Model	Honda CB400 F Super Sport (NightWing)
Year	1976
Period made	1975 - 1977
Cubic Centimeters	408cc
Bore & Stroke	51,500 x 50mm
Horse Power	37hp @ 8500 rpm
Weight	490 lbs
Top Speed	109 mph

I got my very first motorcycle when I was 15 years old.  I was a boy scout and we were having a rummage sale. We were going around collecting other people's junk to sell. A guy came out from his garage pushing a motorcycle. He said that he had ridden it for many years, but then got out of the habbit and parked it and it had sat for about 5 years. One day he decided he was going to clean it up and get it running again. He got it started and then was cleaning the engine with a degreaser. He left it idling out in his driveway and went inside for a few minutes. When he came back out it was on fire! So he grabbed his fire extinguisher and sprayed it down. He said he had never been able to get it started again and so he figured he burned up the engine.

I asked my Scout Leader how much he was going to try and sell it for at the rummage sale. When he replied $50 I told him to not even bother to take it downto the sale, that I would pay that for it, and just to bring it straight to my house. I brought it home and started working on it. Within an hour I had it running. My dad had driven a motorcycle a couple of times before and he drove us around on it out in our field (we had a 5 acre lot with trails all over it) all that day.

I could tell that it wasn't running quite right, but I knew as much about motorcycle mechanics at the time as I did about cricket! (Nothing!) So I set to work learning. We had an old friend of the family who was an auto mechanic and he came over and helped me out. He and I learned about motorcycles together. We figured out pretty quick that it was only running on 1 cylinder due to clogged carbs. I tore the carbs apart as far as I could find and cleaned each little piece. I put it all back together and it started and ran better, but still not 100%. I loaded the bike into our truck and my mom drove me down to the motorcycle store with it. (I was only 15 and didn't have a license.) The guys at the shop were great! They charged me $20 to sync the carbs and the bike ran like new. Later, it quit running and I hunted down the problem to be the cylinoid and so I found a used one and replaced it. ($100) It seems it had burned when the bike had been on fired -- the only damage from the fire.

So by the time I was done I had literally taken almost every single part off it and cleaned it and it was in great shape. I had spent about $250 and had a great running little bike. I asked one of my brother-in-laws that rode a lot to teach me how to ride. He did, and I spent countless hours riding it around in our field. I got my license at 16 but never went for the motorcycle endorsement so I never went further then the 6 mile loop out in the rural area of our home. I got the bike up to 100 mph and learned how to ride on that motorcycle.

My parents were very against my having a motorcycle from the start and it had been agreed upon that once I had it fixed up I had to sell it. I was able to put it off for a year, but finally they put their foot down, especially once I started really riding it on the roads. I ended up selling the little motorcycle, but I had managed to put 1,500 miles on it. I sold it for $500 and so I even made a profit on it.

But that was just the beginning of my time on motorcycles.

These are not my actual bike, but pictures of similar models.

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