I have kinda dropped the ball on blogging here. So many tasty beers and motorcycle tribulations have passed by since returning from Afghanistan. So if you had never seen a picture of the New/Old Yamaha, this is what she looked like back in December:
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| Frost on the seat lets you know this shot is really from December |
Big padded sissybar, buckhorn chrome handlebars, only one somewhat floppy rearview mirror, stuck clutch, hadn't run in... some time. But the bones are good and there's comparatively little rust for a bike this old.
Fast forward to yesterday:
After a few months, I caved in and pushed the bike to a mercifully close-by shop to have the clutch and electrical business professionally sorted out. He also rebuilt the front brake cylinder and gave me an overall inspection.
New handlebars/grips/mirrors. These handlebars are black-coated carbon steel intended for 4-wheel ATVs, but I liked them. It's hard to shop online for something like that unless you already know exactly what you want.
I bought these coyote-tan pouches to increase the carrying capacity of my medium rucksack for Afghanistan, but now they make tidy little saddlebags that loop right over the frame beneath the seat.
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| Found a permanent destination for that mustache patch |
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| The vinyl seat is in great shape for its age |
I really, really wanted to ride the bike to the Handbuilt Motorcycle Show in Austin. It's the successor to the 1 Moto Show that I had been traveling to when I crashed in 2013. I imagined the excursion as a triumphant getting-back-on-the-horse moment, however, the ol' Yamaha still likes to stall out and refuse to restart at intersections on occasion. I had my first mystery stall about 6 miles from the house and chickened out. I eventually got it started again, but I didn't feel confident riding the whole way down to Austin for the show.
It was a cool show. Free admission, free parking for bikes (6 bucks for cages), cash bar and hotdogs, leather jacket drawing. And some world-class custom and vintage motorcycles in the flesh. I didn't effectively capture it, but here are some of the bikes that were there; guess which photos I took:
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| 1974 Yamaha XS 650 by Wesley Case |
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| Pre-war Vincent Rapide |
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| 1979 Iron Head Harley Sportster customized by Aaron Buck |
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| Triumph T120? I didn't take the best of notes on all of these |
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| Stock Indian Scout |
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| The Mako 2003 Harley Sportster by Brawny |
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| Hardtail Triumph bobber parked outside the event |
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