slapnpop
Rest in Peace our Forum Founder
Somewhere, lurking in the dark corners in the back of my garage, had sat an old '86 radian. We bought it a while back for the girlfriend to learn to ride on, and because of it's less than reliable nature ended up sitting for about 2 1/2 years.
Recently one of my friends at work has shown an interest in motorcycling, and I had this extra bike just sitting around. I talked with the girlfriend, and we decieded he could borrow the bike to practice and learn one, with one condition. He has to take/pass the MSF course before we let him use the bike.
I spent nearly the whole weekend in the garage going over the thing. The main reason it went sitting originally is because the carbs were sticky/running rich/fouling plugs. The carbs were removed, and cleaned, but before I got around to putting them back one one of the throttle bodies had frozen up and wouldn't rotate. I couldn't for the life of me get the thing to turn again at the time, so the bike was left alone. I finally dis-assebled everything, cleaned, and got it all moving freely again. Put the bike back together, got the carbs tuned up, and started down the list of minor things, like lights.
I put about 60 miles on it this afternoon, making sure everything was riding and working properly. After riding the FJR only for a few years, this little sub-400 lbs 600cc maching feels like a toy. I have to be carful about underestimating the bike, because I feel like a shriner in a parade. It's short wheelbase makes it turn on a dime, and I bet with current tech sport rubber, and better suspension, this thing could be a corner weapon!
As I was riding those last few miles back to the house, I just couldn't stop thinking about how good it felt to bring one back to life. The bike could easily have sat for so long in my garage that it would be useless for anything but scrap. Since my friend was interested in riding, it gets a new lease on life. The bike was definatly happy to be out and riding, and it's definatly a fun bike to ride.
So what's sitting in YOUR garage? Is there anyone you know who could be getting good use out of something that's currently wasting away?
Recently one of my friends at work has shown an interest in motorcycling, and I had this extra bike just sitting around. I talked with the girlfriend, and we decieded he could borrow the bike to practice and learn one, with one condition. He has to take/pass the MSF course before we let him use the bike.
I spent nearly the whole weekend in the garage going over the thing. The main reason it went sitting originally is because the carbs were sticky/running rich/fouling plugs. The carbs were removed, and cleaned, but before I got around to putting them back one one of the throttle bodies had frozen up and wouldn't rotate. I couldn't for the life of me get the thing to turn again at the time, so the bike was left alone. I finally dis-assebled everything, cleaned, and got it all moving freely again. Put the bike back together, got the carbs tuned up, and started down the list of minor things, like lights.
I put about 60 miles on it this afternoon, making sure everything was riding and working properly. After riding the FJR only for a few years, this little sub-400 lbs 600cc maching feels like a toy. I have to be carful about underestimating the bike, because I feel like a shriner in a parade. It's short wheelbase makes it turn on a dime, and I bet with current tech sport rubber, and better suspension, this thing could be a corner weapon!
As I was riding those last few miles back to the house, I just couldn't stop thinking about how good it felt to bring one back to life. The bike could easily have sat for so long in my garage that it would be useless for anything but scrap. Since my friend was interested in riding, it gets a new lease on life. The bike was definatly happy to be out and riding, and it's definatly a fun bike to ride.
So what's sitting in YOUR garage? Is there anyone you know who could be getting good use out of something that's currently wasting away?
I know I'll be latching onto another project soon, Frank offers little in the way of wrenching entertainment. 
