VOL. 51 ISSUE 5 FEBRUARY 4, 2014 P39
to last. Honda's ethos at the time
was, 'This should be forever.' "
Jake continues, warming to the
theme. "But then in 1978 or '79
the car division took over and it
all went to shit. That's what we're
missing these days, that crafts-
manship, that pride in the work.
Isn't it remarkable that this ma-
chine is 40 years old and is still
used almost daily? What could
you buy today that will still be run-
ning in 40 years time? Nothing,
that's what."
While Jake is espousing his
philosophy, we're joined by Bran-
don - another who has the disso-
lute rock star look down pat. He
works at 'Harry's, a Honda spe-
cialist in Los Angeles. It doesn't
take long for him to chime in,
echoing Chance's sentiments.
"Where I work, we won't even
touch anything after 1978. They're
just too much trouble."
I ask him about the Honda Café
scene in LA. He puts it down to
numerous factors, one being the
outflow of riders south from San
Francisco.
"There's been a big outflow
from the Bay Area. No one can
afford to live there anymore. Most
of my friends have moved or are
moving down to LA. It's so much
cheaper and the weather is bet-
ter for bikes; you can ride almost
the whole year round. San Fran-
cisco's not cool anymore, it's a
