I worked at a cycle salvage shop about 40 miles west of Binghamton NY in mid 80's...we recycled 100's into probably 1000's of bikes. This video reminded me of those years.... Wow..!! We stripped ,tagged rebuilt and restored everyday...I believe there is kids today that would love to do just that...just like I did...God Bless...
@@joegilly1523 I don't I know your grandma but I know the road ....I test road a few bikes out back...funny you should mention the kz 750 model...that was the first inline four I ever rebuilt at that shop.. after that I had to take it to local garage for inspection...dam those kz were rippers....first generation of crotch rockets in my opinion...mmm. Good days...bike ran smooth and snotty.......K R cycle salvage..the owner is an encyclopedia of knowledge on vintage bikes...amazing man..
Outside was really, really, depressing! Very interesting inside the shop, especially the stash of Yankees, considering the low numbers they were made in. Interesting thing about the Yankee, you could change the crank and timing to make it fire like a twin, or a single. The Ossa, and Bultaco stuff was sweet, especially the trials bikes, I think I even saw a Montesa Cota in the mix. This guy must have either been a Spanish bike dealer, or bought one out. The whole thing reminded me of the shops I was used to in the Seventies, so the whole video was a mix of sadness, and sweet nostalgia. Thanks for the tour.
I love all motorcycles, and wish I could spend a couple of days just walking around that back yard. Every one of those bikes has a story to tell. It reminds of when my brother's and I used to spend entire days wandering through our local junk yard (back in the late 70's) trying to find parts for my '69 Dodge Charger. Back then, the owner would let you explore the yard by yourself. You took your time, and paid for any parts you found on your way out of the yard. Great memories!
Imagine an owner who has memories of bike adventures, romantic rides or long travels on his bike, which ends up in the scrapyard and after many years he visits and sees his darling bike in dilapidated condition.. That would be really moving him to tears.
Seeing this content, I'm short of breath, I'm Indonesian in my opinion all of them are treasures 90% of all parts and motorbikes can still be used, woooow
Deadset tears coming to my eyes watching this video its just a same of deadset beast of bikes all thru that yard and just left there to deadset bloody die!! Ohh my god so many of thousands of dollars there and years of fun and glory gloy for someone that had alot of time on there hands that would just be the biggest payday for them i wish i had a pocket full cash to come to America and just go crazy buying container loads of bikes to bring back to Australia to just become a billionaire!!! That just the biggest dream of my life to be able to do something like that would just be the coolest and just best day of any mans life!!! Ur the man Ken sr deadset wish I could walk into a heaven on earth place like that!! Just Bloody WOW man!! Ur my deadset inspirational person to watch and follow in this world ur just the biggest inspiration to any man, woman, and child thats into the motorcycle world of things just the man buddy cheers for showing and sharing the most awesomeness place on earth!! Thankyou and god bless cheers again from The Aussie clan!! From the down under land!!
I will always say it. But my 1989 dt175 was the best bike for trails and also very good in the bomb craters left over from world war 2 out side Birmingham. That's what we were told any way. They looked a bit big to be bombs but I suppose its possible. It would be dropped into thick mud almost to the point where you could barely see the bike and it would just keep going. It took some punishment for nearly 4 whole weeks it was constantly running. After we had to go back to school I sold it for the same price I paid for it. Its was 1994 so the bike was 5 year's old I paid, £250 for it. The bloke who sold it had it stolen and he recovered it but it was trashed. All the lights had been removed and mud guards were tied on with bungee cord. Gear shifter was gone so a mates dad welded a 19mm or a 24 mm spanner. With a bit of rebar also. Looked a mess but worked perfectly.
It's very easy to end up hoarding them. Atleast theres a lot of good parts there that I'm sure the Kaplan team might be able to make use of and possibly resurrect something.
oh , my God , my heart is about to jump out on the gun , it 's just not likely how many abandoned motorcycles , this is heaven for me , give me at least a couple of motorcycles , everything will rot anyway . now such motorcycles , especially the classic class , are very much appreciated especially in Russia , a Russian person seeing this video would cry .
Jeez, watching this was like going to a funeral. Real shame. I have 4 bikes an feel really sorry for them if I haven’t rode them for a while, it might sound sad but I even talk to them an say soon my lovelies an pat them on the tank . Greetings from Portsmouth England 🏴
Hell no. Those can't go to goddamn scrap? Theres a million bucks in parts right there and stuff you'll never ever see again once its gone . many of those are perfect ol timer projects. Men have got to embrace workin and save our history in this amazing stuff that really is built to be rebuilt. Just as well I cant reach it......
Greetings from Ireland..this really has brought me too my knees ...I'm a major Kawasaki Kz 1000 fan from 1977 to 1982..I've been proud owner of at least 12 too 14 lost count after my 9th owned nearly model from the kz440ltd too a z1300g..a few kz1000ltd's B2 b3 and b4..H2 ..a few kz650 F1 B2 and c2..gpz1100b1 and a few z1000st's... when I come across this video it sure made me wish I'd kept every Kawasaki I owned...but wouldn't have ended up like any of these ,😥😥🙏🙏😱😱
So Adam if you had a shop and accumulated old bikes, some not worth fixing, would you build a building for those bikes? He had a business to run. My opinion.
@@wms1650 I'm not sure. What I would of done is at the least; clear the field free of brush & trees! Store them where water would evaporate quickly and not accumulate in mud & brush. Lot's of vehicles are stored outside in a cleared field.
The "MZ" at 11:58 is actually a 1977 Czech Jawa 350-634-8. Being a Jawa it will inevitably still run as they're built to last for generations. I used to own one and sold it on after 34,000 miles. It never let me down. It even started & ran, one winter, at -4 C. The 343cc engine produces 28 HP @ 5,250 RPM. Peak torque is 38 Pounds / Foot. Back in the 1970's & early 1980's a Jawa 350-634 was produced every 20 seconds from the factory with weekly production in the thousands. Spares availability is better than excellent and it is possible to buy a brand new US manufactured crank, cylinders and pistons for the bike. Most spares are made globally and even the Taiwanese & Chinese are in on the act (so watch out!!). It is reported that Jawa motorcycles are now the most common surviving 2 stroke motorcycle type on the planet, numbering close to a million as they're infinitely repairable, much to the annoyance of tree huggers.
I had a '64 Jawa 350 street twin with the flowing lines and cast iron mufflers. Sent all the way to Czechoslovakia for the owner's manual, cost me $16 in 1968. Loved that bike.
This truly is a motorcycle treasure trove! Had they been stored properly and been accessible he would probably have sold a great many of them. Shame to see the condition they've been left in. Thank you for this video, subscribed.
Man I can remember standing in the Yamaha dealership admiring the new virago’s and turbo’s Cutting edge at the time Time stands still for no man I guess 😀
Oh my God I could spend a week there There's a whole lot of cool stuff there but I'm really noticing some of the old Yamaha ITs those are my favorite bikes and I always need extra parts lol
There was an old motorcycle parts Boneyard like this in Phoenix Arizona called Bob's Used cycle parts, don't know if it's around anymore but he had some high prices on all his stuff, I got rid of my old 74 husky wr250 to Bob's way back in the 80's, wish I still had that bike nowadays.
Some of these bikes look complete and ready to go. Or at least, might not take much to get them going. I think I saw an Ossa Mick Andrews Replica. Or what fun it would be to own a Yankee Z
I know ive commented a couple times but the more i watch the vid i realize the owner ill bet he knew where every part was.he had a method to his madness..i worked at an alternator shop in the 90s and oh my close to the same.i periodically went down to help out till 2013 he was sellin the building.reminds me of that.hopefully somebody grabs all those parts and bikes
OMG .... that place is a f'king GOLD mine for the vintage restoration guys on the many FB pages I belong too. It would be a f'king sin if they just call in trash/metal recyclers to clear it all :-(
We had a yard like that here too until the dealer sold out to an Indian dealer and they took after all the bikes with a Cat loader and sent it all to the scrap yard. I almost cried. I got so many parts over the years for my bobbers and now it's all gone. Oh well, had to end sometime. It's too bad those couldn't have been stored indoors or atleast under a roof of some kind.
I'm unemployed and I love bikes and seeing all of these bikes and bits makes me mad,all of them rotting away when someone like me who lives on £500 UK a month and has mobility issues and so desperately needs a vehicle to get about but can't afford to buy one is heartbreaking.i don't call this collecting I called it selfish.thanks for the video though .
@@motomash6143 unfortunately I have arthritis in my knees and left hip and a mental health issue and the doctors said that they didn't recommend that I should continue working and I don't like being unemployed and before anyone says that I'm lazy I'm far from it.i have an e-mountain bike that is great for local journeys but not for longer journeys as the battery range limits how far I can go . thanks for your interest and the reply 😉
The man was running a motorcycle salvage business not a charity for free motorcycles. Nothing selfish about spending his money how he wanted to at the time. I’m sure his “collection” provided the parts for many quality restorations or builds throughout the years.
@@JW-kl7no Some of these bikes look like not many parts were ever pulled from them.This guy is just a Hoarder.This is NOT a"collection".I collect;Guitars.They're ALL Playable.Not that valuable,but not JUNK!Like MOST of THESE bikes are.Most of the plastic stuff is junk,and a lot of the aluminum stuff may've corroded through(IMO).
The script of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas comes to mind: Oh man what a sight! Husquavarnas, Yamahas, DMZs, Kawasakis, Maicos, Persang, Swedish Fireballs, a couple of Triumps, here and there a CZ.... all very very fast.
Please tell me that this does not go to scrap,,,,,!,,,,,!,,,!, I’m in Massachusetts and I have no idea where this place is. Wtf. Have an auction, I’ll run it for the thrill and preservation of moto history.
My motorcyclist friend Margery Bird owned a Yamaha Virgo, like bike pictured here. Margery travelled country, towing her Yamaha motorcycle on bike trailer behind her white. Dodge service van. She drive her van to specific areas of America, then back her bike off trailer an ride area, until she must have been in late 70s-80s! She was an inspiration to me in my riding, along with my mom, that got me into riding!
Buy the lot and then offer them up for resurrection projects!!! This is indeed sad but DAMN!!! It’s also a WINDFALL of really cool machines just waiting to be reborn!!! I’ve rekindled 3 vintage motocrossers in my time… this is a great opportunity to get these parts n machines out back on the tracks!!!
Gees Ken you hit the mother load! it's like a MX battlefield and all these spares.. Some one needs to haul ass and save these beauties. Shame i'm to far away
Wow... Mr.Kaplan cycles...here is a thought...start a vintage motorcycle mechanics school ....for high school students start possibly locally...kind of like a votec /boces program ..naturally first class 101 is disassembling and inventorying parts.... eventually Kaplan cycle could be handing grants to high school graduates to pursue their education onto future motorcycle career's...most every kid starts on two wheels... Lets keep kids out of trouble and give them a future....starting a school requires supplies ..ps you just found a whole bunch of supplies... question is do you have the place to facilitate all that.....WOW...God Bless...your ventures...WOW..
Lance....... beautiful and creative thinking. Students are taught, great benefit. Parts are sorted, helps you. Truly a WIN WIN. I wish I had thought of that. You are a thinker.
Let THIS be a lesson;DON'T HOARD!!As we age(I KNOW!);We do NOT become MORE energetic!!I have a LOT of hobbies,and things are getting tough!Eventhough I run and/or workout everyday,I'm struggling to find the energy to accomplish what I want/need to.This guy shoulda sold this stuff off 20+ years ago!When a lot more of it could've been salvaged/useful to someone.This must be one RICH dude!!
Я вот не пойму, лежат на улице ,судя по всему не первый год, а ржавчины на перьях вилки или где нибудь ещё не видно. А у нас в гаражах гниют, что за магия то такая?
@@textech4056 It's scrap metal NOW!It wasn't 20 years ago,when he coulda sold most of this stuff for money.This guy is just a HOARDER.Ever watch American Pickers?He's not alone.He's probably Rich.
