Topic: 500/550/650's that followed me home

[rb550four]

Still no new purchases of anything that says Honda on it.
I did however check out a full dressed Wing, just because I thought it was on CL too long. It had 64K on it, looked nice enough, runs good,all papers, local....but that mileage...it just seems high enough that if anything is gonna wear out and break it would be the day I get it home. Owner is fed up trying to sell it and is putting it in storage for the winter.  He wanted 8oo and I offered him less as a matter of habit. Maybe I'll check back in with him in March , if he still has it and see what he might take then.
 I almost picked up that 500T but luckily was delayed by 18 inches of snow in three days, so I don't know it it's a go or no go. but my snowblower has been getting some exercise.
The 89 Yamaha snowmobile is up and running,took it out for the first time today,it's a beast.
Needs a little more tinkering and a fresh belt or new clutch springs. The belt is on order but I want to run it some before playing with the clutch, it's been sitting for 4 years and it's a bit stiff still.
  As for cleaning up the shop , well that's taken a backseat to snow removal and everything else so far.But I haven't given up on it yet.

[Stev-o]

Lets see the snow machine out in its element

[rb550four]

Tonight I took the snowmobile around the yard....Makes the yard seem so small...Too bad I don't get the same effect with the lawnmower. Too dark for pics of that tonight.
   Guess the 500T is a no go. Oh well, but there is good news, well kind of, it'll wreck my 12 step program for a while, I guess ... it says Honda on it and it's not a 550.  I'm picking this up tomorrow
 http://catskills.craigslist.org/mcy/4797745471.html
It looks beat, cheap, and something I just have to try, anyone know if these are good machines?

[Restoration Fan]

Tonight I took the snowmobile around the yard....Makes the yard seem so small...Too bad I don't get the same effect with the lawnmower. Too dark for pics of that tonight.
   Guess the 500T is a no go. Oh well, but there is good news, well kind of, it'll wreck my 12 step program for a while, I guess ... it says Honda on it and it's not a 550.  I'm picking this up tomorrow
 http://catskills.craigslist.org/mcy/4797745471.html
It looks beat, cheap, and something I just have to try, anyone know if these are good machines?

I had a buddy who had one new back in 84 and he loved it.  As a matter of fact, that and a Nighthawk 450 were the last bikes I've ever ridden (back in 84).  Looking forward to changing that in a few months.

[rb550four]

Is that what that is? I've been looking for the "O"s all afternoon.

[Riceman]

I need to get me a stove for the shop,but since I've gone without for 26 years why bother now.
Post card from a friend.

[rb550four]

A few years ago , I'da said the same thing but as I get older I 'm less willing to be uncomfortable,  life should be easier as we get a little older because we get a little smarter +1, but we forget a bit more with each passing day - 10.
 I want a better stove , probably find one this summer = -9.

I just did the math, and need to get some kerosene for the salamander.

[rb550four]

I love  having new projects in the shop, but they can't be ugly, They have to look like something worth saving in order to take up the space.
 So I carefully removed the stickers that was covering the side covers of this newly acquired Honda , they said 650 .Thought perhaps the two machines shared the same side covers.
Craigslist\owner advertised it as a 750, That's what I thought I bought... but I had this nagging feeling. Carefully removed the owner applied rattle can flat black paint that was sprayed on everything from the tag on the neck...turns out to be a 650 frame dammit.
 I'm gonna run through the engine numbers to find out what that is, just in case there is a 750 in the cradle. Don't know anything about these mid 80's bikes or if it's even possible to put the 750 in the 650 frame yet but I'll find out soon .
  Fortunately I'm not as pissed as I thought I'd be about the whole thing so far, and I'm willing to accept it for what is. A complete 84 Honda 650 ,clean title, with 23 k ,in need of some work for $400? maybe it could be a good deal?

[Stev-o]

maybe.  It's nice buying a bike that you already have, especially if you have lots of parts on the shelf, instead of having to buy each part that you will need

[rb550four]

True. I bought this 750 (I thought) because I don't have a 750.
I bought a non sohc this time so there would be some left out there for you guys.

[rb550four]

Spent a couple hrs cleaning up 84 650 , not quite as ugly ,but it isn't a sohc.Whenever I think "motorcycle" that'the picture that flashes through my mind.
 Almost 60 degrees, not raining but the snow is all gone. The Yamaha snowmobile waits patiently by the garage door.
  My girls will be filtering in tomorrow so today is very quiet, good thing there's wine.

[rb550four]

I ordered new bars for the 84, po bent them , thought they were too high anyways. and some blinkers are a little bent and duct taped. Looked for blinkers, they look real chimpy to me,looked through 2 books and didn't find a thing I 'd like.
Guess I'll have a try at those after a few cocktails, everything looks better then.
  One mirror was toast so I ordered a pair That were a little shorter,  the glass is a little bigger than most ...to get a better view  of the woman up yer butt, before she answers the mobile phone  and decides to run you over.  The mirrors said all new, but I've had the same design on some of the 500/550's except they are chrome, the new ones just come in black.
  Oh , and a shop manual so  can...

[Restoration Fan]

What are your plans for the 84?  Going back stock or going to cafe it?

[rb550four]

Get all that flat black paint off it  first, carb clean, chase down an electric issue with the starter, po says there  is also a discharge issue( I suspect it's in the bent up blinkers) so I'll go thru the harness, break it down and repaint the frame , engine and body, 3000 mile check up , new brakes,bars, blinkers....a good overall clean up.
   It doesn't have the classic look that I really like but ,it isn't an all out crotch rocket look either...might just flip this one unless it turns out exceptional.
   

[rb550four]

I ordered stuff like bars ,brake levers ....and other stuff. It'll be a surprise to me too what all it was , cause I don't remember, but I do know that where ever it all was is coming from out west and they shut the place down for the holidays and it'll be anyone's guess when whatever it was gets here.  Yeah , it's like that.
 It's been so freakin cold outside that I'm almost ready to watch American Idol, can't sit in a cold shop for long. Warmed up to the teens today, and it was sunny , and there is 7 inches of ice on the pond. My new to me 87 Yamaha 570 Exicter has been ready for it's first real run in a few years  and I am only on a snowmobile twice but ready for some fast learnin'. It's a 2 mile long pond but the ice fishing guys stay on the other half so there is room to move.
 The ice is smooth with an inch of blowing powder blowing across the top of it. There wasn't any other sleds around so I had to play alone, good and bad, the good is no other ride saw me high side , get thrown off leaving the sled on it's side. I would be getting ribbed allot tomorrow at the drags.
The bad is that the 1st of the season's drags will be happening tomorrow,and since I was riding alone, I only allowed myself 85mph passes... well in case I screw up, there should be someone else there with a phone for 911. Safety first. There  is allot more throttle left but I needed to know what to expect from this machine.
 Although I have spiked track there was allot of sideways action on the start, it only took maybe 25 runs to figure out how much throttle to give it so's to get to a higher speed with minimal spin or sideways action. There is another issue  that is the reason for the 85 mph cap today is that at 82/83 the skis are barely grabbing ice, I think the wind is picking up the front end ,I have carbon skaggs on it now on a reasonably stock suspension. I'm thinking tomorrow I'll see if I cant crank up the rear over the track to get some more weight on the skis for the higher speeds. it's not a stock engine or clutch so I'm hoping some high-test and a lack of wind will get me to the ton. That probably sounds like nothin to guys that have been on these things forever, but for me tomorrow is my 3rd time on a sled, and already  it's like getting a stock 550 over 100,really want to but it can't do it. The only way that 'll happen is if you borrow a 750. Did that, felt allot better afterwards.
  Anyways,This sled is still climbing fast at 85 , I think a stock machine taps out at 96, I'm hoping for better  than stock speeds tomorrow. We'll see.

[Stev-o]

85 is flying!  I've done 70 on one, that was quite a thrill. 

[Mcwilliams570]

Glad you are having fun I am bored without my bikes here

Matt

[rb550four]

Hi Matt,
  I haven't seen a recent post from you here in a while, wondered what happened.
So  what's the deal? You moved to a new place out of state and left the bikes in storage  for a while? Or worse yet there's no garage at the new house? I'm guessing that you have found a rhythm  between new job, new house and family and there seems to be only intermittent free time in your schedule that you always knew how to fill before everything changed.
    Been there. But it doesn't necessarily have to be bad or boring, it just requires a focus adjustment.
    I have found,
 Family always comes first no matter what...we have such little time together and we need to make it count. #1 priority.
  Job. Well we all need one , but we should always try to keep it interesting and fresh and never close our eyes to opportunity that can improve our lives and hours spent at a work place.#2
  #3 is also #1 only because #2 can sometimes make us think that  it is as important as #1
it's not. and #3 is there to check yourself.
  #4  is when you get more time to do what you used to do with free time as your family grows older , be careful, #4 acts allot like #2 , sometimes seems more important than it really is and can steal valuable time from #1.
    By the time your daughter goes to college you'll wonder how all that time went by so fast.
 For years we will prepare for retirement , but few realize how much time is in between  children leaving the nest and retirement that needs to be filled.
     If  I had a clearer vision of the progression of life, I would have collected allot more 550's and parts when they were cheap. That way when #4 came along I would know exactly what to do....no limbo or time needed to figure it out. Just a smooth transition.
 And the tell tail of that day will be when you drop your daughter off to college the first time, you might question if it is, but that's when everything changes again.
    After this enlightenment has taken hold, remember #1, include your wife, she's feeling the same way. Boredom is a thing that should always be avoided.
  Well, That's what I've learned after being there and I feel obligated to pass it on.

But it is good to hear from you. Keep in touch when you can.

[rb550four]

Due to the abundance of snow in Western NY today's scheduled drags were cancelled. Everyone else has gone to Tug Hill to frolic in 4 feet of fresh snow.I moved furniture all day.
Perhaps when we get some snow here I'll have some playmates and find out just what this machine can do .

[Mcwilliams570]

Hello RB I took a job promotion and got transfered to Greenville SC. The wife and  daughter will move out around June. We are getting the house ready to sell in Wilmington. I just got a little appartment  until they get out here then will get a house.

Matt

[rb550four]

Oh NO! No family at the new home? Yeah, That 's got to suck. Allot.
I did the family-by-phone 4 months out of the year for years, at the time it seemed like what I had to do, in retrospect I feel robbed, it doesn't sound like much and everyone got through it , but it's time you can't get back.
 
So , You are at #2 now, onto #3 which is really #1. Good man.
I hope your old house sells tomorrow so you can get your family back soon!

[rb550four]

Just an update ...Will this friggin winter ever quit?!!!
 I haven't turned a wrench on a bike since late October! The shop didn't get cleaned up yet and is a freakin disaster.Too cold for the snowmobile. It hasn't reached zero yet today and the wind chill is F'in -35 without being on a machine.
The Triumph stove is a POS.  Can't work in the shop,  I pick up a wrench,it's so cold it makes me want to pee  and there's no bathroom in the shop.... last week,I spent a whole day walking back and forth in the dooryard between the house and the shop and haven't gotten a damn thing done.  Haven't bought another bike in a month either.
 I hate winter in N.Y.
 So my daughter says"Come down to Pittsburgh, no snow , and 30 degrees". So I get in the car and I go. 4 hrs out ,white out blizzard conditions...get a motel room. The 8 hr trip takes a day and a half. Cooped up for the week at the daughter's house. but  I did get to an indoor car show and was all over the new Triumph motorbikes (I think I like them). Had enough of all that and hopped in the car on a sunny morning to go home. Yeah it didn't stay that way long, crawled through ice slick , snow blown, whiteout highways at 25 mph for 5 hrs and still had to get a motel because being on the road was just stupid. I hate winter in Pa. now too!
   What started out being an  update entry turned out to be a winter #$%*fest , sorry, it's sometimes hard to keep our wits about us. I hope all you guys are having a better season than this, and if you aren't , Daytona 500 is this weekend, heralding the coming of spring. Almost makes me feel warm and fuzzy all over.
  Well, time to shovel my way out to the snowblower.

[Restoration Fan]

Rb,
I don't know how you guys stand Winter with so much snow.

It got down into the teens here in Georgia this week and it's been about to make me want to sell the house and move to south Florida.

Hope the weather breaks soon and you get to work on some of those beautiful bikes of yours!

[rb550four]

I'm afraid this winter has been hammering everyone, even folks in Florida.
If there was a good place to move to, the residents would be wise to keep it under their hat, otherwise we'd all be there next year.
  Spring should be here soon, we hope.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Nobody keeps it under their hat here. That's why property is so ridiculously expensive in SoCal along the coast.