JeepN95YJ
Adventurer
Do any of you ride vintage bikes?
At the end of March I got something back that I feared might be gone forever. My dad's 1973 Kawasaki F9 Bighorn.
Dad bought this bike new in 1973 and put about 3800 miles on it. He traded it to his cousin in 1998 for a "woodstove" of all things. I didn't know he was thinking about getting rid of it and it came as a big surprise as I always wanted it in my garage at some point.
Out of the blue my dad's cousin, Charlie, dropped by my house with the bike. He is in the process of moving and decided to give it to me rather than fill up his new garage with it. It now has 3900 miles on it.
I couldn't properly express to him how much gratitude I felt and how much I appreciated his generosity. This bike probably wouldn't be worth $500 to many people, but it means the world to me. I VIVIDLY remember riding 2-up with my dad whenI was a kid holding on to the center bar of the handle bars. As I got older I was able to ride "behind" him on the seat and actually put my feet on the rear pegs.
About the time I got good riding on the back, we were crossing a creek (a ditch really) and got stuck. I was probably 8 years old and remember looking back to see the "rooster tail". The force of the mud knocked off my "bubble goggles" and pushed mud in my eye clear up under the eyelid! I screamed, Dad dropped the bike in the creek (still running) and ran with me to the house. He and mom held my head under the bathtub facet until the water ran clear. I remember it hurt like heck. I couldn't wait to go for another ride!
350comeshome.jpg
Charliebrings350home.jpg
Bike is completely original. Dad put that back tire on it the day he brought it home from the dealer. I need to replace the tires, clean it up, knock off a little rust and get it licensed. I've put about 20 miles on it so far just riding it around the neighborhood (.5 mile long cul-de-sac).
At the end of March I got something back that I feared might be gone forever. My dad's 1973 Kawasaki F9 Bighorn.
Dad bought this bike new in 1973 and put about 3800 miles on it. He traded it to his cousin in 1998 for a "woodstove" of all things. I didn't know he was thinking about getting rid of it and it came as a big surprise as I always wanted it in my garage at some point.
Out of the blue my dad's cousin, Charlie, dropped by my house with the bike. He is in the process of moving and decided to give it to me rather than fill up his new garage with it. It now has 3900 miles on it.
I couldn't properly express to him how much gratitude I felt and how much I appreciated his generosity. This bike probably wouldn't be worth $500 to many people, but it means the world to me. I VIVIDLY remember riding 2-up with my dad whenI was a kid holding on to the center bar of the handle bars. As I got older I was able to ride "behind" him on the seat and actually put my feet on the rear pegs.
About the time I got good riding on the back, we were crossing a creek (a ditch really) and got stuck. I was probably 8 years old and remember looking back to see the "rooster tail". The force of the mud knocked off my "bubble goggles" and pushed mud in my eye clear up under the eyelid! I screamed, Dad dropped the bike in the creek (still running) and ran with me to the house. He and mom held my head under the bathtub facet until the water ran clear. I remember it hurt like heck. I couldn't wait to go for another ride!
350comeshome.jpg
Charliebrings350home.jpg
Bike is completely original. Dad put that back tire on it the day he brought it home from the dealer. I need to replace the tires, clean it up, knock off a little rust and get it licensed. I've put about 20 miles on it so far just riding it around the neighborhood (.5 mile long cul-de-sac).
