A Second Memory
February 24, 2015
It started out at twenty below zero this morning and the snow is still three or four inches thick on my driveway. No riding this week. As promised, a second revery on a past motorcycle.
In 1980 I was visiting my local Kawasaki dealer to look into a sale Kawasaki was running on the 650cc bike. It was a solid bike and would do the job my 500cc bike was doing with ease. I walked into the dealership and there on the floor was a shiny black and gray 1000cc calling my name. I was drawn to it like a magnet, sat on it and was taken. It was gorgeous. After filling out the loan application and other paperwork I could only wait to see if I was going to be it's new owner. I got the loan, and the bike, and was on Cloud Nine.
The first epic voyage for it was a trip to the races in Loudon, New Hampshire, an 800 mile weekend in June. A brief time later I had signed on to a trip through Canada from Long Island. A friend and I rode out to Minnesota and then up around Lake Superior and back in a week. Six hundred mile days were the norm and I got to spend many hours appreciating the power of the bike. it ate up miles like a free meal and didn't leave me aching like my 500cc bike did. The trip was 3,600 miles and grueling.
I used that bike a lot in the next fifteen years I rode it with many more memorable events undertaken. I used it to win a Field Meet in the heavyweight class, a couple of Poker Run trophies and it was my partner in Timed Road Runs, something we did really well in. A Timed Road Run is basically a rally where you follow a route and maintain a strict schedule. Points are awarded by reaching unknown check points within your assigned minute. My Dad was an expert at them and could hold a perfect score all day. I wasn't that good but could do well enough to finish in the top three most times and take home a trophy.
As a commuter bike the Kawasaki excelled and I rode it approximately 8,000 miles a year. I used it several times to commute from Suffolk County to Brooklyn before I ultimately sold it. It registered 125,000 miles when it left me and I couldn't have asked for more. I downsized to a 650cc Kawasaki after that, about which more later. To this day I use the name KZ1000st on forums in its honor and I'll never forget it. Great bike and great memories.
In 1980 I was visiting my local Kawasaki dealer to look into a sale Kawasaki was running on the 650cc bike. It was a solid bike and would do the job my 500cc bike was doing with ease. I walked into the dealership and there on the floor was a shiny black and gray 1000cc calling my name. I was drawn to it like a magnet, sat on it and was taken. It was gorgeous. After filling out the loan application and other paperwork I could only wait to see if I was going to be it's new owner. I got the loan, and the bike, and was on Cloud Nine.
The first epic voyage for it was a trip to the races in Loudon, New Hampshire, an 800 mile weekend in June. A brief time later I had signed on to a trip through Canada from Long Island. A friend and I rode out to Minnesota and then up around Lake Superior and back in a week. Six hundred mile days were the norm and I got to spend many hours appreciating the power of the bike. it ate up miles like a free meal and didn't leave me aching like my 500cc bike did. The trip was 3,600 miles and grueling.
I used that bike a lot in the next fifteen years I rode it with many more memorable events undertaken. I used it to win a Field Meet in the heavyweight class, a couple of Poker Run trophies and it was my partner in Timed Road Runs, something we did really well in. A Timed Road Run is basically a rally where you follow a route and maintain a strict schedule. Points are awarded by reaching unknown check points within your assigned minute. My Dad was an expert at them and could hold a perfect score all day. I wasn't that good but could do well enough to finish in the top three most times and take home a trophy.
As a commuter bike the Kawasaki excelled and I rode it approximately 8,000 miles a year. I used it several times to commute from Suffolk County to Brooklyn before I ultimately sold it. It registered 125,000 miles when it left me and I couldn't have asked for more. I downsized to a 650cc Kawasaki after that, about which more later. To this day I use the name KZ1000st on forums in its honor and I'll never forget it. Great bike and great memories.
Posted by Jim Zeiser.
If you wish to comment my e-mail address is h1500e@hotmail.com. I'd like to hear anything-good or bad-that anyone would like to say. As they said in college, we're all lifelong learners.
