Updated: February 1, 2008
We can follow this bike's journey...
Almost four years after I put the pictures on this page, a prior owner of the bike sent me an- e-mail. In January 2008 I received a message from Charlie in Iowa
USA, telling that he bought the bike in the pictures. He wrote: “Interesting to me is the appearance of the Suzuki stylised knobs on the side covers. The bike is a 1956 and carries frame number SD1796. I sold it to a gentlemen in Kentucky, USA as I had too many projects and felt it should be with someone who may get it running.”
Naturally I was interested in hearing more of the purchase and the history of the Colleda bike. In a folowing e-mail he told us a bit more:
“It was purchased via a broker in Japan, probably 3 or 4 years ago, long before the ebay-yahoo.jp marriage. By purchasing it in country and then shipping it it was an "easy" thing to do. Having said that, I may be a bit more willing to take risk than a lot of folks. As for cheap/expensive, it's a judgment call, I thought it was OK or I wouldn't have done it. When I finally received the bike I was very pleased, I haven't spoken to the gentleman I sold it to, so I don't know his thoughts but I was certain it would not take a lot to get it running. It was going to take a lot to "restore" it, having just restored a Yamaha XS1 I've decided I would rather have unrestored riders.
Since the ebay-yahoo.jp arrangement has come about the broker I work with has gone public, more information is available at: www.motosearch2000.jp/importservice.html
While I handled all customs work myself early on, I've since learned, and subsequently used, a local customs clearing house. They handle getting bikes from the port of entry to where I live and roll up all the charges (customs, port, intra country freight) in a single bill and do it cheaper than I can do it for by far. I receive the bike, customs paper work, the whole bit and all I have to do is provide the shipping manifest from the broker in Japan and tell them where the port of entry is and where I want it to end up. I still have to handle title work as that is a state-by-state matter in the US.”
Some more of Charlie's stuff, including a Mini-Free, can be seen at: cfinney3.netexpress.net/gallery2/v/vjmc/
|