Workhorses and Survivors

[NobleHops]

I had a brief but torrid love affair with one of these KZ650s. Loved that bike.

N.

[EMS]

What would this segment be, without an early Goldwing. Outfitted with Vetter fairing and topcase, king and queen seat and Bates sidecases. What would define Workhorse and Survivor more than that?
Seen on ebay, August 2013.

[EMS]

When I look across "the pond", I see more old bikes that are kept in better shape than I see here. Don't know what the reason for this is???
Isn't that pretty?

[Syscrush]

OK gang, I've been snapping pics here and there but have been lazy about sharing them. Some of these are definitely better than others, but I hope that you find a few that you enjoy. Click pics for the full rez versions on flickr.

Seca Turbo. I wasn't quite willing to kneel down in the middle of the road to try to get a shot of the actual turbo, but I did get close enough & low enough to verify that it's there. It looks less rough in the pics than in real life, you can see a bit of rash at the rear part of the red stripe on the upper fairing. Judging by how the instruments & controls look, I am almost certain that this is an unrestored survivor:


I don't know how to tell if this little beauty is a 500 or 750, but it's a cool bike in any case, and it shows plenty of signs of being a daily rider. I have a feeling that those calipers look familiar to some CBX'ers here. :) A bit of trivia for you - an Interceptor 500 was the first bike I ever rode. I had never been on a motorcycle or had any instruction, but I had the misplaced faith of my buddy Gary. I was 17, I think, and I rode out my driveway, across the street, up the neighbor's driveway, and smashed into the corner of his garage. Embarrassing then, but luckily Gary was too busy laughing his guts out to be too upset.


Here's an oddity that probably doesn't fit the theme of this thread if we're gonna be strict, but I still feel compelled to share. An old CB converted to electric:


A workhorse if ever there was one! My cousin's 1999 VFR. He bought it in 2002, I think, and has racked up something like 250,000 km on it. He swears that he's never going to sell it, or paint it. It's been down a few times, and every time he repairs cosmetic damage, he crashes it again, so he sees pristine bodywork as bad luck. This was taken on our recent trip to Montreal:



A couple of old Nighthawks, baby bear & mamma bear:





I see this nice old Hawk GT around town now and then and am always glad when I do:




From the sea of riders at my mechanic's shop...

A ratty old BMW:


A VT500:


Is this an XS650?


You see this ridiculous scooter and you feel a strong urge to laugh at the rider until you see that sticker and realize that he's an Ironman finisher. He could paint this thing pink with rainbow streamers and he'd still get PROPS FOR LIFE!



That's all I have for now. I hope you liked at least a bit of it.

[EMS]

Reviving an old thread.

Here is one that spent the last 15 years in a basement.

[Syscrush]

Sessy.

[hondaman160mph]

I built this 1972 750 in 1974 and have been riding it ever since. Paint and chrome are original 1974. No idea how many total miles on it but after 41 years it's many.Up until the early 90's it was not only my daily rider it was my only rider

[Gearheadgregg]

Nice thread ! enjoyed all the pictures. this is a guy from our work, he has had it for over 25 years and rides it every summer , i do a lot of work to it for him . but it has all the cool old stuff , runs strong !

[Gearheadgregg]

see this fella in CT at the Back Door Tavern couple times he rides it all over . Nice old Flathead !

[Gearheadgregg]

both UN-restored years ago , 1978 F3 and 1970 K1 they are both cleaned up now

[EMS]

Open House at a local motorcycle dealership. Always a good event to see a survivor!

[EMS]

Went on a ride yesterday and saw this parked outside the showroom in front of the large local multi-brand dealership. A Midnight Virago 750. From the early days of the Japanese cruisers.
Did not ask if it was for sale.
There is something else really rare in the reflection of the window.

[steve murdoch icoa #5322]

Get your R out of this workhorse thread.

[EMS]

Get your R out of this workhorse thread.

How about a "Survivor", Steve...

[Syscrush]

How about a "Survivor", Steve...

Is it unrestored? It should have its own thread somewhere in any case. :)