Motorcycles: A Cautionary Tale

I used to really like cars, and that 'don't stop'. But then I started liking bikes, and things changed. In this post I will demonstrate through pictures that are all related to ONE bike, why it is dangerous to get into bikes. This has nothing to do with wearing your safety gear, or gruesome pictures of incidents or anything like that. However, I warn that this is a cautionary tale, I make no judgement on what has happened to me, but remember, it could happen to YOU.

It’s just 3 pics in the progress of a Suzuki TL1000R racebike, but what ELSE is in the picture is more telling. Let us begin:

Here’s the frame and swingarm for the TLR. A frame and swingarm can be had for practically nothing, especially in the dead of winter. CAUTION: You can have the makings of most ANY bike, enough to make vroom vroom noises as you stare at it, for at most a couple hundred bucks.

We also see the remote reservoir Penske shock. In the bike world this is not an 'oh wow' part. Everyone has an Ohlins damper, if just for steering. CAUTION: No Koni's here, with bikes high end dampers are actually affordable (you only buy one), there is a good chance of finding them used, they are intended to be rebuilt/revalved to suit you, and they make a big difference you really can feel. You will from time to time wonder how Moton's or JRZ's or some other high dollar damper would feel on your autox-er.

Also you can see the DRZ peeking out, it’s used for commuting and looking foolish and incompetent at supermoto track days. CAUTION: Wheelies are fun! Authority figures don’t agree!

There’s also an FZR400 in the background. Yes, another bike that can be had for next to nothing. This one has waiting on the shelf for it: FZR600 motor, R1 front end, TZ250 wheels, Deltabox swingarm. CAUTION: Bike projects pile up more easily than car projects!

Behind the FZR is an NSR250 with a CR500 engine in it. It feels awesome on the track, until you lose all feeling because of the vibration. CAUTION: Did I mention that bike projects pile up more easily than car projects?

Ok, pic two, little further along:

Subframes and such require jigs, because how do you make another one when you bend the first one up? Worse, since everything is exposed, there’s no hiding a bad weld. CAUTION: Don’t need an inverter TIG? You will think you do once every aluminum weld is on display at first glance.

The other bike in the foreground is a TZ250 with a 660cc 5 valve single in it. Because supermono was in all the magazines in my formative (bike) years and I had to have one. Until I had it built to the point that I saw the frame, engine, chain, and suspension geometry all didn’t want to work together just so. It's now in pieces on the shelf waiting for a frame jig. CAUTION 1) Perfection is the minimum when you start to make mongoloid hybrids and CAUTION 2) You will want a really nice frame jig to go along with the inverter TIG, even if you don't know where you'll put it.

The car is a Triumph Spitfire with a 13B, back halved with a 4 link. FTD at a local autocross maybe 7 years ago. Has been on the road maybe 3 times since. Possible trade for an inverter TIG? CAUTION: Even if it’s not true, project cars seem like a big commitment compared to bikes, and are easy to put way back in the priority list

Also, all those tires in the back? Nothing. I spend too much time building and don't ride near enough. People that ride alot have much bigger pile of tires than me. CAUTION: There may be only 2 tires per bike, but who has only one bike, and how many times a year do they need to get changed?

Last pic:

It turned out ok, runs pretty good, but after all that work it will be a shame when it crashes, and even if it wins there’s no money to be won so it’s still a losing proposition: CAUTION: Maybe a GSXYZFX 600 or 1000 really does make more sense. Ponder that after a few crashes and the interesting bikes may not be as interesting anymore. Well, maybe to look at, not to own.

So, there you go, a cautionary tale, think real hard before letting this happen to you. Don't peruse ebay or craigslist without specific purpose. Don't let it be known that you think such and such is a cool bike and you wonder if anyone around has one they're looking to sell. Don't build the next bike in your head while you're building the current bike with your hands.

Maybe it's easier to prevent this from happening if you live in a place without winter, where cold is 32 deg in the morning and there are not warehosue size repositories of salt for the roads and you can ride all year instead of working in the shop waiting for spring to come. But maybe that's worse, who knows. When I get tired of crashing and start working on say vintage bikes that require new castings, oh, how much worse things could get. Now, back to work…

Man, if I had a bike striped that far down, I'd have polished the frame and swing arm, but I likes my bling. Are those Gulf colors?

Appleseed wrote: Man, if I had a bike striped that far down, I'd have polished the frame and swing arm, but I likes my bling.

Chrome don't get you home.

Yeah unfortunately you can put four bike projects in the space of one car project. I'm really trying to refrain and only have one bike project and one car project at the moment.

Be safe.

Dan

You mean I don't actually NEED four GS1000's, a TL1000S, a 10-years-in-the-woods-fresh GT750 with a spare engine, a GSXR750 frame and six gun projects?

SACRILEGE!!

Had a V-Star. great commuter bike, sold it to my best freind who sold it to my dad. I have first refusal if it ever goes back up for sale. Picked up a BMW project. Still have it, stil a project

Got another Bimmer in 05. Loved it. Rode it everywhere. Still have it. Still ride it

Moved to Colorado in 2006, found a great bunch of like mided riders. Get into some track as well and canyon riding. Tried a track day on the Bimmer... ...surprised a few folks, but after grinding the head on turns I deicded I needed a track bike. I also have a stack of cheap race take offs from another guy that I paid $40 a piece for.

In the process I end up with a free pit bike

Got taken on a trail ride. Decided I needed an off road bike.

Got an old Yamaha for the price of lunch Sold it for what I paid to get this project for the same price ...got given another aborted hardtail project with a good title to make one bike

Got tired of being left in the dust on the Bimmer, get a proper liter bike

Also traded a vaccum cleaner on craigslist for a 1965 Suzuki K-10 (sorry no pics)

Wife gets infected with bikness, ask for a scooter.

With my constant trolling of craigslist for riding gear, I come across this;

With the exception of the 2 Bimmers, all of that happened in three short years. Heed this man's story. It could happen to you.

Looks like heaven to me

In reply to Mental:

What bike do you pull the camper with? I think that would be pretty fun. I'd like to have a bike camper, but always wonder how a sportbike would deal with it since that's mostly what I ride.