https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYdt4vg3GGo
Memories, memories---
Bought the tank model in Mitchell SD in 1962 from a bicycle shop. Repairs and adjustments were handled by a motorcycle dealer on Lake Mitchell. Remember riding down there-- 35 miles at night to get some adjustment. Guy's wife hated him and would come out of her house and cuss him (and us, must have had somebody following me in a car) out. No wonder he didn't handle sales. Must have been during Sturgis because I remember serious bikers stopping by.
Then there was the time I rode it back from college-- in December 1963. Not a good idea in South Dakota. Started off in the low 50's and was in the twenties by the time I got 3/4 of the way there. Light leather jacket. Called some friends and they stuck the entire bike in the back of a '53 Plymouth. Must have removed the backseat.
Haven't owned a cycle since a Suzuki T250J, but still dream about them. Usually find one of my old bikes in an abandoned barn and start it up and take off. More than five decades, but still have the memories.
Jay Leno-- Honda 50/Cub Memories
- Thread starter csandste
- Start date
Originally Posted by csandste
........Haven't owned a cycle since a Suzuki T250J, but still dream about them. Usually find one of my old bikes in an abandoned barn and start it up and take off. More than five decades, but still have the memories.
I had the tank model too. It had a 4 speed with manual clutch and back then we called them a Honda 55. A 1961 model bought used in 1964 at a motorcycle shop for $135. The shop sold Norton, Matchless, BSA, Triumph, all the heavy hitters of that time period. I can still recall the wooden floors and the smell of all the gas and oil spilled on them over the years. I rode that little Honda for 3 years and I don't think I ever changed the oil in it. You just couldn't kill that little motor. As a kid I worked for a chicken hatchery, $5 a day and a peanut butter sandwich for lunch. We went out to chicken houses and inoculated chickens. Every one had to be caught and a little fork device dipped in serum was stuck in their wing right next to their breast. Can't get most kids to work like that today. I remember riding that little Honda to work one morning at 10 degrees F. I almost froze to death, but that Honda didn't miss a beat. When I turned 16 Bought a 55 chevy with a 265 with 2 barrel and traded the Honda for a Chevy 4 barrel manifold with carb. I am an old man now and happy, but seems like life was better for all back in the day.
"I had the tank model too. It had a 4 speed with manual clutch and back then we called them a Honda 55".
The exact bike I started on at age 11 in the early seventies. Tough little bike, poor thing took all the abuse my friends and I could dish out for a couple of summers.
Still have Honda Trail 90. Kids started it up at Christmas and rode it around the neighborhood. I have had it for 30 years. Put some new tires on it and cleaned out the carb a few year back.
I wonder, could Jay Leno could be a incognito member here?
Originally Posted by odotb
I had the tank model too. It had a 4 speed with manual clutch and back then we called them a Honda 55. A 1961 model bought used in 1964 at a motorcycle shop for $135. The shop sold Norton, Matchless, BSA, Triumph, all the heavy hitters of that time period. I can still recall the wooden floors and the smell of all the gas and oil spilled on them over the years. I rode that little Honda for 3 years and I don't think I ever changed the oil in it. You just couldn't kill that little motor. As a kid I worked for a chicken hatchery, $5 a day and a peanut butter sandwich for lunch. We went out to chicken houses and inoculated chickens. Every one had to be caught and a little fork device dipped in serum was stuck in their wing right next to their breast. Can't get most kids to work like that today. I remember riding that little Honda to work one morning at 10 degrees F. I almost froze to death, but that Honda didn't miss a beat. When I turned 16 Bought a 55 chevy with a 265 with 2 barrel and traded the Honda for a Chevy 4 barrel manifold with carb. I am an old man now and happy, but seems like life was better for all back in the day.
Originally Posted by spasm3
I wonder, could Jay Leno could be a incognito member here?
Originally Posted by totegoat
I bought a new 1963 Honda 50 Super Sport when I was 15. Bought a Yamaha XT250 when I hit 70. Still enjoying the ride 
Originally Posted by csandste
Originally Posted by totegoat
I bought a new 1963 Honda 50 Super Sport when I was 15. Bought a Yamaha XT250 when I hit 70. Still enjoying the ride
