CL 350 emerges from hibernation



Last weekend, I rode up to my brother and sister-in-laws house in Haddam, Ct. for the annual 'Raising of the Bikes'. First, I had to install my freshly relined front brake (relined by Brian Henderson at Two Wheel Specialist, 2733 Cassburn Rd., Van Kleek Hill, Ontario, Canada, K0B 1R0, (613)678-3364. Brian is an old sparring partner from VRRA racing in Canada.), a new Avon 3.00 X 19" Speedmaster front tire, a re-bushed speedometer drive, a new headlight rim, a new slide with a different cut away, and a new drain pipe from the exhaust rocker box to the sump of my '53 Moto Guzzi Airone Sport. I got this done Sat. and Sun. morn, Amy and I started pulling the bikes out of the basement (Douglas had to work).

Amy and the 175 Jawa

As we were finishing up, Bill Burke arrived with the '56 NSU Max Spezial he had recently picked up from refurbishment at Pete Talabach's Mohawk Garage, and his '56 Moto Guzzi Airone Sport. Shortly after that, Dale Hoyt arrived of his CB160 Honda. And then, local motorcycle legend, Harold Dean arrived on his 750 BMW (at age 82, Harold can ride anything he wants). Bill and I rode his NSU up and down the road, racing his dog Omar, and it seemed good. But, as the registration had expired and still needed to be broken in, Bill elected to ride his Airone.After gassing and oiling up, we decided to ride to Colchester for lunch a Harry's. Amy rode her CBized Cl 350 Honda. The fine weather really had the bikes out and every Harley in eastern Ct. seemed to be at Harry's. After a clam belly roll and an idle adjustment we headed off, dead reckoning in a north westerly direction. Some how, I was elected group leader and received much derision for making a couple of poor judgement calls and riding down some cul-de-sacs, though no one volunteered to take over the lead. Such is the burden of the Pathfinder, a burden I've learned to accept through my life.

L to R: me, Amy Roper, and Dale Hoyt

L to R: CB160, 200 DS Bridgestone, 175 HS Bridgestone, CL 350, '77 Moto Guzzi LeMans, '53 Moto Guzzi Airone Sport, Jawa 175, '56 Airone Sport, '56 NSU Spezial

Bill Burke photo

We did find some really nice roads, too, and when we started over the bridge crossing the Ct. River at Portland, I saw a sign saying 70 degrees at 4:03pm on 18 March. Remarkable, if a bit ominous. Dale and Harold headed for their respective homes from Middletown, and Bill, Amy and I took the hard way back to Haddam. 128KM total on a delightful late, late, late winter day, with that wonderful combination of warm weather, but no leaves on the

trees so one can see great distances and around corners. My bike is now shaken down for the USCRA's Spring Giro 5/6 May, in western Ma.

'53 Airone Sport after the days ride