OldCADuser Loc: Irvine, CA

In all honesty, I never had a bicycle until I bought a pair for my wife and I, when I was 40-years old. Where I grew up, we lived out in the woods with only dirt roads or open highways. Besides, it was a few miles into town, over hills and such, so having a bike was never something that I wanted.

However, when I was in high school I bought a motorcycle. in all, I've owned three motorcycles.

My first motorcycles was a 1964 Honda 150 'Dream'.

I sold it a year later to my brother.

This was taken the day before I left for college - September 1965 - Agfa Silette, 45mm

jack schade Loc: La Pine Oregon

jack

tradio Loc: Oxford, Ohio

Nice shot.

OldCADuser Loc: Irvine, CA

My second motorcycle, that I bought in the Spring of my freshman year, was a 1965 Honda 305 'Super Hawk'. I bought it from a classmate who had decided to leave school and join the Peace Corp (this was as Vietnam was heating up and he was trying to avoid getting drafted).

I drove it that summer when I got a summer 'intern' job and in the Fall, after I was back at school, I was an RA in the dorm, so I had access to the storage rooms in the dorm. I got some of my fellow motorheads to help me clear out one of the rooms, moving stuff to the other rooms, and we turned that room into a workshop where several of us spent the Winter months working on our bikes. I didn't like the stock red paint job of my Honda to I stripped it down and repainted it 'Candy Apple' Blue (BTW, the room had very poor ventilation so I suspect that the fumes probably destroyed a fair number of brain cells that Winter). I also had the engine bored-out to 327 CC (from the original 305) and installed a high-lift cam, racing clutch and ported & polished the intake and exhaust ports. I also had several of the external parts chrome plated. Anyway, it was a screamer and since it still looked 100% stock, except for the custom paint job and chrome, it fooled a lot of people, particularly those driving bigger bikes.

Anyway, at the start of the Spring quarter my second year (we were on tri-mesters back then) I decided to leave school, go back to work where I had interned the year before (they offered me a full time job as a draftsman) and also to get married. So I drove back from school (this was in the UP of Michigan) in April and nearly froze to death, literally. I learned what they mean when they say "he was suffering from exposure". I guess I'll never be colder again.

This picture below shows what the rebuilt/refurbished bike looked like, the week before we got married. Note that at the time, that was the only vehicle that I had and my soon to be bride also had no car. So we had to buy a car literally days before the wedding since my fiancee refused to go on a honeymoon on the back of a bike. Running out to get a burger or something, that was fine, but she drew the line at the thoughts of spending even three or four days on that bike. And before you ask, we're still together. It'll be 56 years this coming June.

Note that a couple of years later, before I went back to school to finish getting my degree, I sold this bike to my brother-in-law.

This is how that 'sleeper' looked - June 1967 - Kodak Brownie Twin 20

OldCADuser Loc: Irvine, CA

As for my third bike, this was several years after I had graduated from engineering school and was working as a machine designer at that same company where I had interned and who had hired me during my break from school.

One of the guys at work knew that I had once had a bike and he mentioned that his son had stored his old Honda in his basement when he was drafted and went and served in Vietnam. However, when he got back he had lost interest in the bike and it had sat there, untouched for almost three years. He sold it to me cheap and while it hadn't been run in all that time, I just changed the oil, put in a new battery and it started right up. It ran a bit rough so I decided that when Winter came it was time to do another rebuild project.

Anyway, the bike was 1968 Honda 305 'Super Hawk', virtually that same as my old bike, just a few years newer. The kid, before he left for the Army, had replaced the stock exhaust with a set of megaphones, but that was all that he had done.

This time I left the engine stock, just cleaned all out, installed all new gaskets and seals although I did do a bit of porting & polishing on the head. But what I did do was to make a lot changes to the overall appearance of the bike. Since it already had those megaphone exhaust pipes I decided to keep the 'theme' and gave it the look of 'cafe racer' as that year Honda had already started to use lower handlebars so I was already halfway there.

This time I only used the Gold undercoating of the 'Candy Apple' paint and then the clear finishes coats. Also, cut down the fenders, rebuilt the shocks to expose the springs and replaced the air-filters with velocity stacks. I also removed as much extra weight as possible, removing the electric starter, using a smaller battery, ditching the tool kit, etc. Anyway, it looked a lot faster than it really was (I always wished that I could have had that modified engine from my 1965 Honda in this one, but...)

I drove it for several years, but finally the engine started to act-up (after all it had set for nearly three years without ever being run), and in the end, I sold to another one of coworkers for parts.

Here's what that 1968 Honda 305 looked like when I bought it from the guy at work - August 1973 - Minolta SRT-101, 58mm


And here's what it looked like after I gave it that 'Cafe Racer' treatment - April 1974 - Minolta SRT-101, 58mm


Another shot - April 1974 - Minolta SRT-101, 58mm

OldCADuser Loc: Irvine, CA

As for some overall motorcycle shots, here's some that I took at some races while I was at school. I never raced as I only drove street bikes, but a couple of my fellow motorheads did.

A motocross in Houhgton, Michigan - May 1969 - Minolta SRT-101, 58mm


A bit of mud - May 1969 - Minolta SRT-101, 58mm


Making some dust - May 1969 - Minolta SRT-101, 58mm


And my friend Tom, after the race - May 1969 - Minolta SRT-101, 58mm

photophile Loc: Lakewood, Ohio, USA

More scooters...

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aweisbach Loc: Omaha Nebraska

I love your cafe'd 305. My first bike was a 305 Super Hawk, that I bought around 1978, when I was 21. It had a seized engine, and I knew nothing about motorcycles. But I've always loved fixing things. Took it apart, down to the crank bearings, rebuilt everything (put way too much money into it) and ended up learning an awful lot and had a really fun bike to boot. For it's age and size, it was surprisingly fast.

ELNikkor

Love those old Honda slant twins! My first bike was a Honda 160 Dream with a red Roman helmet front fender. These photos and stories bring back great memories; thanks for sharing...

tramsey Loc: Texas

My first motorcycle was a '83 red Honda street bike with chrome fenders. Good looking bike but severely under powered for my wife and I. But we went all over with it. We lived in Grand Forks ND and wen to Bird's Eye Resort north of Winnipeg and then out to the Bad Lands of North Dakota. It was a two stroker and got tired of smelling the oil all the time so went to a 85 Harley Sportster and dinged with the handle bars and exhaust. I sold it to get enough money together for a Nikon d850
No bike sounds like a Harley except a Harley

kvanhook Loc: Oriental, NC

I had forgotten about my Honda Dream. Thanks for reminding me that I had one many years ago.

Scruples Loc: Brooklyn, New York

That looks a smooth ride. I hope you don’t mind my critique. If it is cropped and doesn’t have the car behind it, I know you can bring out the beautiful lines and the dazzling chrome she had

fourlocks Loc: Londonderry, NH

[quote=OldCADuser]My second motorcycle, that I bought in the Spring of my freshman year, was a 1965 Honda 305 'Super Hawk'. I bought it from a classmate who had decided to leave school and join the Peace Corp (this was as Vietnam was heating up and he was trying to avoid getting drafted).

Wow! My my second motorcycle was also a blue, 1965 Honda 305 Super Hawk a guy in my dorm sold me when I was a sophomore in 1968.

My sister purchased a CB 160 at the same time. These were the days when girls were expected to sit on the back of a motorcycle seat, not to be driving one, and when we cruised Stamford together that summer, we gained a certain notoriety as the brother and sister bikers. My father hated motorcycles so we bought them on the sly and kept them at a friend's house. After year of typical sibling fighting, having those bikes caused us to bury our differences and support each other, although for a somewhat dishonest reason, for the first time in our lives. That support still stands, 50 years later.

NDMarks Loc: Dublin, Ca

My gawd, are you guys with the old Honda's bringing back memories, thank you. I think I have you all beat with a first bike though. I had a 50cc Honda that I put thousands of miles on. My next ride was a CB160 that I had in high school. My mother wouldn't let me have a car but a bike was OK??? I ended up selling the 160 when I joined the Air Force. I remember the Dream series of bikes too, and I always wanted a 305 Super Hawk. Many years later I had a 450 Twin. I currently have a Gold Wing that I dearly love but need to sell because I can't ride anymore (medical reasons). I probably have close to 500,000 miles under my belt.

procrastinater

I enjoyed al of your posts and the responses as they brought back many fond memories of my bike days. My first ride was a doodle bug and the next was a BSA 125. I finally gave up riding a few years ago due to an experience with a phone using driver. He was on his cell phone and looked directly at me as I approached him from the side and he looked right through me without his brain registering that I was there and pulled out right in front of me. Fortunately I stopped in time. I suspect cell phones have been a major cause of bikers getting into accidents. Time to ban cell phones!