Hahahaha. It was awesome to meet you as well Don. The FZ was nuts. I still can’t believe how much torque that bike has. For about two days prior to that, all I could think about was a 55 Bel Air that I saw at a car show. It was perfect. But since then, I can’t stop thinking about that ride. Thank you for trusting me with it. It was nice sitting with Heather and talking to you.
We did fit in a car show during the trip. We spent 5 days in Encinitas (Don suggested the town) and it was cool. Laid back, surf town. We hung out at the beach, I fished in the surf, and planned the trip to see a car show within walking distance from where we were staying. The show was awesome. It’s a monthly show in town and I couldn’t get over how many cool cars were there. We then went to Laguna Beach and stayed there for 2 days at a small resort (The Ranch at LB) and just laid by the pool both days and drank whiskey. And yes...Heather is real and she is great. She understands me and, more importantly, puts up with me.
I did make a purchase recently. I decided to go with a Motoscope Pro gauge. I also got my CB400 bars. They are much less drastic than even the super low Renthal bars (these are 1.5” rise). I think they’re going to be great. At this point, I think I’m going to get through the rest of this riding season and then swap bars and do a bit of a rewire. I will likely swap out my 2 button right control for another 3 button to control the gauge. I have always struggled a bit with how I want this bike to end up looking in the end (particularly with paint). However, with these 400 bars, I now think I want to do a 70s color/theme but with a bit of a modern/custom twist. Obviously, I need to talk with a painter but I’m thinking something along the lines of the blue color (either from the 550 or the 750 and it doesn’t have to be the exact color) with a bit more flake to it. I think I’d like the original Honda emblem to be painted on in white and then pinstriped around in black. Around the knee dents I think I’d like a line in gold leaf (maybe sandwiched by black pinstripes). Probably nothing on the side covers but possibly 76 in nice gold leaf and black pinstripes.
After that I think I’m done. I’ll rebuild wheels at some point but no rush. I actually think I want another bike now. Originally, I was eyeing the new KTM 790 Adventure but I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t been looking at FZ09 models from 2015-2016.
