Who here is a fan of vintage Japanese motorcycles?

[Soonerbillz]

Besides S&W and firearms in general, I am also a huge fan of collecting and restoring vintage Japanese motorcycles. I specifically enjoy the Yamaha brand but have owned, built and ridden so many others. Road or dirt.. both are great because I'm a lover of both road racing and enduro styles.
Do any of you have the same passions.. or maybe something else along the same lines?

Here's a pic of one of my projects...
A 1964 Yamaha YDS3 250 2 cyl 2 stroke

 

[Rustyt1953]

Paging Marshwheeling.

 

[Hair Trigger]

Not sure how far back you need to go to consider a Japanese bike "vintage", but I've had three that are now difficult to find in good condition, and extremely expensive when you find a restored one. I'd love to have any one of the three back. I've also had a vintage British bike, but that's a story for another thread. I've owned two 1972 Triumph Daytona's, the three mentioned below, and a 1984 FJ600 Yamaha, which I raced for a year.

I haven't ridden a motorcycle since 1987, but I think about it every day.
First one was a 1975 S3 Kawasaki; it's a 2-stroke 3 cylinder street bike, at 400 cc it was an upgrade of their S2 350 cc bike. Smaller brother to the 500 and 750 triples. I don't have a picture of it.

Next one was a 1974 Kawasaki Z-1B, 900 cc 4 stroke 4 cylinder. Of all the bikes I've owned, this was the overall best of them. Reliable, quick for its time, great on trips. handling wasn't all that great, but it was a beast in a straight line.

Last bike I owned was a 1985 Kawasaki Ninja 900. Scary quick, handled very well. I put 45,000 miles on mine in two years, rode it almost every day I had it. Did quite a few track days with it.

 

[VaTom]

I have only owned one motorcycle in my life. A 1973 Honda CL 350 (scrambler). Loved that bike. Had it for about 4 years. Sold it in 1977 when my son was born. See one like it being ridden occasionally in city near me. Would like to have one again. Fond memories.

 

[bigwheelzip]

I'm a fan of "Vintage Riders" riding any bike they can throw a leg over.

 

[Fishinfool]

Nice find. When I was a kid, buddy of mine had, I think it was, a 350cc two stroke Yamaha. Kind of a dog off the line, until you hit maybe 3 grand on the tach., then hold on...

My first bike was a mid-60's Honda Dream 305. Pretty rough, but it ran, and I was under 16 anyway. Cut the mufflers off, and rode it around the neighborhood mostly. That hooked me on bikes.

My only other Japanese bike was a 1982 Honda 750F that I bought in 1984 as a dealer left over. That was a nice, all around bike, and I believe was the last year of the air cooled in-line 4 cyl 750's.

The rest have all been HD's, starting with a 1978 Super Glide.

Larry

 

[Soonerbillz]

A few weeks ago on my beater 72 Yamaha AT1 125 enduro

 

[Soonerbillz]

I have only owned one motorcycle in my life. A 1973 Honda CL 350 (scrambler). Loved that bike. Had it for about 4 years. Sold it in 1977 when my son was born. See one like it being ridden occasionally in city near me. Would like to have one again. Fond memories.

Great bike!
I had the big brother.. a CJ360 Sport.
That's the bike that hooked me on road racing..

 

[Soonerbillz]

Me in the day!

 

[Soonerbillz]

I'm thinking 25 years or more is a good starting point for "vintage"
Love all those bikes you mentioned.

 

[pmanton]

Bet no one has a Cabton. They were present in the 50's when I was in Japan. Honda had a little bike they called a "Dream" Its exhaust made a sound like Zing ding ding ding

 

[625-7]

I'm a fan of "Vintage Riders" riding any bike they can throw a leg over.

Last of the 650s there

 

[Protocall_Design]

My first bike was a mid 60s Kawasaki 175 2 stroke with rotary valve engine. I never did know exactly what year it was. Next was a Kawasaki 250 BigHorn that I raced in Motocross for 2 or 3 years. Then a 79 Honda CX 500 Custom. That one had a half fairing, V twin engine like a Moto Guzzi, water cooled, shaft drive. Nice road bike. Gave up riding on the road after I almost got killed twice by car drivers and a couple of friends were killed by cars when they were riding bicycles. If I ever get another MC, it will be a dirt bike only.

 

[metrotps]

Bet no one has a Cabton. They were present in the 50's when I was in Japan.

Which model? A 600FXT like this? Here is an article from Hemmings:
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/1955-cabton-600cc-fxt

I had a S90 Honda in the early 80's

 

[robvious]

my first & only

my older brother bought it for my nephews to play with.. they wanted nothing to do with it.. spioked by mom.. anyway.. I never got to have a mini bike like my older brother... so I said sold and loaded in the truck and took it home... have had it for years and only ride it about once a year... but it still puts a smile on my face... 1974 G3SSD 90cc Kawasaki
as a bonus.. no mosquitoes follow you

 

[Jimmyjones]

Bought a 78 Z1-R back in 78, put 80K miles on it, then went Harley. We all road riceburners back then.

A friend just picked up a clean 1981 CB750F (17k miles) for a grand, flushed the fuel system and off it went, I road it around for him last Friday. I'm sure it's worth a lot more than he paid.

I know a few people restoring vintage Japanese bikes and making some good money at it.

 

[Sevens]

I am absolutely and positively a fan, a BIG fan, but with a gargantuan caveat!

My days of riding are probably behind me. Over 100k and more than 15 years across five bikes, all metric, though only one "classic." In addition, I've never been a skilled wrench, so classic bikes and cars are not for me. If you aren't skilled and handy with a wrench, old vehicles are a pit of trouble.

With that (huuuuge) caveat out of the way, hell yes I'm a fan! Love the pictures and the tales. And just to throw in a fun nugget, there is an enthusiast that lives on my side of town with a vintage, high condition Honda CBX and though it has been a couple years since I lived very close to him, he and I were crossing paths on MANY Sunday mornings. Me in the cage on my way to a full, long range day and him headed outta town for a Sunday session of carving atop the CBX.

If you are a fan of classic Japanese street bikes, you can say a slew of things about a CBX but you cannot tell me it isn't rocking very high in "cool factor!"

 

[Sevens]

Oops, my one vintage bike was a 1979 Honda CX-500 Custom also. I put 10,000 commute miles on that bike. I never considered myself a highly skilled rider, but I'm saying more about the abilities in others (that I envy!) than I am about dogging my own skills. I took my survival on a motorcycle very seriously.

When Larry Grodsky was killed on a motorcycle I cannot accurately share how hard that hit me. That event played a part of my decision. I gave it up about 8 year later due to MANY factors and what has been a little surprising is how I can say the fire really isn't burning in me to ride again.

Sorry, not my intention to be a downer. That CX-500 was a heap of fun, a shame the brakes were so pathetic! I rode that sucker home 20 miles on one cylinder the last time I rode it.

 

[jag312]

I still have my 1979 Honda CX500 Deluxe. It was my everyday transportation for years. Although my 1999 Triumph Legend is my main bike, I still think I had more fun with the Honda. I never had a problem finding a place to park it wherever I went.

 

[Bib]

The 83 Interstate has been my only bike since 2013....I'll be bringing the 82 KZ750 LTD home in the spring