Looking around on the 'net I see so much activity in the vintage realm. It's awesome and inspiring. I have taken to watching Harley-Davidson Panhead motor rebuild YouTube videos. Yeah, Harleys! Not that I'm drawn toward those bikes. For me they're like coffee: almost always smells good but never tastes as good as it smells. Old FLHs and the like are beautiful pieces of art, iconic, even mesmerizing in their mechanical simplicity, their graceful crafting. But they're not my cup of tea for actually riding. The videos of working on factory, stock, almost 80 year old American motorcycles are however captivating, fascinating! So much devotion, attention, and passion! These guys are really connected to their bikes emotionally. There is nothing like this in the 1970s Honda four fraternity. Why is that? Why is there no love for the SOHC CB350 Four and CB550 Four and the CB750? Sure, there are communities devoted to them, either exclusively or as part of an interest in old bikes in general. But they're gravely disappointing. Bad practices abound, opinions are exchanged like gunfire, and the sad ethos of the disposable motorcycle permeates all of it. It's so unlike Mike's Garage and Wheels Through Time, to name just a couple examples of vintage, factory H-D love.

Disposability may in fact be the answer. The Harleys are worth a fortune! The Hondas a pittance by comparison. Too many vintage Honda owners reveal this perspective when they compare the cost of proper maintenance with their machines' purchase price, and make unfortunate maintenance decisions accordingly. Some don't treat their bikes this way, but many do. There isn't that affection, that caress, that anticipation of the ride that follows each faithful maintenance adjustment that I see in the Panhead crowd. It almost makes me want to own one! It's so engaging!

I have mused before on this deficit of proper maintenance that characterizes SOHC Honda riders. I fear that it won't be until the last one of these bikes crumbles into dust that we'll actually see them loved. Why?