Motorcycles

Originally Posted by gnatty8

Click to expand...

I just finished reading Long Way Down, about Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman's trip from Scotland to Cape Town, SA. Great book. Has anyone seen the series? Thinking about picking it up on Amazon.

Long Way Round, as others have said, is far better. You can rent it off Netflix and it is an incredible journey. I'm highly embarassed about their time in Canada though. Some idiot gangsta-wannabe white kid bumped Ewan from behind on the freeway.

Originally Posted by eg1

Click to expand...

Depends upon how much time I have -- since I rarely have much I usually stay in town. When I get a chance I prefer rural rides.

Yourself?

I can usually get in some nice backroads, rural riding on most weekends, at least for an hour or two. We have a cabin near the Smokies, which makes things easier. No time at all for hobbies during the week, so have to be happy with what I get on the weekends. Commuting on a bike is not an option for me..

Andiamo

Now that the weather got a touch warmer in chicago, I am seeing more honda CBs from the 70s show up on ebay and craigslist in what I consider to be my price range. I am not partial to the CB other than liking how it looks and having had feedback that they are easy to work on and have readily available parts. I would imagine there are other "standard Japanese motorcycles" that have the same characteristics that I should be looking at? My classes aren't until mid/late june so It is not like I am in a hurry to buy, but I want to know what to keep an eye out for and what issues I should be considering on these older bikes. Although I am willing to do some work, I think I need to buy something that is rideable since I don't have any way to transport a bike (I would either take public transit or a zipcar with a friend to go buy anything) or a very good place to store and work on a non-functional ride. Edit: If this were actually 1600 and for sale a month and a half from now...I would jump on it (not knowing any better...although it is nice that it is being sold by a shop) http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1971-...b81be149#v4-44

^ That looks like a nice bike. Any reason you're not checking it out?

Originally Posted by j

Click to expand...

^ That looks like a nice bike. Any reason you're not checking it out?

The bid is at 1600 and the reserve is not met...That shop seems to have another similar bike for sale now so I am assuming I could get in contact with them directly after I get my license and see if they are selling anything similar (they are local).

That one looks nice (and is from a shop) so I would be willing to pay more for it but since at this point I can't even ride it to try it out, I want to hold off. Also, there are similar bikes on craigslist for less money in good mechanical condition but not looking so pretty--I am pretty good at making things look pretty again so I would think I could buy something, make it shiny again, and sell it for more than I paid 2 years later.

Originally Posted by j

Click to expand...

^ That looks like a nice bike. Any reason you're not checking it out?

+1, if it was local I'd probably be all over that.. Very classic looking bike, and low miles.

Originally Posted by gnatty8

Click to expand...

I can usually get in some nice backroads, rural riding on most weekends, at least for an hour or two. We have a cabin near the Smokies, which makes things easier. No time at all for hobbies during the week, so have to be happy with what I get on the weekends. Commuting on a bike is not an option for me..

I think I go to work about twice a year (or less) on the bike -- feels weird in a jacket and tie.

Originally Posted by eg1

Click to expand...

I think I go to work about twice a year (or less) on the bike -- feels weird in a jacket and tie.

lol, yeah, that would be a little incongruent to say the least..

Originally Posted by gnatty8

Click to expand...

I just finished reading Long Way Down, about Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman's trip from Scotland to Cape Town, SA. Great book. Has anyone seen the series? Thinking about picking it up on Amazon.

I've heard great things of the series. A couple girls got motorcycles after watchin the show. So, yea, get it.

Stumbled on these videos the other day. There's several in a series called "On The Lift." They are made by a company called Clymer that makes repair manuals for motorcycles. They look like they might be like Chiltons manuals for cars.

Definitely some cool vintage motorcycle videos. Dig through their channels. There's lots of stuff to waste valuable company time looking at...and hey...don't worry...it's the Friday before a vacation weekend...no one will be working anyway. Might as well get amped up to go riding.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: No media files are hosted on these forums. By clicking the link below you agree to view content from an external website. We can not be held responsible for the suitability or legality of this material. If the video does not play, wait a minute or try again later. I AGREE

TIP: to embed Youtube clips, put only the encoded part of the Youtube URL, e.g. eBGIQ7ZuuiU between the tags.

Originally Posted by Piobaire

Click to expand...

Long Way Round, as others have said, is far better. You can rent it off Netflix and it is an incredible journey. I'm highly embarassed about their time in Canada though. Some idiot gangsta-wannabe white kid bumped Ewan from behind on the freeway.

Wanna see something crazy, check out this dude going around the world on a Yamaha R1.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: No media files are hosted on these forums. By clicking the link below you agree to view content from an external website. We can not be held responsible for the suitability or legality of this material. If the video does not play, wait a minute or try again later. I AGREE

TIP: to embed Youtube clips, put only the encoded part of the Youtube URL, e.g. eBGIQ7ZuuiU between the tags.

Saw the video for the first time on an adventure touring forum a while back (sorry...can't remember exactly). Started clicking away and found this channel on youtube that has all kinds of cool vintage motorcycle videos.

Originally Posted by eg1

Click to expand...

I think I go to work about twice a year (or less) on the bike -- feels weird in a jacket and tie.

Originally Posted by gnatty8

Click to expand...

lol, yeah, that would be a little incongruent to say the least..

When I finally get a bike, in a few years, I plan to drive it to work on Fridays when the weather is nice. I will either leave a change of work clothes in my office or, as I plan to get something like an FJR, just pack a change of clothes.

Originally Posted by Piobaire

Click to expand...

When I finally get a bike, in a few years, I plan to drive it to work on Fridays when the weather is nice. I will either leave a change of work clothes in my office or, as I plan to get something like an FJR, just pack a change of clothes.

Yeah, I've stuffed a sport jacket in a pannier before and worn a motorcyle jacket over my shirt and tie.