Tom and Andy--- Bought the Paramounts new in '72 and '73? I thought that I was the oldest f*** in this group! Still might be, but not by much, I suppose. I must admit that I did not buy a Paramount until the late '80's, and now have several. But, I did buy a new Sports Tourer in '72 (that I still have and ride on occasion)--- the ST was I think about $210 (35#) and the Paramount $325 (23#) --- I still remember thinking "why on earth would someone pay more money for a bike without a built-in kickstand"? Please do NOT pass this onto anybody else in the group :-)
My first bike, however, was a '48 or '49 Black Phantom with whizzer spokes, two speed rear hub, and a New Departure front brake--- which took me years of abuse to finally trash..
Nelson Miller // Seattle // USA