Categories: all aviation Building a Biplane bicycle gadgets misc motorcycle theater
Wed, 07 May 2014
Despite years of ownership and enjoyment, I've decided it's time to part ways with my 1972 Honda CL175. For the tl;dr version:
I've owned this bike since about half way through my brief 3 year racing career -- it was to be my "hot spare," but I ended up liking it enough that I've held onto it even years after I stopped racing. It's ridiculously small, and I'm sure I look like a big yellow gorilla riding a kid's bicycle on it. But for all that, it has (just enough) power to work on the freeway, and a very satisfying grunty motor. It's so lightweight that it feels more like riding a bicycle than a motorcycle, combining the advantages of both.
Of course, it's not perfect. It's 41 years old at this point, and even with its relatively pampered existence, it's still cranky in the morning, and my best efforts have not stemmed the slow seep of motor oil around some of the gaskets. The reworked front brake, while no doubt effective, has a bit of a nonlinear engagement (my biggest worry if I should sell it to a less-experienced rider).
Then again, as I was going through the list of improvements I've made to the bike over the years, it's pretty impressive. There are at least $700 worth of new parts and paid maintenance in the bike, including a Pertronix ignition, Accel coil, new shocks, new chain, top-end rebuild with overbore, reworked front brake, etc. It comes with an impressive array of spare parts, and I even have a pair of engines available as a separate sale. For the right person, this bike is a steal. For everyone else, it's just a reasonable price on a decent, very cool looking vintage motorcycle.
I'm sorry to say goodbye, but I'll be glad to have the space, and this will be a step toward making my own electric motorcycle, which has me unreasonably excited.
Posted at 16:25 permanent link category: /motorcycle
Categories: all aviation Building a Biplane bicycle gadgets misc motorcycle theater