A really cool barn find.

[Propdave]

Wonderful post. Thanks for sharing Chip.

 

[Specracer]

Whhhat??? You have to love AZ. That bike looks brand new still. Leave something outside in MA for 15 years?? Looks a little different....

Congrats on

 

[timcantwell]

That’s awesome. My son Garrett’s first bike was the same Honda Z50. Last year he found another just like his old one and restored it himself. He takes great pleasure in at least having a twin to his actual bike sitting in his garage.

 

[Brombear]

Great story and project Chip,

good luck finding the necessary parts and getting it back to its glory. Looking forward to updates.

Matthias

 

[Button]

Whhhat??? You have to love AZ. That bike looks brand new still. Leave something outside in MA for 15 years?? Looks a little different....

Congrats on

That's how I felt too! Leave something out in the weeds in MN and it's going to take A LOT of work to bring it back.

Chip, what a cool story. Have fun rehabbing the old bike.

 

[ChipBeck]

Whhhat??? You have to love AZ. That bike looks brand new still. Leave something outside in MA for 15 years?? Looks a little different....

Yeah I guess it only stayed in restorable shape because it’s out here. Most of the aviation bone yards as well as the Air Force decommissioned plane storage is here in Arizona. 350 days of sunshine a year, very little rain, and low humidity is a good environment for machines left outside. The extreme heat causes problems but wet conditions are far worse. The bike has a little rust but I’ll glass bead it clean before painting.

Chip

 

[PeteK]

Great story. Got me a little choked up.

 

[Awsum GT]

Very cool Chip...

 

[Special K]

Sooo cool Chip! As you can see, I’m a sucker for nostalgia too. I looked long and hard to find two of the 50s in the pic below so my kids could have the same experiences I had growing up. To me, the new ones “just ain’t the same!” Let me know if you need a pic or are having trouble finding any parts, I’ve been working on these things since I was 10.

Also here’s a pic of my Trial 250 that I tucked away in a barn back in the early nineties only to rediscover it almost 30 years later! I made my own barnfind!!

 

[Special K]

I also wanted to share this: My friend’s house. This is upstairs in a second floor bedroom! It goes to show you, us GT folks aren’t the only eccentric people!

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[Apollo]

I also wanted to share this: My friend’s house. This is upstairs in a second floor bedroom! It goes to show you, us GT folks aren’t the only eccentric people!

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Very cool Kevin. Your friend's wife must be very understanding. :wink

 

[Special K]

Very cool Kevin. Your friend's wife must be very understanding. :wink

There is no wife, I wonder why...


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[Apollo]

There is no wife, I wonder why...


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:lol

 

[Brombear]

Is this guy making a living from these ? I wonder since they all look identical.

 

[Special K]

Is this guy making a living from these ? I wonder since they all look identical.

They’re 1986 Christmas Specials, only two allocations per dealer, one year only... They’re the GTs of Honda 50s. Since they were not until recently considered collectible, most were thoroughly used and abused. This is probably the largest collection of them in the world.


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[Brombear]

Thanks for explanation.

 

[FGT899]

Great story Chip, I really enjoyed this one. What are the odds?! So Cool.

 

[MJSFRX]

How cool. Keep us posted on the progress Chip.

 

[STORMCAT]

Gentlemen,

After work today I started tearing down the little Z50. First I photographed every detail of the bike so I’ll know how to reassemble it. Then I power washed away a decade of dirt, oil, and spiderwebs before removing the fenders and seat. It’s going to take a while to assess everything it needs and assemble the necessary parts, some of which are no longer available so I’ll need to search eBay and other sites. I really enjoy projects like this. Charley is 6000 miles away in Uruguay but this brings him back home a bit.

Chip

Great story. !!. she actually looks pretty good all cleaned up.. !!

 

[STORMCAT]

There is no wife, I wonder why...


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Hey ,, I can relate to that !! :biggrin