This is Jim W of Bisbee AZ, on my old Honda GB500. The Honda is 21 years old and Jim is somewhat older yet, but both are doing fine, thank you. Jim and I became friends in 1970 or '71, when I owned a little motorcycle accessory store in San Mateo, California. We have ridden many hundreds of miles together over the years. He and his wife Irene are my oldest friends, I'd say, or certainly the oldest friends with whom I'm in regular contact.
I miss that lovely Honda but knowing that it's in the best possible hands is comforting. Before you ask, Jim is not in his riding gear. He's in his getting-photographed-on-beautiful-motorcycles gear. I feel sure he's in front of his garage in Bisbee (or Naco, to be precise) Arizona. In the background of the shot--that's Arizona. Behind the camera? That's Mexico.
5 comments:
Still miss my old 1979 CX-500. I should have saved the ground down footpegs as souvenirs when I sold it.
Gorgeous bike. I'm sorry that the American market has never embraced the road single - the closest we've come is the super motard units, but even those sales aren't great.
Perhaps in a few years Americans will "wake up" and discover how great a good, road going single bike can be!
A good friend of mine in college had a BSA 500 single, probably dating from the mid or late sixties. Was an amazing bike and watching it sit there idling at a very low rpm chug-chug-chug was amusing.
2nd James Thurber's comment--I have a slightly modded gb500 of immense character. One of my favorite things to do is put it in 4th going downhill no-handed @25mph. The irregular gurgling through the semi-regulated exhaust never fails to plaster a big smile on my face. Big Lump indeed.
Jim
Makes me wonder whatever happened to my old CB400 or MotoGuzzi 750 LeMans. Nice to know your old bike's in good hands, eh?
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