I no longer own any motorcycles, but I have owned four of them over the years.
My first bike was a 1969 BSA Victor 441 single. I bought in 1970 as a leftover. Finally sold it in 1981 after many years of fun. Typical Brit bike, leaked oil and the transmission needed rebuilding every 12,000 miles. But it always started on the second kick and the sound of a big single is like music.
Second bike was a 1976 Suzuki GT185 2 stroke twin. I purchased this for use down in GTMO. It was perfect for use on the base. After bringing it back to the States, it received the full "cafe" treatment. Overbored, ported, polished exhaust ports, chambers, smoothbore Mikunis, K&N filters, Dunlop K81s, rearsets and clip-on bars. Smallest bike I ever saw with a hydraulic front disk. After the rebuild it made 36 hp, and weighed about 180 pounds wet. Small, remarkably fast and agile. Performance was a bit better than the Yamaha RD250, which was the fastest street 250 of the day. Sold it for $700 in 1988 to a youngster who thought it was cool.....
Third bike was a 1977 Yamaha RD400D. With 44 hp stock, it was quicker than the Honda CB750. It remained stock for about 2 weeks. The motor was sent to a tuner shop in Jacksonville. When I got it back, it was making 72 hp. Competition clutch, dual cross drilled front disks. Cast alloy wheels anodized to match tank color. 1/4 fairing, rearsets, clip-ons, Smoothbore Mikunis, K&N filters, Reed valves tuned to push torque curve higher in rev band, Solo, racing type seat. Chambers tuned on dyno. Couldn't let it idle for 10 seconds without fouling plugs. You annoyed evryone within earshot because you had to constantly blip the throttle to keep the plugs clean while waiting at a light or in slow traffic. Years later, it was still beating the daylights out of the so-called superbikes. Sold in 1988 to a guy who wanted to go club racing on a small budget. Never heard from him again. I think that bike is responsible for my grey hair, scared the hell out me many times.
4th and last bike was a 1979 RD400F. Left largely stock, mods were limited to expansion chambers with rejetted Mikunis and K&N filters. This was a daily rider, with about 50 hp. Fast enough to be fun, without the hassle of being as high strung as my other RD400. Sold it in 1993 to a friend who rode it for a few years.
These days, there are a whole crop of high performance 600s that handle better than the RDs (and they were among the best of their time), are blinding fast and require far less tuning and maintenence. Tires are vastly better, and they're fully tricked out straight from the factory. Back in the 70s, if you wanted a "cafe racer", you pretty much had to build it yourself. Of course, these new bikes cost a fortune these days. My '77 RD400 cost me $895 new, with another $2,000 or so dollars in parts and labor to create what I wanted.
When the last bike was sold, we were looking to buy a minivan to haul around the kids. I was driving an SUV to work and my only sports machine was a well-worn and needy Shelby GLHS being slowly rebuilt in the garage.
A friend recently bought a Buell. I pulled out my ancient Bell Star helmet and I took it for a short ride. That old nagging urge began anew. I know Buell's repuation for building hand grenades, but this bike has all the moves and the sound of that Harley motor sure is sweet.... At 52, I'm a bit beyond the crest for a high performance sport bike. Nonetheless, if I can convince the wife that I won't get killed.... Naw, she thinks my WRX is a death machine.
My regards,
Widewing
