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bought this machine in 1991 from my friend John Narciso. He said it was
"B-B-B Bad to the bone." It ran great having only around 1100
miles on it. At the time he had two other motorcycles, a Norton and a
BMW. Why he chose this one to start paring down his collection, I don't
know. I was happy to have it as it was the closest thing I could afford
that approached the look of the late 1960s models that I coveted. I was
familiar with them because of my interest in motorcycles while in college
at the University of Alabama. I bought a Suzuki X6 Hustler that screamed
up to 60 mph. But, being a 2-cycle engine it was left in the dust by the
contemporary Triumph Bonneville 650 cc 4-cycle after that. I just couldn't
afford the Bad Boy. I loved my Suzuki, but always had the image of a Bonneville
in the back of my mind. |
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In
the later nineties I took it to Tampa Florida where I was stationed with
CW Systems to build a presence for the company. I started by staying in
a motel for my weekly visits, but later rented a house as I was spending
weeks at a time there returning to Houston for a week of home time with
Carolyne. I wanted a hobby to fill my spare time and provide entertainment.
I was enamored with the beauty of the area and longed to ride along the
coast on an eye catching motorcycle. So, I began taking it apart in order
to clean it up and adjust its look more like the 60s models. |
The
major difference in this model from earlier versions was the muffler
style, the air filtering system, and the oil reservoir. he air filters
and oil reservoir were in the housing under the seat. In this model
the oil reservoir was in the frame, so all I had to do was place clamp
on air filters on the carbs and put OEM covers in place of the air filtering
system on each side of the space under the seat.
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At
one point in my project I had precious few miscellaneous parts on shelves
in the closet as all others were farmed out for restoration. Body parts
were being re-chromed, powder coated and nuts and bolts were being cadmium
coated. I bought new mufflers, had the spokes replaced with stainless steel
and all the aluminum parts highly polished. |
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finished, all assembly done inside my rented house, I wanted a photo so
I pushed it through the back patio door for the setup. To my horror it
slipped and fell against the door frame scratching the gas tank which
was still the very fine addition John applied before I bought it from
him. |
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I
still have it and love to look at it. However, I seldom ride it as I am
scared to death of ending up on the pavement in Houston because I came
out of nowhere and someone smashes me. I threaten to have it place above
the fire place as an object d'art, but I'll more likely sell it to someone
who will appreciate it as much as I do. I still have all the original
parts that have been powder coated in case someone wants it to be restored
to 1974 original condition. |
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I
did take many a trip down the coast and over to Clearwater where some
of these photos were taken. |
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