2
240punk
Guest
I feel like the most relevant opening statement is that this is my first motorcycle project. Ive always wanted a motorcycle and after realizing a V twin was not in my budget, I settled for the first bike that was.
I pulled up to what seemed like a warehouse. A rather large fella directed me around back where he slid open an intimidating barbed wire fence and it was then that I caught my first glimpse of her.
"Go ahead, sit on it" he said when he saw that I could not hide my enthusiasm. We both knew the sale was already made
Fast forward to the second week of having the bike in my possession.
It did not idle, it burned oil, it smoked a bit, the tires were completed dry rotted, it was missing a grip, it slipped out of second sometimes, the silencer fell out of the muffler so it was deafeningly loud, there was no pad on the seat, and I had no jacket.
I rode Santiago Canyon multiple times and rode it to work every day. I then decided to ride from Irvine, where I reside, to Cayucos, where a friend was visiting. 250 miles. A completely ridiculous and beautiful decision.
Fast forward to pullling back into my garage a few days later. Absolutely no problems except that it was now pouring smoke out of the exhaust and the base gasket leak became quite apparent. I only have a few pictures from the trip and this is the one Im willing to put on the internet :-#.
It was then that I decided that I would find a replacement engine, pop it in on the weekend my brother was visiting from texas, and then take my time rebuilding the original to something a little faster.
The swap was relatively painless but a bit heavier than I anticipated.
Fast forward 3 months
to now.
New brake line (rear deleted), brake pad, intakes, tires, foot controls, chain, and cables.
Left to do are new bars, throttle, grips, minor wiring, battery, smaller headlight, seat cover, resurface and drill rotor, and Im sure some other stuff Im sure.
I dug into my old engine and found the piston and rings in pristine condition.
I want to build it with a gs650 top end but I think I will just rebuild the head and hope for the best.
I pulled up to what seemed like a warehouse. A rather large fella directed me around back where he slid open an intimidating barbed wire fence and it was then that I caught my first glimpse of her.
"Go ahead, sit on it" he said when he saw that I could not hide my enthusiasm. We both knew the sale was already made
Fast forward to the second week of having the bike in my possession.
It did not idle, it burned oil, it smoked a bit, the tires were completed dry rotted, it was missing a grip, it slipped out of second sometimes, the silencer fell out of the muffler so it was deafeningly loud, there was no pad on the seat, and I had no jacket.
I rode Santiago Canyon multiple times and rode it to work every day. I then decided to ride from Irvine, where I reside, to Cayucos, where a friend was visiting. 250 miles. A completely ridiculous and beautiful decision.
Fast forward to pullling back into my garage a few days later. Absolutely no problems except that it was now pouring smoke out of the exhaust and the base gasket leak became quite apparent. I only have a few pictures from the trip and this is the one Im willing to put on the internet :-#.
It was then that I decided that I would find a replacement engine, pop it in on the weekend my brother was visiting from texas, and then take my time rebuilding the original to something a little faster.
The swap was relatively painless but a bit heavier than I anticipated.
Fast forward 3 months
to now.
New brake line (rear deleted), brake pad, intakes, tires, foot controls, chain, and cables.
Left to do are new bars, throttle, grips, minor wiring, battery, smaller headlight, seat cover, resurface and drill rotor, and Im sure some other stuff Im sure.
I dug into my old engine and found the piston and rings in pristine condition.
I want to build it with a gs650 top end but I think I will just rebuild the head and hope for the best.
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