First, i saw a 78 cb550f on craigslist for $800. the electric start was broken but it supposedly kick started fine. I really wanted it so i emailed the guy to set up a time to see it. he said he couldn't show it before 5 so i decided to fix some stuff on mia's bicycle. My hands were all greasy so i couldn't check my email for a while but when i finally did the guy had gotten back to me to let me know he now wanted to start showing the bike at 1. I got this email until around 2 and so i called him and told him i'd be right over to see the bike. Before i even got to the car he called me back to let me know that he just sold it.
The second thing i went to look at was a pair of 78 cb750f's. This year of this model was my ideal bike. One with a title one without. one running one not. $1200. If i had a garage i might have been inclined to get these but the problem was the the running one was the one without the title... it just would've been a pain in the ass to deal with everything...
Third was a 77 XS650. This bike was two hours away somewhere in PA. It was only $800 and came with a couple saddle bags. The guy had owned it since it was new and put 40k on it but assured me that it was in perfect running conditon. He gave me this story about how he needed to sell it quickly because his wife had cancer and he needed some money. I went down to look at it and it looked like it was in really good condition but it was already warmed up when i got there (i hate when they warm it up before hand so you have no idea how well it starts when cold) and still took a bit to start. when it was running it was making a pinging sound so i decided against it.
Fourth bike was a little KZ200 that Chris had found. It wasnt running but had good compression. The guy who had it was an idiot. he couldnt figure out why he wasnt getting and spark. he didn't have a car battery lying around so he tried hooking up a computer battery.... WTF? The bike would have been $40 and i would've bought it but there were ridiculous title issues and issues within the kids family as to who owned the bike and had the right to sell it.
The fifth bike was a 75 CB750f. Supposedly in good running condition and needed nothing... until i called about it and it would probably need the carbs synced soon but he would do that for a fee. I went to see it and it was pretty well fucked. it was leaking oil from the head, which a lot of the older cbs did. missing part of the rear brake but it still worked. but what really turned me away was the fact that it was missing the front sprocket cover. If it had just been taken off and lost it would be no big deal. in fact it would look pretty badass that way. But no, it had been ripped off when the guys chain popped shearing some of the screw holes that it would bolt into. There was also a lot of oil around the sprocket and while that could have been due to the chain oiler (the adjustment screw was non existent) i felt around under the grease and the engine case had definitely been damaged by the chain. so didnt buy this one either.
That brings me to the one i did buy. the 81 GPz 550. This is a sporty KZ550 that came stock with higher compression and hotter cams. Its the only year it was built with dual rear shocks which i really like the look of. Mia didn't want me to go look at this because it was out in Bethlehem, PA. The pictures looked pretty good and the guy told me it was in very good running condition and needed nothing. So i went to look at it and this thing was in immaculate shape for being 30 yrs old. The engine was cold when i got there and it started on the first tap of the starter button. It had pod filters and a 4 into 1 kerker exhaust. The thing just sounded awesome; A nice grunt to it. So i took it for a ride on the backroads nearby to click it through the gears. It was pretty tame when riding slow but once the RPMs got up into the mid range the thing took off. I hit a straight away and gave it some gas. In 4th gear i still felt myself sliding back on the seat. i got it into 5th and 6th but it was just to make sure they were working ok. by then i was going 75 in a 25 and decided to i needed to slow down a bit. I was sold... $900.
