If you were going to buy a street bike....

[plumber mike]

Thanks for the link Hank. That was exactly the type of bike I was looking for when my wife said "your NOT getting another bike, your getting another child"
......so I got a bike.....a cheeeep one ($200)

Luckily, I did manage to purchase a 1979 Yamaha XS750 with 24K on the ticker all set up for touring(windjammer fairing, highway pegs, backrest/luggage rack combo and some leather saddlebags) I go pick it up on tuesday, so I'll snap some photo's then.

[loingrader]

congrats!  on the bike and the kid. 

seriously, you will grow to like that bike a lot more than you may think now.  old "barn" bikes are friggin great.

[plumber mike]

I hoping for a little more than a barn bike. It was a commuter last season, and I'm told it runs, but he got tired of buying a battery every year. He is the second owner. It's vintage, but not too vintage(it still has dual discs up front, and a disc and a shaft out back,a five speed and electric and kick start) It should make a good dirt road bike(18" rear, hmmm.... )since it it a little smaller than a Goldwing. The Windjammer fairing is so ugly it's cool. It even came with a repair manual and some H-D turn signals and saddle bags.

It needs a battery, a tire, and rear brake work. It needs the seat recovered and some polishing compound to make it a looker again. I'm exicted to try this cheap street bike to see how much I'll like riding a heavy street bike, and how dual sport capable it is.

I'll go get it and start a new thread over in the Yammy section.

Stay tuned.....

[AncientMariner]

I like the DL650 Vstrom better than the DL1000.  It is smoother.  Not tons of power but enough.  I replaced my totalled DL1000 with a Moto Guzzi V7 Classic.  It is very charismatic but in my opinion doesn't hold a candle to the Weestrom for reeling in the miles.

[Dr Psyko]

Nice garage Dude!

[Hank]

Nice Guzzi!  How are you feeling by now?

[AncientMariner]

Sorry for tardy response, Jason.  I'm feeling much better.  Have already put enough miles on the Guzzi for its initial 600 mile service.  I have another month of PT to look forward to but it is definitely working.  Foot and shoulder weakness make rolling the bike around, and especially on/off the trailer, something of a challenge.  Gets better every day.   On the Guzzi, I feel like I'm riding a museum display piece.  I like the nostalgia thing but I hope its reliability doesn't hark back to the "good old days" when an on board tool kit wasn't just for the paranoid.

The garage would be ever so much nicer if it were about 4X the size.  I'd still have my XV920R (traded in on the DL1000) if there'd been room.

[Dr Psyko]

http://www.rycamotors.com/

Check this thing out!!!

[AncientMariner]

Hmm... Taller shock to reduce the kicked out front geometry?  My Savage tended to fall into slow turns due to the kicked out forks.  I traded a it in on my Weestrom.  I loved the 650 thumper engine but didn't like the eronomics.  It was the forward controls that I disliked the most.  Too hard to let the legs share the load when they're pointing forward instead of downward.  I couldn't put many miles on the Savage.  The Ryca CS-1 is a thing of beauty.  Too bad I'm too old and stiff to bend myself to fit it.  No more rearsets for this old fart.

[Dr Psyko]

How was the power on the Savage? I really like the Ryca, but am concerned about the size of the frame (I'm over 6 feet), and if the bike has the cajonas to make the effort interesting.

[AncientMariner]

If you know what a 500cc street thumper's engine feels like, the Savage S-40 is a tad better.  More displacement.  Of course, I don't mean a race tuned thumper.  The belt is less mess and hassle than a chain, too.  Don't expect eyeball-flattening performance.  That isn't what thumpers are about.  Light and flickable in turns is where they live (with standard not cruiser steering geometry).  My SR500 is kick start.  The magic button on the Savage is pretty sweet.

I'm too old for a cafe racer but I would like to have an S-40 based standard bike.  I'm 5-8, 190#.  I found the Savage's performance pleasant.  It was fun to ride.


Saying good-bye to the Savage.

[Dr Psyko]

Thanks for the reply. I've always wanted a SR500, since they were out. Still want your garage!

[AncientMariner]

It must have been in 1978 or so, in Yokohama, when I saw an SR400 parked at the foot of the gangway of my ship.  I just about fell over myself.  I loved it.  When I got divorced in 1981, my first bachelor purchase was a new 1980 SR500.  Still have it.  Still love it.


On a trip through Colorado a long time ago.  I put narrower Seca 400 bars on it to make it easier to tuck in out of the wind.  I've since restored the original bars for better leverage.

[AncientMariner]

he got tired of buying a battery every year.

Everybody seems to sell Battery Tenders.  I prefer the BatteryMINDder Plus, as it claims to actually reduce sulfation by applying a high frequency to the battery.  I don't know if it's supposed to jar the sulfation loose, or what.  It comforts me to believe the sales pitch.  I have one for every vehicle with a battery.

http://www.batteryminders.com/batterycharger/catalog/Motorcycle-Battery-Chargers-orderby0-p-1-c-253.html

[Dr Psyko]

That's about the coolest photo I've seen...