Hi everyone,
I've been lurking around here for a while but I guess it's time I do the whole proper introduction thing. I'm Ryan, from Toronto, as you've surely gathered already and I recently bought a 1976 CB550F. The previous owner is a member here, TE450Pilot (hi Randy, if you still drop in here), and seemed like a really great guy - with a great shop and some wicked bikes. The bike isn't quite ready for the road just yet, you can see from Randy's old build page kinda where he left off. I've obtained most of what I need (I think... haha, I'm new) to reassemble everything and get on the road. I don't plan on too many major changes, I really just want to get this thing running well and get to know the bike.
This site has been a blessing and a curse thus far, it seems full of incredibly helpful and knowledgeable people but it also contributes quite negatively to my proclivity for procrastination. With this ruthless winter finally seeming to retreat around here, I'm dying to get to work on this bike. I've got a couple weeks of mayhem left with my work/school situation and then, thankfully, I'll be able to get to business.
I've never owned a motorcycle before (my earlier toys all had four wheels, including my 1965 Imperial that I should *really* get rid of...), I've had my license for about 5 years now but shortly after I got it I decided to go to grad school and that has been my focus ever since. I'm still doing that (a PhD in Music if anyone is curious), but I also need other outlets and have decided that putting my whole life on hold isn't working for me. So, after a bit of research, I settled on finding a 550 that needed a little attention and here we are!
My family has a long (and coloured) history with motorcycles. My dad used to ride a Norton Commando and a Triumph Bonneville in his wilder days, his parents toured Europe on their Indian Scout (with a sidecar! I gotta find some pictures), and my mom's father taught a motorcycle course for the Canadian Armed Forces after serving in WWII and Korea as a paratrooper. I've got nothing too extreme planned, I just want to fix up this bike and get out on the road.
So that's the abridged version of my life story. As I said, I'm really looking forward to getting to know this bike and getting to know some of you folks. It's great that a site like this exists to share information and bring together like-minded people who would otherwise rarely meet. Thanks for indulging me here and thanks in advance for your patience and understanding if I ask dumb questions or make rookie mistakes, I'll do my best!
Ryan.
Here's a crappy picture from when I picked up the bike
