This bike was a little ahead of it's time, there wasn't much like it in those days. They couldn't give them away, in the area I lived a dealer would blow them out for $1,100.00 u.s. This ended up being a way for a young man to buy his first NEW bike and they were everywhere. They were SLOW, but handled well and actually made great touring rides. I rode with a fairly large group of these bikes for several years. The only issues were making sure the intake was seated properly and the carb. kept clean. I think a few guys had charging issues, but for the most part, we all loved them. They had a big tank and got real decent mileage, I think we could go over 250 miles on a tank. The shaft drive was basically maintenance free. Liquid cooled, one carb. if I remember right and just very stable. Once you got them to speed (did I say they were slow?) They were a joy to ride. If you look at the bikes over those few years, the style and make up of the bike was unique. I think too much at once. Yes there were V twins, liquid cooling, shaft drive, but I can't remember a bike having all this. The original price was steep, I think $3,995 u.s. but they didn't move and the bikes just sat. Somehow a dealer in Granada Hills was able to sell them cheap, and they became quite popular in my area. I think I rode with about 14 of them and that's just the guys I knew. I think $200 down and about $40 a month and we all had new bikes. To be perfectly honest, it was one of my favorite bikes, and the guys still talk about them, it was almost a right of passage. We've all had many bikes since then, more powerful, better handling, etc. But these bikes are fondly remembered and they were probably better than we deserved in the day.
