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sinikl
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« on: May 15, 2006, 11:59:56 pm » |
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i'm thinking a bike may be a better way to get better mileage. ok, who am i kidding -- i want another toy. but anyway, i'd love to get a cheap, reliable 70s MC to hop up. chief goals: -running -reliable -like to be able to roll 80 for long stretches, top out 100+ -can be cafe'd and not look dumb -pretty in that order. i come from scooters (vespas), so a 2 stroke would be great, but it seems like anyone w/ an rd, rz, r5, h1, h2 or even suzi GTs knows what he has and they all go for over 1500. i "know" two strokes, but parts seem to be more of an issue. of course i'd have to piss a buncha money up the wall on chambers right off the bat, too, wouldn't be able to help myself. riiiiing, dingding ding. honda CB fours sound ideal, but they too seem to be kinda $ these days. any recommendations from MC guys out there? if you know of a triumph trident for 500 bucks, let me know  |
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so67vw
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« Reply #1 on: May 16, 2006, 12:17:58 am » |
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Yah... I have a buddy that has a few RDs ....... He has them fully pimped out..
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"insignificant other"
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Ron Bullard
Newbie
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Posts: 99
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« Reply #2 on: May 16, 2006, 01:50:20 am » |
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The exact same thing I was thinking - I need better MPG for my daily 3 mile commute to work. It took awhile to find one locally, but I just picked up a super clean CL350 to play with. KO, been in storage since '78 (and hasn't been registered since then), 7,300 miles, barely a speck of rust on it, came from the original family who bought it! I'll be the second person on the title. Still has the Triumph/Honda dealer sticker on the taillight. It's so well preserved I almost feel bad modding it much, so I'll probably swap tires and put on some superbike bars and call it a day. Best part is, unlike my VW projects, I can just polish and wax it and it looks good as-is! |
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Jerry D
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« Reply #3 on: May 16, 2006, 07:11:49 am » |
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Don't look for a Triumph Trident for fuel economy, my 72 only got 27mpg when it was stock. Now that the engine was reworked and I put all the Dunstall "cafe" pieces on it, I know the mileage went down. The good thing is that it has run 10.52 the last trip to the strip.
Jerry...
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martin
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« Reply #4 on: May 16, 2006, 07:37:48 am » |
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Careful with those old 2-strokes on the street, as they're famous for the mini-seizes that will makes you skate down the highway at 100mph with the rear wheel locked til you realize what happened and pull the clutch. That's one thing on the race track, but something else on the 401 with a big rig on your tail. For economy the new fuel injected super scooters are excellent.
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68 White 2.3 efi turbo 194hp/240tq RWHP no boost!
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Mag00
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« Reply #5 on: May 16, 2006, 08:52:02 am » |
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Even an RD will be lucky to get much more than 40 or so mpg...
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alex d
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« Reply #6 on: May 16, 2006, 10:16:30 am » |
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Careful with those old 2-strokes on the street, as they're famous for the mini-seizes that will makes you skate down the highway at 100mph with the rear wheel locked til you realize what happened and pull the clutch. That's one thing on the race track, but something else on the 401 with a big rig on your tail. For economy the new fuel injected super scooters are excellent.
yep, had a friend sieze his NSR 125 just in front of me going 100kph, not fun! |
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Mark Thompson
Guest
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« Reply #7 on: May 16, 2006, 11:29:51 am » |
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Ron's comments bring back memories of the old SL350 I had years ago. I guess about 15-18 bikes back but I can't remember them all now. Stone reliable, good on gas, weak electrics (common on all bikes pre-1975 or so) and barely adequate power. Just make sure you clean out the centrifugal oil filter every couple of oil changes since it will fill up with junk.
Oh well I'd reccomend a good 500-750cc bike from the mid to late 70's. XS650's, and XS750 yamaha's, any early KZ kawasaki in 550, 650 or 750 size are anvils, Honda 450 Hawks, 550, 650's, and 750's and any early GS suzuki.
If you really want great economy look for some old 500-650 single cylinder bikes as 50-70 mpg is not uncommon. Ask your friends and neighbors if they know of anyone with an old bike sitting in the garage. You'll be amazed at what you find. Good luck and ride safe.
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werksberg
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« Reply #8 on: May 16, 2006, 11:49:16 am » |
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Mark got it right. Being an Old OCC Yamaha (not THAT OCC...) mechanic, when Tom White of the famous White Bros. was my boss, I'd look for a single or twin Yamaha 4 stroker. Sorry, I cut up both of my Yamaha TX500's cafe runners from the '70's and I still have those engines laying around here for a future Go kart build.....ya, right! Since I still have not finish rebuilding my full size van's engine (why rush with gas prices now), I've been stuck in the back up.....1991 Hyundai Excell but tons less gas bills!  A friend has an older Honda like Ron got a deal on, but it is worst for wear laying around...but cheap I bet! |
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SOS: Support Our Shops....with this bad economy!
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vwfye
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« Reply #9 on: May 16, 2006, 11:53:24 am » |
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kz650 is a fantastic bike to cafe... light nimble and good mpg! run individual k&n air cleaners on the carbs, cafe handlebars, sport front fender and some charcoal metallic paint on the tank/fenders/battery covers with red pinstripping that follows the line of the tank is a classic, sporty look!
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What are all those lights flashing for?
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oly29
Junior
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Posts: 216
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« Reply #10 on: May 16, 2006, 07:25:15 pm » |
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I got a great 1983 XR500 with all of the thing to make it street legal for $1000. Put some good street tires on it and it would make a great street bike. Let me know if you need some pictures.
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NoBars
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« Reply #11 on: May 16, 2006, 08:55:42 pm » |
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Suzuki GS 1000, get an "S" fairing and paint it blue and white. 1100 are pricey, 1000s are cheaper because drag racers dont care for the 2 valve motor
hot setup, GSXR forks, swingarm and wheels.
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Anthony Consorte
Richmond, Va.
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Tom Simon
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« Reply #12 on: May 16, 2006, 10:34:35 pm » |
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one of he guys at work just picked up a late 70's Honda 400F I remember racing one of those with my old Kawasaki triple... I'm guessing they run 14's in the quarter mile. ANyhow, that was one of my favorite 4 stroke small bore sport bikes on the day.
For strictly gas mileage, I'd bet a 4 stroke 125cc trial bike would do the trick, they're just notreal sporty.
As Jim said, the old Yamaha SR and XT series 500cc thumpers were cool, they were real popular right away with road racers. I saw my first inovative anti-dive front brake system on one of those in about '78
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veloracer
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« Reply #13 on: May 16, 2006, 10:45:56 pm » |
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Want some Cafe Bike Porn? This site has some really killer pix of Cafe bikes. The second pic is of a kicking SR500 Thumper. http://www.caferace.com/cafepix.html |
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1973 Standard Beetle
2276cc
DRD heads
IDA's
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sinikl
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« Reply #14 on: May 17, 2006, 03:05:25 am » |
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thanks for all the posts. just missed a 550 smoker that went for 754 on ebay this PM. booo. that said i think i've tentatively redirected away from the 2strokes and onto cbs and xs yams, thanks to you lot. seems an xs can still be had for sane money. i need to finish my bug and my wife's vespa primavera (300 for incidentals (rubber, floorstrips, etc? yikes) anyway, but man... NEW TOY. I WANT. veloracer, you're not helping |
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martin
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« Reply #15 on: May 17, 2006, 08:24:57 am » |
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Then it would be fun to take a trip to Quebec where the sound of cafe racers can be heard echoing thru the Laurentians. They love them there and you can see them all parked at the cafes on the spaghetti of two lane blacktops. Bonjour souviens.
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68 White 2.3 efi turbo 194hp/240tq RWHP no boost!
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werksberg
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« Reply #16 on: May 17, 2006, 01:12:07 pm » |
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If you are in So. Calif., on Sundays many cool people ride from the Sagebrush Cantina in West Hills to the Rock Store up in the hills and back down to the Cantina for an afternoon of great live music and great food! You never know what celebitry will be there.......  |
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SOS: Support Our Shops....with this bad economy!
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Jerry D
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« Reply #17 on: May 17, 2006, 08:09:50 pm » |
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My 1971 BSA Thunderbolt gets about 67mpg on the highway. I thought that was great until my brother told me he gets 63.8 mpg with his 1985 Honda CRX HF (car) on a regular basis. AARRRGGGHHH!
Jerry...
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vwfye
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« Reply #18 on: May 18, 2006, 12:42:31 am » |
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my old CBX got 22 mpg  but man, what a bike! |
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What are all those lights flashing for?
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sinikl
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« Reply #19 on: May 18, 2006, 07:52:47 am » |
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my old CBX got 22 mpg but man, what a bike! my friend had one. he described the valve adjustment as pure masochism  . |
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bugnut
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« Reply #20 on: May 18, 2006, 11:39:28 am » |
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You guys would all laugh if you saw what I'm "restoring"...  Remember 'Dumb and Dumber"? "I can get 70 miles to the gallon this HOG." That's me right there! LOL. In actuality, this mini bike I bought off of Ebay is a fairly rare (from mini bike fans have told me) late '60s Bird Engineering "Duck". I'm currently looking for the right color to paint it, and in the middle of rebuilding the "period correct" Tecumseh 3.5 hp engine that I tracked down on Ebay. Hey, it's air-cooled right? I'd post a pic, but I'm at work at the moment.... |
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vwfye
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« Reply #21 on: May 18, 2006, 12:20:21 pm » |
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my friend had one. he described the valve adjustment as pure masochism . haha, synching the 6 carbs was even worse! maybe that's why synching dual dells and webers doesn't bother me... |
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What are all those lights flashing for?
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werksberg
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« Reply #22 on: May 18, 2006, 12:46:20 pm » |
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Sinkl.....if you were located here in So. Clalif., I'd tell ya of many Motorcylce wrecking / recycling yards.....  |
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SOS: Support Our Shops....with this bad economy!
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sinikl
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« Reply #23 on: May 18, 2006, 02:23:02 pm » |
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just bought a cb550, no title, jacked up front brake, supposedly runs strong for 500 in philly, on ebay. "buy it now!" literally as soon as i pull the trigger, this hits craigslist right in my back yard... http://raleigh.craigslist.org/mcy/162055654.htmlah well . |
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Ron Bullard
Newbie
Offline
Posts: 99
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« Reply #24 on: May 19, 2006, 01:06:54 am » |
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just bought a cb550, no title, jacked up front brake, supposedly runs strong for 500 in philly, on ebay. "buy it now!" literally as soon as i pull the trigger, this hits craigslist right in my back yard... http://raleigh.craigslist.org/mcy/162055654.htmlah well . That's exactly how it works!  |
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