H I S T O R Y    P A G E    ...   
                  UPDATING FOR:  (06-19-2025)  

     WELCOME TO THE HISTORY PAGE ... #000
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                  "TENTING TONIGHT, TENTING TONIGHT"
     ... by Walter Kittredge in 1864 ... Ahhhh, I remember when that song came out, it made the top 40 in one week (grin)!  I bet you know the words, or some of them, as well, you young whipper-snapper!   
     Photo (above) sent to us by Alan, #5286 - California
     
     Thumper News #160, our issue for Autumn, is underway.  I just purchased the stamps needed for the upcoming mail-out at the post office yesterday ... to beat the coming rate increase (Yup, every 6 months or so!) ... the mail-out date should be early August. 
     Thanks to all who have sent articles for possible publication in this next issue or to be used on the ThumperGarage (our club's website, I just google FSSNOC.com to get there ... oh, I guess we are here, eh?) 
     I guess that's about it for this page for this week ... come with me to the Event Page ... I read that we have some problems there, so lets go see...  #000  





     


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 ..............from last week's (06-12-25) update:
    "MEMORIES ARE MADE OF THIS" ... FROM 1955
 
   ... LET'S HUMMMM A FEW BARS, SHARE WE?  FROM 1955, I REMEMBER THAT WAS THE YEAR FOR THE FIRST V8 IN A CHEVY, A 265 CU.IN, STILL ONE OF THE BEST LOOKING CARS EVER MADE IF IT IS TWEAKED (HOT-RODDED) JUST RIGHT ... DO YOU AGREE?  BETTER THAN THE REVERED '57?  NOW, THE '58, THAT ONE WAS A ONE OF A KIND, THERE ... DID YOU LIKE IT?  TELL US ABOUT IT:         [email protected]  
 
     HOW ABOUT THE HONDA 90?  I HAD ONE.  NO, I HAD TWO ... SOLD THE SECOND ONE TO MY OLE BUDDY, RICHARD ... WE RODE THE TRAILS AND THE SANDBARS AND THE PASTURES AND THE AREA DIKES AND WE CHASED DOWN MANY A JACKRABBIT ON THOSE 8-HORSEPOWER WONDERS AND HAD A BLAST.  NO FENDERS, NO TURNSIGNALS, NO SIDE OR CENTERSTANDS, WIDE SCRAMBLER HANDLEBARS, A FOUR INCH MEGAPHONE, A 60 TOOTH REAR SPROCKET ... AND, OF COURSE, IT WAS A FOUR-STROKE SINGLE!  A MINI-GOLDSTAR!!!

     THE PHOTO?  IS THAT A HONDA 90?  YES.  YES, IT IS ... BUT NOT THE FAMED S90 AS WE READ ABOUT IN THE ABOVE PARAGRAPH.  THIS ONE WAS THE WORKHORSE OF THE LINE, THE UTILITARIAN SEDAN, IF YOU WILL ... WE HAD ONE AT THE SHOP WHERE I WAS PRIVVY TO GO FOR SIX DAYS A WEEK FOR 30 YEARS ... IT WAS OFTEN THE FIRST BIKE TO BE PUSHED OUTSIDE IN THE MORNING AND IT WAS ROUTINELY THE LAST BIKE TO BE PUSHED IN COME 6PM.  OUR WAS RED, THE ABOVE EXAMPLE IS BLACK, OUR'S HAD A (CHOKE) WINDSHIELD ON IT, THIS ONE DOES NOT, THANKFULLY.  OURS WAS ON STANDBY, WE RODE IT, OUR CUSTOMERS RODE IT, HALF THE TIME WE COULDN'T FIND IT ... BUT BEFORE THE DAY WAS OVER, IT'D SHOW BACK UP. 

     AUTOMATIC CLUTCH (NO LEVER - GAS AND GO), THREE SPEED WITH A HEEL AND TOE SHIFTER.  ENCLOSED CHAIN, YOU CAN SEE IT ON THE LEFT IN THE PIC.  A DOUBLE SEAT THAT COULD EASILY PACK TWO OVER-GROWN GUYS HEADED FOR COFFEE MID-MORNING, ONE WAS USUALLY SMOKING A CIGAR.  AT ANY ONE DAY, IT MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE HAD A DEALER PLATE ON IT, WE RARELY CHECKED TO SEE ... EVEN THE LOCAL CONSTABLE DIDN'T EVER LOOK, NOT THAT WE KNEW ANYWAY.  I'M SURE THAT SOMEONE PUT GAS IN IT FROM TIME TO TIME, BUT STRANGELY ENOUGH, I DON'T RECALL IT EVER BEING ME (GRIN)... 

     THIS UNIT WAS ON DISPLAY AT THE MAY CAR SHOW REFERRED TO ON THE THUMPERGARAGE PAGE ... HOSTED BY THE MCPHERSON AUTO RESTORATION COLLEGE, AND IT IS THE BEST OF THE BEST CAR SHOWS IN THE AREA ... EVERY YEAR!  ONE CAN AND DOES GET LOST IN THE CROWD AND LOST IN THE MOMENT ... LOST IN TIME REALLY.  AN AWESOME SHOW, GO BY YOURSELF SO YOU AREN'T DISTRACTED BY IDLE CONVERSATION, AND, OF COURSE, YOU'LL MEET A THOUSAND OLD FRIENDS WHO ARE DOING THE SAME, YOU SAY "HEY, HOW YOU DOIN' ..." AND YOU'LL BOTH MOVE ON SO AS TO NOT LOSE THE VIBE. 

     ONE OF MOST ENTERTAINING "CLASSES" IN THE SHOW IS TITLED, "STUDENT RIDES" ... RUSTY, DUSTY, BEAT, BANGED, DRUG-OU-OF-A DITCH SOMEWHERE ... THESE THINGS ARE MARVELS OF MECHANICAL RECOVERY AND INNOVATION ... THESE KIDS COME FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD AND DO NOT SUBSCRIBE TO ANY PRE-SET BOOK OF RULES ... ONE MIGHT SEE A MOTORBOAT WITH WHEELS, A DUMPTRUCK WITH SLICKS AND A TURBO, PAINT AND POLISH SEEMS TO BE THE LAST THING THAT THEIR MISERLY STUDENT BANK ACCOUNTS ARE WILLING TO PAY FOR ... AGAIN, RUSTY, DUSTY, ETC ... I LOVE THIS AREA OF THE SHOW!!

     THIS SHOW HAPPENS ON THE FIRST SATURDAY OF MAY ......................... MAY BEE YOU SHOULD COME CHECK IT OUT!

     NOW ... I'M HEADED FOR THE EVENT PAGE, WANNA WALK WITH ME?     


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​       FROM LAST WEEK...  YEAH, LEFT-OVERS ... BUT THEY'VE BEEN IN THE 'FRIDGE, THEY SHOULD BE OKAY ... 

                  TUSK  TUSK ... DOESN'T THAT MEAN "TOO BAD..." OR SUMPTIN LIKE THAT?   WELL, IN THIS CASE ... see below:

     COLOR ... me impressed.  Most tank bags like I've used in past years on past bikes are now either unavailable or the purchase price has escalated to $200/$250 or more ... until I ran across this little gem, the TUSK brand "large" model, still pretty small at 8" wide and 12" long, the "small" is 7" by 11" ... so I went with the big boy, thinking that if it was too much for the somewhat diminutive tank, (Yeah - just two gallon - what were they thinking??) on my new FSSNOCer-inspired (TN#158-#159) "BACKROAD BANGER", the svelte 2024 Kawasaki KLX230SM that you see in the photo above, I would move it over to the KLR650 and order the smaller version.  But, hey ... it fits nice! 
     AND ... it mounts perfectly, using a generous length of nylon strap with click-together latches on both end, very tidy, very nice fit.  The rear, like the front uses two straps, each on attaching to the frame with a minimum of hassle, again ... sweet ... and with a rain-cover, too. 
     AND ... did I say, $104.00 and free freight to my doorway?  Yup!
Riding a bike without a bit of storage is kinda like ... well, for me, no place for my glasses, my water, my phone, my FSSNOC cap, yeah ... important stuff, and for me, that stuff has to be IN FRONT of me, in my field of vision.  Anything in there is too important for me to get where I'm going only to find out it fell off the rear rack at some random point in my ride, was it that railroad track I jumped, that pothole I didn't dodge, where ... 
     YOU ... got your BACKROAD BANGER yet?  Tell us about it?  We'd love to hear from ya... [email protected]   - #000.     

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        ENJOY A LITTLE OF OUR OWN HISTORY ... CHECK IT OUT, RUNS AN HOUR AND MAYBE A BIT MORE, MIGHT TAKE THE PLACE OF SOME BAD TV, EH? - #000
                     A  THUMPER  RIDER'S  PODCAST ... 

                          To view the podcast ...  CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW:
    
                 www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZb4CgjfmEk  

     The podcast above was generated by Janus Motorcycles in Goshen, Indiana.  EP.#1 ... In this podcast, FSSNOC #000 (Jack) is the guest being interviewed by Richard and Grant from JANUS MOTORCYCLES.
     Play/View time is a tick over an hour so some popcorn might be nice, I like the chocolate drizzle kind, btw. Formal wear (FSSNOC club t-shirts, cap, etc...) adds to the mood, but not mandatory.  Contact your friends, invite them in, share as you like.  No cheat sheets, no prompt boards, no prior discussion and no Thumpers hurt in the making of this podcast.
                   574-538-1350   JANUSMOTORCYCLES.COM
                   And, this podcast is for entertainment only...

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