Nev asked a great question on a thread about my reed conversion development, and I thought it would be cool to see how others got into the sport and into triples.
And I haven't heard much on Nev's very long racing/tuning career and why he got into it, I hope you give us some history Nev!
I have told my story many times through the years, but there are always new guys on the board, so I will do a "refresh".
I got into triples in 1978 (I was 21) when some guys I was working with at Holloman AFB (a few miles outside Alamagordo NM) decided they wanted to get motorcycles for the 140 mile round trip to Las Cruces where we lived. So we went into Alamagordo to check out the used bikes. The first shop was a Honda shop, so we stopped their first. I didn't care about the Honda's but you never know what used bikes they would have. Looking through the row of used bikes, I saw a dark candy green bike with a sleek tank, I knew what it was right away! Taking a closer look, it was a very cherry 1973 H1.
![Thumbup :thumbup:](./images/smilies/icon_thumbup.gif)
They wanted 600.00 which I thought was a good deal, so I bought it.
As with any kind of vehicle it didn't take long before I wanted to make it faster and change the looks. (I hate stock....lol) So the usual upgrades, chambers, pods and H2 carbs. That worked for a while, but I wanted more! I got a hold of the Denco porting specs , went way overboard, and I pretty much made her useless as a rider, and quickly got tired of her, she was sold.
Off into 4 stroke land I went, but never forgetting the simplicity and power of the triple. My buddy's big brother had an RD and it had reed valves and a big power spread, so I knew there was a way to make a bunch of hp and have it still rid-able. That had to be the reed valves.
Life and work took me all over the country, so no real time to have a motorcycle. Until 1994, I found a 1975 H1 for 200.00 that was all there but partially taken apart. It didn't take much to get her going, And that rekindled my triple fascination, and my quest to convert a triple to reed valves......
![Mr. Green :mrgreen:](./images/smilies/icon_mrgreen.gif)