Ready Das Motorrad!!!

[Anonymous 0]

Just a shout out to the other riders here, and a blurb about getting ready for the season myself.

Having some unseasonable warm weather this weekend in my local, so after my falling of the wagon last week I decided to take some time and do something fun for my self. I have hardly rode my motorcycle when I could and had been trying to sell it since I was unable to ride it for the last season. Now job better secured and injury being handled, mind clear and focused I decided I at least ought to get the thing ready to go since now I can keep it.

Well the old lead-acid battery had spewed over during some of the winter months and I had to remove it and get cleaning. Baking soda water and all, scruba dub dub and a wipe down with a clean rag. I’d have liked to get a AGM battery but did not want to afford it and the lead-acid had never let me down really other than needing occasional attention. Besides it is more vintage and I like it. Battery purchased and filled then set on the charger. Still charging as of now. And by this time I am having quite a bit of fun remembering previous rides and looking forward to new ones. At this point I am quite glad it never sold and I still have my favorite toy. Now after sitting for so long and I do not think I cleaned it before I put it away, can’t remember honestly. Now I have the cleaning things out and I am going to town on it making it shine where it does and all in the world does not exist, just me and my iron pony on a beautiful day. I got it looking good and clean now so next I air up the tires and front forks, just about ready to ride minus a brief tune after battery implantation. Oil does not smell like gas, so good there. Tomorrow is going to be a beautiful day to they say, so by then I should have it road ready and running.

Other riders out there, you guys ready for the season? I know I am and am itching for it at this point. Stay safe out there and have a great two wheeled season! Cheers!

A bit of background on the bike for those interested in its story.

The bike is a 1980 GL1100 Standard I purchased 5-6 years ago from a guy who had it and it was covered in Vetter. Not my style, but I rode it like that for a year, fully dressed and toured while I saved up my money and designed it in my head how I would do it up. I have been a fan of the cafe’ thing since I was first introduced into motorcycles during high school. I fell in love with the old Norton Commandos’ looks.

Now with my first bike I was going to modify, I had to have a cafe’ looking bike of my own. I chose a Goldwing because vintage Hondas are cheap and they can be quite the sleeper. Above all unlike the old CX’s I fit on them and was comfortable. They were initially designed as a sportier type of bike, however the market in The States for Vetter slowly drove the Goldwing into the trucks that they are now. From my understanding. Luckily the bike was originally a standard, no fairings what so ever. All I had to do was find the original headlamp, ears, and signals for the front. I scoured all the vintage swap meets at ever local show there was and had come out with quite a few carefully selected parts to put the bike back to its natural state. With the exception of an after market exhaust system that had actual headers as a separate unit. I grabbed a set of Emgo mufflers to let the boxer roar but keep the valves from being burnt, along with bigger jets in the carbs to get it running right. A new low set of handle bars and master cylinder to go with too of course. Next came the bar end mirrors, I chose folding ones for the slick look. All excess racks and guards along with the passenger foot rests were removed to give it a more bare bones look. Next came a new pair of progressive shocks. Springs ride so much better than the flabby feeling rear air shocks they have IMHO, and Progressive makes a good product. I scabbed a front fender form a CX500 “Plastic Maggot” to replace the funky looking one it had on it. It barley fit and required a bit of tweaking but clears the tire and is low to it looking quite good, well to me at least. What’s left to do is repaint the skins, I am undecided on the color right now though. I had the factory seat shaved down in the rear and recovered for a much more cafe’ look. This way the seat is sill as comfortable as the original but now has the look I went for. They guys that did the seat did a fabulous job.

Since then I have been to multiple events and local shows. Never won anything but some guys think it is the neatest thing since sliced bread. Its all about the fun and sharing of its story to me, not winning trophies. I have people all the time ask what it is or if it is really a Goldwing when I am refueling or stopped some where. I even have had a few offer to buy it from me!

[FullMetalExoParticipant 2383]

I got Specialized 29 bicycle haha 😀
I aim to have a motorcycle one day for sure

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[Greg HondaParticipant 6406]

Been on bikes since I was 13 and riding in a field. Japanese bikes and italian scooters. I still love the 200cc Lambrettas and Rally 200 Vespa, but they cost serious money now so I found a cheap 200cc Honda with a sixties look and rebuilt it. That was 2002 and I still got it but now its had a 250cc engine married up to the old 4 speed 200cc gearbox.

By the way, if anyone knows of a company that makes custom chain sprockets (Steel not Alloy), let me know cos’ it seriously undergeared.

Anyway, also brought a cheap 250cc single Honda CB250RSA that is a lot of fun to ride and sounds great. I just love stripping them down, cleaning all the parts internal and external, replacing, renewing, then respraying and rebuilding.

Had my old faithfull 200cc commuter bike stolen and burt out. Had the pic on my home page here. I’ve now changed that for the pic I took when I rebuilt it after the fire and I think it looks pretty good.

The money I was spending on the bike wasn’t exactly welcomed by the Misses so I sold my car and let the bike pay me back in fuel ecconomy. I rode it all year round to work and shopping etc. It was my wheels. Only borrowed the wifes car when there was actual Ice on the road.

Got a sales job at a Sports bike exhaust distributor and turned up everyday on the old Honda. The guys who worked there all had the latest Superbikes and mocked my puny Honda. They implied I wasn’t a real biker as it was such a humble machine. Thing is, I don’t think I ever saw one of these guys come to work on their Superbikes. They all had cars. However they could brag in the Pub about the fantastic machine they had in the garrage and mock anything they saw as less cool.

Since I had a major accident last year I’ve been using the car all the time. However, my legs getting better and with good weather I decided to give it a Run. Took a while to start and run cleanly but once underway it smoothed out again like it had never been laid up. Gotta love the Japanese build quality and reliability man.

I’m pretty sure I’ll always have a bike to ride untill I die. They are just part of my DNA. On a good day, on the right road, it just feels so natural to be in harmony with the machine. Sometimes it reminds me of what the Spitfire Pilots would say about their machines being part of them when flying. They didn’t have to conciously control the plane, it just seemed to react to their thoughts. It became part of them.

I guess you can get a similar feeling if you have a really good handling sports car, but then we are talking seriously big bucks. So yeah, I love the bikes, Hate the snobbery of some riders, Love the sense of Freedom they give me. You don’t have to have the latest flashest fastest machine to appreciate two wheels.

You just gotta Ride 🙂

It's Time to get Wise

[Repulsive RalfParticipant 356]

Us BSA riders don’t suffer from seasons, all I do to mine is fit the spare wheels I built with stainless rather than alloy rims, a huge rear sprocket so I can ride it slowly in the snow and ice, trial tyres for some grip, and then I cover the whole bike in WD40 so that the salt doesnt attack it.
I do enjoy the adventure of riding in adverse conditions.
When summer comes I give it a wash, put the summer wheels back on and it looks like this:-

[Anonymous 0]

Greg Honda wrote:

By the way, if anyone knows of a company that makes custom chain sprockets (Steel not Alloy), let me know cos’ it seriously undergeared.

Thing is, I don’t think I ever saw one of these guys come to work on their Superbikes. They all had cars. However they could brag in the Pub about the fantastic machine they had in the garrage and mock anything they saw as less cool.

Gotta love the Japanese build quality and reliability man.

I’m pretty sure I’ll always have a bike to ride untill I die. So yeah, I love the bikes, Hate the snobbery of some riders, Love the sense of Freedom they give me. You don’t have to have the latest flashest fastest machine to appreciate two wheels.

You just gotta Ride

MRHOW would be one to ask about sprockets. I am sure there are others too, but I am not in the know on that all mine have been shaft driven.

Lot of what I call fake riders, on super bikes and Harleys usually and they usually are snobs to. I do not associate with those folks or ride with them either. Prefer solo rides anyway. The same kind of people that truck/trailer their bikes to Sturgis.

The Japanese sure do build good motorbikes. I only had Hondas for years and I have never been let down by them.

All and all, just riding is the answer. Cheers!

[Anonymous 0]

Repulsive Ralf wrote:

Us BSA riders don’t suffer from seasons, all I do to mine is fit the spare wheels I built with stainless rather than alloy rims, a huge rear sprocket so I can ride it slowly in the snow and ice, trial tyres for some grip, and then I cover the whole bike in WD40 so that the salt doesnt attack it.
I do enjoy the adventure of riding in adverse conditions.
When summer comes I give it a wash, put the summer wheels back on and it looks like this:-

That’s a way to do it! Nice looking bike too sir!

[Anonymous 0]

FullMetalExo wrote:

I got Specialized 29 bicycle haha
I aim to have a motorcycle one day for sure

Two wheels is two wheels regardless of what’s between your legs in that frame. There are plenty O’ bikes out their friend, I’m sure you’ll find one you can grab when you are ready to make that purchase.

[Repulsive RalfParticipant 356]

Anonymous wrote:

Repulsive Ralf wrote:

Us BSA riders don’t suffer from seasons, all I do to mine is fit the spare wheels I built with stainless rather than alloy rims, a huge rear sprocket so I can ride it slowly in the snow and ice, trial tyres for some grip, and then I cover the whole bike in WD40 so that the salt doesnt attack it.
I do enjoy the adventure of riding in adverse conditions.
When summer comes I give it a wash, put the summer wheels back on and it looks like this:-

That’s a way to do it! Nice looking bike too sir!

Cheers, I built that bike from parts, even the engine from seperate parts.
As you like the Commando look, here is mine that I confess does hibernate.

[Anonymous 0]

Gassed up, oiled up, lubed up, and polished up. Can’t wait. Where I live you can be on the road in April. A little cool but who cares.

[Anonymous 0]

Anonymous wrote:

Gassed up, oiled up, lubed up, and polished up. Can’t wait. Where I live you can be on the road in April. A little cool but who cares.

Some times the cool and cold riding are the best. It really makes me feel alive.

[Anonymous 0]

@Repulsive Ralph

Beautiful Norton, shame its a bit hard to ride more than one at a time.

[Repulsive RalfParticipant 356]

Anonymous wrote:

@Repulsive Ralph

Beautiful Norton, shame its a bit hard to ride more than one at a time.

Even harder when you no longer really have anywhere to go on them, all my old riding friends have been taken out of the picture by women.
The open road is something that no longer exists in the UK thanks to our lefty friends.
I built this from parts last year and haven’t gone anywhere on it yet:-

[Anonymous 0]

Repulsive Ralf wrote:

SoylentGeneration wrote:

@Repulsive Ralph

Beautiful Norton, shame its a bit hard to ride more than one at a time.

Even harder when you no longer really have anywhere to go on them, all my old riding friends have been taken out of the picture by women.
The open road is something that no longer exists in the UK thanks to our lefty friends.

I built this from parts last year and haven’t gone anywhere on it yet:-

Freaking beautiful! I do not know how affordable/do able it is for you but have you thought about bringing one of your Bikes over here and touring The States a bit? There are some beautiful open roads still left. I just found out over the weekend my carbs are all gunked up. So now I need to learn how to rebuild them and reset them so the bike runs right. It really makes the Weber replacement mod a tempting idea.

[MadBikerParticipant 169]

Glad to meet some fellow bikers

Well I live in Scotland and due to the climate I can only get out about 6 months a year without risking hypothermia, frostbite, salt filled potholed roads filled and or daily near misses from headphone wearing myopic car drivers who don’t defrost their cars properly. Therefore I have decided to go and live in Spain for a couple of years before doing a RTW trip.

here is my current bike on the train to France in December 2016

and here is one I restored from a box of bits in 2010

[MadBikerParticipant 169]

Ralf

If you want to know the best roads in the West of Scotland let me know as I have ridden these on bikes since 1977.

[Repulsive RalfParticipant 356]

MadBiker wrote:

Ralf

If you want to know the best roads in the West of Scotland let me know as I have ridden these on bikes since 1977.

Cheers Soylent, I would be more inclined to hire a bike if I came to the States, something I would Love to do as I am so jealous of youir roads and deserts.
Back when I was about 20, a friend suggested we leave our lives here and move to the States and become scooter Tramps, I would have loved to as I had nothing here, but said friend met a girl!

Madbiker, that Suzuki is beautiful, I was 19 when I worked at Pride and Clarkes and they had Suzuki week, they would let us mechanics take the demo bikes home at night. That was fun at 19, taking a GS1000 home for the evening!
Unless Briexit makes moving to the continent out of the question when I retire in a couple of years, it will have to be Scotland I move to despite the cold and rain so maybe take you up on your offer then.

When we were younger, we used to leave London on a Friday with just a sleeping bag, ride somewhere like the New Forest, get drunk, then go trials riding in the dark, build a fire and go to sleep around it.
Here is one of the bikes I made from bits greeting me in the morning.

[MadBikerParticipant 169]

Ralf

You will be better off moving to Spain. You can easily rent a flat there for about 300 euros a month, no rain to speak of, empty well surfaced roads, petrol cheaper than in UK, decent cup of coffee anywhere 1 euro. This is why I am leaving to live in Spain now.

[Anonymous 0]

@madbiker
Also, I am glad to meet fellow bikers! Best of luck on the Round the World trip! I wish I could do so too but, now it is not possible. Maybe one day. I love what you built with the pieces. Some times a man’s dream bike just starts with a single petrol tank. Careful out there on RTW trip, lots of cellular phones and idiots adhered to them.

@Repulsive Ralph
I consider it a true blessing to have these roads here to ride, I have yet to get to the deserts, but wish to ride there. I am closer than I have ever been. Again Sir you make marvels out of bits.

If either of you guys decide to visit The States, I know a few good roads for a ride, fishing, and a drink. Cheers to you both, Gentlemen . May the wind be on your back. (If its on my side the boxer catches it and pulls quite the lean on the bike, rather fun though…)

[sidecarParticipant 35842]

Anonymous wrote:

Just a shout out to the other riders here, and a blurb about getting ready for the season myself.

The season? What a bizarre concept.

Winter riding is the best riding. Armoring up keeps you warm instead of making you sweaty, and the cold, dense, oxygen full winter air keeps your cylinders nice and cool and your carbs running nice and fat so your bike wants to throw the horizon under its wheels.

I f~~~ing love winter riding.

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