brand new both to these forums and motorcycles. i really like projects, so i'm buying a '77 550K off of my buddy. the bike is a bit of a basket case, needs new headgasket, most of the electronics are fried, the seat is a mess, the list goes on a bit. but the price is pretty much free, and he is going to help me work on it. we wrench on VW's so we've got a good amount of tools and a bit of mechanical knowledge. the bike also comes with a few manuals, which are always the first thing you buy when you get a vehicle.
the bike was bought off of a mutual friend in San Francisco who was a motorcycle mechanic at a Ducati shop. he was moving to Spain or Italy for a while, so he had to sell all his bikes. my buddy bought the bike, and he also got the entire tool set that the mechanic was using. lots of Snap-On and MAC stuff, as well as quite a few motorcycle specific tools.
the bike lives in Santa Cruz right now and is getting transported to me in the next few weeks, so no pics right now
thanks for all the advice i'll be asking for in the future!