Early Canadian low vin Sandcasts

[tomcourtney]

Hi i rember seeing one at Vmd 2009 and there was talk of others in Canada,
 i was reading a "News from Honda" #4 of 4 from Spring 1969. and this is probably why they are there.
saying there was an annual meeting of dealers at the swank Constelation Hotel in Toronto with over 100 dealers in attendance put on by the Ontario distrubuter F. Manley and sons. The CB750 and a Z50A Mini Trail were the stars of the show, It says many dealers wrote initial orders for the machines at the meeting..

I have now added the scans of the news letter Click on the link when the page opens right click on the image and select Large 1600 it will make for easier reading enjoy TC

about the Canadian dealer meeting early 1969   http://www.flickr.com/photos/89994899@N07/8180765527/#

Front page News from Honda Vol 4 Number 4 Spring 1969      http://www.flickr.com/photos/89994899@N07/8180767961/#

[Steve Swan]

Great piece of history, Tom !

[Prospect]

Yes there are some here. Im not sure if this is  low enouh a vin for the discussion but I have #256 and I know of at least one other original to Canada sandcast around the high 200 range. I'm trying to get a little more info on the number of sandcast that were imported here but there is very little info out there.   Honda has no record of the imports.

[Wayne]

Would be interesting to know if Tom Faulds could enlighten us Canadians a little.

http://motorcyclehalloffame.ca/faulds_tom.htm

[Steve Swan]

256 is a good number; keep sharing.

[tomcourtney]

Wayne i found your link to Tom Faulds very interesting, He is your man to know about early CB750's in Canada foresure...
In Oz we have a guy like that too, his name Is John Kelsie he also worked for the distributors Bennet and Wood before they were Bennet Honda then in Feb 1969 they became Honda Australia. John is a super helpfull guy and i still thank him today for his time and info.
In 1995 i asked John if he could help me with any info on the two bikes i had at the time, one was from France imported by a dealer in Melbourne the other an Australian bike check the info he gave me. TC

http://www.flickr.com/photos/89994899@N07/8181410701/#

[Prospect]

Would be interesting to know if Tom Faulds could enlighten us Canadians a little.

http://motorcyclehalloffame.ca/faulds_tom.htm

Is he a member here?

[Wayne]

Would be interesting to know if Tom Faulds could enlighten us Canadians a little.

http://motorcyclehalloffame.ca/faulds_tom.htm

Is he a member here?

Not that I know of.

[Bickle]

I know of a local fellow that has a two digit frame with a 100 series motor...and another ultralow # frame....just sitting waiting to be restored. Alas he is not thinking of parting with them....but he has my number.

Steve

[tomcourtney]

I was told the shippments of bikes to Oz were few and far between with six in the first shippment and i think it was seven or eight in the second shippment TC

[Prospect]

Would be interesting to know if Tom Faulds could enlighten us Canadians a little.

http://motorcyclehalloffame.ca/faulds_tom.htm

Is he a member here?

Not that I know of.

I've tried to contact Tom Faulds over the last couple of months without success.  My emails to the motorcycle hall of fame have gone unanswered. I wanted to ask him about the history of the early sandcasts in Canada. 

Another local sandcast owner had told me that there were some very early sandcast bikes shipped to Toronto and other big cities. 

[Wayne]

I found John Nelson's son on Facebook. John was Tom's partner. Unfortunately John passed away 8 years ago. His son lives in Belleville just a few miles from me. I had a hunch someone might be close as they were all involved in Shannonville Motor Speedway which is also close to me and I heard that they were indeed involved with some early production bikes. Don't know if his son will know any history as he was young when the sandcasts hit the scene but we shall see!

http://motorcyclehalloffame.ca/nelson_john.htm

[Steve Swan]

Great story, Wayne !  John worked with some World GP racers.  Mike (Michelle) Duff, Yvonne Duhamel raced and won against the likes of Hailwood, Agostini.  Look forward to hearing more !

[Wayne]

Here's the response I received from Steve John Nelson:

Hi Wayne,
I wish I could be of more help to you but I'm not sure I will be able to offer too much info. I was born in 1959 and remember well the excitement at the time of the massive CB750 4 cylinder as they arrived at my dad's motorcycle dealership. What a bike !! I'm sure my father knew these bikes inside out. ( I even have a picture of my dad in 1970 with Mr. Sochiro Honda founder of Honda Motor Company...a very cool picture to have ) He built and sponsored many riders on these bikes over the years and I would say that there was probably nobody in Canada at the time that knew these bikes better. I will have a few pictures perhaps of some CB750's from that era but I'm not sure of the exact year in many cases. I will add you to my friends list. I have many motorcycle friends from over the years ( I used to do some roadracing during the early to mid 80's )and occasionally you will find motorcycle related things on my page. If I find anything that I think you will find interesting I will be sure to forward to you. I don't have anything to do with Shannonville any longer, but would love to see your bike when it's done. I would love to own one myself someday. The 69 CB750 and the 1980 CBX 6 cylinder are my favourite 2 bikes of all time. I am currently looking for a nice 1980 Black CBX, I just recently sold one and now regret it...lol
My dad and Tom Faulds were very good friends over the years. Unfortunately I have lost touch with Tom. I believe he is in the Cobourg area..retired now. I have heard that his health is not great right now. I just friended someone new on facebook named Tom Faulds thinking it was him ( there was no picture on the site ) but I believe that it may be his son ( also named Tom ). You could look through my friends list and try sending him a message and see if he can be of any help ?
Thanks for your letter Wayne.
Steve