I went to the VJMC West Coast Rally in Solvang today. There were some great SOHC/4's and a lot of other vintage Japanese machinery. The CB550k belongs to forum member CoachDoc. I don't know if any of the other owners are forum members or not.
This '69 sandcast was in the mid 4000 serial number range and very nice.
This red KO was flawless.
Also a really sharp '72
I will post pictures of the some of the non SOHC/4's in the "Other Bikes" area.
Bob
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Nice to meet up with Bob at this VJMC rally. I saw his 500 turbo in the parking lot, and I was determined to try to find the owner, so where did I find him at the show? Looking at my bike, of course. I guess SOHC guys stick together.
Mine was the only 550 there, but the 3 750's were each amazing in their own right. The sandcast was unrestored and all original, in good shape but plenty of "patina". The two red ones were a K0 and a K1, both restored to 100% perfection, with all parts either rechromed, repainted, polished to absolute perfection, or replaced with NOS. Both look better than any Honda that ever came out of a showroom- but both guys have invested INCREDIBLE bucks in the process. Both showed they were not just trailer queens as both participated in the group ride in the afternoon, a 60 miler through the Santa Inez Valley wine country........a great ride to be sure.
At the banquet the speaker was Jack McCormack, one of the founders of American Honda in 1960. One of his gems was that in 1960 the entire mc industry in the U.S. sold 70,000 units. By the end of the decade the industry sold 1 million two hundred thousand units, and Honda had a 52% share of the huge market they basically created. Amazing. He's 81 and his wife is 82, and both still ride- her on a vintage 550!
This was the first West Coast rally for VJMC, but it was a big success and there should be many more to come.
