agunn
Active Member
I've always been into 70's bikes, specifically Honda's and some Triumph's.. I was raised by my mother and father paycheck to paycheck and my parents worked for everything we had. Dad always had a couple bikes in the garage that were very well maintained and always something that he bought used and fixed up himself. I grew up loving motorcycles and enjoying the time spent with Dad in the garage. When I was about ten (1995), I had an opportunity to buy a 70's Honda of my own (1973 Honda CL175) from a family friend. I had been mowing lawns and collecting cans for months/years prior to buy a bicycle for myself ... Long story short; we show up to our friends house and he uncovers an absolutely pristine cherry read CL175 with 300 miles on it. Dad checked it out carefully and as our friend walked away he pulled me aside and quietly whispered "I'm sorry son, whatever amount he wants for this bike, we won't be able to afford it.. It's just way too nice and out of our league" .. I remember it like it was yesterday because I wanted to be just like my Dad and work on a bike of my own. We sit down and talk to the owner and he looks at me and says "so Adam, what do you think?", my response "I love it, it's just like dads (wasn't anywhere close, the only thing similar was the words Honda haha) and its just my size". He paused and said "well, it needs a new battery and you'll probably need to clean out the tank from the old gas, so how does $75 sound?" My mouth dropped to the floor and I knew I had enough lawn/can money stashed away to fulfill full payment.
I could now work on MY bike along side Dad. Dad had a rule; you ride it, you clean it. Although I wasn't old enough to ride it on the street, dad would let me work on it at my leisure and made me rebuild the carbs etc (and would only step in when was was absolutely stuck) and let me putt it up and down the street.
My father sold every bike he owned in order to afford car insurance and the gas so my sister and I could have a car of our own.
3 years ago my Dad passed away the day after he retired from the dairy industry for 35 years. It struck our family like a ton of bricks and made me mature very quickly (I was 25). I learned a ton after his passing and still continue to do so.
Along with everything else, Dad passed quite a few things down to me that I will treasure forever. One of them being the love for my family and how to be a MAN, and the other; the love for motorcycles. Through digging things up in the garage, I came across every Easy Rider Magazine and Street Chopper from about 1970-1982 .. In those I found a couple of these gems and thought I would share them with you guys because I know you would appreciate it....
Picture of my Dad right out of highschool ('72--'74)
Dual webbers?? Awesome!!
Bolt on power
I really dig this air cleaner
I could now work on MY bike along side Dad. Dad had a rule; you ride it, you clean it. Although I wasn't old enough to ride it on the street, dad would let me work on it at my leisure and made me rebuild the carbs etc (and would only step in when was was absolutely stuck) and let me putt it up and down the street.
My father sold every bike he owned in order to afford car insurance and the gas so my sister and I could have a car of our own.
3 years ago my Dad passed away the day after he retired from the dairy industry for 35 years. It struck our family like a ton of bricks and made me mature very quickly (I was 25). I learned a ton after his passing and still continue to do so.
Along with everything else, Dad passed quite a few things down to me that I will treasure forever. One of them being the love for my family and how to be a MAN, and the other; the love for motorcycles. Through digging things up in the garage, I came across every Easy Rider Magazine and Street Chopper from about 1970-1982 .. In those I found a couple of these gems and thought I would share them with you guys because I know you would appreciate it....
Picture of my Dad right out of highschool ('72--'74)
Dual webbers?? Awesome!!
Bolt on power
I really dig this air cleaner
