| Welcome to the Southeast |  |
| Mark Litaker ~ Atlanta GA I started riding in 1991, on a 1984 Sabre 700. Next bike was the 1984 V65 Sabre in the picture. I recently traded this one for a 1997 Kawasaki Concours. Now I'm a former, but not reformed, SabMag owner who still enjoys following the list and will one day show up at a SabMag gathering. |  Mark Litaker |
| Harvey Hexnut and The Silent One ~ Virginia Martin has ridden since 1976. Alicia has ridden since she met Martin. Martin, aka Harvey, has ridden his V65 since 1995. In July, they celebrate 7 years together. This year she became the owner of a DRP stage two engine and many other goodies, as seen here. Life is good!
Alicia Hexnut~ 1985 V65 Sabre 2002 VFR Interceptor |   Martin and Alicia |
| Dave Berkey ~ Mountain View AR I'm retired from the Corps of Engineers after 30+ years and living in the Mountains of North Central Arkansas where any direction is great riding country. I got my first bike, a 1948 Harley 125cc in 1957 and since then there have been 10 others. My current ride is the V-65 Magna which you can see in the picture. |  Dave Berkey |
| David Lindsey ~ South Mississippi I had my first taste of motorcycle freedom back in the year 1965. An 18 year old neighbor down-the-street had a Honda 450 with high rise handlebars; sissy bar; and a modified engine and exhaust. Bless this guy forevermore. He let me borrow it about 15 times during the course of the summer of '65. His instructions were: there is the clutch; there is the front brake; there is the shifter, one down four up; there is the rear brake. Ride it. I don't recall any problems in learning how to drive it as it fit me to a 'T'. What a summer for a 14 year old 'git'. In 1974 after a stint in the Navy, I purchased a CB350 for $400. Repaired the bent front fork tubes on a Sunday afternoon and promptly re-bent the new tubes by the following Monday afternoon. Yep, I replaced them again, and never again will I ever goose the throttle on questionable road surfaces. Kept this bike about 1.5 years and sold it for $800. A lot of time has passed and during that time I never thought about riding. One day, while cruising down the beach in my truck, I saw a beautiful 1983 750cc Magna. The bike-bug was back; at 45, I had to have one. I watched the classifieds for a couple of months but never saw an ad for a Magna. One day a 1983 V45 Sabre showed up for $500. I got it in September of 1996. I did not have it up to riding specs until late April of 1997. I've had a lot of fun riding since then. Life is good. Bike: 1983 V45 Sabre |  David Lindsey |
| Curtis Hintze ~ Maryland Curtis Hintze was born in 1957. A native of Maryland since 1971, my first cycle was a honda C70M. Other bikes were a Honda S90, Honda clioo, Suzuki GS400, Yamaha 550, Triumph 750 Bonneville, and lately my v65 Magna, 1986, the RED ROOSTER. Employed on tugboats since 1976, i go by the nickname of THE RIVER ROOSTER. working on Delaware bay and river, i move crude oil by barge. Cutting my mechanical teeth on my first bicycles, i moved on to lawnmowers and then cars. wrenching on all my motorcycles is a fun hobby of mine. summer of 97 found me rebuilding my v65 engine due to a worn rod . Always searching for more power, i modify and hotrod my v65. Another hobby, i guess. Other interests include fishing, gardening, and birdfeeding. One daughter and one wife keep me busy at home. Plans for the future include growing up and becoming rich and famous. Bike: 1986 V65 Magna "Red Rooster" (yowza!) |  Curtis Hintze |
| Richard L. Wainwright ~ Bethesda MD I've been riding since 1970 (geezer), got started on mini-bikes, then dirtbikes, had an original CR250 Honda Elsinore (yowza!), then got into street bikes and have owned many bikes over the years. The Sabres, however, are definitely my favorite, especially the V65s with the Hondaline fairing! Nothing else has the power, the high-speed handling, and around-town grunt that these V4s have. My first Sabre, Man O' War (pictured) is an 85 that I bought from a guy who had brought it back east from Colorado. He was a race car builder and driver and did a good job keeping up the maintenance on the bike. I've since added a Duncanson oil mod, Rifle windshield, and a Corbin saddle. I liked the bike so much I started looking for a 2nd one knowing that you have downtime for repairs, tweaks, and such. My other Sabre, 2nd Chance was purchased from a guy out of Atlanta. It had a bad tranny - needed a new 2nd gear - and I decided to take a chance on it, hence the name. Curtis Hintze and I have since swapped the original 84 Sabre bottom end for an 84 Magna bottom end. So I now have one of the few "true" SabMags! It has a Landry-Schoeb type oil mod as well as a DynoJet kit with shimmed needles and drilled slides - can you say FAST? Both bikes are running on Dunlop D205s and I highly recommend them over traditional bias ply tires. Much better tracking and smoother handling. Bikes: 1985 V65 Sabre "Man O' War" 1984 V65 Sabre "2nd Chance" |  Richard L. Wainwright |
| Carl Custer ~ Washington DC I'm among the older pharts, vintage 1940. My motorcycling experience isn't much tho; I just started in 1981. Did a lot of bicycle commuting when I worked at the Beltsville Microbiology labs and at Texas A&M (oowah). Oh, and an AllState scooter 1957-58 in Stink-a-dena, Texas. Fame and fortune lured me from the lab to downtown DC in 1980. Metro fare increases and hassles led me to a brand new 1980 GS450E (that would pay for itself in 3 years riding only 2/3 of the time). Now, I ride about 97% of the time, only sitting out for ice! I've lusted after a Sabre since they came out in 1982 but couldn't justify owning two motorcycles until the Suzuki got well broken in (55K). Bought the Sabre in1994 with only 6K miles! Stumbled into this list about a year ago. I picked the names after Cervantes' & Steinbeck's Rocinantes except I've turned two mounts to mundane use ergo: Caballoante: wuz a steed. Rocin-ahorito: pickup truck right now. Maybe one day, I'll go aventuring on a Rocinante. Commuting into your nation's capitol since 1981 through rain, sun, and snow, but no ice! Bikes: 1985 VF700S "Rocin-ahorito" 1980 Suzuki GS 450 E "Caballoante" 1976 Mercian touring frame 15 speed 1967 Schwinn Continental |  Carl Custer |
| Anthony Osborne ~ Charlotte NC Born in 65, Changi Singapore. Sat on my first bike at age 1, a Triumph. Moved to England at age two. Went to States at age 5, back to England at 7, got my first real bike, a Kawasaki KC100 at 15, rode the hell out of it, moved back to the states at 16, and was bikeless again. Bought my first Magna (85 V65) in 94, somewhere in between I got married to a woman who hated bikes, joined the Marines, traveled all over the world defending my adopted country, had a son, got divorced, and rekindled my love of bikes. I bought a Suzuki GS850 and realized the potential of shaft driven bikes, but needed more power. I fell in love with the 85 as soon as I saw it, but it took almost a year to be the owner(dealer had taken a deposit on it and didn't want to promise it to someone else). Finally the right day arrived and it was mine! Moved to Charlotte in 95 and was promptly nailed by an unseeing college student on I77! Bikeless again and in a lot of pain, I set about getting the insurance money, but knew I needed another bike. Looked at (cover childrens eyes) Harleys, but knew it wasn't to be, soon had a lead on another V65, asking price $2600, slapped cash down and it was mine for $2300, oh forgot to mention, got married again. Lovely woman,(tolerates my bike fixes). Looks like I'm always gonna be a Magna freak, can't get enough of them, can't wait to get my new tags, time to go Harley hunting. The Magna was down due to a cam problem, thanks to list members for their aid in the repairs, now I gotta do an oil mod! Hoping to make a least a couple of the SME's, catch some of you fellow lunatics there. Bike: 1983 V65 Magna "Terminator" More stuff here, more pictures as soon as I post them |  Anthony Osborne |
| Jeremy McGowan ~ Buckhannon WV "I am 34 years old, live in Buckhannon West Virginia and bought my first bike in 1989, a Suzuki GSX-750R, 1986, the first model of that bike. I only had it for a few months before I laid it down doing 85 mph in a 35 mph zone. I got lucky and walked away from that one! Then I did not ride again (on my own bike) for 7 years until I purchased a 96 VF750C. The bike only had 1700 miles on it and was in pristine condition! Things went great for a while, until I lost a jousting contest with a mini-van during a SME at Richard's place in D.C. But I replaced the bike with another VF750C and am still riding. And so far still shiny side up. Currently I am going back to school getting a degree in Aviation Administration with flight training. Some of you know me, others don't - for those that do I'll be seeing you at the SMEs. See ya on the blacktop! - TicketTwin #2" Bike: 1996 Magna |  Jeremy McGowan |
| Jack Hunt ~ Tellico Plains TN My name is Jack Hunt. I've been riding since 1968 and I've owned and ridden a little of everything--including brand H. I also had a brief stint as a Speedway racing pit mechanic. Very brief. Living in Tellico Plains, TN, I have the distinction of being closer (about 45 miles) to Deal's Gap than any other list member, yet I count myself lucky to ride there 3 times a year. My job with Bowater Corporation takes most of my time, and the rest is divided between my daughter's needs and taking care of my house and grounds, including mowing the 3.5 acres I call my lawn. My ride is a 1983 V-45 Magna, "Olde Blue". The picture was made at the "half-way" overlook on the Cherohala Skyway in Western North Carolina using a Minolta Dimage V digital camera. My poorly designed and unfinished web page is: http://www.cococo.net/~paddlefoot/index.htm Bike: 1983 V45 Magna |  Jack Hunt |
| Don McCall ~ Woodstock Georgia Here's a pic of me and my 1985 V30 Magna, 'Cherry'. I've been riding ever since 1974, where I picked up my first bike, a 250 Yahama while in the Army stationed on Okinawa. Shortly after I got a Honda CB360, which I rode ' till my tour of duty ended, and shipping costs forced me to say goodbye. My current bike I have had for only 3 months and 2000 miles; she replaced my Honda 250Custom (1983 vintage) of 11 years - I still miss her, but the Magna is a sweet ride, and it's a COLD or WET day indeed that keeps me from her. Bike: 1985 Honda Magna V30 'Cherry' 1974 Honda CB360T 'Project bike' |  Don McCall |
| Chris Long ~ Buckhannon, WV I began riding motorcycles on a Suzuki DS 80 at the age of 8 or so. Got the bike off my cousin for next to nothing and the fun began. It took me a few months to kill the DS, then I waited patiently for a few years to pick up a TS 185. This bike was punished to within an inch of it life and traded for some engine work on a cage that never did run (one a those parental deals). Joined the Army after high school and Uncle Sugar decided the best place to put me was in central California. It didn't take me long to raise enough cash to buy a 90 Suzuki DR350S for more than it was worth (I was bitten at birth), and off into the "back yard" of the post I went.....and lived. Still got her, and she's got progressive legs now to smooth out re-entry. I remember, at the age of twelve, seeing my first V45 Magna in a magazine. I thought that this was the only street bike I would ever own. I was wrong.....but not entirely. Coming home from work a few years ago, I saw a V65 Magna at the dealer, and figured it would be close enough so I took a test ride..........SOLD! Since then I've acquired a V65 Sabre and put some great miles on both. Joining the SabMag list was a great decision, I've met a great bunch of people, an gained a wealth of knowledge about my bikes. The list makes a pretty good "jailhouse lawyer" too. Me and my buddy Jer got caught going pretty fast once.........most of you know all about that one. See you on the back roads. Bikes: 1984 V65 Magna 1984 V65 Sabre 1990 DR 350 S 199X-200X (something wicked-fast) |  Chris Long |
| Tom O'Donnell ~ Tampa FL I started riding Honda street bikes in the mid 80's during high school on bikes such as a '72 Honda 500-4cyl., '75 Honda 550-4cyl., '84 Magna, and an '85 V65 Sabre. After graduating college I got away from riding for about 6 years until my wife surprised me with a brand new '98 Shadow VT1100 on Christmas day. We found out the same day that my wife was pregnant with our daughter Annie, so needless to say...the Shadow and it's monthly payment were on borrowed time. I sold the Shadow almost a year later and thought that I was once again done with riding. It didn't take me long to get that itch to get another bike...but this time a used one. My brother had a brand new V65 Sabre in '85 and I loved it, so I decided to get one of my own. I found my current '84 V65 Sabre in the newspaper classifieds and bought it in the summer of '99. It had 20,000 miles, all the service records, and only one previous owner...he figured it was time to give up riding at age 78. I mainly take the bike out on weekends with a friend of mine who rides a Suzuki Marauder. We travel all over Florida year round. I sometimes miss the looks of that Shadow, but I have quickly come to realize that what I gave up in looks....I gained in performance. Bikes (past and present): '84 Honda V65 Sabre (current) '98 Honda Shadow VT1100 '75 Honda 550-4cyl |  Tom O'Donnell |
| Bradley Conrad ~ Marietta GA Hey there!! Im Brad Conrad and I live in Marietta, Ga. I own this 1983 V65. I bought it 6 months ago from a woman in Charlotte, S.C. Since then, I shoowed at a m.c. show & shine in Athens, Ga. I won 1st place for a metric cruiser. I just got back from Daytona BiketoberFest!!! It was lots of fun!! This winter I plan on doing an oil mod, I don;t know which but my wallet will decide. And I also plan on repainting, suspention work, and adding some more goodies. It came with the HondaLine w/s, adjustable backrest, rack, and hi-way bars. Please keep me informed of any rides in the S.E. area. Thx for your time and keep alert!!!!! VIVA!! Bike: '83 Honda Magna V65 |  Bradley Conrad |
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