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Honda GL1000: The Birth of a Legendary Line

November 23, 2021

From 1973 to 1983, the United States was going through what’s now known as the “malaise era”. It’s not really hard to figure out why this was happening, after all, the Vietnam war had just come to a close, fuel economy/emissions regulations were stricter than ever, and political turmoil was mixing with disco dancing in a way that no one really needed. As a result of all these unique elements, automobiles of the era were slow, bland, and frankly, uninspired.

Motorcycles of this period, however, were anything but malaise and it seemed like our country had found its passion not in Automobiles but in the culture of motorcycles. This era produced some of the most legendary bikes, machines that would go on to inspire, slightly terrify, and build a permanent place in the hearts of fun-loving men and women everywhere.

"Chicago" Honda CB750 Survivor Chopper

November 02, 2021

The idea, to hand build a one of a kind show stopper that wasn't a Harley Davidson. An idea that Bob Hannon of Schaumburg, Illinois had beginning in 1981 when assembling a team a various Craftsman all over the Midwest to build the “Project: Ultimate Honda.” “The goal is to build the show bike of show bikes, a machine that could not be beaten” said Bob in a Choppers magazine interveiw in 1982. The build was picked up by the publication Custom bike - Choppers magazine as an ongoing feature in multiple issues during the full build process and the hype really began to circulate about this one of a kind machine. Once completed Bob traveled the show circuit in 1982 winning award after award under the bike name “Chicago.” After a couple of years of racking up trophies, the bike laid dormant only to end up changing hands a couple of times and was then finally discovered again around 2005 by chopper enthusiast Jim Tigner. The bike at that time had been completely disassembled repainted bright purple and crated in a custom crate leaving Jim with the daunting task of collecting all of the 1980’s magazines and figuring out a blueprint to restore “Chicago” to its former 80’s glory. We caught up with Jim and the fully assembled masterpiece CB750 chopper at this year's Wauseon swap meet and he shared with us a little back story on how he came to restore this one of a kind show stopping Honda survivor chopper.

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The Game Changer: Honda CB750

Oktober 05, 2021

There are plenty of products out there that like to call themselves game-changers, but few can really live up to that lofty title.

Honda’s CB750, however, absolute can and could be considered one of the most influential motorcycles to ever roll down the American road. From the comfortable, upright style seating, to the incredibly durable yet powerful 4 cylinder engine, and fade-free disc brakes; the CB750 was the first mass-market, large displacement bike to earn the “Superbike” moniker. It would even go on to form the basis of what a Universal Japanese Motorcycle (UJM) design would be for decades and decades to come.

The History of the Honda CB350

August 18, 2021

Looking back on the history of American motorcycles, there are few bikes that inspired more dreams of the open road or stole the hearts of motorcycle enthusiasts quite like the Honda CB350. Full of charisma, and charm; the CB350 was perfectly placed at a time things were just a little bit simpler, and having fun on a quality motorcycle didn’t cost a fortune. In fact, what made the CB350 so appealing was the promise of not only motorcycle thrills, but unbeatable, drive it till the chains fall off reliability that was as endearing as it was useful. Sure, it wasn’t the fastest thing on the market at the time, but no one really cared. This is the magic of the CB350.

Chasing Harley: 1980's Flat Track Endeavors

Mai 14, 2021

The 1970’s + 80’s were some funky years in the flat track world, motorcycles were quickly evolving and manufacturer’s were fighting to claim the title of the best performing motorcycle and team. During the late 70’s through the 80’s we saw all sorts of oddball bikes popping up and making their attempts to claim the title. In this story we’re going to cover one specific model that made an appearance in the flat track world for a short stint, that many people may have forgot about our weren’t aware it was even a thing. Before we dive into the trials and tribulations of this specific manufactures push into flat track, we need to give a bit of back story and lay out the foundations of how this came to be.