A little memory here of my first '76 RD400c that I bought new in Charleston, SC. It was ~'77 or '78 and I decided to ride the bike home for a long weekend. This is more than 500 miles, even with today's interstates. They were not complete back then. At least I only had a ~25-26 year old back at the time. Really, after Columbia SC headed North I became either numb or found the right position and the miles went by easy. Headed back to Charleston (Must have been a Tuesday, because I voted before I left) it all went real well until Columbia, SC at around midnight. Torrential rain started and I had to be back at the base Wednesday morning so I pressed on. I had purchased a rain suit at Kmart and it was just as good as you might suspect for a Kmart product. I was wearing a Bell Star full face helmet (one of the early ones) and that kept my glasses fairly clear, plus the visor didn't fog. Good thing because the rain was falling so hard that I could barely see the road. I made it home around 4 am and actually poured water out of my boots before going inside. My clothing was 100% soaked. I took a quick shower and shave, donned a clean uniform, and headed for the base, just getting there in time for muster. The RD never missed a beat. I don't remember how many miles I put on it, but purchased in late Summer of '76, sold in January '79 and although I had cages it was my main transportation the 50% of the time I was home (2 crew submarine). It never had an issue. Started right off every time. I never did any service beyond topping off the oil, tire pressure, and changing the transmission oil (once). Never took it back to the dealer for anything. Lots of trips to the beach, daily commute ~12 miles each way, at least once a week ride to friend's house in Ravenel Evening rides through the "marshland" (I was warned never to call them 'swamps') and up toward Summerville on Ashley River Road under the Live Oak canopy were memories I like to recall, too. That was a great age and time to be on a bike. I was mature enough though, to know that I was not mature enough to have that bike when I moved back to the mountains.