The Sad $300 Motorcycle Story.

Over the summer, I was talking to a neighbor when the subject of motorcycles came up. He had mentioned that when he was in college in Maryland he had an early 80's Yamaha Seca that he used for commuting and basically as his only vehicle. The Seca was also used to commute into Washington D.C. everyday after he graduated, battling all that D.C. traffic. After marriage, the Yam was given to his father-in-law, saw some time in Alaska, slammed into the pavement at one point, was painted grey and then moved to the south. My neighbor reacquired the Yam after his father-in-law bought another bike and it promptly sat in the garage. He made a few half hearted attempts to resurrect the bike, buying some parts and cleaning it, but ultimately gave up and the Seca sat. He also said he was just looking to get it out of his garage. Wait, did I hear that right? Get it out of the garage? Yes, if only he could find some place for it to go. Well sir, I am your man! There's nothing I have a bigger weakness for than a down-on-it's-luck bike with an interesting story.

We went over to look at it and yes, it was rough and no, it doesn't run. Plus, there's no battery. He said he just wants it gone and I could take it for free. While I never have a problem with free stuff, I couldn't take the bike for free. I gave him $300 and the bike was mine. We pushed the bike up his driveway, down the street and then up my driveway and then I passed out. Not really, but I felt like I was going to.

This bike started out as a blue 1982 Yamaha XJ650RJ Seca. On doing some research, I found that this model was included in Yamaha's US line up for one year. It was replaced by the 650 turbo Seca. The Seca was designed with Europe in mind, not cruiser-mad America where we got the Maxim series. Aside from a few minor details, it is mechanically identical to the 650 Maxim. It seems that motorcycle journalists riding the Euro Seca loved it and convinced Yamaha to sell it here. It features a 653cc Air-cooled four with a claimed 71hp, five-speed gearbox and shaft drive. There's also twin discs up front and a drum in the back. The headlight is a monstrous eight inches. The wheels on the old Mini's were only 10 inches. I'm just happy it's round, before Japan discovered the square headlight. It's sport intent is evident in the low handlebar and the semi-rear set pegs.

Two features really stand out in my mind. One is the shaft drive. I'm loving the fact that I don't have to lube a chain, it's just one more maintenance item to put off or forget about. The other is the huge tank. We're talking five gallons plus reserve, here.

Once it was in my garage, I could really look at the machine and see what I am in for. It has a few blemishes, some scratches from the aforementioned pavement contact, an ugly exhaust and grey paint. Why grey? Grey just isn't motorcycle color. Motorcycles should have bright, fast colors or mean, menacing black. Anyway, there is a lot to do on it plus it still doesn't run, the front brakes don't work and the kickstand mount was lopped off to fit the hideous exhaust, so it's center stand only. All in all, I got a good deal, Right? Right?

Three good hockey games in three days.

The first three days of the past week saw three good games unfold. There were two excellent wins and a disappointing but entertaining loss to a hated rival. It's games like these that reaffirm my love for hockey and why it is one of the most exciting sports on earth.

The week started off with Monday night's game between the Detroit Red Wings and the Dallas Stars. This was one of the best games I have seen in a while, not only because Detroit lost, but because Dallas came from behind all night to beat Detroit in overtime. I never had any ill-will toward Detroit and actually some of my favorite players, like Steve Yzerman and Paul Coffey, played for Detroit. My hatred for them began when they beat the Pens in last year's Stanley Cup Final. Now, I love to watch them lose.

Dallas was down by two goals mid way through the first period when Nicklas Grossman scored to cut Detroit's lead in half. Dallas' one goal deficit lasted all of 1:42. Marian Hossa beat Marty Turco on the power play to bring Detroit's lead back to two goals. 52 seconds into the second period Dallas again cut the lead in half with a goal by Stephane Robidas and tied it 15 minutes later thanks to Mark Parrish. Detroit got the lead back early in the third and both teams had numerous chances to score but Turco and Chris Osgood made save after dramatic save. Dallas was on the power play thanks to a Brett Lebda hold and promptly scored to again tie it with Detroit. In the ensuing overtime, Osgood was a mile and a half out of position and Dallas d-man Trevor Daley had a wide open 4x6 yawning at him. Needless to say, Daley poked the puck in and Dallas won.

Tuesday, the Penguins went to the most unholy place on Earth: the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. Philadelphia, home to the liberty bell, Rocky and organist-led "Crosby sucks" chants. Due to the Pens being in a seemingly unshakable funk and the Flyers surging, this game had only two possible outcomes. The Pens could tighten up their boot straps and take it to the Flyers or Philly would chase the Pens out of town with a lopsided score. Thankfully, the Pens pulled themselves together for at least one night and soundly beat the Flyers.

The Flyers scored first on a fluke goal that Fleury misplayed and was easily popped in the net by Mike Knuble. The rest of the game belonged to Pittsburgh. The Pens scored four straight goals, one in the first period by Tyler Kennedy and three in the second from Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal and Matt Cooke. The pens effectively played the trap, the same one that, surprise, took them to the finals, clogging the neutral zone and making life difficult for the Flyers. Pittsburgh also got two big momentum pushes courtesy of Eric Godard and Paul Bissonnette. Godard took on Flyers punching bag Riley Cote, who looks like a zombie, and Bissonnette danced with Arron Asham. The Flyers scored midway through the third with Joffery Lupul beating Fleury.

This was a good win for the Pens. They needed to come out strong against their main rivals and show they can still play hockey. Hopefully they could carry this momentum into their next game...

On Wednesday, the Pens hosted the resurgent Washington Capitals. The Caps were in the midst of a three game losing streak and were looking to snap that streak. The Pens, mired in a slump of their own, were looking to string a set of wins together for the first time since November.

The Pens came out strong, utilizing the system that worked so well against the Flyers on Tuesday. The Pens were able to get a power play which developed into a 5-on-3 advantage. With the first penalty expired, Evgeni Malkin was able to beat Caps goalie Jose Theodore and give the Pens the lead. The Pens and the Caps traded goals for second period. It all came crashing down for the Penguins when Alex Ovechkin scored in the third. The Caps just dominated in every area. Ryan Whitney managed to tie it for Pittsburgh but Washington rebounded and scored three unanswered goals in the third. To add insult to, um, injury, the Pens lost Max Talbot to an undisclosed injury, Rob Scuderi took a puck to the forehead and Sidney Crosby left with a painful injury to his lower body.

While this was a disappointing loss, it was a very entertaining game to watch. It was any teams game until the third when the Caps exploded. It was an acceptable loss in my mind because Pittsburgh worked hard by were felled by some awful breaks. Losing one of the leagues leading scorers and one of your best d-men hurts. I would take this loss over any one of the mailed in losses from last month.

One of my favorite motorcycles.

Since I can't go for a ride because it's 18 degrees outside and I can't talk about the Pens without getting frustrated, I'll talk about one of my favorite motorcycles. Ever since I saw Mad Max for the first time I have been enamored with the Kawasaki Z1 900. I adore the big air-cooled fours from japan, but the Z1 is the king for me. I also have it out for the Z1's successors, the KZ1000 and especially the Z1-R.


I love everything about the styling of this machine, even the comically large turn signals. It is easily the best looking of the classic fours from Japan, just barely edging out the Suzuki GS1000S. The chrome gauge covers and the polished, stainless-steel fenders are beautifully gleaming bits that catch the eye. They perfectly compliment the curvaceous tank and the cafe racer-esque tail section. The upswept exhaust, mimicking the Honda CB750's, give the machine race bike looks and the image of power. The centerpiece of all this is the drivetrain, a massive chunk of polished aluminum. There are many places on this machine to rest the eyes, a very important place is the badge on the side covers. This badge references the 900cc's and twin cams resting between the riders thighs.

The Honda CB750 may have stunned the motorcycling world in 1969 but in 1973, Kawasaki delivered a crushing blow. The Z1 was bigger, heavier(by 26 pounds) and much faster than the CB750. The Z1 sported 80hp compared to the Honda's 67hp and decimated the Honda's 118mph top speed by 13mph, screaming to 131mph. The Z1 also came equipped with a twin cam head and an indestructible roller bearing crankshaft. The Honda made do with a single cam and a plain bearing crank. All of this offensive firepower didn't come without a few concessions. The frame was spindly and prone to causing weaves and head shake at high speed. The brakes were also merely a suggestion, doing what they could to stop this 544lb freight train. It's a good thing that most of the Z1's came with a place to mount an extra caliper and rotor.

While this machine was not without its warts, there will always be a place in heart for it. It's combination of speed, style and history attract me like few other things. The sound of that air-cooled four screaming at 9,000rpm is one of the greatest sounds produced by an internal combustion engine. I had the chance to buy a rough but workable KZ900(same thing, different name) and passed on it. I kick myself everyday for it, too.

I was talking to a couple of old school bikers that I work with about motorcycles and they kept refering to fully-faired sportbikes(Ninja, Daytona, CBR) as "cafe racers". Now, I may be too young to properly comment on this, but I don't consider a Ninja a cafe racer. A cafe racer, to me, is a motorcycle that has started life as a regular, standard motorcycle and then is turned into a cafe racer by either the owner or a dedicated shop. A factory motorcycle can mimic a cafe racer, like the Triumph Thruxton or the Ducati Sport 1000, but won't be a true cafe racer in my mind. It's kind of like "factory custom". Just because the OEM changes a few details, that doesn't make it "custom". Just because a motorcycle comes with rear sets and clip ons, that doesn't make it a cafe racer. A cafe racer, like a chopper or a streetfighter, is created after the motorcycle has left the factory not by the factory.

Congratulations Mazda!!

Shield your eyes everyone, it's the new Mazda3. I nabbed this picture from Road & Track magazine. Wow, I can't think of another car this ugly. It looks like a smiling fish with a giant black retainer on its top teeth. The rest of the sedan and the hatch version look good, but, ugh, that front end! I realize that daring designs need to grow on some people, the Chris Bangle-designed BMW's come to mind, but I don't know about this.

I think this pretty interesting but ,of course, it's outrageously expensive. I love the idea of the sleek sports car with no windshield and the twin roll hoops behind the occupants heads. You also have to wear a full-face helmet because a bug in your teeth at its 217 mph top speed would be devastating. The body is mostly carbon-fiber and all of those expensive materials that weigh like two ounces. A big downside is that it costs over a million dollars, only 75 will be made and you have to live in Europe. Oh, you also have to own another SLR to qualify. I hate that you have to meet certain criteria in order to be able to purchase this car. Ferrari did this with the Enzo. It's so elitist.

Is Rod Sterling in the house?

The NHL must've added the Twilight Zone as a sponsor for the weekend because there were some strange goings on. Three guys not known for fighting mixed it up and there was a good bout between Krys Barch and Zack Stortini. All that was missing was Ryan Hollweg not being a punching bag.

Sidney Crosby got the ball rolling with surprise attack on Brett McLean, right off the faceoff. Crosby threw the gloves off and before McLean could say "are you serious?", Crosby grabbed him. McLean's jersey was pulled over his head and Sid got a few punches in and wrestled hm around before they fell to the ice and were separated. This all lasted around 10 seconds. Afterward, Crosby was awarded like 20 minutes in penalties. Now, I'm all for the captain sticking up for his teammates and sending a message to the opposing team but I think this was bad form. I think McLean must've said something to Sid to make him that mad and to let frustration take him over like that. The game was all but lost before this and Talbot's preceding fight, why did it take this long to start getting physical?

Alexander Semin was the next to, uh, fight. It started with an Ovechkin hit on Marc Staal at one end and ended with an, um, interesting display of fighting strategy. Staal and Semin wrestled a bit and Staal pulled Semin's jersey completely off. As they were falling, Semin let off a barrage of, err, fists directed at Staal. Really, it looked like Semin was trying to power-slap Staal in an oh-so-feminine fashion. It really was a unique and hysterical display of someone with no idea what they are doing. All that Semin accomplished was getting his, erm, fight on every sports blooper show until the end of time.

Doug Weight had a good showing against a bigger Christian Ehrhoff in the late game. Weight was sticking up for a teammate who received a glove to the face. I guess Dougie missed the elbow Ehrhoff received from the same guy who Weight stuck up for.


Well, the Pens game just started and it's already 1-0 Rangers. I hope I'm wrong but it may be a long night.

The most elegant motorcycle?

Is it just me or is the Moto Guzzi California Vintage the most elegantly styled motorcycle on the market today? Everything about it shouts graceful simplicity. It is a nice break from the over-styled tough guy image that most cruisers project.

The California blends a nice mixture of black painted parts and chrome. The white pinstripes break up the black on the gas tank and the saddlebags and add a bit of contrast to a mostly black bike. Details abound on this machine. The steel fenders and the spoked wheels scream retro bike, so does the trim around the hard bags and the luggage rack. Also, leave it up to the Italians to design the worlds most gorgeous seat. The two tone black and white seat is just stunning. Chrome is sprinkled around the bike with an artists restraint, adding elegance to dull areas without making the bike gaudy. The pendulum shaped piece between the gauges adds great detail and honestly I see myself staring at that piece and not on the road.

So yes, I absolutely love looking at this machine and would definitely call it living room worthy. Imagine that, decor you can ride! Try doing that with a curio or a bookcase. The only thing that bothers me is the windscreen. I know they block some of the wind and make touring easier but they look so out of place. The windscreen and the foglights scream CHiPS. Well, if the guys at Moto Guzzi are reading this(sure...), e-mail me and I'll tell you where to drop mine off. I'm thinking long term test...









On a related motorcycle note, Terminator 2 is on. Whoever the guy is that rode the KZ1000 police bike up the staircase is insane.