The Bikes and the Years Between
If my last post was about the simple joys of an SL70 and my Dad, this one covers the four decades that followed—a period where motorcycles became intertwined with my life, marriage, and eventually, the long pause of caregiving. It all began when I traded my 1962 Chevy II drag racer for a 1974 Honda CB550. That bike wasn’t just transportation; it became the anchor for day trips with my wife, evolved into a stripped-down drag machine when we upgraded to the amazing 1979 CBX, and finally settled into my Dad’s garage in 1988. It waited there for nearly 30 years, while I focused on life’s most important mission, until one day in late 2016, when it finally called me back to the road.
The Swap: A Chevy II for a Honda CB550
The jump from the little SL70 to a street bike happened over a few years and a few different machines, but the one that stuck was the CB550. My 1962 Chevy II was a serious drag racing project, but my focus was shifting. I needed something practical, reliable, and—frankly—something that didn’t require me to trailer it to the track.
After trying to sell the Chevy II for a couple of months, in one swift trade, the roar of a small block Chevy was replaced by the smooth, sophisticated whine of a four-cylinder Honda. The 1974 CB550 was the perfect machine: small enough to be nimble, powerful enough to cruise, and absolutely bulletproof. It wasn’t long before it became a two-up bike. Once my wife and I were married, the CB550 was our favorite way to see the world—or at least, the scenic corners of Ohio. We spent those early years on day trips, exploring backroads, and enjoying the freedom that only a motorcycle offers. The CB550 was the start of our life together on two wheels, and it cemented the bike’s place as a core piece of our history.
The Six-Cylinder Upgrade and the Quarter Mile (1980 – 1988)
Around 1980, we decided it was time to upgrade. We brought home the legendary 1979 Honda CBX. If the CB550 was smooth, the CBX was a velvet hammer—a six-cylinder beast that was a masterpiece of engineering. That bike expanded our horizons dramatically. My wife and I rode it across Ohio and into neighboring states, exploring with a level of power and comfort the 550 just couldn’t match.
But the CB550 wasn’t retired; it was promoted. With the CBX handling street duties, the CB550 became my dedicated drag racer. This gave the bike a whole new life, screaming down the strip and trading its touring panniers for a slick tire and quick times. It kept the excitement and competition alive for a few more years.
However, as life does, it shifted again. We started having children, and the priorities changed. Our big rides on the CBX became less and less frequent. By 1988, with my wife’s health problems beginning to emerge, the road was calling less than the family needed us at home.
That fall, when I put the bikes away in my Dad’s garage, I had no idea that it would be years before I got them out again.
The Long Hiatus: From Rider to Caregiver (1988 – 2016)
The year 1988 marked the beginning of a period far more significant than any motorcycle journey. The bikes, carefully tucked into my Dad’s garage, waited patiently for a call that wouldn’t come for nearly three decades. My wife’s health issues progressed, and I transitioned fully into the role of her primary caregiver. For the next 28 years, my focus narrowed entirely to her well-being.
There were no weekend rides, no trips to the track, and honestly, little time to even think about the smell of old gasoline and oil. The bikes were safe, and that was all that mattered. The two-wheeled adventures of our youth were replaced by the daily, intimate, and often exhausting realities of caring for the person you love most. It was an honor, a challenge, and the central purpose of my life during those years. The world outside the home, including those dust-covered Hondas, simply faded into the background.
In 2016, after a long and courageous battle, my wife passed away. The grief was immense, but as the months passed, I realized I needed a new focus, a way to honor our past while stepping toward a future. About six months after her passing, my thoughts drifted back to that quiet corner of my Dad’s garage, where the CB550 was waiting.
The CB550 Calls You Home (The New Beginning)
I finally made the trip back to Dad’s garage. It was like stepping into a time capsule. Both the CBX and the CB550 were exactly where I’d left them, now covered in the dust of nearly three decades. Seeing the CB550 again—the bike that started my wife’s and my two-wheeled adventures, the one I had last used to blast down a drag strip—felt right. It felt like the perfect bridge back.
The CBX, with its complexity and weight, felt too big for the first step. The CB550, though, was a project I could handle. It represented a manageable challenge and a tangible link to a happier past. It was a restoration, but also a form of therapy. The idea wasn’t just to fix an old machine, but to reconnect with a part of myself that had been on standby for twenty-eight years.
And so, at the end of January 2017, I pulled the CB550 out of the darkness and into the light. The journey to get it back on the road began immediately, and that is where the current posts on this blog pick up. Stay tuned for the details of that first tear-down and the long road ahead!
