37 years later...

In 1969, a young lad (i.e. my age, back then) I had met in improvised motorcycle outings was trying to become a motorcycle dealer, in a remote (seen from Geneva) part of Switzerland. Suzuki had just offered him a second-level dealer status, on a trial basis. He traded my aging BSA Spitfire in and sold me a brand new Suzuki 500cc 2-stroke "Titan", his first ever sale of a new bike. Then, we totally lost sight of each other. I moved back to the US of A where I had been raised, then I got transferred to Italy for 11 years, etc.

Then, a couple of monts ago, I accidentally met an old, faithful, local biker. We compared birth dates, bike ownership notes, medical prescriptions, etc. He mentioned that long-forgotten lad's name. Still alive, he said. Actually owner of the HD dealership in the same remote Swiss county. I sent the lad an e:mail. Title was "37 years later..." . To which he responded. Yes, he remembered me, etc.

The moving part of the story is that the lad has since decided to retire. He has produced a splendid and nostalgic 4-page "good-bye" leaflet for his customers, including, of course , an undisguised invitation to some serious drinking (we ARE Swiss, after all...). And in there, on that leaflet, the ONLY customer quote is mine: "37 years later"

Jamie

That is excellent Jamie. Both you and him remember the occasion of his first sale. Where's my tissues dang it!!!

What a great older bike!

Hondax & Jamie:

'Zuki's were the fast bikes back then. I remember the X6Hustler, it was a screamer and I had 2 'Zuki's, both 250 Enduro's, I believe they were called Savages. I graduated to a DT3 Yamaha 250 Enduro after that. I still remember the crappy welds that Japanese frames had in that era. Lots of spatter not removed. I also had 2 Hodaka's, an Ace 90 and an Ace 100. My buddy still has my Ace 100 in his garage but I believe it's tied up. The last "dirt" bike I owned was a Bultaco Sherpa T, Sammy Miller replica. I wish I still had them all. Of course I don't know where I'd put them and I have no desire to go dirt riding except on my quad.

I still have people looking for me from 37 years ago.... I'm pretty sure I can't afford the interest at this point.

Me too.

Toystoretom said:

I still have people looking for me from 37 years ago.... I'm pretty sure I can't afford the interest at this point.

Click to expand...

I believe I have some ex-wives in that same scenario.

....coincidentally, listed today on our ISP's classified board was this ad:

[FONT=arial,helvetica]FOR SALE: [/FONT] [FONT=arial,helvetica]500 Suzuki[/FONT][FONT=verdana,courier]Vintage 1971 Suzuki 500 Titan, twin cyl 2-stroke. Complete bike, all chrome is good, guages good. Has been stored but the cyl have been oiled and the carbs are free. No title with it so it can be used for parts or can probably get a title. It needs a batt and new gas and it should be ready to go. $200 or best reasonable offer. 660-826-XXXX or 660-473-XXXX anytime, thx[/FONT]

Hondax:

Good second bike for you. Besides, it will keep the mosquito's at bay in the summer months.

It's amazing how the displacement of motorcycles has skyrocketed. Used to be that HD's were the big displacement bikes and a 750 British bike was big (Norton and Royal Enfield). I remember riding my 650 T120 Meriden Bonnie all around and thinking the 650 was a big motor. In it's day, the 500 Titan was indeed, a Titan. Now it's a mosquito.

Suzuki Savage

Hey Flip CarSide (or however you spell it), I had one of those Suzuki Savages. 1971 as a matter of fact. Last time I got to ride her I made it as far as 6 blocks from home & was in the middle of the intersection when a car got there just about the same time (I arrived in the middle of the intersection first). Anyway, it was early morning & I was on the way to work, still tired & trying to wake up. The driver to my right was distracted by school mates & was waving to them when, "SMACK". Next thing I remember "I came to" in the intensive care unit (where I spent 2 weeks) and recovered from there. Was pretty intense but I pulled thru. I went home & was riding a friends bike with a cast on my right leg. Haven't given 'em up yet. That was 31 years ago. The thrill of owning a Rocket is the best experience to date. Hope I never give it up. There is nothing like a good handful of throttle, especially when the response is so radical.

See ya.

What's in a name anyhow.

Rusty:

Flip works. It's Sidecar Flip. The TS250 Savage never had the response the R3 has when you twist the throttle. It was a mosquito chaser though. I rode that 250 Savage ( should have been named 250 Squaw) from my home in Cleveland, Ohio to the Worlds Fair in Quebec back when I was a teenager. I remember it was an interesting trip. I also rode my Hodaka Ace 100 from Cleveland to Atlanta, Georgia one summer. I was crazy back then.

any former yamaha rd 400 riders out there ? still consider it one of the first cafe racers.