Hodaka
I think these were the finest little dirt bikes you could get back in the late 60’s and early 70’s. They were easy to maintain and work on and so much fun. I had the “Dirt Squirt” model and an “Ace 100″ like this picture I found on the Internet. I remember the company that brought them to the US was called PABATCO which stood for Pacific Basin Trading Company. Two motorcycle shops I worked at in the past (Gentry Cycle Center & Floyde Emde’s Motorcycles in National City, CA) serviced and sold the Hodaka, so I was always around them in those days.
Modified Honda 750 in 1978
This is a Honda CB750K (I think a 1973 or 74 model) I built an engine for in 1978. John, the owner, wanted his engine to be almost like the one on my drag bike, but be able to use on the street. I put RC Engineering pistons (10.5 to 1 compression ratio) a mild cam, ARD magneto and some stronger valve springs with titanium retainers. I also did some cleaning up of the head and ports. We used a 4 into one exhaust, I believe it was a Kerker. Anyway, the Honda turned out to be really hot and John, who now lives in Michigan, still has this motorcycle!
This picture was taken on an abandoned air strip in Kingsville, Texas, then known as South Field.
Update on my 1993 Kawasaki EX250
Today I put on new tires, new brake pads and changed the oil and filter. I was amazed that I got almost 9000 miles on this last set of tires. They were Dunlop GT501’s. (as in the picture below) I put some Kenda K671 Cruiser tires which are supposed to be as good as the Dunlops at 1/2 the price. I had previously had Pirelli Sport Demons but those tires lasted less than 2000 miles. We shall see how long these Kenda tires last. I did take it for a quick spin tonight and it felt nice to be on new rubber!
1977 Suzuki GS750 Dragbike
Found some still pictures to share today. I found the Suzuki on Craigs List and turned it into this dragbike for the 2004 Summit Series at Barona Drag Strip. The 1st pic is what it looked like when I bought it, and the second is how it looked after I modified it for drag racing.
BEFORE
AFTER
Long Beach International Motorcycle Show 2008
I rode my 93 Ninja 250 to Long Beach, CA (118 miles each way) today and took a few pics. Bought some soft saddlebags that I hope to be able to use on any of my motorcycles. Here’s what it looked like just straddling the Ninja after the trip home.
Here is a pic of a bike I would like to get, a Suzuki DR650 (I would want the white one, which they did not have on display)
And then there was this Harley Davidson drag bike I had to take a picture of:
Then there were some old motorcycles that I liked:
Then, when I decided to leave, the parking lot was filled about 10 times more than it was when I arrived earlier in the morning:
That is a lot of motorcycles! Some say they enjoyed checking out the parked motorcycles more that the show inside. There was certainly a variety!
1973 Kawasaki S-3 350cc Triple
Here’s another triple I owned. This picture was taken in 1974 in National City, CA.
My Very Good Friend, Benji
I met Benji in Kingsville, TX when he was 16 years old (1977). When I got my laydown Honda drag bike, he became the rider for my Kawasaki 500 triple drag bike. He was really good and very consistant. Always cut a good light and never missed a shift. As I was in the Navy, I eventually left the area. He came out to San Diego when he was 18 and worked a while at San Diego Motorcycle Salvage and then eventually went back to Texas. Fast forward to a few years ago, he finds a mutual old friend at the Edinburgh drag strip and gets my email address and we have been in touch ever since. Today, he sent me these pictures and I asked if I could put it on this blog and he said okay.
And here he is a long time ago! Very cool (in more ways than one)!
