If Honda made a retro flat tracker style bike.

[buls4evr]

Don't hold your breath waiting for anything knew to hit these shores. American motorcycling has become stale.

  You know it is a terrible problem for mfgrs. They can't sell bikes so R&D is greatly reduced. If no R&D then nothing new. In the spirit of early flattracking ALL the bikes were a road bike to start with. Everyone built their own and we are back to that again. If you expect to build one today I would start with a Triumph Thruxton then go to Storz catalog and look for a seat ,bars,tank maybe and a n Acerbis #plate headlight combo. Then you get the newer tech and the old look with a pretty good performance package for the street.You have to be creative.

[pcrdude]

Honda brought this over in 83 - 84, it showed promise but Americans wanted their V twins bigger and badder.  Our loss.

I had that bike but in Candy Apple Red.  Sold it after college because I was broke.  It was a really fun bike, and a good transition from riding on dirt to riding on the street.  I wish I still had it.  It was sort of like a 500cc V-Twin Nighthawk.

Edited to add that it weighed in at 396 pounds dry.
http://www.cyclechaos.com/wiki/Honda_VT500

[X1Glider]

Seems like I should have kept this then.  Dual carbed too.  But man, kick starting it was a bitch after falling over when you were exhausted from 4 hours of enduro riding.  I should have kept it for the street, looking back.  Flat tracker sounds great.

[JSharp]

I had an Ascot FT500 single.  That bike was a lot of fun.

Neat bike.

I worked at a Honda/Kawasaki dealer when those first appeared. Everyone at the shop loved it. Unfortunately the customers didn't. We only got one and IIRC we ended up trading it to another dealer in exchange for something else.

[spd2918]

Cool bike; shows what talented people can create.

I love the look of flat black bikes, but I fear they are invisible to dullard soccer moms and teenage texters.


I'd love me a GB500:

[Rincewind]

Cool bike; shows what talented people can create.

I love the look of flat black bikes, but I fear they are invisible to dullard soccer moms and teenage texters.


I'd love me a GB500:

   I occasionally look up the values on the GB500's, which usually seem pretty high (cult bike, limited quantities).  That said, there's one on ebay bidding now...  

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda-GB-500-TOURIST-TROPHY-1990-HONDA-GB500-TT-/250965462662?pt=US_motorcycles&hash=item3a6eb50e86#v4-40

[Hardware]

Ummm...WTF is that leaned up against the fence?  A dead...something?

[bomber]

GB500s are aces -- so, too, are Yamaha SR500s . . .  you can play toss and catch all day long, have the time of your life, burn almost no gas, and tires last damn near all summer!

[BashamR6S]

Thats a very cool little bike, wish we could see something like this in the near future.....

Bash

[Meemuh]

Ummm...WTF is that leaned up against the fence?  A dead...something?

Looks like dead horse wearing a hat drinking a beer.  Is that odd?

[mugwump58]

This could just as well have gone on CL Gold

[Uncle Leo]

I didn't realize the twin was a shaft drive. I guess that precluded it from flat-tracking.

[RodeRash]

I built my own years ago.  
Trackmaster built a frame for me with a kickstand.   I added the rest.
XS-650 motor bored to 750 cc.   Big valves, cam, carbs etc.  The motor was a clone of what was being raced on the dirt tracks at that time.

The State of Colorado issued a vin number and a title.
I've NEVER had a bike that vibrated like that thing.     It was a blast to ride on dirt roads.
It was a quick handling bike on tight paved roads, but the frame and the forks flexed quite a bit.

Sorry for the poor quality pic.   I had to scan it from an old picture.

[Uncle Leo]

"I've NEVER had a bike that vibrated like that thing. "

Ahhh, the legendary Twingle !  I had an XS-650 and to this day I know that when I die I'm going straight to heaven because that thing took care of any suffering I'd deserve in purgatory.  I think I still have a credit balance!