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I'm going to buy a Scrambler soon, and almost immediately take it from San Diego to the Grand Canyon.  some guy from advrider's Scrambler: 
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Mar 20, 2009 03:49
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pr0zac posted:I too vote a Triumph Bonneville or Scrambler is the best choice though. The thing about Bonnevilles is every motherfucker at UT Austin has a Bonneville, and I'd imagine it's similar in DC. The Triumph Scrambler is pretty awesome looking though. 865cc, 59hp, 450lbs. Still might be bigger than what I'm looking for though. The Triumph Thruxton cafe racer is gorgeous as well, but would take getting use to for the sporter-like posture.  I'd love to get something that looks like a Royal Enfield, but without hassle of a bike designed before my loving granda was born. Everyone posting about REs here says you spend more time fixing than riding. Great look though: 
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Mar 20, 2009 03:52
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As has been posted a few times already, hunt down one of these.
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Mar 20, 2009 06:30
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Simkin posted:As has been posted a few times already, hunt down one of these. Were those even sold in the US? Because god drat those are gorgeous bikes.
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Mar 20, 2009 06:37
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Looks like it. http://evansville.craigslist.org/mcy/1054980079.html http://www.google.com/search?client=opera&rls=en-GB&q=craigslist+w650&sourceid=opera&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8 quote:In the United States and Canada the W650 was imported from 1999 until 2000. With weak US and Canadian sales and the introduction of the competing "retro" Bonneville by Triumph, Kawasaki concentrated sales in in Europe and Japan. Hahhahahaha.... Looks like the 'not a cruiser/sportbike' curse took another one from us, far too early. One year. 
Simkin fucked around with this message at 06:45 on Mar 20, 2009 |
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Mar 20, 2009 06:42
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:I'd love to get something that looks like a Royal Enfield, but without hassle of a bike designed before my loving granda was born. Everyone posting about REs here says you spend more time fixing than riding. Great look though: They do make them new, and they come with a warranty. Plus they're cheap as hell, starting at just over 5k: http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/models/classic.html If I had the money I would go get one yesterday, mechanicals be damned. I guess the upsdide to an engine designed 60 years ago is that they're not too complicated.
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Mar 20, 2009 16:19
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100 Years in Iraq posted:They do make them new, and they come with a warranty. Plus they're cheap as hell, starting at just over 5k: http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/models/classic.html Oh yes, but if you read the threads about the current-production REs (or any REs pretty much), it's rather grim. From what I've read, really unique bike, fascinating to tinker with, basically a living museum piece. But not an ideal "just hop on and off it and change the oil every so often" riding bike.
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Mar 20, 2009 16:56
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:. . . If you go for the Bullet Electra, it's got a brand new engine using design cues from the old one. From what I can gather, the engineers got bored of tinkering with the old engine trying to get it to pass Euro smog and emission laws, so they decided to come up with a new one. A 500cc thumper that doesn't have dollops of power, but does do 98mpg (Imperial) and is massive fun from everything I've heard. It does depend on how you approach maintainence. If you just want to do reactive maintainence and fix stuff that breaks, by the time it's broken, loads of other things have gone kaput as well. Whereas if you're not adverse to doing a smidgen of preventative maintainence every week/month, it'll run forever. The Triumph Scrambler is an awesome looking bike though. We ran into the Triumph stand when we were at the Carole Nash show at the NEC, sharp looking machine that. My friend fell in love instantly.
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Mar 20, 2009 18:08
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http://annarbor.craigslist.org/mcy/1083629034.html Oh god I can't stop looking at bikes I need help. Buy it yes no? EDIT: It's been sold 
Stoic Commie fucked around with this message at 20:51 on Mar 20, 2009 |
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Mar 20, 2009 20:48
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Ugh no. It could be free and it wouldn't tempt me.
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Mar 20, 2009 21:39
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Stoic, how about these? Sweet looking CB400 with really low miles, and the price seems quite fair, too. http://annarbor.craigslist.org/mcy/1081281830.html Kawasaki 440LTD http://annarbor.craigslist.org/mcy/1070726376.html Kawi 750LTD http://annarbor.craigslist.org/mcy/1070686665.html Kawi KZ650 - No shortage of people on here to help you, if you have any questions about this one.  http://annarbor.craigslist.org/mcy/1069429517.html
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Mar 20, 2009 23:40
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And here I thought that people asking stupid amounts of money for old bikes was an Alaska phenomenom? To me, a $1000 + or - seems high for 20, 25, 30 year old bikes, considering that they were not specical models, those were plain jane vanilla bikes. Nothing wrong with them but IMHO those are $500 bikes.
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Mar 21, 2009 03:35
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Was in downtown Austin tonight for South by Southwest (huge music industry festival). As is common, guys bring out their cool bikes and park them on the sidewalk margins (apparently allowed), so there were tons of cool vintage BMWs, some Triumphs and Nortons, and some funky 1970s UJMs. Then I saw something much like this, but with clubman bars:  Please tell me these don't suck outrageously! It's compact and cute as hell, puts out 36hp (compared to 20 for my Nighthawk CB250) and just generally has awesome looks. With some straight or clubman bars it'd be awesome as hell, and it's still big enough to ride 2-up. Anyone familiar with these bikes?
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Mar 21, 2009 05:30
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Simkin posted:Kawi KZ650 - No shortage of people on here to help you, if you have any questions about this one. Go for this one. I'm fixing up a real beater KZ650 and they're great bikes to work on. Also for 1977 64hp in a ~430lb bike is a pretty fast bike.
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Mar 21, 2009 05:37
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:
They're pretty decent bikes, but early 80s "Specials"* are the ugliest UJMs IMHO. Look at that goddamned seat. *not just yammies; all "specials" with their awful styling.
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Mar 21, 2009 13:12
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:Please tell me these don't suck outrageously! It's compact and cute as hell, puts out 36hp (compared to 20 for my Nighthawk CB250) and just generally has awesome looks. With some straight or clubman bars it'd be awesome as hell, and it's still big enough to ride 2-up. I know it looks all polished and pretty, but most old Yamahas are just big baskets of electrical problems. That said, I would love to own that bike. I would kick-start it every chance I got.
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Mar 21, 2009 14:23
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I just bought an '06 Ninja 500R with 2k miles for 2750. The owner had used it for light street riding and had not done any maintenance aside from an oil change at 1k (not even the oil filter, just the oil). It seems to run ok. I'm going to change the oil, filter, clean, lube, and retension the chain, add a fuel filter, clean the air filter, and check the valve clearances. Is there anything I'm missing? How bad could it be?
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Mar 21, 2009 16:28
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bluremi posted:I just bought an '06 Ninja 500R with 2k miles for 2750. The owner had used it for light street riding and had not done any maintenance aside from an oil change at 1k (not even the oil filter, just the oil). At 2K miles, I really think you're going a little overboard checking the valve clearances and cleaning the air filter. I mean, you can if you want, but its not like he ran it for 20K miles with doing no maintenance.
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Mar 21, 2009 16:34
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MrKatharsis posted:I know it looks all polished and pretty, but most old Yamahas are just big baskets of electrical problems. That said, I would love to own that bike. I would kick-start it every chance I got. How hard/expensive is it to put in a proper wiring harness? Off the top of my head, it doesn't seem they have any more wiring than my moped: turn signals, lights/horn, and then it goes down to the battery. Is it that much of a bitch to rip it out and toss in decent wires, or that expensive to pay some guy to do it? I'm just a total sucker for cute little bikes, but the Honda Rebel is just too common to be eye-catching, and only puts on 17hp. The XS400 does 36hp, which would seem totally adequate for all urban riding, open highways, and moderate interstate driving, right? I've been doing just fine on short interstate stints with my CB250 and that only has 20 horse.
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Mar 21, 2009 17:28
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:How hard/expensive is it to put in a proper wiring harness? Off the top of my head, it doesn't seem they have any more wiring than my moped: turn signals, lights/horn, and then it goes down to the battery. Is it that much of a bitch to rip it out and toss in decent wires, or that expensive to pay some guy to do it? It's not quite that simple, and its a huge pain in the rear end. Definitely NOT worth it when there are 100 better choices out there.
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Mar 21, 2009 17:49
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CoolBlue posted:It's not quite that simple, and its a huge pain in the rear end. Definitely NOT worth it when there are 100 better choices out there. 100 better choices in terms of "compact UJMs barely bigger than a Honda Rebel which put out 36hp"? I just don't see that many small bikes that are more powerful than a lawnmower. I like small bikes, but I do want at least a little power in it. Is the wiring the primary downfall of the XS400? It generally seems to be an acceptable bike, wiring aside, and they're quite inexpensive ($1000ish for a 1978-1982 model).
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Mar 21, 2009 21:54
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:100 better choices in terms of "compact UJMs barely bigger than a Honda Rebel which put out 36hp"? There are plenty of small UJMs with 36HP plus. Look for an 80s GS400 or 450.
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Mar 21, 2009 22:29
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CoolBlue posted:There are plenty of small UJMs with 36HP plus. Look for an 80s GS400 or 450. That's actually a really cool suggestion:  Though glancing around http://craigslist-search.blogspot.com/ I'm seeing very few for sale in North America. Not to take up your time, but if any other model names for compact UJMs in the 400cc-ish range jump to mind, it'd be great to have those to consider as well. I do like Brit bikes, but they seem both pricier and/or more of a hassle to maintain (though the Ariel and Matchless small models are loving gorgeous). So I figured a good, reliable compact UJM would be a good compromise. This makes me salivate though:  
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Mar 21, 2009 22:52
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:Is the wiring the primary downfall of the XS400? It generally seems to be an acceptable bike, wiring aside, and they're quite inexpensive ($1000ish for a 1978-1982 model). The primary downfall of the XS400 is the timing chain guide breaks and locks up the engine. I know of 2 engines it's happened to. TapTheForwardAssist posted:That's actually a really cool suggestion: Quit looking at craigslist for everything. Go to ebay motors.
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Mar 21, 2009 23:07
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:Not to take up your time, but if any other model names for compact UJMs in the 400cc-ish range jump to mind, it'd be great to have those to consider as well. I do like Brit bikes, but they seem both pricier and/or more of a hassle to maintain (though the Ariel and Matchless small models are loving gorgeous). So I figured a good, reliable compact UJM would be a good compromise. Honda built a CB in the 400 range, which aren't that hard to find. Also don't count out the 600-750 cc bikes. They're not too big and pretty common.
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Mar 22, 2009 00:48
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Gr3y posted:Honda built a CB in the 400 range, which aren't that hard to find. Also don't count out the 600-750 cc bikes. They're not too big and pretty common. Yep, been looking at the CB750. I honestly like my CB250 Nighthawk tons, except for the rare moments where I'm climbing steep inclines in the Texas Hill Country, or zipping up I-95 and feeling more wobble/wind resistance than I'd like. I'm a total fey little princess though, and like cute little bikes, so thus the appeal of the compact UJMs. The XS400 looks great, and I'm not totally averse to spending a few hundred on wiring if that's the main problem, though the GS400 series seems great too. Bottom line, as long as it's nakedish, cute, and not too hard to maintain I'm pretty inclined. Ariel and Matchless have become rare(r) collectors items, and the new Indian-made Royal Enfields apparently have horrible QC and are generally "gearheads only". So I'm pretty much inclined to buy a Tomos moped for "zip down to the grocery/pub/subway" and a tiny UJM bike for "zip a few exits along the freeway in the DC Metro area", occasional backroad trips to Annapolis/Baltimore/Philly/Richmond.
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Mar 22, 2009 01:20
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Just filter your local CL for bikes in your price range, with search terms of '400,' '450,' and '500.' There's just far too many different UJMs that fit your needs for us to come up with a comprehensive list (although I'm sure one has been drawn up somewhere).
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Mar 22, 2009 01:26
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I read somewhere a while ago that the cb250s were jetted really lean and a bigger main will get you a few more mph out of the top end. I can't for the life of me remember where I read it, but it might be worth a shot if you aren't sure what to buy yet.
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Mar 22, 2009 03:09
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Quite a few early 80's Hondas were jetted lean. My CM400 was crazy lean. I put shims under the jet needles to raise them up a bit for better off idle and midrange response, the thing would almost fall flat on it's face when you tried to ride off from a stop before I shimmed them
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Mar 22, 2009 04:00
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:That's actually a really cool suggestion: I've had three of those in my garage at once. Right now I have a 1977 GS400X, a 1979 GS425E in there. Not so long ago there was a 1980 GS450L as well. I paid less than $100 for all three.  They're out there. And they're not that hard to find. Sadly, I did have to drive 3 hours to pick up that one. Gr3y posted:Honda built a CB in the 400 range, which aren't that hard to find. Also don't count out the 600-750 cc bikes. They're not too big and pretty common. TapTheForwardAssist posted:The XS400 looks great, and I'm not totally averse to spending a few hundred on wiring if that's the main problem, though the GS400 series seems great too. Bottom line, as long as it's nakedish, cute, and not too hard to maintain I'm pretty inclined. Ariel and Matchless have become rare(r) collectors items Gnomad posted:Quite a few early 80's Hondas were jetted lean. Nerobro fucked around with this message at 07:08 on Mar 22, 2009 |
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Mar 22, 2009 06:59
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Nerobro posted:I've had three of those in my garage at once. Right now I have a 1977 GS400X, a 1979 GS425E in there. Not so long ago there was a 1980 GS450L as well. I paid less than $100 for all three. Okay, so the XS400 is a bitch to maintain, the GS400 is decent but I shouldn't pay too much for it? Is a Honda CB400 good so long as I buy it in running condition? As folks have mentioned, UJMs get that "U" for a reason, and all these small naked bikes are pretty much much of a muchness. So, in terms of availability, maintenance, etc. is the CB400 one of the better tiny UJMs to keep an eye out for?
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Mar 22, 2009 07:02
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I wouldn't say you shouldn't pay more than $100 for a 400 - 450. Nero failed to mention my GS400, while costing $45 initially, has cost $510 in parts so far and looked like this when we got it. The 425 was just under $100 because the guy was trying to chop it into pieces and utterly failed. The 450 he bought off a friend for super cheap. You will be able to find good deals on them on ebay motors, though. They pop up fairly often during the riding season. The running joke on Hondas is they don't mix well with being able to do work on them.
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Mar 22, 2009 07:14
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Thanks for calling me out on that one KDC.... Being realistic, any solid bike is going to run you $600-1000. No matter which bike we're talking about. I'll admit to getting lucky on my GS's. That said, the $99 gs425 did run within hours of getting it home. I doubt you'll find a CB400. Honda mostly made 450's. but a CB360, 400, 450... all good bikes. And don't limit yourself to cb's. There's also a CMX450 (that's a rebel 450..) And others. I don't know much about it, but I hear the KZ440 is good too. You'll need to do some digging on your own to find that out for sure. If you want a hot rear end little bike, try to find a CB400-4. Are you stuck on 4 strokes? A GT185, or GT250 would both suit the bill for what you're doing. And they're good looking bikes. I'm trying to think of other little bikes that are fun. If you don't mind ditching the UJM thing, and you just want a good bike for making quick blasts up the highway to get downtown, I don't see why you shouldn't look at big 2 stroke enduros. A same era DT250 or 360 would do nicely. Lacking any valvetrain, they're even simpler to maintain. Maybe a PE250? Since I think style is something you're considering, you may well just ignore this last paragraph.
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Mar 22, 2009 07:18
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Gnomad posted:To me, a $1000 + or - seems high for 20, 25, 30 year old bikes, considering that they were not specical models, those were plain jane vanilla bikes. Nothing wrong with them but IMHO those are $500 bikes. Maybe in and around California, but certainly around here, if it's running, it starts at CAD$1000 and goes up from there. The last two project bikes that I took on - an 85 VF500F (didn't run, needed divine valvetrain intervention), and an 88 CB450S (nothing wrong, actually, just ugly) - were $850 and $1050 respectively. That's buying in the off-season, as well, so the price on a runner during the  riding season will of course be a tad higher.Works both ways, fortunately.
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Mar 22, 2009 07:31
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Simkin posted:Maybe in and around California, but certainly around here, if it's running, it starts at CAD$1000 and goes up from there. The last two project bikes that I took on - an 85 VF500F (didn't run, needed divine valvetrain intervention), and an 88 CB450S (nothing wrong, actually, just ugly) - were $850 and $1050 respectively. That's buying in the off-season, as well, so the price on a runner during the TTFA lives in Texas. Over there, and here in Arizona, the riding season lasts roughly from January to December. TTFA: have you thought about changing the rear sprocket on your Nighthawk? Going up a tooth or two will probably give you more top end speed, at the cost of acceleration. You can also look in to re-jetting and a less restrictive exhaust (the 250s have a 2-2 exhaust right?) to see if you can pick up a few more horses. If you want to stay small and cute, there's no reason you can't just try to get a few more Ms per H out of your bike. You may be able to get comfortable highway performance out of it for much less then buying a new bike.
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Mar 22, 2009 07:57
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Gr3y posted:Honda built a CB in the 400 range, which aren't that hard to find. Also don't count out the 600-750 cc bikes. They're not too big and pretty common. I drat well hope they build a CB400, I've got one. Though mine's from 1993, so a little later than the pictures of the GSes that have been posted. I'm in the UK and it's imported from the Continent. Nerobro posted:If you want a hot rear end little bike, try to find a CB400-4. What sort of era were you referring to? Mine definitely goes like a rocket, but my mum's dream bike for about 20 years has been a late 70's Honda 400-4, which is the CB400 by any other name (I think that's the time frame, don't quote me on that). I would definitely suggest getting a bike like mine. Lots of power (relatively speaking, it's not a litre bike) if you're man enough to call on it (I'm not most of the time), really smooth engine, really smooth power delivery, quick enough to push your limits but small enough that you don't get overwhelmed, and pretty decent fuel economy to boot. Except if you're doing lots of motorway miles, a 6'4" frame stuck on top of a mostly unfaired bike (tiny aftermarket screen) at 80mph does chew through the fuel somewhat. Oh, and she'll do pillion without complaint.
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Mar 22, 2009 12:37
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Orange Someone posted:
The Mid-70's CB400F is what he's talking about, I assume: http://mil-amax.com/ameyer/honda/ It's not *quite* the cult bike the CB750 is, but it has its own quirky following, unlike a lot of the smaller hondas at the time. A lot of folks praise its ergonomics (it came with lower bars on the UK version), light weight, and speed for a 400 of the time. And the 4-into-1 exhaust was highly exotic (again, for its time) as well. EDIT: And there aren't a lot of 'em around; they had a fairly short lifetime, and people know what they are, so you see more, say, CB360/350 twins on Craigslist than you do these). George RR Fartin fucked around with this message at 14:14 on Mar 22, 2009 |
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Mar 22, 2009 14:09
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Nerobro posted:Thanks for calling me out on that one KDC.... This is pretty much it. Its like cars: if it runs and rolls its ~$1000. I also got lucky on my $300 Kawasaki. It was in terrible shape but the engine and drivetrain was well preserved. It had all the signs of someone starting to fix it up and giving up on the project. Newer carbs, new rear drum brake, lovely paint job, wiring fixed up, etc. That said I'm still in about ~$700 total, including the cost of the bike, on the project, so that $1000 number is a pretty good number for getting anything running.
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Mar 22, 2009 17:09
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CoolBlue posted:At 2K miles, I really think you're going a little overboard checking the valve clearances and cleaning the air filter. I mean, you can if you want, but its not like he ran it for 20K miles with doing no maintenance. If all he did was change the oil then the valves should be checked. Kawasaki recommends getting the valves checked after the first 500-1000 miles. After that then it's normal.
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Mar 22, 2009 17:15
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kdc67 posted:The running joke on Hondas is they don't mix well with being able to do work on them. The only place this is a running joke is where people think the sun rises and sets in Neroboro's pants.
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Mar 22, 2009 17:17
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