My First Motorcycle (& All The Others) - by Jay Johnson
I bought my first car when I was 15 years old, for $50.00. It was a 1940 Plymouth and I bought it in 1955. My Dad and I rebuilt the engine and it ran well for a year, when I traded up to a 1949 Ford. that's the car I had when I graduated from high school in Seattle. Just before I started college in the fall of 1958, someone drove into it while it was parked, so I had no car for college. That would have been okay, but I had a part-time job in the city and I needed transportation.
For years, I had a secret passion to own a Vespa motor scooter. This now seemed to be the time to explore that dream. I knew I couldn't afford a real motorcycle. Perhaps a used Vespa would be the answer to my transportation needs. I was working between classes in the afternoon and evenings at the parking lots in downtown Seattle. I was the lunch and dinner relief for the lot attendants and needed quick and maneuverable transportation to get me from lot to lot.
One Saturday afternoon, I visited the local Vespa scooter dealer, to see if they had anything I could afford. In addition to a showroom full of new and used scooters, there were six strange little motorcycles over in one corner of the room. They were bigger than a bicycle and smaller than a motorcycle.
The dealer told me they had just arrived and were built in Japan. JAPAN? The only things I'd ever seen imported from Japan were junk jewelry and cheap knock-off watches. I don't remember the price of the little Honda 50, but the figure $125 comes to mind. In any case, it was within my budget, even with the optional windshield, plus it was brand new. I'd rather have a new motorcycle, than a used motor scooter. That's why I bought one of the first Hondas shipped to the USA. How I wish I'd bought stock in the company at the same time.
The little 50cc engine transported me around Seattle for a couple of years, until Honda came out with the "Dream." This was a step up to the much bigger 250cc engine and had more of a motorcycle look. With the Dream, I could ride at highway speeds. I traded up. Later, I owned a BSA and when it stopped running, I stopped riding motorcycles for a while. All these motorcycles that I owned in my late teens and early 20's, were strictly for transportation. It never occurred to me to use the bikes for touring, or recreational purposes. This changed dramatically when I turned 30.
IN the 1970's, I was manager of Radio
Station KTW and KTW-FM in Seattle. One of our air personalities, John
Dayl, sold some commercial advertising time on his radio program to a local
Suzuki Motorcycle dealer. John made a deal with the client to purchase a
750cc Suzuki "Water Buffalo" touring motorcycle. Then he
started organizing rides with listeners to his program, who owned
motorcycles. 
I was invited to go on a couple of rides with a loaner motorcycle. Very soon, I was at the Suzuki dealer making an advertising trade for a new
"Water Buffalo" of my own. This was my first true touring bike
and it served me well for several years. I started organizing camping
tours on motorcycles to the Canadian Rockies National Parks. On alternate
years, I'd lead a tour to Yellowstone Park.
In 1982, I traded up to a new Gold wing. With the larger 1100cc engine, I could pull a trailer and pack my tent and sleeping bag, out of the weather. Through the 1980's, I continued my tours into Canada and explored roads and highways throughout the west, from the Alaska border to Mexico.
In 1989, it was time for a new motorcycle. I still had an abiding fondness for the Suzuki motorcycle. Honda had just introduced the new-look Gold Wing. I thought it looked too much like a Ford Taurus. It was a new design, which is never a smart buy, when you are obtaining a new vehicle. I thought the Suzuki Cavalcade was a much superior motorcycle, even though Suzuki had quietly stopped producing the 1400cc giant. There were still several unsold 1986 models. I found a very nice two-tone blue LXE with all the goodies. I added the factory CB / Stereo / Intercom sound system, a trailer hitch, extra chrome and replaced the factory seat, with a custom made Mier "Day-Long" saddle. A few weeks later, I had my blue beauty pin-stripped. It has been my pride and joy ever since.
One summer afternoon in Vancouver, Canada, I stupidly took my eyes off where I was going. When I looked up, I didn't have enough room to stop. I hit the brakes hard, but still rode my Cavalcade into the back-end of a pick-up truck. It has taken me several months to arrange the rebuilding of my beloved Cavalcade. I finally found a matching two-toned blue 1986 LXE that I bought for parts. The northwest's best Cavalcade mechanic, Rick Gervasi, is rebuilding my machine, using parts from the acquired bike and new parts purchased from Suzuki. The re-born Cavalcade will be back on the roads of the Northwest Exploring the countryside in a few short weeks.
E-Mail Jay Johnson