As his riding proclivities shifted to dirt, a newspaper ad for a 1999 Kawasaki KE100 piqued our Ramblings correspondent's interest. There was one small problem, however, no title!
A couple of months back I spent my column space discussing the reality that dream bikes are not necessarily the fastest, highest horsepower, or victors of magazine shootouts. Since that time I've found the rainy warmth of July New York summer as inspiration to venture away from streetbike obsession and back toward my personal foundations into the sport. In other words, I've been playing in the dirt again.
This time around, however, some of my streetbike logic has somehow managed to seep into my subconscious. I once again find myself on a new (to me) bike mission in which sheer performance stats and magazine praise has taken the back seat to uniqueness, style, and novelty. Note to self: Exotic super streetbikes are far more common than exotic dirt bikes.
As such, my first prospect came in the form of a 1999 Kawasaki KE100 that happened to pop up in my local classified ads at roughly the exact same moment I realized that was itching for something outside the norm. For those unfamiliar, the KE100 is basically a spillover on/off road model that has remained (basically unchanged) on Kawasaki's line since the 1970s. In other words, dual rear shocks, an overly bulbous seat, a small round headlamp, and comfortably low seat height were just some of the traits I could expect. The real motivation, however, stemmed from the fact that the 99cc powerplant was of the smoke-breathing, oil-burning variety. Blame it on the recent EPA crackdown on the 2-stroke motor, or perhaps just on the insanity that so often accompanies nostalgia: I was seriously giving the KE100 some consideration for street use, as reports of 58 mpg and up began surfacing as a result of my intense internet research.
Not content for normalcy, Jason decided on purchasing an off-road machine from the now defunct Cannondale firm.
I acted quickly (impulsively, as my girlfriend's therapist likes to put it) and placed a call in to the owner which quickly revealed a stifling bit of information. The title, he explained, had been lost a few owners ago. The bike had been demoted to field use exclusively. "Besides," he added, "don't think you would really want to take something so small on the road anyway."
It was an upsetting setback but not enough to shake me. After three full days of silent deliberation, I decided to call again, perhaps I could reacquaint myself to the local ATV loops via some 1970s dirt bike technology while secretly tracing down said missing title like some character out of a Dan Brown novel. Unfortunately, this too wasn't to be as the bike had sold the day prior. A little frustrated, my hunt would continue, only this time I was aiming for something a little newer. And by a little, I was thinking at least 20 years of technological advancement.
Then I happened upon an internet ad from someone looking to part with a 2002 Cannondale MX440. As far as uniqueness and novelty acts are concerned, you would be hard pressed to do any better than the American made, fuel injected, reversed cylinder, dual air-filtered, linkage-less rear suspended C-Dale. Never mind the fact that the bike failed to impress the media - and that's putting it lightly considering that within three years of production, the operation went bankrupt. Also disregard the fact that research reveals reliability issues, poor performance figures, and a near impossibility to locate parts.
In the foggy mists of cyberspace there exists a support group for C-Dale (now ATK) motorcycle owners and other rare bikes as well. It's a good thing too, because searching for "unique" bikes can leave you searching for your lost sanity shortly after aquiring said machine.
I was tickled pink to have talked to the owner and discover that he still had the collector's item for sale. The only snag came in the form of geography as the bike was located a hefty 10 hours away in the state of Vermont (finding the bike was against the odds as it was; expecting it to be in my own backyard was ridiculous). Fortunately, after several weeks of intense negotiations in the form of my begging and pleading via email, the sellers have agreed to deliver the bike. Note to self: Either they are very friendly people or simply want me to stop harassing them and will do whatever it takes.
So here it is, a few days before the scheduled delivery, and I'm anxious with a slight swirl of skepticism. My goals of finding a one-of-a-kind dirt bike may have been satisfied, but that part of me that understands the sound logic of magazine reasoning which whispers things like "good luck if you need a part for this thing" is cramping my ability to fully get wrapped up in the excitement. I suppose the worst case scenario would be parking my new treasure and detailing it daily rather than tearing up the motocross track with it. In which case the hunt would continue, I hear the Honda CRF450R is pretty sweet this year. Note to self: Don't mention the Honda in front of girlfriend.
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