Spawned by the SUV thread and my recent acquisition. Who else here rides? What do you ride?
Just got a 1996 Kawasaki Vulcan 500. It's such low mileage that it has not yet had its first scheduled maintenance done so it's currently in a few dozen pieces in my buddy's garage while we fix some dry-rotted seals in the carb and do a valve adjustment.
No real mod plans. Maybe a windshield and a better headlight. Other than that just fixing small things from it being shuffled from storage unit to garage to garage to the barn where I found it (technically a 'barn find'!) like a turn signal a bit worse for wear and a broken mirror. Mostly just excited for 57mpg commuting and the wind in my helmet.
This is my 1976 Honda CB360 that I was lucky enough to source off of craigslist. I've owned it 3 years now, I haven't done too many mods to it. The idea was to keep the bike simple and have something stylish and reliable. It's great for buzzing around the city with. The longest trip was a weekend of 300 miles of Pennsylvania backroads.
New Seat cover, the old one was torn from age
Lower bars
Biltwell grips
Different tail light
New Headlight
Speedo to simply the gauges
Most of the parts are from Dime City Cycles
1971 Honda Trail 90 (a.k.a. CT90). 89cc of fury! I bought it for $275 off of Varagesale as a basketcase, and spent far too much money getting it back on the road. Would I do it all over again? Yes. I am going to buy another Trail 90 (or it's younger, bigger brother the Trail 110). I took a very small loss on it.
Second:
2006 Yamaha XT225. 223cc. I bought it after reading all the raves on ADVRider about it. 6 speed, it would easily do 65 mph without hesitation. Problem was, I needed a bigger bike. It was great around town, but it was too easily blown off course on the back highways.
Third:
1999 Honda Magna 750 Deluxe. 748cc of V4 power, this is the 3rd gen Magna. Bigger bike problem solved! In the 80s, Honda took the engine out of their VFR Interceptor, tuned it for torque, and stuck it in a 600cc cruiser frame. Thus, the factory muscle bike was born. They made the Magna from the early 80s through 1988, ceased production on it, and then brought it back for the 1996 year model after a few tweaks. Honda stopped production in 2003 and it hasn't been seen since. This is a forever bike for me. It's the perfect blend of comfortable highway riding, twisty road carver, and slow downtown cruiser. I bought it with the windshield, saddle bags, and the factory buddy seat.
Fourth:
2002 Kawasaki KLR650. I bought it at a police auction for dirt cheap. Currently running, I am waiting on the chain breaker/riveter to come in so I can replace the chain. I've done all the other maintenance (tires/tubes, oil change, air filter, etc etc). I am debating whether I want to keep it or flip it. I could probably double my money, but I am undecided yet.
I don't have any pictures of mine so I stole this one off the internet. This is a 2015 FZ09.
Mine is mostly still stock besides a lot of stuff to improve comfort and safety. I've got sliders on the bar ends, forks, frame, engine, and swingarm. Got some foot pegs with rubber inserts instead if the stock all metal ones to cut out some vibes. I got one of those new throttle tubes with the improved cam on it and at the same time got new dual density grips plus a set of the foam grip puppies over those. Got a new seat for it, which I'll probably mod a little further for even more comfort. Got new brake/cluth levers just for looks really. Got a set of soft side saddle bags so I don't have to carry a backpack. Put a short windscreen on but I might take it off, I can't decide if the minimal benefit is worth the negative looks of the windscreen. Lastly, I put in a USB port so I can charge my phone while I use it for navigation.
Things I still have on the list are improved lighting. I have an LED headlights sitting for it, and have been researching turn signals. I want to get the LED ones from the new R1, but they aren't cheep. Also want a modulating brake light as well. Possibly I will get the ECU flashed as well, people on the forums rave about it taking the delay/twitchiness out of the electric throttle.
That's a fairly extensive mod list. I dig the USB port idea. Probably going to be doing that and a windshield to my cruiser for road trips.
A buddy of mine just made some saddlebags out of old ammo cans and mounted them with some DIY-welded brackets and rubber isolators.
Anybody know decent places to get used gear? Found some factory defect kevlar-lined jeans that I'll likely pick up but finding used jackets in man-child size is proving difficult.
I wanted to do ammo cans on an old WR250X that I had. Then I tried to put some stuff in them and realized they were much too small to be useful. Glad I tried them before wasting a lot of time mounting them.
I have had a few bikes that I don’t have any electronic pictures of. Bought a 1973 Honda CB350F from my uncle. It had a Windjammer fairing and crash bar, both of which I removed after I had the bike for a while. I became unemployed so ended up giving the bike back to my uncle instead of finishing paying him off.
Next I had a MZ (East German two stroke) that I bought from my brother-in-law. It was basic but still fun. That ended up going to his brothers when I moved.
First brand new bike I had was a 1982 Yamaha 550 Vision. It had the full fairing like the 1983 model but was red with gold stripes. I took a couple of trips on it, it was a blast. That one was stolen while I was away on a work trip, the geniuses put it in the trunk of their car and drove off. When a cop saw them and gave chase the bike crashed out of their trunk during the pursuit. Something of justice was served as they ended up sliding broadside into a tree. The bike was totaled out.
Next up was my1984 Honda VF750F Interceptor. I no longer have the fairing lowers, just the white factory chin piece. This picture was taken when I lived in New Jersey (note that one winter I brought the bike inside my apartment).
Next brand new bike was a 1987 Honda CBR1000F (1000 Hurricane). First year for the model but I haven’t had problems. Typical Honda reliability. Picture was when I took a road trip after first buying it.
When I decided to go racing I enlisted my brother’s help in finding a bike. He found a 1985 Honda VF500F Interceptor and even brought it out to VA for me. First picture is me racing, second picture was how it ended up right before I stopped.
Finally, I eventually got my hands on a bike both of my younger brothers had (and were injured on), a 1985 Yamaha RZ500 (four cylinder two stroke). No pictures of that on hand either. I have an aluminum frame from a JDM RZV500 along with a braced factory swingarm (or a modified R6 swingarm, haven’t really decided which to use yet), a Fox rear shock and an already modified set of upside-down front forks from a YZR1000. My first brother who had the bike had already installed a set of Dymag wheels. I also have a set of aftermarket fairings as the brother I bought the bike from pissed his wife off one day while he had the fairings off for paint and she stomped the ever-loving **** out of them. One of these days I’ll get it all put together. I haven’t had any of them titled for a few years or ridden in that time, I really need to take care of that.
I love my two wheeled machines and have had a few over the years. Rad bikes in this thread.
I started with a 2007 Ninja 250, put a Two-Brothers Exhaust on it and learned quite a bit. Even though I kept the bike 6 months, I didn't lose a dime and would recommend any novice rider to own one of these. The learning experience is worth it's weight in gold.
After the 250 I picked up a wrecked 2003 Honda CBR600 F4i. With a little work and some inexpensive, pre-painted, eBay fairings it looked like new. I miss this bike, it could do everything really well. Honda really needs to make a modern version of this, I think the design was timeless. I only sold this bike because I realized I was not mature enough as a rider at the time. It was only a manner of time before I wrecked it or got a ticket.
With the CBR gone timing couldn't have been better, I was laid off shortly after and I went back to college full time. I found a rad 2008 DRZ400 SM and bought it to commute on. I piled a ridiculous amount of miles on it and sold it with over 24,000 on the odometer. Mine made 40whp with a Yoshimura Titanium exhaust and FCR CARB. This is the bike I probably miss the most, I shouldn't have sold it...my wife even gave me permission to just keep it. This bike never let me down, all it needed was oil changes and tires.
Supermoto track days are the best too.
Post college I was burned out on daily commuting and wanted something freeway worthy. I fell in love with the FZ-09 and brought one home after a test ride. Like all the reviews said, the first gen FZ-09 needs a lot of work to be properly fun in the twisties. Ohlins shock, revalved fork and a tune went a long way. By the time the project was "finished" I was over it. Too much work for something that is supposed to be my hop on and go toy.
After my buddy blew his third motor in his cursed SV650, he asked if I wanted to sell my FZ-09 since I was letting it sit. Timing couldn't have been better with me drooling over the all new Triumph Street Triple RS with the new 765cc engine. In SoCal these were basically impossible to find last summer, but my dealer worked some magic and they were able to secure an allocation for my order. For my intended uses this bike is faultless. Compared every bike I've ever owned, there is not a single component that needs revision or improvement. Even the stock exhaust makes the perfect amount of noise.
Bump! I recently got my first running street bike, and what a turd it is! 2001 Yamaha roadster. Its been an interesting learning curve figuring out how to handle myself on the road with all the idiots out there. Already looking for the next ones. I've been thinking about a Rebel 500, Honda magna 750, or Harley V-rod.
This is my 1976 Honda CB360 that I was lucky enough to source off of craigslist. I've owned it 3 years now, I haven't done too many mods to it. The idea was to keep the bike simple and have something stylish and reliable. It's great for buzzing around the city with. The longest trip was a weekend of 300 miles of Pennsylvania backroads.
New Seat cover, the old one was torn from age
Lower bars
Biltwell grips
Different tail light
New Headlight
Speedo to simply the gauges
Most of the parts are from Dime City Cycles
Ive got a couple I can show off.
This is Blu. 1984 Honda Shadow VT500C. He recently got a hand shifter because of an injury to my left leg.
And then there's Zara.
1979 Suzuki GS1000 that was built by my late father. I have a few more bikes but they are in various states of disassembly and not ready to be ridden or shown off.
I know all of you read more than just one automotive board. Let's post up all those dope pics of cars that are saved in your computer. Regardless of make or style. If you think it's sweet, then post it up. I'll start.
Miata content.
Today I am bidding on a 1991 miata that has been written off. If I win the bid my plan is to build myself a winter miata because my 93 LE has been parked for a month now and I miss it. Living in northern Canada a Miata is not most peoples first choice for winter transportation. They are low...
Just a thread to keep people updated on what you've done(are doing) to your Roadster. Post pictures as well if you want. I'll go first.
Just installed a recently bought NB soft-top(glass window) on my NA8. So much of an improvement. Pictures soon.
Some of you on here may know me for my supercharged roadster Ronin and his custom dash (below).
I have been quietly tinkering with him in the background this last year but haven't really been active on the forums.
However I have also been adding to my car collection and thought I'd share...
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