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We woke up in Emporia Kansas and saw something that
we have yet to see throughout our whole trip. Overcast skies. It was looking like rain but as we rode a short 75 miles to
Topeka, the clouds dissipated and the sun came through. We have been using the Pro Honda Shield Cleaner wipe for our helmet
shields and have had great results. These things are perfect for carrying along on the bike. The hand cleaner and Cleaner
polish work wonderful as well!
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| Ed taking care of his shield with Pro Honda Shield Cleaner |
We rode up to Honda Sport and Mark Riggin was there
to greet us. Mark opened up his shop to us (the store is normally closed on Monday) and was gracious enough to let us do some
service on our bikes. We changed the oil and also replaced the drive chain on each bike. The chain on each bike wore out quite
pre-maturely especially with the nightly lubrication and close attention to proper adjustment. Each chain was stretched a
full link and you could actually see the pin wear on the master links. Mike had talked about hitting a pothole yesterday and
he noticed today that he had a broken spoke. We tied it to prevent any future issues and will try to get a replacement somewhere
down the road. Mark provided the parts and oil but refused any sort of payment from us. This was certainly not expected!
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| Mike checking out the front air pressure |
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| Can't change the oil too much when you're riding in this heat |
Howard Alexander, (Mark and Howard are the co-owners
of Honda Sport) came into the shop and invited Mike and I to join he and Mark to lunch. We had a nice lunch and talked about
the ride and motorcycling in general. We also talked about the local weather in Topeka, which includes Tornadoes on occasion!
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| Howard and Mark opened their doors to us. Great folks at Honda Sport! |
We met Dave who is a technician at the dealership
and has been at working for Mark and Howard for five years as a technician. He and Mike spoke about vintage Hondas and where
to get parts for older bikes. Right up Mikes Alley!
As we got back from lunch, we met up with Mike Spacil,
Honda Sports HRCA Chapter President, who was ready to unload his 1979 CBX to show at the display that the dealership had arranged.
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| Honda Sport's HRCA Chapter Pres. Mike Spacil's CBX |
We left the dealership to get settled into
our hotel and changed. As we returned, we met Bob Brown, the Parts and Accessories Manager at Honda Sport. A bunch of folks
were at the store looking at the vintage motorcycles on display. There were over twenty bikes overall on display.
Many were ridden in and put on display while the owner was visiting. Among the bikes there were two CA77 305 Dreams (one that
is owned by the dealership), Cushman and Allstate Scooters, 1942 BSA M20 Side valve military bike.
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| A great variety of vintage bikes were on hand |
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| The Honda Dream here is owned by the shop and is in process of being restored |
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| This CA77 305 Dream is ridden on a regular basis by its owner |
Also joining the festivities was Darrell Benton
who brought with him his CL77 Scrambler and a Hodaka 125 Wombat.
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| Mike and Darrell Benton posing next to Darrells CL77 |
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| CL77 in great shape! |
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| Hodaka Wombat in like new condition. A rare sight! |
We made a line up of all of the Honda 305 models.
Something that would be very rare to find anywhere today. The Honda 305 family consisted of the CL (Scrambler), CB (SuperHawk)and
CA (Dream).
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| You won't see this line up very often. The complete Honda 305 series lined up! |
There was a live radio Broadcast by a popular local
radio station KDVV (V100). We were both interviewed by JC, the radio stations morning DJ.
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| Mike in an interview with morning DJ JC |
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| Ed ready to be introduced to the Radio world! |
Also coming to the store, were two television
stations. They came to do a story on our ride across the country to celebrate 45 years of American Honda history. I discussed
our ride with a reporter from the local NBC affiliate (channel 27) and we were both interviewed by a local CBS affiliate
television station (channel 13) answering questions about our ride and Honda's 45 year history.
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| "This is Mike Krzemien, reporting live from channel 13" |
Later that evening, we saw both televison stations
air the interviews and they did short clips on the ride we are taking in celebration of Honda's 45 years in the United States.
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| We made the big time in Topeka... |
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| ....on not one.... |
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| but TWO television stations! |
There was a very good turnout at the dealership
for the occasion. Mike and I talked Honda history, our ride and HRCA activities with a number of attendees. Many of the store’s
HRCA chapter will be attending the Honda Hoot as well! We also handed out goodies to many folks that made it to the affair.
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| A group of folks talking it up about riding |
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| Mike telling a story about our ride |
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| Store owner mark Riggin talking to one of the television folks |
Mike and I had a great time during our visit with
the folks at Honda Sport and the hospitality was overwhelming! We have madea slight change to the old Honda saying to... "You
meet the nicest people at a Honda dealer"
Our 75-mile ride today takes us to an accumulated
mileage of exactly 2100.
Tomorrow we head for another fairly short ride to
Blue Springs Missouri where we will pay a visit with Rich Woten at Dells Honda.
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