UPDATE!!! Here are pictures from the event Click to see the PICTURES



If you are in the are of the front range near Denver, come on out to the 4th annual vintage motorcycle show at Heritage Square near Golden Colorado.  See hundreds of vintage motorcycles of all types, and of course a few of mine (The Junk Man's Adventures)  It is sure to be a treat for young and old, best part is it is 100% Free!  Below is the details. and directions to Heritage Square

Date: Sunday, June 1, 2014

Times: Show Hours 10:00 - 3:00PM

Details:

• The biggest Vintage Motorcycle show in the Denver Metro Area.
• Over 100 antique bikes will be present under the trees at Heritage Square.
• So bring the whole family for a day of sun and fun!!!

Cost: FREE to participants & spectators alike!

If you have an clean and excellently restored vintage motorcycle you would like to exhibit please contact Bob or Ron at the emails below.Contact:
Ron Sweetin at [email protected] 
Bob Kelly at [email protected]

Colorado vintage motorcycle show

These types of things come up from time to time, a classic car with low miles stored on a velvet pillow, a motorcycle owned by Steve McQueen, you know rare items that grab some headlines because of some sort of provenance.  A recent event that created a lot of hub-bub was the Lambrecht auto auction, which if you don't know anything about it click the link to see video and information about that unique event that will go down in classic car history.

Now this site is primarily motorcycle focused and what follows is an auction on a bike that arguably is as rare and notable as the aforementioned vehicles but will probably not get any media attention.  I am talking about an ebay auction for a 1976 Suzuki RE5 with less that 1 mile on the odometer (about 6 tenths to be exact) so it is out of the crate probably rolled around a dealers floor but never set up, engine not ever started.  A unique find on a very unique bike, er engine placed in a motorcycle.  The bike is notable as the engine is a rotary (Wankle) engine, if you don't know what that is think Mazda RX7.  Anyways this made the bike a total departure (and a head scratch-er) in a sea of popular, and even by that time ubiquitous, inline 4 cylinder motorcycles.  It was obvious the 2 stroke street bike engine was on the way out so this was possibly a fresh idea or alternative to that even though Suzuki did make inline 2 and 4 cylinder bikes as well.  Suzuki was weird this way seeming to take big chances on alternative designs no matter how big the potential flop.  Well this bike was a flop for many reasons and was only produced from 74-76.  This brings us to this auction, an unused, unsold bike that even when new was destined to be a collectible.  However it does beg the question because the bike was such a flop and a poor seller to its stablemate the GS750 which sold in greater numbers, are there more of these examples out there?  If you want to know more about this bike here is a factory Suzuki promotional film.  Currently as of this writing "reserve not met"  (images courtesy of ebay listing) click for a larger view.

Video of the Clipper Cleaner seed cleaner.  Cleaning seed wheat and showing the function and operation of the machine.  Visit my Clipper Cleaner page for more pictures and info on these types of seed cleaners

Since nearly the dawn of motorcycle racing, dirt track, scrambles, road racing, what ever, there have been bikes that come along that get the moniker "Works".  Someone will point at a bike and say "That's a works bike".  What does the term "Works" mean?

Most motorcycle people can point out or name a Works bike or Works part as there have been thousands of bikes and parts that fall under the umbrella term "Works" but what does the term really mean?  How did the term come to be applied to racing?  These are the questions that most people probably don't have a good answer for.  It is kinda like the term "GIFs" people can point them out but most don't know what term means or how it even got applied.

The term "Works" as applied to motorcycle racing is most likely was derived from Skunkworks, which as some in the aviation industry will automatically recognize as having a tie to a division of Lockheed Martin.  Aviation buffs will also know this division was formed sometime during or just after World War II.  Skunkworks was Lockheed Martin's sort of think tank division where engineers were allowed to test and develop ideas without the restraints of production feasibility or governmental regulation until put into production for mass use.

Now that is all fine and dandy but what does the term really mean when applied to racing?  Long and short of it "works" generically means, a new idea, physical part or in the case of a bike that is not currently in production or is designed outside the normal channels.  "Works" parts or ideas also don't necessarily have to conform to current rules and regulations giving designers and engineers the freedom to develop or test ideas that may be unconventional.

Even though motorcycle racing (in the US) has been around well before World War II, it wasn't until after the war in the prosperous 50's would lead to a boom in motorcycling and racing.  Savvy motorcycle manufacturers and tinkerers, some of which built their own bikes in the pre-war era, found the new venues, races and of course advertising to be a way to garner enthusiasm for their product.  Enthusiasm driven by race wins.  Previously hand built bikes using off the shelf parts and custom bits were the norm as very few (almost none) manufacturers actually built "ready to race" bikes, so in a sense every bike on the track was a "works" bike.  Later as organised racing series with classes and regulations to keep the racing tighter and more fair.  Enter the "works" rule.  Production race bikes have to meet homologation rules but there is an allowance for one off bikes or parts to be used under a "works" rule.  Typically works parts and bikes are used to refine ideas that may (or may not) eventually make it onto a production bike.  Case in point my photo example of an idea for a front suspension that from reports worked very good in terms of performance, but was too high of cost to manufacture for mass production.  It does look sexy doesn't it?  

In recent years full "works" bikes have not been as prevalent, it is time for you to respond, what do you think the reason is?

The new episode is up!  Check it out and see the bike run!  Also check out all the parts that went into this project.  This Kawasaki F9 Big Horn racer is really taking shape!

Everyone has that one or many machines that bring back a fond memory of the past. (written in the fall of 2008)

What ever you want to call it, reminiscing, memories or like Uncle Rico, from Napoleon Dynamite's quote "Don't you ever wish you could go back?". 

 I was vacationing back at my old stomping grounds in Nebraska where I grew up on my folks farm. While I was back there I ended up helping my folks clean up from the ending harvest season which ultimately meant putting all my restored and currently ridden bikes into winter storage, to make room for the farm equipment. This meant moving them from the main shop into a dedicated storage shed. Hold on, maybe I better back this up a bit.

I grew up on a family farm that my folks still farm to this day.  (If you want to see more about this visit my "Real Farming" video page).  My dad and mom rode motorcycles in the 60′s and 70′s so naturally that was one of the hobbies growing up (that and restoring old cars). Being a farmer we never got rid of anything because “you never know when you may need this or that”.  It wouldn't be a proper farm if there wasn't at least one old refrigerator from the 50's out behind the barn.  

Some of my school mates rode as well and in those days we bought bikes for next to nothing.  I mean we would alley shop buying bikes out of the trash for as little as $50.  We would fixed them, ride them, fixed them, ride them and so on. Sometimes this was easier said than done as this was "B I" or Before Internet, so obsolete parts were not as easily sourced.  The phrase “RAMP IT!” seemed to claim a lot of bikes back then.  A 1973 Kawasaki 100cc G5 and 1981 Honda CM400 (see below) and a few others suffered this fate.

Along the way I collected bikes and restored them not really for show, but just for fun and to make reliable drivers out of them. I did this throughout my teens and twenty’s through college. Graduating college and starting a career the bikes of my past got pushed back into storage as I scaled back a bit (student loans can do that you know) I carefully selected only a few bikes that I could store and ride in my new “home”. For these I chose my Kawasaki KX250 for track and trail riding, Gas Gas TXT321 for trials, and KZ400 for commuting (later to be replaced by my Buell XB9SX). This meant I had to put all the rest on hold for the future.

Fast forward to the future (present). I was getting a bit nostalgic and as I pushed the bikes around I decided to get a group photo of all the old bikes from my past. Each bike has its own little story about it, whether it be how I acquired it or some memorable event while riding it. It should be noted that really none of these bikes are worth much of anything outside of sentimental value, some have historical significance and are collectible for that reason, but most of them I just like for my own personal reasons.  Possibly in future articles I might delve into some of the bikes are tell my story about the bikes I own.  There may be future videos along these same topic as well.  For more motorcycle lifestyle videos check out the main video page by clicking HERE

Feel free to express some of your fond memories of bikes or atvs of your past in the comments area.