Reminiscing about the “best” old motorcycles and times past happens a lot in these pages. After all, most of us ride, collect and work on old bikes because we have a tie to them from yesteryear.
Whether you grew up riding hand-me-down bikes, or ones that belonged to family or friends, memories of times long gone often tug at the heartstrings (and bank accounts), cajoling us into reviving old iron and old memories, sometimes simultaneously.
Kim Williams had memories of a long-lost 250cc Ducati Monza, which he rode to high school when he was younger, after growing up riding mini bikes and a small Honda. It was eventually sold to buy a bigger bike (a 750 Norton Commando, not a bad trade up), but years later a chance meeting of a fellow motorcyclist named Eric Mondale gave him a way back. It turns out Eric had a 1966 Ducati Sebring, and soon the two hatched a plan to restore the Sebring, along with another bike in need of some attention. In the process the Sebring received a few upgrades, and it is now happily at home in Kim’s garage.
But not all tales are so rosy. Sometimes bad memories follow the good. Dino Ricci grew up riding a Honda Mini Trail around 250 acres of land where he was raised in northeast Ohio. A Bridgestone 90 and string of other rides followed, until the early 1980s, when he managed to acquire a 1977 Kawasaki KZ1000 as a part of a real estate deal. I won’t tell you the whole story here, as motojournalist Greg Williams has written the full tale for you. Let’s just say the bike spent a lot of time in boxes before it made its way to being restored and shown here in the pages of Motorcycle Classics.
Last but not least, our man Keith Fellenstein has been helping a friend revive a Honda CB175 that’s been languishing in the back of a garage for too long in this month’s How-To column.
Riding season may soon be over for the year, but winter is the perfect time for reviving memories, and maybe just one more of those best old motorcycles.
Cheers,
Landon
