Topic: What did you do to your non-SOHC4 motorcycle today?

[Bankerdanny]

   This was my first road bike way back in '75. Same exact color and all, it started every time 2nd kick. My 2nd two stroke bike was an 75 rd350 with the r5 topend graphed on it, it was a screamer with but with the 6 sp of the rd, a lot of fun to ride.
    Your r5 looks fantastic....

Thanks! I had been looking for this exact model & color combo for a while. While I wouldn't say I got much of a deal on the price, this was a rare case of the bike actually looking better in person than it did in the pictures. Looking forward to experiencing my first 2 stroke.   

One of my first bikes when I was a teen in the early 1980's was a Yamaha YR2. A 350 2-stroke predecessor to the R5. I think ours was a 1969. Supposedly it was a YR2C, but that was a scrambler and ours had the low road pipes and standard bars. My dad bought it at a Yamaha dealer across from some riding stables owned by a family friend around 1980. It had been abandoned there by the PO and dad got it for the unpaid bill. We never got it to run quite right (perhaps the reason it was abandoned), but it was still fun. No guts until about 4k RPMS, then it hit like a turbo spooled up and would lift the front wheel. It also left a cloud of blue smoke behind it. Here's a review from Cycle World of the '68 model, which was the first year. https://magazine.cycleworld.com/article/1968/6/1/yamaha-yr2-and-yr2c

[BenelliSEI]

Unbelievable sunshine and warmth here today. Opened the shop door and ripped into the  Honda Varadero. Ended up in a tee shirt and jeans. Had to pull lots of trim and bodywork to get the tank off. Plus 5 hoses and an electrical connection. Drained it empty and managed to get the tank off. The air filter had never been changed (16 years and +20,000 km) for obvious reasons. It was packed with dirt. What a PAIN! Also changed two small crankcase breather filters in the canister (the gal at the local parts counter was smart enough to include them). Since the tank was off I’m changing spark plugs too. The back one was all but hand tight…… I’m sure no one has been under here since the bike was new, so very strange.

Pulled off the chain guards and knocked off the original chain (riveted) and sprockets. They weren’t terrible, but I ordered new ones months ago, so they’re going on! Spent 4 hours doing what would have taken me one hour on a cb750 and I’m still not done. Did enjoy having a really good look at the beast and I still like it a lot. I’ll be ready for Spring soon.

Also removed the ST2 stupid brake light switch (that comes on when you decelerate) I installed last year. Tried two of them and they never worked. Junk is gone.

[BenelliSEI]

Cleaned out 16 years of grime and finished up the chain and sprockets on the Varadero. Unfortunately the only source for the NGK “Unobtainium Iridium” spark plugs is my local Honda dealer, so on hold for a few days.

[Stev-o]

Felt like "smoking" yesterday so I rolled the Kawasaki H1 out of the garage, had not ridden it this year.
After about 20 kicks [no elec start, hate that!] it roared to life and there is that smoke!



Weather was gorgeous, about 85 and sunny, this bike is so much fun to ride, it literally "sings" between 6000-7000 rpm!! [8500 redline]

Dont typically ride off road, but just did a brief stop at the park....

[grcamna2]

The H1 

[Bankerdanny]

Moved the two old GL1000's I picked up a couple years ago out of my garage and up to the barn in Michigan.

The mostly complete one is a '77 with a 1981 GL1100 motor and the other is a '75 roller frame. I have the original engine from the '77, but it is a locked up long block. Sadly the original '75 engine was gone. The 1100 has been converted to a distributor ignition. I haven't pulled the cover to look inside yet.

Both wheels on the '77 are in terrible shape, but the front is especially bad. It looks like it was sitting outside next to the ocean for a a couple decades rather than somewhere in Illinois. The wheels from the '75 are salvageable.

My 750 is just waiting for warmer weather so I can repaint the tank.

[grcamna2]

The distributor ignition looks like a solid piece Danny.

[BenelliSEI]

That building looks even better!

[Bankerdanny]

That building looks even better!

One of the things that attracted us to this place was the 2 barns (there is also an attached two car garage) where I could have shop space. The downside is that they are both located at the bottom of a bowl and accessed by a fairly narrow driveway. Really the driveway to the property is pretty narrow, so I don't know how a concrete truck could get concrete down to the barns. Even a pumper truck is really too big. 40 years ago when the house was built the trees were smaller, so getting the truck up to pour the foundation would have been much easier.

Here's a shot of the barns and part of the house from last summer

[BenelliSEI]

Looks fantastic. How about just building a “deck” in your work bay? Cover it with plywood and a few coats of floor paint?

[grcamna2]

That building looks even better!

One of the things that attracted us to this place was the 2 barns (there is also an attached two car garage) where I could have shop space. The downside is that they are both located at the bottom of a bowl and accessed by a fairly narrow driveway. Really the driveway to the property is pretty narrow, so I don't know how a concrete truck could get concrete down to the barns. Even a pumper truck is really too big. 40 years ago when the house was built the trees were smaller, so getting the truck up to pour the foundation would have been much easier.

Here's a shot of the barns and part of the house from last summer

A home in the country  and the woods 

[Stev-o]

That building looks even better!

Here's a shot of the barns and part of the house from last summer

Gorgeous piece of property, Danny!

[MauiK3]

Sad what happens to some of these great old bikes.

[CycleRanger]

Put a new cover on my CL350 seat.
I still need to get the strap sorted, the PO buggered up the buckles.

[ofreen]

That looks good.

[CycleRanger]

That looks good.

Thank you. It's mostly the original foam but I had to replace some pieces. I hope it holds its shape once I start using it.

[RAFster122s]

Danny, spread a bunch of rat poison under the floor if you build a floor with platform… call it a preemptive strike…

You can buy 40 or 50 pound buckets of it. Can even get the kind that won’t kill anything after it’s killed what ate the poison originally, prevents other animals that might catch a sick or dying rat that ate the poison from killing cats, raptors, owls, hawks, dogs, etc

[Stev-o]

Another great weekend in Central Texas, rolled out the Z1 and had a great ride all the way to the End!!





It's got great balance with no kickstand!

[Trevor from Warragul]

I finally fitted the Moto Morini Strada (touring) seat a friend kindly gifted me in August last year. Why did it take so long? Well... the seat needed a little bit of work. Someone had added 6cm to its length at some point in the past. This had to be cut out, and the seat base re-welded. The seat foam also had to be cut, re-shaped and re-glued. The seat base also had a fibreglass repair on the front. When this was removed, it revealed quite a bit of rust damage, requiring a patch panel on top, and a strengthening piece on the bottom. I also had to weld strengthening panels on the rear, and reattach the rear mounts. The base needed several coats of red oxide primer and satin black top coat. A new seat cover from Mdina Italia was fitted, along with OEM aluminium seat trims. The thing is, I absolutely loved every second of this refurbishment, and I'm quite chuffed with the result!

[BenelliSEI]

Trevor….. well worth the effort! Looks great.

[RAFster122s]

That is really nice Trevor, great you had or developed the skills to restore it and rebuild it. It looks great!

[Trevor from Warragul]

great you had or developed the skills to restore it and rebuild it

I acquired quite a few skills during years of child induced poverty!

[MauiK3]

I bet parts are hard to find.

[Kelly E]

The 3 1/2 is a cool bike, I could have fun with it.

[Terry in Australia]

Pulled my hotrod Kawasaki Z1-B out and gave it a wash, and fired it up for the first time in months. Need to unstick the clutch again, so didn't take it for a ride. Put it back under cover and put a bike cover over it to keep it clean.