Categories: all aviation Building a Biplane bicycle gadgets misc motorcycle theater
I rode out to Monroe tonight, to look at a CB350 someone was selling out there. He was very nice, and pleasingly literate (it seems sometimes that Craigslist sellers and buyers acquire just enough of letters to post their ad), and the bike was in reasonable but not great shape. It wasn't running, and the rear brake was permanently engaged, and there was plenty of corrosion everywhere (not enough to really freak me out, but enough to make me inwardly groan about how much cleaning it'd require).
The bike was, in short, worth roughly what I'd thought about offering him, or $600-700. He was asking $900, which is just too much for a non-running bike of this type and vintage.
In any case, I took a ton of pictures of everything I could think of, thanked him, and aimed the Ninja homewards. The ride back was cold, but the night sky was clear, and the heated vest was doing its job, and kept me comfortable.
I found my thoughts wandering over the bike I'd just looked at. It was obviously in need of some work to even get running: rear brake needed some kind of attention, carbs probably needed help, there was a loose connection somewhere in the wiring (the seller said it was probably the kill switch that was wonky, but also mentioned something about a wire further down the chain). It had what looked like vintage early 70s tires, which meant that before I could even think about riding it more than a "Yay I got it running" victory lap around the block, it'd need new tires and tubes. The gas cap didn't latch shut, missing a small steel pin necessary for the latch to work. The title, I was horrified to see, had been signed over to no one in 2005, which meant the 15 day transfer period (and its associated penalties) had expired at least 3 years ago.
In short, it was weeks from being rideable, depending on how fast new parts arrived. It was probably months from being in reasonably good condition, and in those months, I would start racing, design a show, and have who knows what else come up to consume my free time.
As I pondered these things, and thought back to how heavy the 350 felt in my hands (stuck brake aside), I realized that a 70s 350 is just more bike than I want. I really like the feel of the 175 that I race, and I liked it on the street -- no need for the bulk and power of a 350.
Then, I realized, buzzing happily along on my Ninja 250, I ride so little anymore that getting any other bike is pretty much overkill. I love the Ninja, to the point that replacing it with an SV650 left me feeling uncomfortable. Why did I want to supplement it with a cranky old vintage bike? Seeing all that corrosion, and all the work that would need to go into the 350 (and would need to go into any reasonably priced 175, too), I just couldn't imagine wanting to do that.
It's fine for the race bike. I've conquered the big problems, it's all refinement now. The thought of starting over again was just daunting.
Maybe, thought I to myself, what I really need... is no bike at all.
A radical thought. Perhaps what I already have is exactly what I should have.
Posted at 21:27 permanent link category: /motorcycle
Categories: all aviation Building a Biplane bicycle gadgets misc motorcycle theater