Jim's Motorcycle Sales in downtown Johnson City Tenn (1209 W. Main Street), is doing something that I have never heard of before, displaying a different vintage motorcycle each week for the entire year of 2011! That is just unheard of. I was able to catch the owner, Ken Hayes, last week and talk to him a for a bit. Ken and his family have a long history of not only selling bikes, but racing everything from flat track, to enduros, and even roadracing at Daytona and Laconia. His collection is going to be something to see.
The bike on display last week was an immaculate 1971 Kawasaki 500 Triple, that shows 1,059 original miles on the odometer. Besides just showing the bike in the "Classic Corner", Ken has some info about the bike. For this one he had a copy of some of the original literature on the bike, showing that it made a whopping 60Hp @ 8,000 rpm (still very respectable for 500cc's) and sold new for $995. Ken told me, "It's the BS behind these old bikes that makes them interesting", and I have to agree. It's always fun to hear who bought it, where they found it, and who previously owned it. When I asked if he bought the bike new he said no. "This bike sat in the guys living room for 25 years before I got it", Ken said.
If you are in Johnson City, you need to make a trip by Jim's Motorcycle sales just to see what he's showing. A different bike is put out each Monday.
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