Author Topic: The Time Has Come for a Change of Pace (Read 5648 times)

Surfernick · **on:** September 01, 2015, 04:41:26 am

Thanks to this most excellent forum, I've finally decided the time has come for a change of pace (literally). With some trepidation

, I've decided to sell my 1983 CB1100F. She's a real beaut - mostly original except for the Sudco CR carbs, a period original RC Performance Products 4 into 1 exhaust and two Corbin seats (take your choice). She's damn fast and fun, but I'm getting a little too long in the tooth for the bike and it's time to move to a more leisurely ride and one that is less death defying. I've got my eye on a new RE Continental GT (red or black).

So, I'll get my CB1100F serviced and ride her 'till the end of the month and then put her up for sale. That will give me enough room in the garage for a Conti (right next to my other 4 motorcycles).

Here's my Honda (for one more month at least). Time to move from 4 cylinders to 1!

Scotty Brown · **Reply #1 on:** September 01, 2015, 06:12:03 am

The enjoyment of a thumper will greatly outweigh your experience with the four cylinder. The Enfield's are time machines where one can smell the flowers and really adjust to the surroundings.

Ice · **Reply #2 on:** September 01, 2015, 11:49:30 am

You may find yourself taking the roads less traveled, literally.

These machines tap into some unidentified primal undercurrent in the psyche or nervous system and cause the beg, "one more bend" or "over the next hill".

gizzo · **Reply #3 on:** September 01, 2015, 12:43:12 pm

It's kinda funny how on a big multi you see how quick you can get somewhere but on a thumper you look for ways to make the ride last longer

.
Good luck with the Enfield.

tooseevee · **Reply #4 on:** September 01, 2015, 01:11:07 pm

Quote from: Ice on September 01, 2015, 11:49:30 am

..... "some unidentified primal undercurrent in the psyche or nervous system"...

Hhhmmmm... sort of sounds like when I first saw Audrey Hepburn in Gigi in 1951

I was 13.

Richard230 · **Reply #5 on:** September 01, 2015, 03:13:20 pm

My brother had a 1983 CB1100F. I rode it around the Santa Cruz Mountains and that thing was really scary. It had so much torque, and the stock Bridgestone tires were so crappy, that I still shake when remembering how the rear wheel would spin and slide while going around damp corners. It was a very reliable bike, but the chassis and tires were just not up to the power made by the engine, in my opinion.

Surfernick · **Reply #6 on:** September 01, 2015, 04:04:04 pm

I know what you mean about corners, lol! When I purchased the bike, it was set up for straight-line drag racing. It was running struts and a Vance & Hines drag pipe (guaranteed to ground out in a corner). It wasn't street safe, except for straight-aways.

The first thing I did was install a proper pipe and shocks.

At any rate, my "need for speed" is satisfied - time to slow it down (and if I ever want a little more power, I still have a CB1000).

Surfernick · **Reply #7 on:** September 01, 2015, 04:08:03 pm

Quote from: Ice on September 01, 2015, 11:49:30 am

You may find yourself taking the roads less traveled, literally.

These machines tap into some unidentified primal undercurrent in the psyche or nervous system and cause the beg, "one more bend" or "over the next hill".

The nice thing about where I live (central California, near the foothills) is that there are plenty of country roads with low traffic volumes to explore. I look foward to some two-lane ride time...

barenekd · **Reply #8 on:** September 01, 2015, 08:37:58 pm

What you are going to find out is that is a lot more fun to ride a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow! the Enfield is the most fun bike I ever owned in my last 55 years of riding, up to and including liter class Superbikes.

Richard230 · **Reply #9 on:** September 01, 2015, 10:53:26 pm

My riding friend was surprised the other day when he followed me on my 2011 B5 while he was riding his BMW F800ST. He said he had to struggle to keep up with me around the corners while we were riding along Skyline Boulevard in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Guaire · **Reply #10 on:** September 02, 2015, 12:49:46 am

There's nothing like throwing away tonnage of weight.

Ice · **Reply #11 on:** September 03, 2015, 01:29:22 am

Surfernick, more than few Bullet owners keep going when the pavement ends.
Fire roads, logging roads and rolling single track are within the capabilities of the bike.

Dig into the history of the Bullet. Back in the day they were the ISDT machine to try and keep with and did well in road racing too.

Surfernick · **Reply #12 on:** September 03, 2015, 02:20:27 am

Ice,
The scrambler versions of the Bullet really intrigue me. I have 3 1969 Honda scramblers in my garage, so I might be a scrambler addict... my wife will kill me if I add another, lol!

Ice · **Reply #13 on:** September 03, 2015, 02:39:03 am

Harris Scrambler on the WABDR

Hooligan

Join the club ! you know you want to

Surfernick · **Reply #14 on:** September 05, 2015, 02:27:26 am

The alloy tank special is a thing of beauty!

Ice · **Reply #15 on:** September 06, 2015, 12:55:28 am

Thank you. She gets up and goes.

Wouldn't take much to turn yours into a scrambler, then you could park amongst your others and the Missus just might not notice the extra bike.

Then you could get another Bullet to replace the first.

Then the process may REpeat itself though

Surfernick · **Reply #16 on:** September 07, 2015, 11:18:11 pm

Your suggestion might work - I restored two Honda Sl's and I had enough parts left over to build a "bits and pieces" third Honda. So, rather than leave piles of parts on the shelves, I put together a third bike out of the left-overs. My wife didn't notice it until I pointed it out... the bikes tend to camouflage themselves when they are in the "herd"

?...

Ice · **Reply #17 on:** September 08, 2015, 01:49:48 am

I have a soft spot for the SL's and the 125's in particular.
Lots of guys here rode vintage when they were next years models.

If you want to post pics they would be welcomed.

Surfernick · **Reply #18 on:** September 09, 2015, 05:08:19 am

Here's two of them - both 1969 SL90's (one year only models, of course). I purchased the blue SL90 new in 1969, sold it around 1972 or '73. I located and re-purchased the little blue bike in 2012 - it was a real mess as it was used as a "ranch bike". I rebuilt it from the ground up - it took me 13 months. The red SL90 is made of spare parts that I had gathered while restoring the blue SL90 (I still need to stripe the gas tank, install the drive chain and legally register it, but I'm getting lazy).

I had enough parts left over to build a third SL90 (but it's a bitsa and not original). That's what happens when you want one part, but the seller insists on selling you the whole pile of parts as a condition for the deal. I have a stock engine for the third, but I am going to install a larger cc Lifan engine (requires fabricating new brackets) and set it up as a little dirt tracker. Then, it gets sold...

Surfernick · **Reply #19 on:** September 09, 2015, 05:26:05 am

Here's how bad my blue bike looked when I picked it up in 2012...

and here's how it looked 13 months later...

Surfernick · **Reply #20 on:** September 09, 2015, 05:39:18 am

And here's how to take off an exhaust pipe 43 years after the original installation. It requires a rubber mallet and patience.

Success!

So, you can see why the idea of a new bike appeals to me (finally, a bike I won't have to completely rebuild!). And, best of all, doing routine maintenance, periodically tightening bolts, replacing a spark plug and occasionally checking wiring sounds like a vacation in Kauai to me...
Note surfboards in background...

mattsz · **Reply #21 on:** September 09, 2015, 10:26:12 am

Quote from: Surfernick on September 09, 2015, 05:39:18 am

So, you can see why the idea of a new bike appeals to me (finally, a bike I won't have to completely rebuild!). And, best of all, doing routine maintenance, periodically tightening bolts, replacing a spark plug and occasionally checking wiring sounds like a vacation in Kauai to me...

If only buying a new bike could guarantee that...

Those bikes look great!!

Ice · **Reply #22 on:** September 09, 2015, 07:46:54 pm

Nice bikes Nick !

Surfernick · **Reply #23 on:** September 09, 2015, 08:44:51 pm

Thanks guys!

After building 3 of them, I now know where all the "pieces parts" go. I could build one blindfolded...

Ice · **Reply #24 on:** September 10, 2015, 12:19:50 am

Quote from: Surfernick on September 09, 2015, 08:44:51 pm

Thanks guys!

After building 3 of them, I now know where all the "pieces parts" go. I could build one blindfolded...

I have room in my shed.

Surfernick · **Reply #25 on:** September 10, 2015, 04:36:07 am

I'll have to build up the dirt tracker, take it to "Dirt Quake" for a run and drop it off at your place, lol!

pknopp · **Reply #26 on:** September 11, 2015, 02:45:18 am

I have a real soft spot for the old Honda's. I've had a bunch of them, from a 63 305 Dream to a 75 CB750.

I currently have a very nice original (mostly) 71 Cb450 along with the R.E.

Surfernick · **Reply #27 on:** September 14, 2015, 12:02:31 am

My first real motorcycle was a '64 Honda 305 Dream. I picked it up for $25 (it was pretty well shot mechanically and the wiring had been buggered up). At the time (1968), I thought is was the ugliest bike around and I didn't like the squared/angled style. Today, I consider the Dream a classic and I wouldn't mind having one. Interesting how tastes can change over time...

Richard230 · **Reply #28 on:** September 14, 2015, 02:09:54 am

My first "real" motorcycle, after Vespa and Lambretta scooters, was a black and chrome 1963 Yamaha YD-3 touring model, compete with 16" wheels, white-wall tires, tan plastic accessory leg shields, a single carb feeding two cylinders and having a fiber dipstick in the fuel tank to check the fuel level. Top speed from its 18 hp engine was 70 mph. Its claim to fame was that it fouled one of the two spark plugs every 50 miles and would leave a dense blue cloud of oil vapor when first accelerating on the freeway. I bought it in 1963 for $585 at Al Fergoda's shop on Market Street in San Francisco and put 6,000 miles on the bike before I gave up and bought a 1964 Honda CB305. A big step up in a number of ways.

Surfernick · **Reply #29 on:** September 15, 2015, 04:16:30 am

Love the blue oil mist and the gas tank dipstick!

I should of mentioned that my first motorized cycle was a Taco mini-bike from Steen's in Alhambra. I purchased it in 1965 (it was a "Burrito" model). I couldn't afford a complete new one, but I saved enough to buy one Steen's had in the back without the engine. I got ahold of a centrifugal clutch and an old upright lawnmower with a 3.5 h.p. Briggs & Stratton engine, removed the engine and installed it the Taco, added a homemade exhaust extension to move the muffler out from under the seat, connected the throttle and I was off to the races! My friends and I built a mini dirt track in the back of my parents property and spent the weekends blasting around. Every now and then I'll see a Taco for sale (and talk myself out of buying it)...