My bikes, Past & Present

[ERAU-944]

Everyone loves to brag, myself included.  So, I figured I'd put a chronological slideshow of my bikes up for y'all to have a look at!  Enjoy everyone!  I'll start with my first bike, the good 'ol 1978 Yamaha XS750SE

put a couple thousand miles on her, fixed a LOT of stuff.  i could never get those carbs right *sigh*.  if i had maybe i'd still have her.  Owned her from late '04 until late '06

[ERAU-944]

the next bike was an early example of the EX500.  a 1990 which till this day i'm convinced hadn't been down.  pristine exhaust cans, paint that was a bit faded, and the rear plastics had evidently been painted to 'match' the tank and front fairing.  i added the lower fairing, and this is how i sold her.  i owned her from mid '05 until november '09

[ERAU-944]

next was an '01 EX500 (had to try out the 'updated' version).  picked her up in the middle of '07. a good bike, but i liked my old EX better, so she went so i could have something new at the end of '07]

[ERAU-944]

the next bike i bought because it was a steal, and sold to make some money.  bought this '04 EX250 or Ninja 250R towards august of '07 and sold her in the end of '08.  it was too tempting to make the $1300 off her and put that towards payment of the next bike.  i wish i hadn't because i think my girl would be keeping this rather than me being on a hunt for another bike, but hey who knows these things before hand?

[ERAU-944]

This bike is the only bike i've ever bought new, and will likely be the only one.  the '07 CBR600RR MADE me fall in love with it i swear!  i walked into the showroom in mid '07 and knew one day i'd be riding this beast.  what a purpose built machine to GO FAST!  at the end of November in '07 i made the dream a reality and traded my '01 EX500 up, and i love every minute!  eventually i'll buy some track leathers and put her to some proper use.

[ERAU-944]

my girl's yamaha 250 i bought so she could get more comfortable riding.  she tried out her father's magna 750 and determined it was a bit too heavy for her, so i got this... a bit too far down the scale to the light side, so now we're in the hunt for a CB450SC for her.  the yamaha is a fun little bike, it'll do 80, gets nearly 80 mpg, and handles very well.  i'll hate to see it go but i'm excited at the prospect of another honda joining the ranks.

[ERAU-944]

now the big cheese, the reason i'm here... my '84 CB700SC.  i work at an airport.  i got SO jealous when a mechanic friend of mine bought this bike for $1300.  i kept joking that one of his co-workers and i were going to bury him in the ditch at the end of the taxiway and share custody of his bike.  fortunately for all of us it didn't come to that!  he ended up leaving his job here, and the state as well.  unable to take the bike with him, he sold it to me for the princely sum of $1800.  he had put a new front tire on it, painted the headers, and changed the gear indicator sensor which was sticking and causing hard shifting.  he also gave me another k&n oil filter for it.  i'll be switching to purolator pureone filters after i use this one.  like my 600RR, i doubt i'll ever sell it, its the perfect balance of sportiness and cruising comfort.

[Sobek]

Impressive collection ERAU!

Can you or someone else elaborate on "changed the gear indicator sensor which was sticking and causing hard shifting"?

My Hawk is shifting a bit hard, and sometimes my digital gear indicator display flashes instead of normally showing gear . I wonder if the 2 could be connected and switching that sensor is something I should consider.

[muttstang]

quite the nice batch of bikes!  I hope to get my 700 looking as good as yours :)

[hppants]

Impressive indeed - Looking at your xs750 brought back some great memories.  Mine was all black.  Buddie put it in a ditch, bent the forks, ruined the bike and a good friendship.  I've never let anyone ride my bikes since then.

[luckylindy]

 Nice collection.  Which do you ride the most-CBR or 700?

[ERAU-944]

Impressive collection ERAU!

Can you or someone else elaborate on "changed the gear indicator sensor which was sticking and causing hard shifting"?

My Hawk is shifting a bit hard, and sometimes my digital gear indicator display flashes instead of normally showing gear . I wonder if the 2 could be connected and switching that sensor is something I should consider.

i can't say too much on this since i didn't actually see the replacement occur.  i can however vouch for the fact that when he first got the bike, the shift indicator wasn't functioning, and the shifter did seem a bit more stiff than it does now.  he said he got the unit for about $80 (check bikebandit?), and that it wasn't too difficult to replace.  i'd look for a connection near the shift linkage or perhaps somewhere coming out of the transmission.

in short, yes i do believe those two issues are related for you.

also, i asked if he had saved the old module to possibly clean out or look into rebuilding.. he dismissed it as an easy enough thing to simply replace for the $80.  personally, i'd have liked to see what it was to save myself the money in the future.

[ERAU-944]

thanks fellas!  i've enjoyed them all immensely.  my first roommate in college had an '80 xs850 and rode it all over.  i bought that one from my resident advisor and it was a HEAP when i got it.  it had had an engine fire, and as a result needed quite a bit of wiring work to get back into shape.  the picture there was shortly before i sold it.  i had replaced the wiring harness (thanks ebay), and spent a bit of time with some rattlecans and sandpaper.  it came out decently for my first go at painting.  i painted the front fender on my ex500 rattlecan and it came out nearly factory finish.  i nearly got the clearcoat perfectly smooth.

i rarely let friends ride my bikes.  my girlfriend of course is a different case 

her dad is a sport as well, he lets me borrow his magna 750 all the time.  he's got a dressed out harley as his main ride now, so the only time the magna gets used is when i use it (pics coming next time i ride it)

to answer the last question - i ride the CB much more frequently than i ride the CBR.  the CB replaced my ex500 as the 'daily ride' though i've got to admit i switch between the virago and the CB to keep miles off the CB and save a bit of gas.  the CBR is a riot, it's a great weekend ride, but its not daily ride material.  we also brought it up when we went to GA for a week, it was great riding in the hills.  the long flat florida roads aren't so easy on the backside .  as of right now i've put more miles on the CBR than on the CB, but i've only been riding the CB for about a month...