Torrington Collector Keeps Adding Bikes

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com

Mike Wallace went to Rice-O-Rama earlier this month searching for parts. He had a lengthy shopping list, too. A seat and side cover for a Honda CB750 Four, bar ends for a Suzuki GS1100ES and a gas tank for a Yamaha R5 were just a few of the items he was trying to find for 14 bikes in his collection, a collection which totals “in excess of 40” vintage motorcycles. Just how many bikes Wallace owns isn’t certain. “I don’t sell anything.  I try not to know exactly,” he said, laughing.

Wallace is the owner of Southworth’s Wayside Furniture in Torrington and he has bikes stored in his garage, his basement and in the company’s warehouse. He drove his Ford F350 pickup to the Japanese motorcycle meet in North Brookfield, Mass. just in case he went on a spending spree. “I buy ‘em because I like ‘em. I tell other people that I buy them for investment purchases,” he said two days later, acknowledging that the philosophy of “He who dies with the most toys wins” is one that he embraces. “I always said that if I had enough money, I’d be dangerous.”

His first Rice-O-Rama purchase, though, wasn’t on his wish list. It consisted of a tank, seat, side covers and front fairing for a 1986 Suzuki GS550ES. He paid $20 for those pieces, which got labeled “sold” and were stuffed into a cardboard box. The vendor told him that he could have the rest of the bike, which wasn’t at the show, for just $20 more. Wallace agreed. Not a bad deal – a nearly complete bike for $40.

Wallace’s first bike was a Yamaha DT125 when he was 13. “My Dad had bikes before that. I used to play with those,” he said. He also began collecting books about motorcycles and has hundreds. Today, at 48, he’s as knowledgeable about old bikes as anyone you’ll meet, especially rice rockets from the 1970s and 1980s. “I started collecting old Hondas when I was 28,” he said, explaining that it wasn’t until five years ago that he got really seriously into stockpiling. “Then I started looking at Craigslist and making lists,” he said.

A walk through the Southworth’s warehouse reveals bikes stuffed between stacks of furniture still in the shipping cartons. There’s a long line of bikes against one wall, and more sprinkled elsewhere. Every bike has a story. Wallace can tell you where it came from and what it is – even if parts are missing. “I have six or seven bikes that are registered for the road. The others are put aside for projects,” he said.

Wallace’s first street bike was a 500cc 1978 Yamaha. He didn’t get his “M” endorsement under he was 17, though, because his cousin crashed at 16 and his parents thought its wise for him to hold off for a year because of it. And, yes, in the warehouse is a ’78 Yamaha, although it’s not the bike he had as a teenager. It’s just the same model in the same color.

Looking at a 1984 Kawasaki GPZ1100, Wallace pointed out the matte black grab rails and the foot peg brackets. “That’s very, very wrong. All of them should be shiny black,” he said. Nearby was a 1982 Suzuki Katana. “That’s a first-year Katana,” Wallace noted.

Most of Wallace’s bikes fall between the model years 1978 to 1984. It’s no coincidence that he graduated from Lewis S. Mills High School in 1982. “The stuff we had back in high school, if I could have all that stuff…,” he said, his voice trailing off at the thought of all the bikes he’d like to have from that era.

“I love a good bargain and I hate to see a good bike go to waste,” he said. Consequently, he has an alphabet soup assortment, including three Honda CB350s, three Kawasaki GPZs (in 500cc, 750cc and 1100cc sizes), a six-cylinder Honda CBX, a Ducati 907 IE, a BMW R100RS and a Suzuki GT380. As evidenced by his find at Rice-o-Rama, he buys low.

Wallace’s routine with sellers is simple. He never argues or points out flaws in trying to drive down the asking price. “If the price is out of line, I’ll offer a lesser price for it – what it’s worth to me. It’s always better off to be nice to the people, be diplomatic. A lot of people go about it the wrong way,” he said.

On his current wish list are a Kenny Roberts edition Yamaha RZ350 in yellow and black, an Eddie Lawson replica Kawasaki GPZ1000, a Wes Cooley replica Suzuki GS1000 and something new – a 2005 BMW F650GS Dakar.

“My problem is I have too many toys and not enough time,” he said. “I have limited time to ride because I’m usually working a lot.”

(Originally published in “The Republican-American” on Sept. 17, 2011.)