About the Owner

I got hooked on motorcycles at a very early age and rode my 26" Western Auto bicycle like it was a Bultaco. Which was pretty hazardous considering those big wheels tended to facilitate wipeouts in the days before BMX. Then miraculously my first opportunity to ride a motorcycle came around when I was fifteen. It was a subterfuge really. I was visiting my aunt and uncle in North Platte, Nebraska. They had a Honda step-through 50. We were approaching lunchtime and my aunt needed something at the store. My uncle, being the lazy fellow he was, asked if I would mind picking up whatever it was. He said I could take the scooter. My jaw should have hit my knees, but I maintained a little teenage composure and said "sure." "You have ridden one of these before, right?" he asked. "Oh yeah," I lied. Ironically, I had driven tractors several years earlier when we lived on a farm so I knew about clutches and gearboxes, but when I hopped on the Honda it took me a while to realize this was a new fangled machine that didn't require that kind of expertise. Plus, it went a whole lot faster. C'mon, a Honda Super Cub IS faster than a tractor. After almost plowing into the oak tree in front of the house I made it to the store and back and the rest is history, at least for me. When we returned to Missouri I started saving up my lawn mowing money and soon purchased my first motorcycle. It was a used Honda 50, but this was no friggin' scooter, it was a midnight black, 4-speed, 1965 Honda SPORT 50!

I was one of six kids in a family that didn't have a lot of loose change lying around so everything I could call my own really was, since I worked for the money that bought it. Hence, the only regular transportation I had in high school was my trusty Honda. So, I rode it or walked. I hated walking, and I vowed I would never get on a bicycle again after riding a motorcycle, so the Honda and I went to secondary school almost every day in all kinds of weather. I did get to drive my family's beat up 1954 six banger, three on the tree, 4-door Plymouth sedan once in a while, but an older brother and sister typically took precedence. So, it was me and the 50 almost all of the time. Ever go parking on a motorcycle? C'mon, you know what I mean. I did, but that's another story...coming up soon. Around my Sophomore year, the mother of a pampered upper classmate bought her baby boy a brand new, blue 1965 Honda 305 Superhawk with those drag bars. I gotta say...when I first laid my eyes on that rolling work of art I would have given up sex right there to have one. Of course I wasn't getting any at the time so it was a worthless wager. That bike embedded in my brain like a first kiss. But, the latter proved my eventual downfall because it turned out the kiss was easier to get and it led to other things that led to getting married at 18. My Honda 50 sold for chump change, but enough for the down payment on a '59 Ford with no reverse and a life devoid of motorcycles for a few years.

I was a resourceful dude, no doubt due to my hard-scrabble upbringing, eventually made something of myself and bought a few motorcycles over the years (never a bagger, and never a windshield). I typically went for what was new at the time, rode a lot of dirt and bar hoppers. Then I went for several years with no bikes (what was I thinking!) before I realized my mistake. By then I had the right wife who liked riding and I plunged into building unique bikes rather than buying off the showroom floor. After two award winning custom chopper projects I was looking for parts on Craig's List and this epiphany hit like out of the blue...wonder if there are any old 305 Superhawks out there? Yeah, you got it...my search brought up the poor, beat up wretch this website is all about. It said, "Buy Me, Buy Me!" So I did for $350. It was really an emotional decision because I didn't even ask much about the bike. When I got it home and started the disassembling process I realized the numbers matched and it was pretty complete. That was enough to get me motivated and spend the winter as a man possessed getting that Hawk flying again in style. My marriage fell apart...just kidding, my wife actually thought it was cute, that's why I married her;) This project took me back to those years when I lusted after Gary's blue 305 Superhawk. Yeah Gary, if you're still out there...it took a while, but I finally got my own Superhawk dude; however, I paid for mine (is there a raspberry emoticon?) Plus, it's black (at least it is now), blue is for pussies! Jeez, that's not right. I really like the blue one too. Maybe that's my next project? UPDATE: Guess not, now I'm working on a 1975 Honda Elsinore MT250. You've got it..."I've always wanted one of these bikes!"