Getting cold....bored...got some money....what to do?

[smack doogle]

So, winter is getting close and I keep seeing all these older 70's and 80's bikes for sale on craigslist for cheap. Most look relatively clean and most are around $1000. So it strikes me how bad ass a CB400/750 or something similar would look all blacked out with some 17" excell supermoto wheels or the like. Maybe an old F1/F2/F3/F4 front end on it or something. Nothing serious. NOT A CAFE. More a street tracker or something similar. Something cheap. Something I can beat the shit out of yet ride around and everyone says "hey what's that". Guess this is a "what do you think post" or a "anybody got a bike they would sell as a good foundation". Maybe I'm just bored and trying to fill my time with random thoughts. Input--------------------------

[cdovego]

My name is Chris Dove and I fully support this idea.

('76 550 sitting outside)

[smack doogle]

Thanks Chris, your from SD right? I was there the past 5 years. Love Mt. Palomar. Ya got any pics of that 550?

[markbvt]

Do it. A buddy and I just got done rebuilding a '71 Honda CL350. Got a few odds and ends to finish up, mostly tweaking the carb jetting, but I've ridden it, and it's a pretty sweet little bike. Very easy handling. Once we get the jetting sorted out, it should be a fun ride.

And in the process of rebuilding it, we learned a lot.

--mark

[seth399]

I've noticed the same thing when looking through craigslist and such...I would definitely do that if i had more time and $$$ to put into more bikes

[soofle616]

Go for it. An '84 Magna 700 would be a great base (hint hint)

[GixerJockey]

Go for it. An '84 Magna 700 would be a great base (hint hint)

Hinting and beating around the bush is NOT how you sell something...






What he meant to say is:



"Hey, I have an '84 Magna for sale. Cheap. New tires, recently serviced, running condition. Please come and rescue it from my garage."

[rbrais]

My uncle's friend has a mint '83 Honda 1100F. If he ever decides to sell it, I want it. I don't think it's been ridden in years.

Next spring I want to get my uncle's '88 Honda NX650 back on the road. It hasn't been ridden since I used it 10 years ago. Still in showroom condition.

[soofle616]

Hinting and beating around the bush is NOT how you sell something...






What he meant to say is:



"Hey, I have an '84 Magna for sale. Cheap. New tires, recently serviced, running condition. Please come and rescue it from my garage."

Yeah what he said,

[Pigman]

Buy a Sled.........

[cdovego]

Ya got any pics of that 550?

By no means done, always a work in progress...as it should be.

[soofle616]

Damn that thing is sweet. One of these days I'm gonna build me a cafe like that

[Jim]

talk to johnnyV. think he's got a bike he restored and might sell

[zombie]

hold out and buy an older suzuki gs series preferably the 850 or 100
their cheap and bulletproof and you may even be able to find a gs1100e for around a grand , great platform for modifiying as all the later gixxer crap is almost bolt on

[smack doogle]

By no means done, always a work in progress...as it should be.

Wow!!, that is nice. I'm still window shopping waiting for that screaming deal. I'm in no hurry either. Thanks for everyone input though.

[cdovego]

Started with something like this. It's really not nearly as easy as you'd (or maybe I should say "I") think.

[markbvt]

Started with something like this. It's really not nearly as easy as you'd (or maybe I should say "I") think.

+1. It's a time-consuming process. My buddy Ross and I took two years to finish our CL350 because we had to work around both our schedules, so we'd work on it for a few hours on a Saturday morning here, half a Sunday there, and often have a month go by before we could find more time to work on it.

If you have a good shop space to work in, solid chunks of time every day, no parts on order that you have to wait for, and access to someone knowledgeable to ask questions when you get stuck, and you don't have to do any fabrication, you can probably do a basic rebuild in a week or two. But more realistically, expect it to take a few months, especially if you want to customize the bike.

Still, it's a great project, and it feels pretty damn good when you fire the bike up for the first time (especially if you've been inside the engine). I'm pretty sure this CL350 won't be my last build.

--mark

[smack doogle]

Little update to the cold/bored issue. The wife and I went beginner bike shopping last weekend and by wednesday we came home with a 82 KZ440. Perfect condition, it actually starts better in low temps than my Super Hawk. Awesome little bike though. Got the seat shaved and some black Daytona bars to make it look a little better to ride in public. The wife will start learning soon. I love to work on this bike, took me about 45 minutes to check/adjust the valves. Now that's fun. Here's the pics.

[smack doogle]

a couple more.

[a13x]

Damn that thing is player Chris.

Nice score SmackD.

[GixerJockey]

Nice man! I took my motorcycle test (albeit 17 years ago) on that same year and model.

[-jro-]

By no means done, always a work in progress...as it should be.

god she's beautiful.....keep up the good work

[gregp]

Late this summer, my older daughter's boyfriend mentioned that he wanted to learn how to ride a motorcycle and I was all too quick to help him get started. I gave him a few lessons on my DRZ and eventually I was able to borrow an XR100 from my older brother for him to bring home and ride. I found an '82 KZ 750E for $400, and I picked it up and began getting it ready for him. I installed new tires and a new chain and sprockets and ended up with a whopping total of $650 into the bike when it was done. What I didn't see coming was that, as I was working on it, I really fell in love with it. It was so easy to work on! I could get the carbs out in 10 minutes, the starter was also readily accessable, and the bike performed marvelously!
He has had possesion of the bike for a couple of months now, and he has reported it to be a very reliable and capable machine. I really enjoyed the whole process and started thinking about picking up another old bike and doing it again...