Walneck's Classic Cycle Trader - June 2008 - (Page 104) SPECIAL FEATURE STORIES COLLECTING VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLES Collecting Vintage Japanese Motorcycles By Doug Mitchel et’s face it, the history of Japanese motorcycles is not nearly as extensive as that of the American made machines, but they not only hold an important place in history, many are becoming quite collectible. The first Hondas arrived on U.S. soil in 1958 and Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha soon followed suit. Each company saw the size of the market and the large number of riders here and created machines that they thought would meet with our needs. Many were tiny machines powered (and I use the word loosely) L by 50cc motors. Pressed steel frames held everything in place but looked more like scooters than real motorcycles. The builders in Milwaukee scoffed at the intrusion and went on their merry way of building big, heavy bikes. As time went by, the Japanese makers got a much better handle on what the American buyer desired and began to design and build motorcycles to fill that niche. The first, and perhaps most memorable of these was the 1969 Honda CB750/4. A massive, four-cylinder motor sat in the tubular steel frame and was like The 1969 Honda CB750 set new standards for the motorcycle world and the first examples are coveted by collectors today. 104 JUNE 2008 I WALNECK’S CLASSIC CYCLE TRADER® I WALNECKS.COM http://WALNECKS.COM
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