I really enjoy the stories in you magazine, especially stories about Nortons. I bought my 1975 Norton Commandon when it came out because I had read an article that said that it was the fastest production motorcycle. When I first bought it, my brother and I rode out on Rainbow Boulevard in Las Vegas and tried to hit 120 miles per hour. I laid on the tank, and according to the speedometer I did hit 120. My brother then rode it and did the same. Above is a photo of me on the bike in 1975 and below is a picture of me on the same bike today.

 
"Snarling Sue," Raymond Moses' 1977 Kawasaki KZ1000. 

This is my 1977 Kawasaki KZ1000 LT B1. I call her “Snarling Sue” after my ex.

I bought the bike in 2005 with 43,000 miles on her. It had been re-painted “give me a ticket” red and all its badges had been removed. But it was fast, looked pretty good and had a nice “snarl” due to the drag pipes. I’ve had her up to about 120 where the front gets a little vague-feeling.

After I put about 3,000 miles on her the cam chain started to buzz and rattle. I let the tensioner reset itself but it didn’t help. Inevitably one day it snapped, leaving me 30 miles from home. It bent a couple of intake valves so off to the repair shop. Kennedy’s Sport Cycles in Elyria, Ohio, did a complete rebuild from the bottom up. Mike is one hell of a Kawi mechanic. He really knows these old burners.

I’ve had it back since April 2007 and I’ve put almost 10,000 on the rebuild. Give her a little choke, when cold, punch the button and she sings right up. It idles beautifully. Pop her in 1st, dump the clutch and she launches like a scalded tiger. Financially it hurt to come up with the grand for repairs, but what I got back was essentially a new bike.

I’ve got all the body work off and I’m going to paint it all blacker than black. I plan on putting all the badges back on and keeping her till I can’t get off the kickstand or get my feet up to the pegs anymore. Then she’s going to be given to my grandson, Michael. He’s only 3 so hopefully Snarling Sue and I have a few more dances together.

 
Scott Horr's 1986 Kawasaki Concours that he painted Mercedes silver.  

A neighbor of mine was storing a 1986 Kawasaki Concours for a friend of theirs. The bike had not been riden for years and had not been prepared for storage prior to being put up. I had inquired about the bike for years but the owner did not want to sell.

In 2005 I was informed that the owner had finally decide to sell and I could get the bike for $500. I wrote the check and then went over to look at the bike. The gas had rotted the tank completely through, the bike had been down on the right side and the tires were from 1986, when the owner had ridden the bike from Texas to Alaska. The rear tire still had "Moose Jaw" written on it from the dealer who had installed it for the guy during the run. There were no keys and the bike needed a lot of work. Once I got keys made I found the original bill of sale, registration and ALCAN highway pass under the seat.

I was able to purchase most of the parts I need off of the Internet. I spent many hours going through the carbs, brakes and cooling systems. Since most of the parts were different colors I decided to have the bike painted, and since I had some Mercedes badges I decided to have the bike painted Mercedes silver. As you can see there is no indication that it is a Kawasaki and you would not believe the number of people who think they have seen a Mercedes motorcycle! It gets plenty of looks and generates a good deal of discussion at the events I attend.

 
Steve Matthews' 1971 Honda CL350 Scrambler. 

Rider: Steve Matthews, Mineral, Va.
Age: 48
Occupation: Mechanic
Other rides: 1981 Honda CB750C, 1991 Honda CBR600F2

Actually, the NOS fender was just under $200. My 1971 Honda CL350 Scrambler is a beauty. I did the entire restoration myself. This bike came with a 19-inch front rim, but now sports 18-inch Sun Aluminum rims, restored, polished and respoked.

The fender of course didn’t look good on the smaller wheel, so I decided to slot the mounting holes to give it a tighter fit around the tire. This was a job for my Dremel tool, a must for any restoration. I got it done and was starting to install the fender. I felt something in my eye and couldn’t get it out. Twenty-four hours later, it was really starting to bother me. Yadda, yadda, yadda, and my brother-in-law is taking me to the emergency room. $700 to get that piece of metal out of my eye. Yes, I normally have safety glasses on, but sometimes we all forget. And that’s the story of my $900 fender.

Here are some photos of the 1978 Harley-Davidson XLCR “Café Racer” I bought new in 1978. These bikes were manufactured in small numbers in 1977 and 1978.

I finished restoring it a little over a year ago. It now features a custom paint and powder coating and some mild brake and suspension upgrades. The engine and transmission have also been thoroughly “hot-rodded" with a 4-5/8-inch stroker crankshaft, Baisley High Performance heads, custom ground Lieneweber camshafts, forged pistons, polished Rods, S&S Super “B” carb, Andrews close ratio transmission gears, Trock Cycle clutch and steel transmission trapdoor. This bike is rude, crude, and fast - just the way this “old timer” likes them.

Anyway, I thought the readers might enjoy it. I’ve done most of the work myself and I’m quite proud of it. If you’ve got an old laying around, restore it! You will gain a lot of satisfaction from it!
 

 
A race-spec Honda CR93 (left) and a street-spec CR93 living in the same garage. 

In the May/June issue of Motorcycle Classics you featured the rare 125 cc 1963 Honda CR93 racer. You made mention of the even rarer street version, of which roughly 20 to 30 were produced. We are fortunate to own a Honda CR93 racer, but even more so a CR93 street version. It is quite a treat to display them as bookends. The race version is displayed without the fairing; showing this bike “naked” helps to highlight the differences to its street sibling.

Since the heart of both versions of the CR93 is the engine, the differences on the street bike are mostly cosmetic. Since the bike on the right is a street legal Honda, it has the expected items one would need to be licensed. This includes a headlight, speedometer, taillight, horn, keyed ignition, rear fender (and mudguard), side covers and a tool kit box with the Honda tool kit. Naturally, the carburetors have the expected air cleaners behind them. The street version also has different handlebars and a different seat.

The CR93 street version can be fired-up in the traditional kickstart manner. The CR93 race version was produced sans a kickstart shaft (and accompaning kick-lever) and must be bump started. And you were correct in your article about the mufflers; they are indeed more restrictive ... no megaphones on this one. However, remove the air cleaners as well as the “CB-style mufflers” and expect to have the same bad boy CR93 on the left. I met one fellow not too long ago who ordered a CR93 new in the early 1960s specifically for track purposes. When his arrived, it was one of the unexpected street models. He was not bothered and just removed the “street items” and then went racing.

I have owned the CR93 race version shown for about 15 years. When I discovered the CR93 street version two years ago, I jumped at the chance to purchase it. Its prior owner had it for 37 years. I was certain this was an opportunity I would not see again. It has only 1,600 miles on it and is original down to the tires. I suspect this particular CR93 to be one of the nicest originals in existance.

I have displayed our Honda CR93 street version only one time, and this was at a show in California. Surprisingly, there was another CR93 there as well — the very same bike in your featured article. It was proudly and rightfully being shown by Ron Mousouris.

 
Scott Horr's 1976 Triumph 750 Bonneville. 

In 2003, my brother-in-law was purchasing the contents of an estate on Cape Cod. He is an antique dealer and has no interest in motorcycles, but that dosen't make him a bad person.

He called me to say that in the estate was a motorcycle and when I asked what it was he told me it was black and said Triumph on it. He had my interest since my first bike back in 1966 was a Triumph.

He told me he had taken the bike to a shop on the Cape and told the guy to "check the bike out" and get it running if possible. If I wanted the bike I would have to pay the shop for the repairs and it would be mine. I jumped in the truck and took off for the Cape. The bike turned out to be a 1976 Triumph 750 Bonneville. Whom ever had stored the bike had drained the gas and covered the bike. There was no rust, the seat was beautiful and the shop told me all they did was change the points, plugs, oil and fire it up.

I have put new rubber on it, changed the brake lines put a new front master cylinder on it. The photo shows what it looks like today.  

Clarence’s 1976 R90/6 BMW performs like a new R90/6 since it only had 3,800 original miles on it. 

I bought this 1976 R90/6 BMW a year ago October in Ames, Iowa, from the widow of the previous owner, who had the bike hanging in the lobby of his company as a piece of art. I didn’t know the guy, but he had to be cool. When I purchased the motorcycle, it had 3,800 original, documented miles on it, and to quote the mechanic that I had get the bike ready for the road, “They put her to sleep properly before hanging her in the rafters.” The fuel system had been drained and dried, all fluids replaced and the cylinders lubricated. After a complete tune-up, new fluids, bearings, grease, tires and a battery, the R90/6 is on the road again.

I am a longtime subscriber to your magazine and also share the philosophy of your magazine’s tagline, “Ride ‘Em, Don’t Hide ‘Em.” That is exactly what I am doing with the bike. In fact, that is probably the only reason I have the bike. When I was trying to buy the R90/6 BMW out of the estate it was finally asked of the go-between, “What does that guy in Kansas City want with that old motorcycle anyway?” Woody (the go-between) told the widow, “He is going to get it running and ride the wheels off of it.” The widow said, “I think Clarence would like that, let him have it.” So, that’s the short version of how I acquired what I still call Clarence’s BMW.

The bike is totally original, from the owner’s manual, the booklet of authorized dealers, the tools, the BMW hand towel and the Made in West Germany tire patch kit. As you would expect, the bike is a true time-warp machine that runs and performs like a spanking new R90/6, which it is. I am just the lucky guy that gets to ride, keep and take care of Clarence’s R90/6 BMW for now. I once read in a classic car magazine that we really don’t own these beautiful old classics, we are just their caretakers for a while. It is my goal to keep this bike as nice as I can, but ride it just like I would if I would have purchased it in 1976.

I now have more than 8,000 miles on the bike. I have ridden the R90 more miles in five months than the previous owner did in 35 years.

Jack Bitzenburg is a classic bike enthusiast from Kansas City, Mo. 

 
Steve Panofsky with his recently restored 1969 Ducati 450 Jupiter Scrambler. 

Steve Panofsky jumped at a second chance to own the bike of his youth, and he’s never going to let this one go. 

I bought my 1969 Ducati Jupiter Scrambler in 1971 used, for $600. I was in my junior year at Los Altos High in the Bay Area, and I was ready to upgrade from my Ducati 250 Monza that my brother gave me. It took a lot of work in the apricot orchards and lots of high weed mowing to come up with that kind of money.

We lived in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains in California, a 20-minute ride to the famed Skyline Boulevard heading north to Skylonda. There, I joined the bike nut crowd. Those mountain roads are where I really became proficient in road carving and daring do. Riding has been my love ever since, and that Jupiter did it all for me. It was really an early enduro. I could go on dirt roads, trails, twisties and a few longer adventures. With typical Ducati handling, light weight (325 pounds wet), plenty of midrange torque, and a smooth shifting five-speed, it was really fun to ride.

 
Here's what Steve started with. All there, just needed a lot of elbow grease to make whole again. 

I also learned the mechanical intricacies of a bevel-drive Ducati, for they always need a lot of fettling. Thanks to the abysmal support from Ducati, waiting for parts was always agonizing, for I wasn't riding for months at a time.

The Ducati Scrambler became quickly overshadowed by the Japanese invasion, with more powerful and more reliable bikes, but it did have its day when it won outright in the 1969 Baja race, and I always thought the single wide-case engine was a work of art, with its smooth lines and polished aluminum.

I had to sell my Jupiter after I graduated high school in 1971. I got a good job and was driven to possess a Ducati 750GT. That was really just two Jupiter cylinders stuck together in a 90 degree configuration. What a great bike that was!

 
The Ducati 450 mid-rebuild and starting to look new again. 

Many years and many bikes later, in 2006 I decided I really wanted to find a Jupiter and restore it. There weren't any complete ones out there that I could find, until July 2008, when a friend alerted me to a complete bike for sale on consignment at a Ducati dealership in Santa Rosa, Calif. They said it ran, but on trying to start it, the spark plug popped out, comically suspended on a stretched-out helicoil.

I bought it anyway, and soon had it all apart. Many hours and many dollars later, I have a beautifully restored bike with which I've received a couple of plaques at minor shows. I went through the engine with all new ball bearings (14), new valve springs, new rings, etc. Re-shimming the bevel drive is challenging and I made and bought several special tools to work on that engine. The front forks were shot, with the oil gone and only water inside. New fork tubes, rear shocks, exhaust, rims, tires and many other parts needed to be replaced. It took about a year to complete.

 
A close up of the gas tank and instruments shows what a nice job Steve did on his 450. 

I've been ironing out a few issues since then and now have been riding it quite a bit. I finally got it totally dialed in. The other weekend I took her on a 120-mile ride to the coast, to Point Arena over one of Mendocino County's windiest roads (I live in Ukiah). It was just great. Riding that machine really provides me with a lot of satisfaction and a certain déjà vu. I'll never sell this one!

Rider: Matt Haffenden/Caledon, Ontario, Canada
Age: 46
Occupation: Aircraft mechanic
Rides: 1974 Suzuki TC185, 1975 Moto Guzzi 850T, 2004 Suzuki Intruder VL1500LC and his very first minibike, a 1971 Arctic Cat Whisker 50cc

Matt’s story: “This past summer, I finished a two-year project of my 1975 Moto Guzzi 850T. I bought the bike from a buddy of mine. We both ride in the Southern Cruisers Chapter 209 in Orangeville, Ontario, Canada.

“The Guzzi was a basket case. He had bought it from a friend, who bought it from some other guy, who we believe got it at an auction. My friend had started the project with the intent of turning it into a café racer. It sat for a bunch of years disassembled. The engine was on a homemade dolly. The frame was bare and all the other bits were in buckets.

“I mentioned to him that I was looking for a project that was something not everybody else had. He told me what he had and I picked it up cheap. The Moto Guzzi 850T had not been road-worthy for about 10 years. Luckily, my buddy kept the engine well-oiled while he had it apart.

“Two years later, it’s basically done. The rear passenger pegs are missing in this photo, but they’re on now. It was gray, but I changed it to yellow. As with most old projects like this, some parts cannot be bought easily, so they need to be made. With the help of the people at Metro North Machine & Design Inc. in Brampton, Ontario, I had all the metal bits made that I needed to get the project done. Other key items I needed were purchased from the nice guys at MG Cycle. I managed to get out on it about eight times before the snow fell here. I worked out a few minor bugs and it runs great. Once you ride an older motorcycle, you can really appreciate what they are all about. It’s a high revver. It purrs at any rpm, and likes to shift gears at about 4,000rpm. Now I’m looking forward to getting back on it in the spring.”

That’s a nice Moto Guzzi 850T, Matt. We’re jealous! — Ed. 

Among the motorcycle-related publications I regularly receive, Motorcycle Classics holds a special spot as the only comprehensive U.S. classic motorcycle magazine. You guys do an excellent job! The article about the Honda CB350F struck a cord (January/February 2012). At first glance, I thought it was “my” bike. Several years ago, I stumbled upon a pristine 1974 CB350F at AMA Vintage Days at Mid-Ohio. The bike had only 218 original miles on the odometer and was in perfect condition, including the factory 4-into-4 exhaust. Shortly after it was bought new in 1974 by a man in Michigan for his wife, it was parked and spent its life in a shed. The husband passed away and a couple of years later the woman moved into a managed care facility. I could not resist and bought the Honda CB350F to add it to my modest vintage motorcycle collection. It took just a little effort to clean the tank and the carbs, and the bike ran again like a charm.

After seriously considering the value of the original, low-mile bike, I decided that keeping and riding it would be a shame, and I decided to sell it. I offered it on eBay and sure enough, a bidding war between a Honda dealer in Pennsylvania and a collector in Indianapolis resulted in a selling price of twice what I paid. About two years later I saw the bike again at the AMA Museum in the Hall of Fame bike show. It now showed some 3,000 plus miles. The buyer had sold it to his brother, another collector. Looking at the pictures in Motorcycle Classics, I sure thought it was the bike. When I read the article in detail, I recognized it was a different one, but I still felt I knew the bike intimately.

As far as the specifications are concerned, please allow for a comment: Honda did not only make the 350F in Flake Matador Red, Candy Bacchus Olive and Glory Blue Black Metallic, but also offered a silver variant, albeit only in Europe.

Mike Simon is a classic bike enthusiast from North Royalton, Ohio. 

Restored to better than new, Chris Keele’s 1971 Honda CB100 looks stunning. 

Rider: Chris Keele, St. George, Utah
Age: 61
Occupation: Retired auto parts store owner
Rides: 1969 Honda CT90, 1971 Honda CB100, 1979 Honda CB750K

Chris’ story: A former motocross racer, Chris got away from the sport after an accident that resulted in losing his left foot. But his love of motorcycles never left him, and a few years ago he started getting back into the sport. For his re-entry, Chris decided to start with something small, as he’s always had a love for “tiddlers,” little bikes with big hearts. Recently, Chris restored this lovely 1971 Honda CB100, and sent us a short letter to tell us about it.

“My Honda CB100 came to me sight unseen from a man in Ohio, who showed some pretty good photos of it on the Internet. But when the commercial transport dropped it off, it was hard to overlook the rust on all the bolts and the general lack of respect from someone along the way. It had only 2,600 miles on the odometer and ran very well, so I was pleased to have a nice basic bike to start with. It was my first complete frame-off build, and I really enjoyed my time with the project.

“The frame and all the black painted pieces are powder-coated, and all the bolts, nuts and washers are stainless steel. The wheels were done at Buchanan’s Spoke & Rim with stainless steel spokes and nipples and the brake hubs were polished. The rims were replated chrome while they were disassembled. The paint is House of Kolor candy apple red and white over a gold base, with several coats of clear. It’s as close to original as we could match. I polished the engine cases and a lot of aluminum while I had the engine out, and the handlebars, exhaust pipe and all the other chrome bits were replated while they were off. It was very easy to find new parts from my friends at Jorgensen’s Honda in Richfield, Utah — the wiring, switchgear, turn signals and taillight are new. Great fun!”

Since finishing his little Honda CB100, Chris has modified it with a hand-shifter so he can actually ride again. Welcome back, Chris! — Ed.