A Ride to Remember 11/18/2003
By Ed Abdo
Because 2004 marks the 45th anniversary
of American Honda, I decided to ride a 1960s vintage Honda¨ across America. What better way to celebrate
Soichiro Honda's great achievements here in the United States?
To get a second opinion I called my longtime friend in Buffalo, Mike Krzemien,
and I'd also informed him his home would be my final destination. When
Mike heard my idea he said, "If you're gonna ride cross-country on
a vintage Honda, you need something like my CB77 Super Hawk, but
get your own, you can't ride mine. But tell you what: I'll ride along
with
you. It'll be just like the old days when you lived out here and we
rode together all the time. In fact, we can make this a coast-to-coast
journey; we'll start at the Pacific Ocean and end up on the Atlantic
shores!"
So I began my hunt for a CB77, and finding a Super Hawk was a lot easier than
I had supposed. I learned a friend of a friend had an unrestored 1965 CB77 with
only 10,886 miles on it. I paid a visit to the owner, who said it was completely
intact and had been running before he had stored itÑproperly. After a minor amount
of haggling, I had my bike.
Back home, I added fresh gas and hooked up a set of jumper cables. When I hit
the electric starter, the engine turned over, fired up and immediately started
to idle nicely. All right! The first stage of my labors entailed taking everything
apart and repainting the frame, sidecovers, tank and fenders. I also replaced
a few components, including the tires, steering head bearings, fork oil and clutch
plates. A few test runs to work (50 miles each way) prepared us for a jaunt from
Southern California to Laguna Seca and the World Superbike RacesÑa trip of about
600 miles.
Although my new prize ran reliably, it obviously needed at least a top-end overhaul.
Disassembly showed the cylinders were in good shape, but in need of honing as
they were glazed, and I replaced pistons and rings with genuine Honda parts.
Honda still stocks many parts for vintage bikes, but most folks find that hard
to believe and instead search outside sources. After seeing many different aftermarket
engine components, I strongly urge anyone restoring an old Honda to first inquire
about OEM parts. Believe me, there is a difference!
The intake valves were worn, so I decided to replace both intake and exhaust
valves. Here, Honda OEM parts take priority; you can get aftermarket valves fairly
easily, but in many cases they are not hardened and will likely wear out in just
a couple thousand miles or less. Honda valves are hardened and will last many
years, even in today's world of unleaded gasoline. I replaced the cam chain,
and the cam sprocket was welded as some were known to loosen up on the mounting
rivets. As expected, the lower end was in great shape, thanks to those big ball
bearings.
Final touches included new rear shocks, as the stock units lacked any sort of
damping, plus a set of bar-end mirrors to replace the stock unitsÑnow I can actually
see behind me while I'm riding! With those chores completed, my vintage mount
was all set to go. Now it was up to me to plan the trip route.
Look for the next installment of A Ride to Remember, where Ed will describe the
route he plans to take in the spring of 2004 and the stops he'll make along the
way. You can meet up with Ed and become part of the Ride to Remember!
May 29: Ride to Remember begins
in Torrance, California Ride to Remember begins at American
Honda's North American Headquarters in Torrance. We'll dip the rear
wheels of both bikes in the Pacific Ocean. For information,
contact Ed Abdo at (310) 783-3788.
June 1: Ride to Remember stop:
Phoenix, Arizona Ride to Remember visit to Motorcycle Mechanics
Institute in Phoenix. MMI will hold an open house for their students
and any HRCA¨ Members that would like to
stop by. Seminar will be held to discuss Honda's rich history and the trip
in general. Seminar held at 12:00-1:30 P.M. Contact Hontech Chief
Instructor Eric
Bartosky at MMI for information at (800) 528-7995, extension 1327.
June 3: Ride to Remember stop: Farmington,
New Mexico Ride to Remember stop at Sun Country Cycles in
Farmington, for an afternoon cookout and visit in the late afternoon.
Contact Keith Jones for more information
at (505) 325-4195.
June 7: Ride to Remember stop:
Topeka, Kansas Ride to Remember stop in Topeka to visit
Honda Sport. Mark Riggin and his crew will promote a vintage bike
display along with an HRCA gathering. For information,
contact Mark Riggin or Wendy Renyer at Honda Sport at (785) 862-1053.
June 8: Ride to Remember stop:
Blue Springs, Missouri Ride to Remember stop at Dells Honda
in Blue Springs . Rich Woten will be setting up an HRCA gathering
and have some vintage Honda's on display Contact Rich
at (816) 229-0300 for more information.
June 9: Ride to Remember stop:
Jefferson City, Missouri Ride to Remember stop at Larry's
Honda and Power Equipment located in Jefferson City. Spending a couple
of hours in the afternoon visiting Larry Neil and Travis
Knorr along with HRCA members. To contact Larry or Travis for more information,
call (573) 893-3209.
June 10: Ride to Remember stop:
St. Louis, Missouri Ride to Remember stop at Dave Mungenast
Motorsports in St. Louis. Spend the afternoon at their Museum where
many vintage Honda's will on display! Dave
Larson will also be promoting an HRCA event at the store and museum.
Dave can be contacted
at (314) 894-1330.
June 11: Ride to Remember stop:
Litchfield, Illinois Ride to Remember stop at Niehaus Cycle
Sales Inc. in Litchfield, located on the infamous Old Route 66. Brad
Niehaus will have a display of vintage Honda's
and will also promote an HRCA activity at the store. You can contact
Brad at (800)
373-6565.
June 12: Ride to Remember stop:
Indianapolis, Indiana Ride to Remember stop at Dreyer Honda
in Indianapolis. One of the very first Honda¨ dealers in the United
States resides in Indianapolis and we hope to meet up with some more
HRCA club members during our visit. You can contact Missy Dreyer
at (317) 248-1403.
June 15: Ride to Remember stop:
Pickerington, Ohio Ride to Remember stop at the AMA Museum
13515 Yarmouth Drive, in the mid morning.
June 19: Ride to Remember stop:
Norfolk, Virginia Ride to Remember stop at Honda of Norfolk,
touch our front wheels in the Atlantic Ocean, and then attend an
HRCA cookout with Dave Hunter and friends, officially
completing our grand goal of traveling from "Sea to Shining Sea" on our vintage
Honda's! You can contact Dave Hunter at (757) 857-0107.
June 20: Ride to Remember stop:
Asheboro, North Carolina Ride to Remember stop at Cycle
Center in Asheboro in the afternoon and spend time with David Lambeth
and the great HRCA chapter based out of this store.
For more details, you can call David at (336) 629-2092.
June 21: Ride to Remember stop:
Monroe, North Carolina Ride to Remember stop at Iron Horse
Motorcycles in Monroe and visit with Mike Heafner and the folks where
we will come across a great time including a Vintage
bike show. For more details on this stop, you can call Mike at (704) 283-9467.
June 22: Ride to Remember final
stop: Honda Hoot! Ride to Remember final stop at the Honda
Hoot! Our ride will officially conclude! During the festivities,
we will hold some seminars to discuss our trip and
will be handing out some pretty special gifts to those that come by
to visit!
