was surprised to take 4 of the 5 trophies... I'm never 100% happy with
my riding skills...
265294197_fb45e59395_o.jpg


I thought the Honda CL160 was a dirt bike... it was good on jumps but
poor on landings... taking 3 bounces to settled down...
1Onr5CT.jpg


1969... Busy Little Shop #1 was the living room in our first
cottage... our Land Lady wasn't happy with bike parts inside her spot
less rental... so I used  the lamp shade over the frame trick to hide
the fact I was building a  motorcycle... never the less she swore I
was a member of the Hells Angel...
265294203_73ae525766_o.jpg


1970... Kawasaki 350 BigHorn... I was asked to perform movie stunt
work for a Air Force Now film but after my wheelie crash the USAF
enlistment board denied my request for enlistment based on their
initial perception that I had "no personal concern for my safety"...
My film director had to set the record straight...
265294215_19e29b552f_o.jpg
265294212_bd89ca04d7_o.jpg
a3pUdh3.jpg


1972... CR 250 Husqvarna that I raced in the CRC SoCal Motocross...
zULwkYX.jpeg
265302568_e55c767451_o.jpg

 

I loved the sandy beaches of Ensenada Mexico...
265319434_b476ea92a6_o.jpg


Busy Little Shop #2 was in the spare bedroom of our Land Lady's second
rental... she never gave up the notion that I would move the bike
outside and  make room for kids inside... little did she understand
that some of us like  motorcycles better...
265302571_000494349d_o.jpg


1976... WR250 Husqvarna... my version of a street legal dirt bike...
265302578_3897dfbbb0_o.jpg
1zucqjc.jpg
265309902_98ed35e879_o.jpg


1978... My first time over 100mph was on Waldo's hand built Z1
complete with Ocelot fairings... I though you must be nuts to ride at
those speeds...
265340238_afc01735d8_o.jpg


1979... While stationed in Japan I bought a CR250R Honda direct from a
Honda factory worker who must have pilfered some extra parts... I
recall that  the Japanese government turned me down 5 times for a
street legal license  plate... So I raced the CR in the black sands of
Fuji MX park...
265342455_b98d5b794f_o.jpg
265342457_6d133d100b_o.jpg


1980... Busy Little Shop #3 was inside our home in Japan... P5
Ushihama Heights Tokyo To...
265302580_4f26fc2e39_o.jpg


1981... I'll never forget meeting Hirotoshi Honda #1 son of Soichiro
Honda
gallery_3131_51_35791.jpg


1980... Z400FX Kawasaki... Japanese 4 unique to the home market... I
painted the wheels School Bus yellow and installed a Honda fairing and
tail cowl... It was deemed the Circus Wheeled Kawasaki by the Honda
factory  workers at the Saitama Honda Plant they christened the frame
with a sticker  "Made by Honda Motors LTD"...
265309906_7de7e9b98e_o.jpg
265309911_68cafa666f_o.jpg


1981... While stationed in Wichita Kansas I ordered a new GPz550 from
East Side Honda... 3 days later I was off for a 1500 mile round trip
to New York and back... next summer I rode home to California and
back... I got  the 3 spoke magnesium Dymags direct from Harris
Performance while on a TDY  to England courtesy of the USAF...
265314032_ed2c82b432_o.jpg


1986... XC400 Husqvarna... another Husky I made into a street legal
dirt bike... I mainly rode Little Sahara State Park... the Park
Rangers would check  for your steel whip antenna and orange flag at
the entrance... I didn't mind  the flag but steel whip antenna would
give my helmet a nasty whack every  time I stopped... it got so that
I'd jettisoned the antenna and then ride out of  sight from the
rangers patrolling in their dune buggies...


1984... 84 VF500F Interceptor... my first love affair with the V4
begins...
265309913_0840ff67e5_o.jpg

1988... 86 VF500F Interceptor from Golden Gate Cycles... I engineered
this into famous Belt-0-Ceptor... I racked up 98,000 trouble free
miles...
265309914_1ba92a19cd_o.jpg
ce5BVi3.jpg

gallery_3131_51_14630.jpg


1998... 94 RC45 found in Tijuana Mexico for 8K...
17257358129_ed08516cb1_o.jpg
16821079034_c45d15939c_o.jpg

 

Full circle... the yard where I first rode a motorcycle in 1965...
2545714215_eebd92d46c.jpg

 

Same yard 43 years later on Mr.RC45...
2544425302_2536d4d300_o.jpg

 

Awesome bike life!

Thanks for sharing!

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On 2/17/2022 at 9:22 AM, tbzep said:

Larry, you've got to tell me a little about the Air Force Now film.  Can you remember the title (number)?  I'd love to see if I can find it archived somewhere.   

 

All Reeet tbzep!!! I'd love to see the film too... Thank you for
taking on the archive search... I've searched my files and did not
find any additional info like the title or the number... What I do
remember is that Caption Allison was the director and Les was the
technician who mounted a USAF gun camera to my Kawasaki... We shot in
September 71 72 on location at Little Mountain San Bernardino and
Riverside Off Road... The theme of the film was about two airman
(myself and a female rider) enjoying their off time... To beat the
heat we only shot in the morning and in the evening... In between we
kept cool in Caption Allison's pool...

 

 

AirForceNowFilm (2).jpg

AirForceNowFilm (1).jpg

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Love those shots. Now we get cinema quality footage nearly for free in a teeny tiny box that a blind monkey could operate. What a change!

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Not quite 74 yet (mid 60's) but still pursuing my 10+ year dream of circumnavigating Africa solo by bike.  Was on my way (twice!) but second time covid sent me home after a 2 month lock down in Morocco just on the Mauritania border.  Another Transalp, another day soonish and I'll be back.  Wrecked knees on an adventure bike? Pah! I'll manage just fine.

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I'd love to hear about such a trip. I can get in a few days in a row, but anything longer seems cost prohibitive. 

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Would have balanced better with an M60 on the other side...well, maybe not better, but more interesting! 

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I follow ItchyBoots on her site and YouTube channel. Her travels are incredible, especially when viewed on the projector! Do you guys? 

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1 hour ago, bmart said:

follow ItchyBoots on her site and YouTube channel. Her travels are incredible, especially when viewed on the projector! Do you guys? 

Yes, I  do too! The movie/pictures have incredible quality. I do not have projector but watch it on a high resolution screen. Yes, great YouTube channel. 

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On 2/18/2022 at 11:09 PM, BusyLittleShop said:

 

All Reeet tbzep!!! I'd love to see the film too... Thank you for
taking on the archive search... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I haven't found it yet, but I'm working on it!  Check out this Air Force Now film at about 7:15 into the show!!!!

 

 

 

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Umm, getting off of the throttle drives the bike to the outside? That sounds backward!

 

Really fun video! Thanks for sharing it. 

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16 hours ago, bmart said:

Umm, getting off of the throttle drives the bike to the outside? That sounds backward!

 

Really fun video! Thanks for sharing it. 

In a nice lean, get on the throttle and drift the rear,  get off throttle and you push the front.  You also lose ground clearance when the forks compress. 

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