My first 'real' motorcycle was a new SL100, back in '72. My second cousin owned a Honda dealership out in Longview Texas, and after much begging, my dad popped for the bike. Up until then I had to content myself with a Rupp minibike.
I thrashed the holy hell out of that SL100. After bending the front fender dropping the bike on the trail the first day, I bought Preston Petty flexible fenders. Then after the cheap ass handlebars snapped in half, I bought some extra wide black bars.
After getting hit by a car on the way to school one day, my mom banned me from the street. So, off came everything that made it street legal, including the ignition switch. After putting a Basani open pipe on it, I was raising major hell on the local trails. I was convinced that with enough mods, that little 4 stroke bike could compete with those Yammies and Kawasakis.
Does anyone remember the Dirt Bike magazine special project bike, based on the SL100/125? The writers went full tilt on that project. They went with an alloy frame, and alloy rims. They ported and stroked the motor. There were many more mods, and the result was one bad ass bike!
Budget restrictions limited how much of that I could put into play on my SL100, but I had dreams anyway!
The bike still ran great when I sold it. (I outgrew it)
