Hi all,
I'm starting a build thread for my 1st motorcycle project, and there couldn't be a better place to do it! I have family members that ride, but for some reason I never got the urge to hop on a motorcycle (I'm more of a car guy...I have a couple '68 Mustangs as well). Most of my family rides V-Twins, but I've always liked the Japanese fours. It started with '90s Ninjas as a kid then I drooled over turn of the century super sport bikes in college, but I never picked one up due to budget constraints and being scared of my own riding ability. This synopsis gets us up to a few weeks ago when I came across a '78 CB750 for sale on the side of the road. I looked it over, talked to the owner about its history, yada yada, and while I was seriously thinking about buying it...someone else stopped by and took it home. This event jumpstarted my interest vintage Japanese motorcycles, and motorcycles in general.
Flash forward one week. I came across this craigslist ad: "Honda and Yamaha motorcycles, 70's, sitting in a barn for 10+ years, $450." The owner was about an hour from me so I picked up my best friend, a trailer, $250 cash, and we were off. Here is the photo from the ad and this is exactly what we saw when we pulled up:
Not running, no keys, flat tires, a mess really...but both were 100% complete. The CB shows 11k on the odometer and the Yamaha 3k! I asked the guy what he wanted for the Honda; he said he'd take $200 for it but $250 will get both of them! I couldn't believe it, the ad said $450! It was a deal and we loaded them up, we had no idea what the Yami was but it was pretty damn cool too! My buddy said he'd buy it for $60 and I agreed. I didn't know what to do with two bikes and thought we could work on them together. It turns out the Yamaha is a '74 DT-175A. Back to the Honda:
On the way home
Safe, sound, and nasty...
The next day yields a much needed wash. The barn it sat in for 10+ years turned out to be a chicken house...you can only imagine.
By this point...I'm thinking, "not bad for $190"
