Spring Cleaning...

[wruehl]

Spent the morning detailing the girls. Can't wait to ride to work tonight!

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[deranged]

The 'Wing is SHARP, don't remember ever seeing one in silver before, but I definitly like it.

[wruehl]

The 'Wing is SHARP, don't remember ever seeing one in silver before, but I definitly like it.

The color is actually called Titanium and depending on the light it can look silver or pale gold.

[Ray]

Aw Willy, I took you for a Harley Guy.
I saw a little patch o dirt in my driveway yesterday, so not to far behind you. Need to crack out the heated gear.

[wruehl]

Aw Willy, I took you for a Harley Guy.
I saw a little patch o dirt in my driveway yesterday, so not to far behind you. Need to crack out the heated gear.

For the long trips > 4000 miles the Wing gets the nod. For short trips < 4000 miles the V-Strom. The Japanese have been building 300,000 mile motorcycles since 1975, hard for me to turn my back on durability like that. My first exposure to a motorcycle was my older brothers Kawasaki 750 two stroke Widow Maker (NOT A 300K bike I know) but that style of the Universal Japanese Motorcycle (CB750, GS750, etc) imprinted on me. I'm currently restoring a 1972 Yamaha CS5 200cc Two Stroke, and a 1974 Honda ST90. Waiting in the wings are two 80's era GS850's.

We've been getting glimpses of spring but we had snow showers last night, nothing stuck but snow none the less. I've got almost 2000 miles in for 2011 now.

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[performance]

Let's see....
I have had a:

Honda Gold Wing 1000( owned it with a friend as investment. Removed the add on fairing, Fixed it up, sold my share. Friend let a kid interested in "buying" it htry it out, kid wrapped it around a tree, sent engine parts through said tree,and kid last I heard was in a persistent vegetative state...Police counted where he had done numerous burn outs and doughnuts.)
GS 850 (my first full size Bike)
GS 750T Suzuki (16V Wicked fast for its time and the best I have ever owned.)
KZ 650C Kawa ( Had been bored, stroked, kandn, with electronic ignition and a few extras...Had been made into a drag bike but when I bought it the guy put the short swing arm back under it. It could keep up with CBR 900's...until you had to stop...guess how I found that out... IT was reliable until a guy backed over it, and drug it for literally 25 yards under his truck.)
Magna 750 Honda...Torquey little thing open pipes. Not the worst bike on the road...a little low for my liking
Yamaha 650 heritage special (wouldn't want another...junky little inline twin..low miles, but yikes...I didn't care for it)
Neon green Honda Z 50 2 speed...My first, inherited from my grandfather who road it around his farm and to get the paper for 10 years...Some low life stole it....Dang Shriners, can't trust them. Not much of a bike, but it counts.

[wruehl]

Nice collection of wheels Mark,
My first real bike was an early 70's CB550. A friend of ours in high school took it apart to paint/fix it then entered military service with the bike in milk crates. His Mom gave it to us to get it out of the house. One of my college roommates parents delivered the crates to us in our dorm and we put the bike back together and rode the wheels off it.

Ex wife forbade me from riding so naturally an abandoned, basket case 70's era CB350 gravitated towards me and a few moths later it was street ready. I dumped it, just like she said, and broke my right wrist. Needless to say I never lived that one down. Great little bike though.

Many years later a close friend gave me a pristine BMW R100RT just as my ex and I entered the divorce process. I had been providing him with CAD drawing services and he really appreciated the work I did, so he said this was my "tip". Rode the wheels off it and LOVED that bike. The ONLY drawback was that being "Big Willy" did not leave a lot of passenger room on the Beemer. So as the desire to find the occasional mate coincided with spending time on a bike I would need something larger.

Having been freshly fleeced after my divorce I was in a limited cash flow condition. I sold some welding equipment the ex's attorney didn't know I had and bought a 1989 GL1500 on Ebay. To say the bike was in rough shape would be an understatement. The knuckle dragger that owned it, that went by the name of "Dozer", had smashed the instrument display because "he was pissed and his Harley". Apparently he was working on the HD and whipped a pair of channel locks across the shop and the wing caught em square in the face. I got it pretty cheap and took it down to the frame. Painted everything, replaced most of the chrome and promptly put 50,000 miles on it. My new girlfriend at the time and I rode it from Philly, to Baltimore, to Syracuse, to Seattle in 10 days in 2008.

While I was commuting from PA to WA state in 06 I was awestruck by the beauty of the Pacific NW and at the time my bike (GL1500) was in PA. I looked on craigs list everyday for a cheap used MC to tool around on when I was stuck in WA. My commute was 11 days in WA, fly home for 4, then back for 11. One day I found a 1975 GL1000 on craigslist, the bike was so sweet that when I went to look at it I drove right past it thinking no one in their right mind would EVER sell a bike that nice for $1000.00 Sure enough it was the one. I bought it right there and rode it all over the Cascades. What an AWESOME bike that was.

As my cash situation improved I eventually bought a 2006 GL1800 and with that gave the GL1500 to my girlfriend (same one) who rides it 76 miles each way to work at O'hare airport whenever she can.

Then I started commuting from Seattle to Rockford IL (Damn aircraft industry), and once again started to jones for a bike to ride out here in the Midwest. I had always lusted after the Suzuki DL1000 V-Strom and found a nice 2004 on Craigslist in St. Louis. It had 212 miles on it (it was now 2010). So for six years the owner kept it locked in the garage. He said "on the way home from the Dealer it scared the crap out me" and never swung a leg over it again. He promptly negotiated the price down to a ridiculous level and I had to buy it. I put 7,000 miles on it last year and it has been heavily customized. I ride it to work nearly everyday. I hope to ride the Trans Wisconsin Adventure Trail, (yes that T.W.A.T.) this year on the V-Strom.

The 1972 Yamaha CS5 will be a show bike, and will be displayed in our game room when not traveling.

The two GS850's (one is a donor for the other) will begin work this summer.

The 1974 ST-90 is a gift for my Girlfriends daughter.

I finally moved to a vehicle service program to track maintenance and repair work.

My Girlfriend has been riding since she was 17 and is a GREAT riding companion.

Here is the GL1000 I was talking about:

Attachment 1663

[performance]

I forgot the last bike a few years ago, I acquired from my wifes friend. It was a basket case. I started working on it, and quickly figured out it wasn't something I wanted to fix, because 1) IT was too small, 2) It cost too much to fix. I traded it for a snapper mower with the guy giving me boot money. I like the 750 size for its maneuverability. Our state has a computerized license test for motorcycles,and you have to be good to pass. The computer judges you by the lines you ride through an obstacle course...It almost feels subjective but I guess they have it figured someway. They say that 60% fail on their first test. The goldwing riders can't pass it because of the aggressive nature you have to have. They tell you to come to the test with a 650-850 size bike to pass it. If you take a 550, you are limited to ride that size or smaller. I took my Magna...The guy asked me if I had been riding a while. I had, because the motorcycle learners allows you to ride almost anywhere except interstate, afterdark, and with a passenger. I never really decided to upgrade my license until I needed to do some after dark and interstate riding. He said are you sure you want to take it because you can't take it again for so many days (can't remember now, but seems like 2 weeks). The state patrol officer stood there with a pen and paper over the computer screen giving his readouts. I had to accelerate as FAST as I could through a hair pin type turn...the kind you almost scrape your foot peg to do. The computer scored what lines I took through the curve. Also had to drive at 15 mph and lock the back tire down when a signal light went off. I ended up passing all parts except the part that deducted the least amount of points, I had to accelerate and hold the bike on a steady course at 7-9 mph. I didn't tell the cop my speedometer was broken. I did what I could. No comment from the officer except that I went over the speed at 11 mph or so. I got through the test, the officer was laughing. He threw his clip board down on the pavement and handed me a piece of paper, and said "Go get your license". The only thing I could figure out about his animated behavior was that I had indeed impressed him, because the woman in the DMV told me I had done real well for my first time taking the test, better than most the second time.

[wruehl]

My instructor at the first MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) we took used to laugh at folks that thought that tough courses could not be done on big wings, especially the GL1800 which is hands down the best handling wing I've ever been on. He went on to demonstrate at our first outdoor "field trial" by smoking the course on his own GL1800. *Most* states will forgo the riding test in lieu of a passing grade from a fully accredited MSF sanctioned riding course. Karen and I take it from time to time to freshen the skills, the advanced rider course is a GREAT way to tune up if you've had a long winter. Did you get my PM?

[performance]

No, no pm.

[wruehl]

My apologies, I think I must have sent it to Mike instead. If I don't hear back from him I may copy you on it just to get your input. Thanks for being vigilant!

[wruehl]

SOOOO not what I was expecting when I left work this morning. I was thankful I remembered to put the seat cover on before I went in last night. Enough winter already!

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[Canada]

wruehl

I can understand why you like the Japanese bikes. I have had both. Each has its own charms. Started with a Honda CB750 rode the hell out of it, never failed to run. When it was no longer reasonable to run, scrapped it out. Replaced it with another Honda CB750, nice fast bikes. 750's are fast and responsive, the larger bikes in the 80's were more geared to be cruisers. After a couple of years I bought a 82 Harley FXR. LOVED that bike! With the rubber mounted engine I could actually see what was in my rear view mirror. Had to replace a transmission seal and that was about it for repairs.(I was lucking compared to my friends!) Sold it to go back to school. Last bike I have owned. Family, work and mortgages tend to put toys on hold. If things work out I am looking to buy next year. I find the Harley's are too over priced and the new 1300 cc (+) Japaneses cruisers are very close in feel and appeal. I want to ride not make a statement.

[Mikeymetal]

All this bike talk makes me think it's actually spring (45 degrees in MN today). and want to gat another bike tha last bike i owned was a Honda CBR929. my brother owns and rides HD almost exclusevly. the year before i sold the 929 he named it scaredalivincrapouttaya. lets just say it was fast, too fast. I'm thinking that given a choice id be looking at either an old winger just like the red one in the pic, or if i had the scratch to go new, id have to look real hard at victory. those boys did their homework.