Joined
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27 Posts
My 2 wheel journey started about a decade ago. I never thought I'd be someone to enjoy riding anything with 2 wheels. I bought a cheap, Chinese made 50cc Scooter that wasn't running, tinkered around and got it going. That was it - the experience was WAY more fun than I thought. A few years later, I upgraded to a 150cc and a couple years after that a 250cc scooter that was my daily driver (yes, even on the freeeway) up until about 6 weeks ago.
My neighbor (a gear-head) knew that I was kicking around the idea of picking up a real motorcycle and came across a non-running '81 CM400A that he was going to part out. The seller however was able to get it started and running (bad gas, clogged carbs and all) and my neighbor figured that since I'd been tinkering with my scooters the last few years that picking this up for a song and getting it running for every day use would be my ticket. To boot, the cost flew under my wife's radar.
So after 6 weeks, I have my motorcycle almost ready for prime time. I had to retrofit a new gas tank (much bigger than stock, I think it came off of a CM400E) and completely clean the carbs but she's driveable (except for the freeway) and it's awesome! As I worked on it an googled questions, this site kept popping up with some great information. So I figured I'd join!
Things still left on my list before she's my daily driver:
After that, this winter I'll spend some time polishing the chrome and repairing a couple small holes in the seat and my neighbor graciously offered to give the tank and side panels a new paint job. I may ask for a windshield, luggage rack and/or side bags for Christmas!
My neighbor (a gear-head) knew that I was kicking around the idea of picking up a real motorcycle and came across a non-running '81 CM400A that he was going to part out. The seller however was able to get it started and running (bad gas, clogged carbs and all) and my neighbor figured that since I'd been tinkering with my scooters the last few years that picking this up for a song and getting it running for every day use would be my ticket. To boot, the cost flew under my wife's radar.
So after 6 weeks, I have my motorcycle almost ready for prime time. I had to retrofit a new gas tank (much bigger than stock, I think it came off of a CM400E) and completely clean the carbs but she's driveable (except for the freeway) and it's awesome! As I worked on it an googled questions, this site kept popping up with some great information. So I figured I'd join!
Things still left on my list before she's my daily driver:
- New tires (existing ones have good tread, but have cracks on the sidewalls, so I keep it to city streets for now).
- New battery (kick starts on the first try every time, but I like the convenience of a starter).
- New front fork seals (should be delivered tomorrow).
- Rebuild the master cylinder (she leaks just a bit).
After that, this winter I'll spend some time polishing the chrome and repairing a couple small holes in the seat and my neighbor graciously offered to give the tank and side panels a new paint job. I may ask for a windshield, luggage rack and/or side bags for Christmas!
