Topic: Anybody buying a 35 to 40 year old motorcycle as primary transportation....

[mjstone]

I've been thinking ...

Of my vehicles, my newest is an '83 CJ-7.  Now while it is 11 years newer than my 500,  I don't have any plans on replacing it in the next 10 or more years.  Does that mean I'm crazy for driving that as well?

My Vehicles:
1949 Willys CJ-2a
1972 Honda CB500/4
1972 Winnebago Indian 22'
1983 Jeep CJ-7

Just 20 years ago my Willys was my main transport for about 5 years.  The other vehicles I have acquired since then.

MJ

[MRieck]

I've been thinking ...

Of my vehicles, my newest is an '83 CJ-7.  Now while it is 11 years newer than my 500,  I don't have any plans on replacing it in the next 10 or more years.  Does that mean I'm crazy for driving that as well?

My Vehicles:
1949 Willys CJ-2a
1972 Honda CB500/4
1972 Winnebago Indian 22'
1983 Jeep CJ-7

Just 20 years ago my Willys was my main transport for about 5 years.  The other vehicles I have acquired since then.

MJ

Affirmative if it has the original tires.

[mjstone]

Gotta get the miles out of them tires somehow!

MJ

[MRieck]

Add one more to the insane list, I only had my k2 as transportation to and from school 50 miles one way for 2 years. It never left me stranded.

All set

[BobbyR]

Gotta get the miles out of them tires somehow!

MJ

Tie a rope around tires and find a strong tree branch and let the kids swing on them.

[Really?]

Yea, I would be about 60.  If I can't ride one with two wheels, there is always a trike!

Hell, I'm pushing 66 and not slowing down yet   

You and people like you really give me good hope!  There are a few in there 70's and 80's still riding on two wheels and they are on big bikes like My ride and the 2nd generation of those bikes.  All 800lb'ders to boot!

[mjstone]

Gotta get the miles out of them tires somehow!

MJ

Tie a rope around tires and find a strong tree branch and let the kids swing on them.

Lets see, 7 from the Winnebago, 5 each from the CJ's and 2 from the Honda = 19 tires...

Nah, my kids are to old for that, thank god!

MJ

[phil71]

Whatever man... I have a 66 super cub,a 71 cb750, and a 75 cb360t, and I'd take any of them around the world with the factory tool kit and some duct tape. Admittedly , on the cub, I'd be quite an old man by the time I got back, but I bet the bike would look better than me. 

[strawhouse]

I use the 78 as a daily driver when I dont need to move materials around.  When Ive got to bring stuff with me I use the 1988 VW Double Cab, I imported it in from Germany a few years back.  Between the Double Cab and the Honda neither one of them will ever leave my possesion.  I really have no interest in getting anything new I can fix the bike on the side of the road and I know the VW inside and out.

[TODD03412]

Well If you go by age of the actual bike and not the fact that it underwent a ground up rebuild it really could be considered a new bike?

I think a rebuild would go a long way with our Hondas! I have a 76 cb550 that I am hoping to ride a lot this season. I have a few cars and a new Suzuki boulevard that I can use, but how awesome is it to bring something back from the dead and ride it 80 miles round trip. I read somewhere that there are CBs that have been ridden past 100K miles!

[Grnrngr]

heh...mine was seized when I got it, my friend and I broke it loose and got it running, I've put a whole lot of more than 80 mile round trips on it, and it doesn't really seem like it needs a rebuild yet. In fact, 60-80 mile round trips are about what I do when I get that bug to just go take a ride...usually twice, sometimes 3 or 4 times a week during the summer..

[florence]

....is insane.

Hey ho......and I thought I was rather a sensible chap.

In my opinion, restoring is insane.  Maybe that could be another topic.

[Really?]

Restoring a sandcast is insane.  Restoring the others is fun and most importantly, very doable!

[florence]

It saddens me when people strip away all evidence of age and end up with a generic motorbike similar to the way it left the factory, but hey, each to their own.  People certainly do some amazing work, of which I am sure they are rightly proud, it's just not for me.

[754]

My buddy found a ratty 750 a few years back, made a deal for it.
 They fiddled with the wiring, fixed the seat, cleaned carbs, got it running.. rode it about 30 or 40 miles..
 I got out there end of Aug 09, fiddled with it half a day, put a mag on front, sprocket, cleaned front brake, added a single saddlebag, and loaded up the bike..
 Left Calgary Alberta at 6pm.. by 8pm the next eveningI was in Shoshone Idaho (near Twin Falls) .. my first ride in over 18 months. It ran pretty good, except the mc weeped a bit (that cleared up), and I had to change the rear tire and chain.. Ran great rest of the trip...
 Still runs great, ride it nearly everyday, missed about 10 days last winter, and stopped riding it a few months this summer and part of fall. Started riding it again in November, and ride it nearly every day..
 A lot of people are surprised that I took it on that trip, and ride it so much.. I am not.. I trust them, from decades of owning them. Until you experience (firsthand)how reliable they really can be, it is hard to trust them to the point I do.. They are not all like that, but most are, or could easily be..

[Spanner 1]

Have to agree with 754, the more you use 'em, the more reliable they run   Here's my un-restored K1 at Deals Gap, a weekend trip of 550 miles. If you look at all the other bikes, mine out-ages all of them by about 30 years....  

Better say this; I'm not being an #$%*, I'm just really proud of my 40 yr. old bike and what it can do