Tuesday, May 18, 2010

2010 Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Show at Look Park

This past Sunday, it was time for another display of vintage Japanese "iron" at Look Park in Florence, MA, and this time Steve Lavigne came down from Maine to join in the fun. He stayed with me, and in the late morning we rode to Williamsburg to hook up with Jim Lawson. It was a pleasant surprise to run into Mike Dooney there (even though Mike was not going to the show).



Jim, Steve and I headed down to Look Park, where we met up with Eric Talbot, who'd ridden in on his Triumph Scrambler, which he is progressively customizing. Then we started walking around and checking out the cool bikes.



One of the first bikes to catch my eye was this beautiful Kawasaki Mach 3, from the era when powerful multi-cylinder two-strokes ruled the road. I've never ridden one of these beasts, but maybe someday...



Not too far away from that bike were these two lovely little Hondas, a CL175 (also known as the "Scrambler" model) and a CB175 (the "street" version). I always lusted after the bikes in Honda's CL class -- I just thought those shiny, high exhaust pipes were so cool.



While we were walking around, three guys on immaculate Honda CB750's rode in and obligingly posed for the crowd.



It was a beautiful day and a fun display of cool bikes, and after heading off for lunch at a roadside joint in Haydenville, we tried to hook up with Mike Dooney to go out for ice cream, but, alas, he was not around. Jim, Steve, Eric and I did a bit of bike-swapping for a short ride before we headed home. I took Jim's Yamaha FJR1300, Jim rode my Honda NT700V, Steve piloted Eric's Triumph Scrambler, and Eric tried out Steve's Honda Fury. Here's a shot of Eric on that bike.



I'm looking forward to next year's show! -- PL

6 comments:

galebenning said...

I know of some people that don't really care about updates you do on your blog that are not TMNT related, but I find great joy in those that are not and this one in particular because it gives us a glimpse into your lives outside the universe of the pen & ink realm. Thanks, Peter! I hope someday I just "run into" a gaggle or Mirage Dudes myself, I think it would be fun.

Cheers!

Stephan Reese said...

That Fury is still the one bike that makes me want to learn to ride. <3

Anonymous said...

man those are some nice bikes. its funny if your ever in NJ, up by Clifton theres usually a bunch of vintage and street motorcycle shows almost like every other sat/sun. I reckon you would fancy these bikes too. very cool pics!! thanks for showing us them!

Anonymous said...

Ha, ha, Talbot looking tough.. It's great!!! I used to have one of those little Hondas in high school, 1973 CB350f, loads of fun..

Anonymous said...

AWESOME!!!! you have to let me know ahead of time when this show is coming next year and I will come out. even though I am not currently riding, I LOVE the seminal Japanese bikes. rock on!!!

Katelynn Woodbury said...

Nice show! Well, Japanese manufacturers are superpowers in the motorcycle industry, so it’s just right to have a show that features their finest products. Ahh, the Mach 3 brings back so many memories!