Topic: I ALSO got a Mega Ridiculous deal on a bike only last weekend!

[Dougy Dougy Dune Buggy]

O.k. Everybody knows i needed a new bike since i'ma big boy and i thought i could ride the CL90 to work until it needed a rebuild but i had to admit i'm lookin like a kid on a mini bike, so over the past few months i've ran a post on craigslist and there stating i'll trade the CL90 for a bigger bike or for a basket case sporty(that i can work on) and i've gotten many responses; a 1984 FT500 (some guy picked it up abandoned on roadside, no key or paperwork) a 1981 XS650 chopper(this was a good deal but he ended up wanting $500 after agreeing..he contacted me, i had a basket sporty lined up (i replied to his ad and mine ran great-CL90) since he said he wanted a small bore honda and i could hear his wife in the backround yellin "ask for more money" he ended up trading for a broken down mini trail(rough) and $500 so that one slipped by
i also had a guy unloading a GPZ 1100 but he said his bike was worth way more even thos he was asking $1300..he never replied after that
so i kept looking not posting and ad for the CL90 just thinking "ok i'm gonna look like a guy in a parade on a mini bike" and accepted the fact
and then i saw an ad for a 1981 SR500 and she stated it had the front end rebuilt & i said: "ok, changed oil & seals in forks" thats good
and she stated it was too big for her, she goes to Frisco State College and is going to be a cop and was looking for a smaller bike she could handle and the SR500 has a small oil leak in a line after it warms up but it would be a cheap fix..so i reply to the ad and say i'll forward pix of my CL90 for you to look at and i got a video of it running, she replies Yes send the pix & video, she sees it and says when can we look at each others bikes, i say let me schedule a truck and Monday would be soonest, it was tuesday the week before and she listed at $1300 or trade, anyways she agrees and i show up in frisco monday after work and as i roll up she is grinning ear to ear, we unload it and she is all smiles and i show her how to start it and i ride it up the steepest hill with my 245 lbs in tow..she's impressed, she takes me to look at her bike and it it soo CLEAN with new metzelers,brakes, new MOTOR the list went on, reciepts were $2500+ in the last 10 months, so she says "I'm game if you are" for a straight trade so we worked out all the paperwork signing pinks etc. and i'm the proud owner of a 1981 SR500! battery needs a charge, it's registered until 10/19/10 and fix the oil line..and she felt bad..i did for a minute until i remembered her face while driving up..oh yeah she was 100 pounds wet and way to small for the SR..weird
Doug
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[Ogri]

How did she start the SR ?? It's kick only isn't it?

I've seen big, grown men reduced to quivering, frustrated wrecks trying to start them.

[Dougy Dougy Dune Buggy]

i ythink that was one of her problems also..yes kick only

[bill440cars]

Now THAT IS a COOL deal!      I had (or thought I had) a decent deal going, years back (in the 80's). I worked with a guy who had a friend with a Kawasaki 350 Triple and wanted to trade for a smaller bike for his son to ride to school. Well, it just so happened that I had a 72' Yamaha LS2 100cc twin, that I was riding to work. I was almost too big for that bike and jumped at the chance to trade up. My buddy loaded my LS2 to take and show his friend (telling ME that he was sure the guy would trade straight across and the LS2 was in excellent condition). He came back the next day with my LS2 in his truck and was he EVER MAD! Turns out that the guy liked the LS2 but had decided that he wanted BOOT included, for his bike. My friend knew that I couldn't do that AND would never have even bothered IF he'd have known the guy was going to do that!  Boy, was I let down! I was already to get that 350 Triple.
Ah, but that's History now, huh? Glad YOUR deal turned out GOOD!   ENJOY, but don't let medic know about your SR500.

              Just kidding about medic, he's a diehard SR500 man.    

[Dougy Dougy Dune Buggy]

Thanks Bill..any comments or questions or advice welcome!
Doug

[bucky katt]

killer deal

[Dougy Dougy Dune Buggy]

Ok, It's got a nail in the front tire, the speedo needle is broken and the forks are mis-aligned and the chain adjusters were not cinched tight, the battery box got cleaned with baking soda and i have to go buy some 1/2 o.d. fuel line to cut in on the return oil line(i'll use good fittings) until i buy a new one..not much pressure in that line so it'll suffice..and since the registration is paid it's just a transfer fee
and then i'll pick which insurance to use..i'm close but i want it to be as problem free on it's first ride so i'll post some new pix very soon like maybe saturday
Thanks
Doug

[Tim.]

SR500 is an awesome bike - I just recently picked up an all original, 5000 mile 2 owner model that had been sitting since the 90's.  Paid $500 for it which I thought was an awesome deal.

Haven't started it up yet - too many other projects right now, but it's on the short list.  Enjoy!

[Dougy Dougy Dune Buggy]

tintin, Please show some pix, I've always LOVED these bikes and am fortunate to have found this one
Doug
Thanks man!!

[medic09]

That's amazing.  I miss my '78 SR500.

BTW, they are stupidly easy to kick start.  Yamaha mounted a decompression lever right up on the left handlebar.  Swing the piston around to beginning of compression.  Release the lever and kick.  Mine started with at most two kicks every time, in every weather, cold or hot. 

What an absolutely wonderful bike.  She must be pretty tiny if this was too big for her.  It isn't heavy at all, and only average seat height.  My wife learned to ride on mine, and had trouble only because it has good torque right from the get go.  It frightened her a little as a first ride.  I even used mine for a 130 mile interstate commute.  There was nothing that bike wouldn't do.  I would happily own one again.

I only gave it up beacause my 750Four came along and nudged it out of the daily rider slot.

[Dougy Dougy Dune Buggy]

Medic09,
Thanks for the interest and compliments, i am VERY Happy and even told the wife this could be my 50 year birthday present to myself and from everybody, and yes the girl would blow away in the wind, very stick figure she was literally..she was super happy about the CL90 though as she was into the retro thing heavy and she watched a number of CL90's run around San Fran! I've always wanted one of these bikes(SR's) but the always were hard to find for sale and were going for more money everytime i saw one..this just happened and i never though she would want to trade straight across but it was her who first asked, and who was i to disagree, she knew the value of each bike and i would have taken the SR500 even if it needed a rebuild..one of those things where you feel like you won the lottery, in my mind anyways..i still have to fix the oil return line and charge the battery but i got laid off last thursday so it'll have to wait until i get working again, no worries though as she(the wife) knows i will NEVER let this bike go, i have agreed to sell of little projects like the minibike etc. so
my family will support me thru these cold months coming up and i have faith it will turn around!
Thanks,
Doug

[Terry in Australia]

Good pick up mate, I had a 1981 Yamaha XT500 dirt bike back in the mid eighties, it was "mint", the owner bought it with the intent of doing some serious long distance dirt touring with it, but fell off one morning on his daily commute and crapped himself, so I bought it for 800 bucks with a huge box of new spares, (tires, chain and sprockets, gaskets, cables) and kept it for another 4 years, which included one weekend ride to Bathurst and back (1000+ miles) to watch the Australian TT in Easter 1985 when I was "between" big bikes.

I had a ball on that bike, and never had one problem with it. Medic was being a little generous re: the simple starting method though, the TDC indicator is only useful in daylight, and I still have stress fractures in my right foot from that big baastard kicking back, particularly on cold wet nights, when that starter pedal rubber was that slippery that my foot would slip off the pedal and the lever would kick me in the back of my knee with such force that I would scream like a big girl as the lever tried to drag me under the bike!

Only a small gripe in the grand scheme of things though Doug, you did well mate, and I think that little chick will be much happier with your little Honda! Cheers, Terry.

[Tim.]

Here's mine - haven't touched it since I bought it.

http://dotheton.com/index.php?topic=10787.0

[Dougy Dougy Dune Buggy]

Thanks Fellas
I appreciate all the info and help
Terry, i would love to skip on over the pond one day because that is one place i need to see(Australia) and tintin, you better
call a rodent specialist! Dayum thats a nest..nice find tintin, show us pix when you can!
Doug