The joke was on me...

BACK in the day, when I was a young man in the M/C business, it was my pleasure to teach the National CSC* learn to ride, program, sell bikes and later ATV's and snowmobiles, both out west and on the Island.

I took great pride in riding as many different machines as was humanly possible.  If you asked me how a Yamaha Turbo compared to a Kawasaki, I could answer that.  Maybe it was a Venture Royale and an Aspencade.  Or on a smaller scale, an XS 400 Special  vs an XJ 400 Maxim.

I rode what I sold and I sold a hell of a lot of stuff.  I was not just another 'pretty face' ... nope I was an Enthusiast.

I remember well a story that took place at a Yamaha dealer meeting in T.O.

1979 YZ 400 F, the guy in the ski mask is me. Above, a few years later on Team Green '83 KX 125

I was speaking to a Japanese gentleman from the factory twice my age,  and we got on the subject of MX. (Moto Cross) Prior to that, I had ridden MX bikes through the years and all the brands from the earliest Elsinore, Husky's and the latest RM model.  As we're chatting (his English was pretty good btw) about the current bike I was riding, a Yamaha YZ 125J, the first ones with the radiator behind the number plate, he asked me cordially how I liked it.

Now this guy was one of the top echelon that made the decisions in Hamamatsu, as to what we were going to see the next year(S) to come, so I wasn't going to miss my opportunity.

I politely but firmly said; "I do like my YZ 125 but it didn't have enough power.  I backed it up by saying, "Those Honda's are so fast... I felt I needed to ride too hard to keep them in sight.  In other words, the Yamaha needed more BHP.

He had his fingers on his chin in a serious fashion, contemplating the problem, and finally said to me... his forefinger tugging at a non existent beard,

'You need a mo powa, you YZ Yamaha not fas enough.... '

I answered in the affirmative, nodding my head, it needed more power.

Looking at me in the most serious fashion (I learned something in the next 15 seconds)... he answered,

'You 125 not fas' enuf........ you get YZ 490, it have rots mo powa!'


He then broke out in a huge grin, the age wrinkles on his face smiling.  He'd got me.

My teasing him ended up, as they sometimes do, tables turned.

* Canada Safety Council