Topic: Howdy from a Wyoming newbie!

[Cowboy]

Howdy Gang!  I'm glad I found this site, it's been a very helpful resource already!

I'm relatively new to motorcyles,  . . . well, sorta.  I actually bought my first bike in high school, back in about 1984.  I had a few incidents with careless drivers right away, and got scared off bikes for a couple decades. I'm glad I had the good sense to recognize at age 16 that I was not yet prepared to ride a motorcycle. I sold the bike, to avoid getting killed.

Fast forward a couple decades: 

My father-in-law is really responsible for re-igniting my passion for bikes. He rides a Chang Jiang 750 with a sidecar in China, where he lives. The CJ750 is a military bike, a clone of a 1938 BMW R71, without any significant mechanical updates. It is still built in China, mostly for use by the police and the military.

Well, he loves his CJ so much, that he wanted to have one in the U.S. when he comes home to visit. So he bought another (a 1967 model) had it restored, and had it shipped over to me. He prefers that I actually ride it, so it stays in running condition for his rare visits. We have the same arrangement with an old MG roadster, and it works out very well for both of us. Here's a gallery of photos of the Chang. This one is not mine, but is basically identical: http://cj750.net/sitepics/stripes/stripeshtml/stripes10.htm

When the Chang arrived, I was immediately taken back to my high school days, and fell in love with bikes again.  So if I love riding a funny old Chinese military bike with a sidecar, what the &^%$# am I doing at SOHC.net?

Well, my Father-in-law also has a 78 CB550K. It has been at my house for years, stored in the back corner of the barn, not running. It had an electrical problem back in about 1994, and he never got it fixed before he moved overseas.  Well, I had to take the sidecar off the Chang to take my driving skills test to get a motorcycle license. Riding the thing solo was great fun. Now I want to get the CB550 on the road again, so I can have a modern(ish) solo bike, and put the sidecar back on the Chang.

I found SOHC because I was looking for resources to help get the 550 back on the road. You'll all be hearing more from me in the near future, no doubt.

I'm a bit of a machine-freak. Besides the bikes, I have a collection of old cars, the MG, a couple Austins, Fiat's and a Volvo from the 50s through the 70s. I use them as daily drivers, even in winter. They were built to drive, and that's the way I enjoy them.

I'm hoping to have the 550 on the road by spring, and do some touring around the Rocky Mountains with it next summer. Hope to run into some of you in the process! I live near Laramie, in southeast Wyoming.

Ted

[ofreen]

Great intro.  Those Changs look interesting.  Good luck with the 550.

[nickjtc]

I have a collection of old cars, the MG, a couple Austins, Fiat's and a Volvo from the 50s through the 70s.

Anyone who is into those has to be a hardened gearhead!!

[Cowboy]

With the exception of valve adjustments on the Fiats, those cars are all bonehead simple, mechanically. (And pleasant to work on as a result of that simplicity) They do require some regular maintenance, but that part is mostly enjoyable.

I'm not afraid to turn wrenches, at any rate. I don't expect much trouble getting the 550 running. A little cleanup of electrical connectors, and cleaning the old dried-up gas from the fuel system, and I expect I'll be on the road without much trouble. My Father-in-law says the bike ran great, until the battery stopped charging. The archives here lead me to be confident that I can trace the problem and fix it without a major hassle.

I've brought back most of my cars from states of serious disrepir. It always amazes me what simple problems take a car off the road. Most of car resoration is just cleanup, cosmetics, and fixing the effects of sitting for long periods (deteriorated rubber parts, siezed calipers, electrical corrosion, and dried-up gas. I suspect bike restoration will be the same, true?

[ofreen]

Most of car resoration is just cleanup, cosmetics, and fixing the effects of sitting for long periods (deteriorated rubber parts, siezed calipers, electrical corrosion, and dried-up gas. I suspect bike restoration will be the same, true?

You can add undoing the goofy sh!t that previous owners may have done to the bike to your list.  Sounds like you probably won't have that problem with your father-in-laws bike.

[nickjtc]

Do post pics of your four wheeled 'stable'!!

[GoatBaSS]

I have a collection of old cars, the MG, a couple Austins, Fiat's and a Volvo from the 50s through the 70s.

Anyone who is into those has to be a hardened gearhead!!

Or into the pain for pains sake.
The honda will be a C A K E walk.
Welcome!

[Cowboy]

Hey GoatBaSS

You were right, the Honda WAS a cake walk!  I got the old beast running for the first time today! (so much for my prediction that I would have her on the road by spring!

I awoke to a beautiful day today, and felt like a ride. Unfortunatley, that big snowstorm that socked Denver this week got us too. So I latched the sidecar back on the Chang, and took a short, very chilly ride around the neighborhood. (the raods were all clear except my driveway, which has about six inches of snow on it!)

Here's a pic of the Chang in the snow:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y93/waterlaw99/Motorcycles/DSC05279.jpg

After my short ride, I started tinkering with the CB550. After taking off the carbs and cleaning thing up, and cleaning corrosion out of the electrical connectors in the ignition circuit, I turned the key and gave the starter a whirl.  WOOO HOOOO!  That Kerker 4 into 1 makes a glorious noise! Sadly, as much as wnat to go out for a spin, I'm not about to attempt to get a bike out my driveway without a sidecar to keep it upright!

I'll try to post some better photos of the CB550 after a test drive in the near future. For now, here's a shot of the bikes in my garage:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y93/waterlaw99/Motorcycles/DSC05286.jpg

[Soos]

Nice 550!
I like the fairing.

You are near laramie??
There is only a couple of places near laramie I can think of....
Centennial?
Or one of the houses out on a county road.....
I have family and friends in laramie...
Mabey next time i'm in town, we could arrange a ride..


L8r

-=Soos=-

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

Greetings from CO. Nice bikes! There are a number of us south of you on I-25. I'm in Colorado Springs. Looks like another spring time ride coming.

[burmashave]

Welcome, Mr. Cowboy!  That Chang looks to be an interesting bike with some very old school features, like the way the brake/clutch handles are mounted from the end of the handlebars.  Also, I suppose that opposed pistons aren't a problem when cornering with a sidecar.   I bet the Chang turns heads.

If you haven't taken a safety course, you might want to sign up for one.  The Motorcycle Safety Foundation runs most of them, and lots of the riders (experienced or new) have taken them.  My course made me more confident about my riding.

[Glenn Stauffer]

I'm a bit of a machine-freak. Besides the bikes, I have a collection of old cars, the MG, a couple Austins, Fiat's and a Volvo from the 50s through the 70s. I use them as daily drivers, even in winter. They were built to drive, and that's the way I enjoy them.

I'm hoping to have the 550 on the road by spring, and do some touring around the Rocky Mountains with it next summer. Hope to run into some of you in the process! I live near Laramie, in southeast Wyoming.

Ted

I can relate.  The first car I ever drove was a Volvo 122S.  First car I ever owned was a Fiat 128 - pure junk, lasted me a couple of months before it dropped a valve; couldn't get the heads off - Fiat dealer told me that they sometimes had to hoist the car off the ground by the head before it would break free - sold it to a friend.  Next car was a 1974 MG Midget - still have that one.  First bike was a 77 550 - still have that one too.

I think I camped outside of Laramie a bunch of years back on a vacation in Colorado.  We were out in the grasslands east of Denver, dove up to Cheyenne to Sierra Trading Post, then camped somewhere with unusual rock formations and again in Wyoming in one of the National Forests on our way back down into Colorado.  Pretty country - that's the place to ride a bike!

Welcome!