The New Bike...

The new bike should be here sometime today...probably right around noon or shortly after.

It's supposed to be 52 degrees outside, but it's supposed to be raining...sometimes heavily...nearly all day. I was hoping that maybe I would get a quick chance to buzz it up and down the neighborhood streets, but that likely won't happen. Who knows though, maybe I'll get bundled up and give it a shot anyways.

I'll try to get a couple of pictures of it when it gets here.

I've decided that I am more than likely going to leave it pretty much the way it is. Keep the fairing and the seat, but replace the bags. The fairing and the seat are both ugly...but they are items that will make the bike comfortable for highway riding, which is what I really wanted it for in the first place. No real point to take the stuff off that serves a good purpose just because it might not look the greatest. One of my friends online suggested that I even leave the bags on, and treat the bike like a "touring time machine." He said that all of the stuff on it was absolutely cutting edge for touring in 1980...but man, those bags are UGLY. I will probably replace them with something completely different.

I've found a couple of parts to fix the vents in the fairing, so those will be ordered this spring. I also am searching Ebay for the one part that is missing...the side cover. As soon as I find one that's for the correct side, I'll get it ordered. I also may even decide to leave the bike the same color as what it is now...but just fix that dent in the tank and get the tank repainted. If I can find some spray paint that matches pretty well (and I should be able to) I'll just get that, fix the dent, prime it and spray it. I'll probably end up with a tank bag on it anyways, so if the job isn't 100% perfect it won't really matter.

I'm pretty excited about this thing. It's not really my "style" of bike. I'm more of a sportbike guy. But, to be honest, I value function and comfort over "looking cool" anyday of the week. This bike should have LOADS of both of those.