Topic: 38 days, 11,200 miles on my CB550

[B.O.X.N.I.F.E.]

I don't have the energy to write a short book like I did last time, but I made this photo album public if anyone wants to see the western half of the country from the cockpit of a 1974 CB550.

(you'll need to have Facebook to view the albums)

Part 1
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150325480038695.360900.500503694

Part 2
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150327083803695.361274.500503694&type=1

[CycleRanger]

Wow, great photos!  Looks like you had quite an adventure!
How did the bike run? 

[sixthwisconsin]

WOW... that is very cool...
Remind me never to buy a used bike from you!

The pics are great, I'm jealous!

[CoachDoc]

That's spooky, because I have the same orange 550 with a very similar (or the same ) rack, and I twice made cross country treks on it of about 5000 miles each. The first was in '74 and the second was in '94. From both trips I have pictures eerily similar to your, stuff piled ridiculously high on the racks. The similarity is amazing to me. Nice to see a bike of this vintage ('74?) can stiil handle the long haul.
I do envy your windscreen, however. I never had one. Swallowed most every bug from Santa Monica to the Hudson River  ....lol.

[scottly]

Hey doc, if you keep your mouth closed while riding, you won't swallow so many bugs!

[B.O.X.N.I.F.E.]

The bike ran OK. The 550 I did the first trip on was better dialed in and I'm not sure why. I had rich issues most the trip, so I had to pull the plugs a few times and clean them up. But you're supposed to do that every 1k miles anyways by manual spec's. From a mechanical standpoint she did superb. I'm a stickler for maintenance, routine and preventative. 

Doc, if you have any pictures scanned I'd really like to see them. The windscreen is a life saver. Hands and your face will get used to the cold, but your chest has to stay out of the wind or you'll get chilled easily.

[CoachDoc]

Hey doc, if you keep your mouth closed while riding, you won't swallow so many bugs!

I shoulda thought of that......   lol

[bender01]

Wow. Sounds like fun.

[CoachDoc]

The bike ran OK. The 550 I did the first trip on was better dialed in and I'm not sure why. I had rich issues most the trip, so I had to pull the plugs a few times and clean them up. But you're supposed to do that every 1k miles anyways by manual spec's. From a mechanical standpoint she did superb. I'm a stickler for maintenance, routine and preventative. 

Doc, if you have any pictures scanned I'd really like to see them. The windscreen is a life saver. Hands and your face will get used to the cold, but your chest has to stay out of the wind or you'll get chilled easily.

I'll look around tonight to see if I can find those pix. If I can I'll definitely scan them to share with you.

[VoodooChild]

Dude, I envy you so much. The story of your last trip kept me glued to my computer the whole way through. I don't know how many times I've told your story to my friends. Keep doing what you're doing, man. By the way, I just sent you a friend request on Facebook. I'm creepin'. lol

[CoachDoc]

The bike ran OK. The 550 I did the first trip on was better dialed in and I'm not sure why. I had rich issues most the trip, so I had to pull the plugs a few times and clean them up. But you're supposed to do that every 1k miles anyways by manual spec's. From a mechanical standpoint she did superb. I'm a stickler for maintenance, routine and preventative. 

Doc, if you have any pictures scanned I'd really like to see them. The windscreen is a life saver. Hands and your face will get used to the cold, but your chest has to stay out of the wind or you'll get chilled easily.

I found pictures of my '94 cross country trip. The bike was 20 years old and had been stored in the basement of the house I grew up in (suburban New York) for over 10 years after we moved to California. It was pretty dismal looking, the pipes literally falling off. I planned to travel about 5000 miles across Ontario and then the upper midwest before turning south when I reached the West Coast for the run down to Southern California. I recall thinking that if the bike gave out on the way, I might just leave it wherever the breakdown happened and fly home, that's how dirty, rusty and decrepit it was. Now it's 17 years later and my restoration is almost done. Bike will be "close to stock" , major departure being a Mac 4 into 1 exhaust, and it's looking sooooo....good.
Anyway, note the similarity to your photo. What year is your bike? Enjoy whatever is left of your trip.

[lucky]

I don't have the energy to write a short book like I did last time, but I made this photo album public if anyone wants to see the western half of the country from the cockpit of a 1974 CB550.

(you'll need to have Facebook to view the albums)

Part 1
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150325480038695.360900.500503694

Part 2
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150327083803695.361274.500503694&type=1

That is too bad this had to be on FACEBOOK.

I will not join FACEBOOK.

[Lostboy Steve]

I don't have the energy to write a short book like I did last time, but I made this photo album public if anyone wants to see the western half of the country from the cockpit of a 1974 CB550.

(you'll need to have Facebook to view the albums)

Part 1
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150325480038695.360900.500503694

Part 2
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150327083803695.361274.500503694&type=1

That is too bad this had to be on FACEBOOK.

I will not join FACEBOOK.

+1

[B.O.X.N.I.F.E.]

I don't have the energy to write a short book like I did last time, but I made this photo album public if anyone wants to see the western half of the country from the cockpit of a 1974 CB550.

(you'll need to have Facebook to view the albums)

Part 1
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150325480038695.360900.500503694

Part 2
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150327083803695.361274.500503694&type=1

That is too bad this had to be on FACEBOOK.

I will not join FACEBOOK.

My whole family, including extended family from other parts of the country, are on there and it was the easiest way for me to share the trip with them.  And considering 1 in 7 people on the planet have an account I hoped it would reach the most people. I will try to move the pictures somewhere they can be viewed more easily.

The bike ran OK. The 550 I did the first trip on was better dialed in and I'm not sure why. I had rich issues most the trip, so I had to pull the plugs a few times and clean them up. But you're supposed to do that every 1k miles anyways by manual spec's. From a mechanical standpoint she did superb. I'm a stickler for maintenance, routine and preventative. 

Doc, if you have any pictures scanned I'd really like to see them. The windscreen is a life saver. Hands and your face will get used to the cold, but your chest has to stay out of the wind or you'll get chilled easily.

I found pictures of my '94 cross country trip. The bike was 20 years old and had been stored in the basement of the house I grew up in (suburban New York) for over 10 years after we moved to California. It was pretty dismal looking, the pipes literally falling off. I planned to travel about 5000 miles across Ontario and then the upper midwest before turning south when I reached the West Coast for the run down to Southern California. I recall thinking that if the bike gave out on the way, I might just leave it wherever the breakdown happened and fly home, that's how dirty, rusty and decrepit it was. Now it's 17 years later and my restoration is almost done. Bike will be "close to stock" , major departure being a Mac 4 into 1 exhaust, and it's looking sooooo....good.
Anyway, note the similarity to your photo. What year is your bike? Enjoy whatever is left of your trip.

Good lord that looks exactly like my bike. I've had two, both '74 K0 models. The first one looked like it didn't even run. I used to say it was "all go and no show". It was stolen after the second trip and I knew an old geezer with another who took sympathy and sold me his when mine went AWOL. Took two big trips this summer on the new bike, which had been sitting in his garage about as long as yours did.

I saved your pictures, hopefully I won't mix them up with mine or I'll never know the difference.

[bjatwood]

I saw the pics on FB. Looks like you had a GREAT ride!
I especially like the pic of you running the throttle with
your right foot while you laid back on your "luggage" LOL