motorcycles caused me strife

[robgotsastaplerr]

haha, the maintenance of an old bike seems like itll be very interesting.

so, the question i have to ask since this is superfuture after all: are all riders destined to fall and potentially lay to pasture (no pun) their $300 silk trousers/japanese denim/x designer pants? something on my mind has been if i use this for daily use for school/work, i will have to give up some nice things in my life for the hobby haha.

[Denim Phenom]

You're going to fall. Not if, but when. When you fall, who gives a shit how your clothes/boots look, are you alive or dead?

[robgotsastaplerr]

yea my friends have said the same. one of my buddies took a nasty fall just this past month off a freeway exit ramp; still on crutches after surgery no less. think the doctor said he's gonna have a minor limp for the rest of his life.

well, i hope you please pardon the above stupid question.

[superbeveridge]

concrete make for some interesting fades trust me... i have a big white stripe along my jeans from my last fall... i'm kind of an aggressive rider though.

[komakazi830]

The clothes can be replaced...your skin is a much different procedure.

You guys, does anyone know about Norton's? A guy nearby is selling a '74 Commando 850. I been sitting on it for a week but I'm betting it's still around. He was asking $9500 or some shit and I talked him down to $8000 but I walked when he wouldn't take $7500...Thing is i don't know what I was doing cuz I have no idea of the value of these things other than they go for like $5-10k. Condition was great because he rode it less than 1000 mi. since he had it restored. Surprisingly it started with one kick and I'm only like 150 lb. and it's an 850 cc bike. He has all the receipts from the work and stuff too. My question does anyone have an idea of what a good price for this is? Pic below

[Osmosis Jones]

yea my friends have said the same. one of my buddies took a nasty fall just this past month off a freeway exit ramp; still on crutches after surgery no less. think the doctor said he's gonna have a minor limp for the rest of his life.

well, i hope you please pardon the above stupid question.

I've fallen a total of 5 times. Twice on a track with a leather 1-piece suit that were not a big deal at all except a bruised shoulder. Another two times on a scooter during a storm and over gravel(separate occasions). I was fine both times and got up right away to my ride still idling on the side of the road. My shoe came off on the second accident and I spent a good 5 minutes finding it.

Another time was when I was learning how to drift on supermotards and at the exit of the turn, I gave it a lot of throttle to try and wheelie out but my front tire came down at a different steering angle and crazy tank slap ensued. No steering damper to compensate and I just tried bailing off to the side before I flew into a hard object. The bike sideswiped a brick wall and I slid across asphalt until I stopped just a couple feet away from the curb.

I haven't had a serious injury yet and I've actually never broken a bone. The worse injury was when my shoe came off and my right ankle had disgusting road rash that has left a clear quarter-sized patch of skin on my ankle. The result of quickly spraying super glue all over it and having no scab.

So always wear gloves, a heavy jacket, if not a leather one, boots that cover the ankle, and a helmet.

[robgotsastaplerr]

dont combat medics also use super glue for a quick seal on wounds as well? it's a great idea, really.

having separate riding boots is probably a good idea too—just swap out in the bag when time for class. perhaps steel toed? i'm thinking some doc martens along with levis, oakley gloves, my leather a-2 and a nice bell to top it off. thanks again for all the tips, and i'll be sure to post up once i meet the asphalt and pop my concrete cherry.

[poops]

how was everyone first time riding some distance?

i'm trying to convince myself to do a chicago to las vegas solo ride in like 2 weeks

[bruised]

^^ damn i hope your bike is reliable. sometimes when i'm riding alone at night on a long stretch of unfamiliar road, i start thinking too much and worry that my bike might break down for some reason i don't know about just yet.

actually when i think hard about just riding i kinda freak myself out. i do better if i don't think and just do.

threw this new steve carpy seat on real quick with zip ties to go to a moto meet up. just slapping stuff on until total rebuild in the winter

1976 cb550 supersport

pod filters

aluminum megaphone muffler

dyna s ignition

tarozzi rear sets

roc city clip on handles

mini gauges

bumped up the carb jets

kick start only

rust

gonna get rid of the battery and hide the electronics soon and clean the bike up sorta nice.

[poops]

ya it's a vulcan 1500 with 4k miles on it, thing is solid.

i'd be selling it right after i got back though, so the main thing holding me back is putting the 3-4k more miles on it, which i'm sure would drive the value down some.

[wild style]

See ya Sunday.

[Denim Phenom]

That CB is going to look awesome when you finish it. Can't wait!

[raWorkshop]

how was everyone first time riding some distance?

i'm trying to convince myself to do a chicago to las vegas solo ride in like 2 weeks

Distance isn't bad if there's stuff to see/do (hiking, good roads), but there's not much of that between Chicago and LV unless you route yourself up through the Rockies.

There are the super basics - ear plugs, keep a water bottle on you at all times, eat something every time you stop so your blood sugar doesn't spike out/you get tired or confused, might consider bicycle shorts if you have them? Check oil and tire pressure every other day, consider the last time you had and oil change etc.

Companies like Nelson Rigg sell decent soft luggage. You'll probably want a tank bag and saddle bags at least when you go, leave the rear seat for strapping stuff.

Speaking of luggage and gear, I just bought an Arai Vector, Caribou Cases, a Wolfman tank bag and new Olympia mesh gear. Reviews soon.

[Denim Phenom]

poops, if you do come to las vegas hit me up, we'll hang.

what are you going to be riding down on?

I-80 across Iowa, Nebraska, and Wyoming sucks.

Taking the I-80 through Iowa, Nebraska, and then to Colorado wouldn't be bad. I bet riding in the mountains would be really awesome.

[Denim Phenom]

Look who's almost done.

[wild style]

[Lars]

That turned out really nice!

How does the front wheel handle on the street?

(Must spread rep)

[Denim Phenom]

Not bad so far. It's a dual sport tire so it was designed for both. I have an Avon speedmaster laying in wait so I can put that on when I need to.

[Osmosis Jones]

I love it. Good to see some serious motorheads on Superfuture, especially ones who are so passionate about motorcycles.

I'm running knobbies/dual sport tires on the street right now and it's actually really fun being able to transition to dirt and has gotten me out of traffic on more than one occasion.

It feels weird when I get wheelspin though.

[Guest]

On to the topic of exhausts:

For nostalgia sake my old R1 had GYTR slip ons which sounded and looked real horn

Every Duke has a fucking Termignoni exhaust installed and they just didn't do it for me. So I picked up the Competition Werkes exhaust for the 1098 and it's pure hooligan.

Here's a quick soundbite (you'll need decent speakers) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1LFxJDesnE

Post up your favourite exhausts!

[Denim Phenom]

I need to add a sportbike back into my garage (when I get one).

[wonger]

I saw this bike off the main strip in Harajuku and I fell in love with it. I spotted an 81 CB750 by my place for $950 which I think will be my first motorcycle. Opinions on that idea are welcome.

[_ironman]

ok so i'm new to bikes and looking to get a CB550 as my first bike. it'll cost me roughly $1000-$1800 for just the bike. is that a lot for ~40,000 km (25,000 miles)?

also plan to cafe it with my dad, and am pretty psyched. wondering if anyone who has completed a build could give me a rough estimate of the total cost. thanks in advance for any info

[Denim Phenom]

Ironman, do your research first. Figure out what kind of look you want and go from there. Look at as many 550 cafe'd bikes that you can. Write it down on a piece of paper or even draw out the look you want. Try not deviating from the plan or else you'll just end up spending more money than you were expecting.

Keep as much of the original bikes parts that you can. This will severely cut down on your end cost. If you want to cafe the bike you'll probably have to buy the windscreen fairing and the tail section, but that's if you're going full cafe/moto gp style.

If you do a google search for "ton up" and "honda" and "cafe" then you'll probably find some useful information.

The thing with old Honda's or any Japanese bike for that matter, if you take care of it it will run forever. $1000-1800 isn't bad at all for a bike with 25K on the odometer. Shit, my evo had 52K when I bought it and i'm not worried about it one bit.

This will be a great project for you and your dad. I built a ground up '69 VW with my dad 12 years ago and it was a great bonding experience, albeit all the arguing and frustration.

Wonger, that shovelhead you posted looks to be either a zero engineering build or one that was greatly influenced by those guys. I believe Kiya wanted one like that several pages back.

[Denim Phenom]

Here is a flickr set of a guys 550 build from beginning to end.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/doug_goodenough/sets/72157594349938594/

Another 550 build: http://www.timberlinemotorsports.com/cafebike.html

More: http://www.pipeburn.com/home/2009/8/25/cb550-cafe-racer.html

And then try this forum, SOHC: http://forums.sohc4.net/

[bruised]

good advice denim! i'll chime in when i have more time, i love my cb550.

your bike looks bad ass!!

here is a quick random vid: tomaselli clip ons!

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=972528517998

[bruised]

oh yeah, i just picked up a 79 cb650 in rough but great running condition for 420$. its gonna be something to ride when i do a full tear down on the 550

(also the 650 head fits on to 550 bottom end with a little work, plus some 750 pistons will be the plan some day)

[Denim Phenom]

good advice denim! i'll chime in when i have more time, i love my cb550.

your bike looks bad ass!!

Thanks dude.

I don't know why I didn't tell ironman to ask you for advice, you have a 550 that you're cafeing now. Ironman, ask this dude. He knows everything you need to know.

[Osmosis Jones]

I saw this bike off the main strip in Harajuku and I fell in love with it. I spotted an 81 CB750 by my place for $950 which I think will be my first motorcycle. Opinions on that idea are welcome.

This is mine. 82 CB750F. Incredibly heavy bike that's really well balanced. I rode mine from LA to SF along Highway 1 the day I bought it.

ok so i'm new to bikes and looking to get a CB550 as my first bike. it'll cost me roughly $1000-$1800 for just the bike. is that a lot for ~40,000 km (25,000 miles)?

also plan to cafe it with my dad, and am pretty psyched. wondering if anyone who has completed a build could give me a rough estimate of the total cost. thanks in advance for any info

and my 76 CB550K. I replaced the bars with a lower rise but didn't cafe it since I was commuting on it daily.

[Osmosis Jones]

I saw this bike off the main strip in Harajuku and I fell in love with it. I spotted an 81 CB750 by my place for $950 which I think will be my first motorcycle. Opinions on that idea are welcome.

This is mine. 82 CB750F. Incredibly heavy bike that's really well balanced. I rode mine from LA to SF along Highway 1 the day I bought it.

ok so i'm new to bikes and looking to get a CB550 as my first bike. it'll cost me roughly $1000-$1800 for just the bike. is that a lot for ~40,000 km (25,000 miles)?

also plan to cafe it with my dad, and am pretty psyched. wondering if anyone who has completed a build could give me a rough estimate of the total cost. thanks in advance for any info

and my 76 CB550K. I replaced the bars with a lower rise but didn't cafe it since I was commuting on it daily.