In Search of Parts

My other ride, which I just purchased, is a 1985 Kawasaki 454LTD. Being 25 years old, OEM parts are difficult to find.A friend told me about a motorcycle repair shop in Richlandtown, PA that has parts for older Japanese motorcycles. However, he did not know the name of the shop. So my goal for the day is to search for the shop and explore some roads in the area.

On a bright, sunny day my wife and I left after breakfast for Richlandtown. We took some familiar roads to get to the Easton area. From there I tried a new route, Morgan Hill and Old Well Roads (Markers B to C on map). Wow what a find! Only a couple of miles in length, the numerous curves made up for it. One of those great motorcycle roads you'll ride and turn around and do it again. From there I took SR 611 and SR 212 to get to Richlandtown.

In Richlandtown it wasn't difficult to find what I was looking for. Right on Main Street was Larry's Service Center with an older Kawasaki parked outside, so we pulled in. The owner of the Kawasaki was one of the employees who was early for work. However, soon the owner and other employees showed up and opened the shop. As it turned out, most of their business is with used OEM parts for Japanese bikes rather then motorcycle service repair. The shop is crammed with all types of parts. I found one of the parts I was looking for and they were going to look in their warehouse for others that I needed. Not a fully successful mission, but at least I know where to go for parts for my Kawasaki.

Leaving Richlandtown, we took Union and Richlandtown Roads. Union Road is a nice back road in very good shape. Richlandtown Road had more curves and shade then Union, but the road was rough in places. From there we took SR 563 and SR 63 to get to Green Lane.

In Green Lane we stopped at Rockwell's Restaurant for lunch. The food was very good and the service was excellent.

Right outside of Green Lane is Green Lane Park, which is administered by Montgomery County. I grew up about 20 miles away and a trip to the park was a 'big deal'. We looked froward to swimming, fishing, picnics, and other summer activites. I haven't been there for many years, so we took a ride over to the park and stopped to walk around. There were still many of the features I remember from my visits as a kid. One thing missing was swimming and the beach along the lake. There is still some good fishing in the lake and a new amphitheater.



Leaving the park, we picked up SR 29 for a couple of miles and then took Knight and Kutztown Roads (Markers G to H). Knight Road goes through an area where there are equestrian trails, another feature of Green Lane Park. Very scenic along with some elevation changes. Once you cross SR 663, Knight Road becomes Kutztown Road, another good route with little traffic.

Kutztown Road brings you to SR 100. I took it north for a short distance and turned onto Huff Church Road. From there I took a route of back roads to get me to US 222 and SR 863. Again, it was a return to back roads for the leg of our trip back home.


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