"You meet the nicest people on a Honda."

Probably one on the most unforgettable lines in the history of advertising. 

Corona 19... these tourist traps may be idle for several months yet.

The entire Japanese take over of the motorcycle industry World Wide was underway... certainly in the process of cracking the door in.  I had my first Honda, a Super/Sports 90 shortly after this phrase had taken the USA by storm.

Best overheard tourist question... " Is Prince Edward Island surrounded by water.?"

 Mine was chrome and black, it was 2 years old when my parents bought it for me so I could get around working in my spare time.  Of course... in my spare time I did enough of that to look good but as the months and years passed... the bike became so much more than a mule to me.

Imagine seeing the numbers finally stopping here!

It was my own rocket shot to the moon!  Yup that little horizontal 4 speed manually operated/shifting mean machine was a call to Freedom for me. 

I added a couple of bumper stickers to each side of the tank, one proclaiming we should   

                 "Cure virginity and the other... advocating the banning of the bra!" 

                          Hey, what did you expect from a 13 year old kid?

I'm a lot older and wiser now I like to think, but in many ways that bike and the hundreds since, launched my career of riding to the heavens.  I would go as far as saying that riding saved my life.  Remember it was the "swinging 60's" and drugs were so rampant if not as in your eye as it is today.

I went two years to a High school with a population of 1800 or more kids.  When many of my school mates were getting drunk, shooting/smoking up and generally tossing the dice with their lives every weekend... my bikes became time machines by which I got escaped from that scene.  Many a Monday we learned that some one died in a car crash, drunk or otherwise intoxicated.


Today during these Co-vid 19 days, where social distancing is the current buzz word, it's almost like it was in 1968 for me.  Back then I would ride my Honda to Wabamun Lake or Elk Island National park or Jasper Banff and then Vancouver and in '75 right across Canada.  And it hasn't stopped.

A couple of days ago, enjoying the warmth of s PEI spring day, I was on the road again.

Repsol HONDA

Riding my Piaggio MP3, one of the most enjoyable machines  to take up a corner in my garage enjoying the peace and quiet, I had stopped over in New Glasgow taking in the sunshine overlooking the river, I came upon the only other machine in the Jam factory parking lot, a parked  Honda Repsol edition of a CBR 600.



Gazing across the gardens I saw who was no doubt it's owner judging by the helmet in hand and decided on a chat before moving on.

Low and behold the rider wasn't a young man, but a young woman!

Being one of the early advocates of women riding, no doubt nurtured by my Rider training days in the mid 70 and then again the 80's we had a lovely little chat.  Nikki... was certainly one of those people that Honda referred to, You could have transplanted her to  '64 other than the fact that she hadn't yet been born!

I remember well sending in advertising featuring women as riders to one of the Majors... We were going over my ads and he was telling me that the reason given for discounting about 60% of the handful he had in from of him was because those ads had featured women.  I pointed out to them that the women I had used in those ads were actually riders and graduates of the National program for which I was a Chief Instructor, and they were in deed... riders.

His last word to me was... "They're rejected because women don't ride."  Period.

My reply, I remember it well in our conversation was... "Yeah... well they're going to!"


Can you imaging such a thing today?


                                      I asked her name, she replied Nikki.

I didn't say anything, but I was smiling a mile wide.  Her name is Nikki and she is riding a Honda.

 Fast replay to the swinging '60.

You see, Nikki Rogers was in grade 8 while I was still in grade 6.

 She was in Junior high, while I was ending my days in Elementary school.

 Nikki "taught me how to "kiss"






I taught her how to ride.