Mark Zweig

MZ’s Moto Memories: Harley Sportster Café Racer

Posted by Mark Zweig | Jul 22, 2024 | Legendary Bikes |

Even though I have owned many sportbikes, standards, and classic café racers, I fantasized for years about building a Harley Sportster café racer.

MZ’s Moto Memories: Honda CB550 Four

Posted by Mark Zweig | Jun 10, 2024 | Legendary Bikes, Ride Life |

While visiting my folks in Kirkwood, Missouri one weekend in late Fall of 1979, I impulsively bought myself a slightly used candy blue Honda CB550-4 for about $575. The thing was bone stock and absolutely mint, other than it had some bad aftermarket accessories bolted onto it—including crash bars with highway pegs (never liked either of ‘em on my bikes), an enormous plexiglass windshield (never cared much for those either), higher handlebars, and a high sissy bar with back pad.

MZ’s Moto Memories: Curse of the Green Motorcycle

Posted by Mark Zweig | May 15, 2024 | Legendary Bikes, Ride Life |

Many of us old bike owners have heard about it- the curse of the green motorcycle. If you rode a green motorbike, it was thought that you were more likely to get hurt or killed on it. Minimal secondary research on the topic performed by me hypothesized that green bikes were used in wars, hence their association with death or injury. I was never scared by this supposed “curse,” although maybe I should have been.

MZ’s Moto Memories: Motorcycle Addiction

Posted by Mark Zweig | Feb 14, 2024 | Legendary Bikes |

I will never forget the day a box truck arrived at my house containing a faded turquoise ‘72 Suzuki GT750, an original gold and black ‘72 Yamaha DS7 250 with a rusty syrup-gas filled fuel tank, a blue ‘67ish Benelli/Motobi 125/200/250 (no title—never knew for sure what displacement it was!), a rough looking all-white ‘67 Benelli 250 Scrambler, and ‘75 white and orange RD250 with about 1000 miles on it that was pretty nice but needed some minor work. I also picked up a ‘67 Sears-Allstate Puch 250 Twingle from somewhere about that same time.

MZ’s Moto Memories: 1976 Kawasaki KH500

Posted by Mark Zweig | Jan 17, 2024 | Legendary Bikes, Ride Life |

I don’t remember why I went in there in the first place but I do recall seeing a super low-mile 1976 Kawasaki KH500 on the showroom floor. It was a metallic orange color and didn’t even have 500 or 600 miles on it and looked brand new. They wanted $995 for it. So I worked them down to $895 and bought it.

MZ’s Moto Memories: 1970 Dunstall Norton Commando 750

Posted by Mark Zweig | Dec 12, 2023 | Legendary Bikes |

We finally got around to getting out to the garage to see the bikes. And there, leaning up against the wall in an old rickety garage with no doors on it, was a 1970 Dunstall Norton Commando 750, and behind it, also leaning against the wall, was a ‘78 Ducati Darmah. I asked him what he wanted for them and he hit me at $1000 for the Norton and $2000 for Ducati.

MZ’s Moto Memories: 1967 Honda CB160

Posted by Mark Zweig | Nov 17, 2023 | Legendary Bikes, Ride Life |

Back when I was about 14 years old, I traded my 1972 Jawa 90 back to Don Heida at Heidacycle in Fenton, Missouri, for a black 1967 Honda CB 160, even up. I liked it because it had a bigger engine than my Jawa, as well as an electric start. Part of the deal was that Don had to install a brand new set of “Scrambler XO” high straight side pipes with a pair of “Snuff or Nots” in the end of each pipe, and deliver the bike to my house in Kirkwood, Missouri.

MZ’s Moto Memories: 1972 Kawasaki 750 H2

Posted by Mark Zweig | Oct 23, 2023 | Legendary Bikes |

Bobby had some of his own motorcycles. One of them was a fantastic 1972 Kawasaki H2 750 triple. It was an early H2 with matching frame and engine numbers (I always heard the first four months of production were the fastest H2s and his was one of them). He painted it dark green with Kawasaki lime green stripes. And although it was pretty much all stock otherwise, it did have some black painted expansion chambers on it and high-compression pistons. I was in love with that bike.

MZ’s Moto Memories, Part 5

Posted by Mark Zweig | Sep 13, 2023 | Legendary Bikes, Ride Life |

When I was about 13, I bought myself a brand-new 1972 Jawa “Cross 90” (that’s what it said on its sidecover) from Don Heida at Heidacycle in Fenton, Missouri. It listed for $275, about the cheapest new 90 one could buy at that time, and I paid an extra $20 to get some new Nitto knobbies on it in place of the stock Czechoslovakian rubber that it came with. Total price was $295 out the door. I even still have the bill of sale for it in a box in my garage attic somewhere!