motorcycles caused me strife

[raWorkshop]

Three Africa Twins vs Afghanistan, click pic for ADV link.

[edmond]

huwaaattt?!?! story behind that road trip pls

[jcotteri]

I wanna buy a motorcycle in a few years that'll take me across the US. I want one with a good back carriage, carry some shit. What model should I aspire to, plus how much dollars to put away.

a BMW F650gs would be something of a dream bike for that kinda thing.. Pick it up for who knows in the states.

no need to waste time with a 1200..no offense ben

raWorkshop that's a lovely photo.. very majestic..

[williamcmoran]

I'm trying to get a hold of a 70s Japanese standard with a smaller engine to learn to ride/work on (and so I don't spend a shit-ton of money), and I've been told to check out Honda CBs, Yamaha RDs, etc.

I was just wondering if there was anything else in that vein, maybe from a lesser known brand, that I haven't heard of or something.

So uh, any recommendations?

Also, any must-have shop books? My uncle gave me some Haynes manuals a while ago, so I think I have those bases covered, but some of it is a bit over my head.

i have a few vintage bikes. 72' cb350, 74' norton, and 63' triumph. If you want a good beginner bike, I think a cb350 - 550 would be ideal for you.

[raWorkshop]

huwaaattt?!?! story behind that road trip pls

The picture is linked. The report is still being written but the thread is amazing so far.

[benz5521]

jcotteri, none taken but for a cross country trip on the highways you'll be much happier with a 1200. The 650 has to work hard on the highways. Great bikes though.

[jcotteri]

I'm actually just going off what some of my friends are using. They're travelling from Brisbane Australia up through Asia, Middle East and then right down through Africa. In their opinion the 1200 was a bit of overkill which was an opinion I also shared. I guess it comes down to what ever floats your boat, fuel use and $$$. If your interested I can link their blog which is where the above image comes from

edit: I'm not trying to sound pretensious there if you got that impression

[raWorkshop]

Depends if you're leaving the pavement or not. If you're traveling across the country on the Trans-Atlantic Trail, you don't want anything bigger than 650, if that. If you're super slabbing, a BMW GS wouldn't be the best choice either, but the displacement and weight would be nice.

[Gravitas]

Went and got my permit today, starting class next week and finishing early October. Hopefully i'll have found something to ride shortly after I finish. Excited as fuck!

[Westbrook]

i ride a 1200GS and i fucking love it. equally capable on and off road (not single track, it's not a true dirt bike). surprises a lot of street riders with how well it handles through the twisties and in the straight-aways. it's also surprisingly simple to work on. i test drove a 650 and found it a little underpowered for open highway. still a great bike tho.

[BrokenGlass]

still on the fence on what to do with this thing

a. restore it as is

b. cafe it

c. restore it to the CL it was with a k1 tank and scrambler pipes

It's a 69 CL450 according to the vins but someone has since put black bomber pipes and later (73?) CB tank and covers

So I decided I would at least go back to the tank it's supposed to have: (not my bike)

So I got an incomplete tank from ebay for $100. I found a source for the chrome tank covers($55/each side) and knee grips($11/each side) from hondapeninsula.com It turn out they don't actually have the parts, they just let you order them and email to say they don't have them, but we can send you the bolts you ordered to attach the things we don't have...anyway, found another source the chrome/grips, however, $100 each chrome and $75 for each knee grip!

That would be

$100 Tank

$30 Emblems

$200 Chrome

$150 knee grips

$20 or so for hardware and moutning rubber

? Paint

$500 before paint... half what I paid for the bike, beginning to think I should sell the ebay tank and work with what I've got.

Did a moc up

Paint the tank black, gold/brass trim. paint shock housing black. Took off the turn signals and put clip-on's on it...

Any thoughts? Fork out the dough for the sweet tank it's supposed to have with chrome and knee grips or keep the tank I've got, paint it ?

Also, what do you think about the clip-ons (handle bars) ?

Other mods I'm considering:

chopping the fenders, doing a more brat style seat (low, flat). I want the gauges to sit lower. Haven't figured out the tail light, but the stock one in the pic I quoted is tall and ugly.

What do you guys think?

[dizzhizz]

modify please.

get new gas tank, new fenders, seat, etc.

as for the clip bars, definitely an option but you should consider you might sacrifice ride comfort for looks give the placement and overall ergonomics.

take a look at this site if u haven't already:

http://www.wmpdt.co.jp/wm.html

realistically i wanted that bmw x country but as a first bike i think i'm more inclined to start off with a 400cc bike. been looking at the cb400ss or a yamaha sr400 and definitely want to mod accordingly.

[BrokenGlass]

hm, which tank? The one I have already then paint black or the tank with the chrome side covers?

What kind of fenders are you suggesting? I was think of chopping the current one's shorter and maybe painting them black.

That's not me on the bike, I'm 5'7", the clip-on's without running rear-sets I think would be comfortable enough, especially after I chop a couple of inches of foam out of the seat.

The sr400 is a rad bike, but I really like the way the kawa w400/650 engine looks... handsome motor.

[Dex_star]

speaking purely aesthetically, a big yes to clip-on bars from me

heres a cb i really like that has a lower seat and clip ons

[dizzhizz]

so many bad ass bikes in here...

http://www.cb750cafe.com/

broken glass - so many options but hope this site would give you some good ideas if you haven't already stumbled on here.

[BrokenGlass]

I have check it out, not really into that guys work =/

[dizzhizz]

its a bit more extreme compared to the other sites, but i'm digging the jap sites a bit more.

anyways, good luck with your bike. i think black looks bad ass but its your call.

[jcotteri]

Indeed indeed well I guess I will just pipe down then great bikes none the less but I'm not hugely into BMW's still prefer Italian bikes. MV Agusta, Ducati's, Ghezzi Brian, Moto Guzzi, speaking of which the Stelvio 1200 4v?that could potentially be an amazing ride.

[dizzhizz]

italian bikes ftw!

[Osmosis Jones]

It just depends on what you want to do with the bike. accomplish that and everything is easy. Do you want to flip it? enjoy riding it? gain mechanical knowledge of motorcycles? restore it?

[Denim Phenom]

I would definitely cafe that bike. Check out Wrench Monkees, they do a lot of good stuff with Japanese bikes and cafe racers.

[Osmosis Jones]

I would definitely cafe that bike. Check out Wrench Monkees, they do a lot of good stuff with Japanese bikes and cafe racers.

that site is amazing... again, bikeexif.com is awesome for anybody into cafe racers.

I am looking more into the Triumph Bonneville line now since it's the one bike which started it all and I just want to ride without having to worry about something breaking. The problem is that there are 3 versions of it(currently) and probably more variations as I look into used bikes.

also, porn.

[wild style]

Jasin Phares/Max Schaaf bike, soo fucking sweet.

[kiya]

Anything Max touches turns into gold..

[BrokenGlass]

not into those ^

this is pretty sick though

[wild style]

Can't wait for his episode on Epicly Later'd. Should be up soon. (digging the banner ads, btw Kiya.)

Some blogs to check:

4Q Conditioning

Cycle Zombies

Also, if you're bored check out the Cycle Zombies episode on Hi-Shredability here

[B-Dawg]

I see this around town frequently, and the dude riding it looks super badass. Any idea what it is? Sorry about the iPhone pic.

[red]

max is a bay area treasure.

ive got a 4q shirt for sale by the way.

[wild style]

q_hyBv4fUBY

[Dex_star]

Cycle Zombies

Also, if you're bored check out the Cycle Zombies episode on Hi-Shredability here

i love their triumphs