by "jminer" (jminer)
Published 06/11/2017 at 18:00
by "jminer" (jminer)
Published 06/11/2017 at 18:00
No Tags
STARS: 2
I’ve been riding since I was about 12 and love early UJM bikes. I’ve rebuilt several pre-80 Hondas and my first was a 71 CB500K that I absolutely love and have never been able to get rid of and have been riding for nearly 10 years. She is generally quite reliable but breaks down a few times a year (I usually put about 3k miles a year on her) seeing as she is 46 years old. It takes a couple weeks to get parts and then a few more to fix so my wife finally convinced me to buy a new bike.
So 2 months ago I bought a 15 CB500x that is a lot of fun and just starts every time I get on it. About a week before I bought it I took out my old CB500 and it ran the best it had in years with a new Dyna igntion on it, it made me seriously reconsider buying a new bike. Since I want to take longer trips I listened to my Wife and bought the bike (and got a hell of a deal).
So this week I crested 600 miles on the new bike and haven’t had time to change the break in oil and wanted to ride so I pushed the old CB500 out of the garage. Turned on the petcock (watched for leaks) turned on the choke, flipped the key, opened the throttle and kicked. She fired right up and seemed to want to go for a ride. My wife asked “Are you sure you shouldn’t take your new one?” I replied that “it should be fine, she fired right up”.
That startup sequence alone felt so strange compared to the “throw a leg over and hit starter button “on the new bike. But I let her warm up and put on my helmet and gloves and pull out of the driveway. It took a minute to get used to the old controls and ergonomics but by the time I reach the hill in front of my house it was feeling like an old pair of worn in Jeans.
I get about a mile from my house and it’s feeling good, leaning into the turns, listening to the open headers wail and all of a sudden the damn thing loses power. This has happened before and usually jiggling the ignition switch will fix it (46 years old remember).
I slow to a stop on small 2 lane with no shoulder that people drive too fast on (including myself). Concern sets in, I have in earplugs so I can’t hear cars coming. I quickly pop off the left side cover and wiggle the main power connections and try the key again, still dead.
The helmet comes off and the earplugs come out. It is 95 degrees and humid out and I’m wearing full gear. I dismount the bike as a car comes around the corner and slam on the brakes screeching tires. The guy gets out of the passenger seat to check on me (fellow rider) and offers to help push the bike. I thank him and decline as I turn around the bike and begin to jog with it back to the house keeping a watchful eye behind me so I can drop the bike and jump into the ditch if a car doesn’t see me.
About now I see that the ignition switch is still on and smoke is coming out from under it confirming my suspicions, I flip it off and keep pushing. Thankfully the smoke stops after about 30 more seconds and hopefully not much damage was done.
So by the time I make it back to the house I’m cursing at this bike that has decided to act like a jealous older sibling and throw a tantrum and just about overheated. I come in the house (with my wife surprised to see me back) and strip off my gear and grab a large bottle of water and begin cursing the old bike.
In the 9 years I’ve owned this bike this is the first time it has even stranded me. I’ve always been able to limp it back to the house under its own power. I will be pushing it to the back of the garage as I’m heading to Chicago for work this week and will tackle it with a multimeter sometimes in the next couple weeks to see what failed. I was hoping for a relax hour or so on the bike before a long boring drive to Chicago and a week long training, no joy though.
When everything behaves, old machines are wonderful, but they don’t with much more frequency than new ones. Things were manufactured to much looser tolerances and decades of use, abuse and neglect definitely take their toll.
Well that ended up rather rambling tale. Hope you all had a less eventful Sunday afternoon than I did.
"arl" (arl1968)
06/11/2017 at 18:17, STARS: 0
If it’s any consolation, I have been trapped in a cold, heartless Datacenter all day fixing brand new network gear and it’s still broken. At least you got outside!
"XJDano" (xjdano)
06/11/2017 at 18:19, STARS: 0
I need to get back on my bike. The weather is great for it.
I’m at the wife’s nieces softball game, watched a couple of races this morning. Much less eventful day, but also no excitement either.
"jminer" (jminer)
06/11/2017 at 18:24, STARS: 0
Don’t forget loud- I’ve never been a quiet data center. When I come back from a ride at least my temporary deafness was caused by a fun outing.
That was what half this ride was for, long on call week for work and traveling next so wanted to take an hour and decompress.
I’m in IT, but mainly a systems guys so I understand what you’re up to. Good Luck!
"DipodomysDeserti" (dipodomysdeserti)
06/11/2017 at 18:34, STARS: 1
I’ve been riding a ‘73 CL450 around now for a little over a year. I redid most of the electronics and deleted a lot of stuff when I converted it to run off capacitors. It died on me randomly when riding a few months ago. I went through all the usual suspects and it ended up being an ignition wire in the headlight that came loose. They can be a PITA, but nothing quite beats the feeling of a tuned in old motorcycle.
Also, have you tried ordering parts from Common Motor Collective? Theu have a good amount of stuff and fast shipping. I have probably the largest moto junkyard in the US near me, but they’re pretty good for finding new parts.
"jminer" (jminer)
06/11/2017 at 18:42, STARS: 1
Yeah, when I have the time I’ll be busting out the wiring diagram, multimeter and test light. It is a primal feeling on an old bike and I don’t think I’ll ever stop riding old bikes. It is very awesome to have one to just jump on and ride wherever I want though.
"thejustache" (thejustache)
06/12/2017 at 13:56, STARS: 0
I feel your pain. I’ve had a rag tag collection of older bikes since I started riding 11 years ago - starting with a 1976 cb360t and for the last couple years a 1978 kz750 twin. I naturally do a lot of working on them to keep them going, which I mostly enjoy. Then there are the days I end up stuck wrenching instead of riding. This weekend was especially painful as early June is the Americade bike rally up here in northern NY. Beautiful weather, bikes out everywhere and I’m stuck in my shed wondering why my bike stalled a 1/4 mile down the road and wouldn’t restart. I did manage to eventually sort it (and get my dad’s bike running after a couple years sitting in a barn) but it was too late to do any riding.
Getting a newer bike that starts and runs reliably is looking more and more appealing, especially now that I’m married and looking to take some longer trips with my wife. That said, saving for a house and all that makes justifying another part time vehicle hard... It’ll probably happen eventually but even then I can’t see myself getting rid of at least 1 old bike. There is something satisfying and mechanical about getting such an old thing purring right and taking a rip down the road!