Seems there's a lot of motorbike posts in this section, so I thought you guys might get a kick out of this one.
That's my father's 1948 Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
Dad said that was the last year for the springer front end and he always called his bike a "73" (for those who only know the metric system, that's a 1200).
Leather saddle bags and a "buddy seat" rounded out this flat-headed wonder.
Dad used to say all the guys who had bikes used to flip the handle bars over and ride the bikes standing up, sort of like how one would ride an off-road bike these days.
By doing it that way, you were able to rest your weight on your hands, and allow your legs to be the shock absorbers....and at 60 mph!
This is because Dad owned the bike during his tenure in the USAF and while he was stationed in Japan.
During the occupation, Japan was a
slightly different place than it is now.
Back then, all the roads were dirt, uneven and just wide enough for one car.
No softtails until the 50's, so either you got jarred to death, or learned another way to ride the bike.
This is actually my father's second bike, while he was over there.
He told me his first was something he called a "Rico" (Ricoh?).
It was the Japanese version of a '36 Indian and featured a 61 cu.in. engine (1000 cc's).
Anyone here ever heard of a Japanese Rico motorcycle?
I've never run across anyone who has. A few internet search turned up absolutely nothing, too.
Dean
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