I've always loved motorcycles. At 20, despite my mom's advice "Better buy a coffin the day you get a motorcycle", I rode a motorcycle for the very first time- a 2000 Suzuki GSXR600. It went like this:
Chris, the GSXR owner, my roomate- "Sure you can take her out. You rode before, right?"
Me- "Dude, I grew up on a farm."
Chris- "Turn the key, push start, and make sure it's in neutral. Neutral, Jake. Half Up. What's half up? You sure you rode before?"
50 yards after taking off, I left the one category of motorcyclist-the type that has yet to wreck, and ran right into the other- a stop sign. 20 minutes later, I had my first dump..sitting still on a sidewalk. That curb was higher than I thought when I went to put my foot down. Minutes later, I was hitting 140mph on a 55mph road, still not knowing how to really steer. Somehow, I lived that day and have been hooked ever since. Eleven years have passed since that day and although the need for stupid speeds has long passed, the thrill of riding is just as fresh- which brings me here. I've always liked 70's Japanese bikes and after seeing pictures of cafe racers, I decided that was the type of bike I wanted for a forever bike. Then, I remembered my great uncle had a Motobecane sitting in his barn. THEN, I remembered he also had a 70's motorcycle as well. Wish I had remembered he didn't have much of a roof on his barn- maybe I wouldn't have taken on such a project for my first build. But, it was a bike of childhood memories and free, so here we go! 1972 Honda CB350F with one owner (from what I know) and title and only 5,000 miles. From the pictures, you can see I have a long road ahead of me to make it into what's in my head. I will journal my progress with pictures and long, mostly useless ramblings.
Jake
