PDX GSX1300R

LC4CARL

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I blame my brother-in-law. A nice guy to be sure, but prone to making outlandish suggestions such as: "Carl, buy a bike and lets go riding." Crazy stuff like that.

At 54, I have gone through the fazes of dirt, street, dual sport, dirt again. Now add "super bike" to that.

It seemed like the reasonable thing to do. Kids out of house. Little bit of cash in the bank. So I bought an '05 with 22k on the clock virtually sight unseen for $6k. Being refined and dignified, we don't call this a "mid-life crises."

Anyway, like all good romances, she has a past: Interesting upgrades and mods to keep the element of "mystery" in the relationship. That's why I never buy new stuff. I prefer the intrigue of potential road side repairs. And stuff.

So greetings from Vancouver, WA. Where it is now 40* and raining. Who wants to ride?


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I blame my brother-in-law. A nice guy to be sure, but prone to making outlandish suggestions such as: "Carl, buy a bike and lets go riding." Crazy stuff like that.

At 54, I have gone through the fazes of dirt, street, dual sport, dirt again. Now add "super bike" to that.

It seemed like the reasonable thing to do. Kids out of house. Little bit of cash in the bank. So I bought an '05 with 22k on the clock virtually sight unseen for $6k. Being refined and dignified, we don't call this a "mid-life crises."

Anyway, like all good romances, she has a past: Interesting upgrades and mods to keep the element of "mystery" in the relationship. That's why I never buy new stuff. I prefer the intrigue of potential road side repairs. And stuff.

So greetings from Vancouver, WA. Where it is now 40* and raining. Who wants to ride?


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That's a great brother in law you got and a good looking busa. Welcome to the org:thumbsup:
 
A few old street bikes:

Road the CX to the west coast at 16.

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And the CB to the east coast at 18.

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Did yard work to buy an abandoned Z1 in college.

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Dinked around on a ZX for a bit after starting my family.

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My poor-man's Ducati, VTR.

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Dad loaned me his GL for a year.

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Crazy thing is that is has been 10 years since the GL. Good lord.
I had an acquaintance who had one of those Nighthawk S in the same color, he used to get really mad when I'd stomp him on my Daytona Special....
 
A few old street bikes:

Road the CX to the west coast at 16.

View attachment 1644409


And the CB to the east coast at 18.

View attachment 1644410


Did yard work to buy an abandoned Z1 in college.

View attachment 1644411


Dinked around on a ZX for a bit after starting my family.

View attachment 1644412


My poor-man's Ducati, VTR.

View attachment 1644413


Dad loaned me his GL for a year.

View attachment 1644414


Crazy thing is that is has been 10 years since the GL. Good lord.

GL?
 
I had an acquaintance who had one of those Nighthawk S in the same color, he used to get really mad when I'd stomp him on my Daytona Special....

LOL! Loved that bike. One of the Harley-tariff 700cc units, but she was a dream come true for me. I was working at Wendy's making $3.35 / hour. I went to buy a 650 Nighthawk for something like $2,800 (?) and fell hard for the "S" model. Which was a big jump up to $3,600 (?). She loved to rev.

I blame Freddie Spencer...

 
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I did an Iron Butt on dad's GL1100. Left at midnight, rode from Phoenix to LA, up to Las Vegas, then back home. Something like 17 hours. The mental time-shift was interesting. "Was I really there this morning or was that yesterday?"

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Rode the '81 CX500 Custom from Michigan to Oregon with my family for my cousins wedding. Sixteen years old. Awesome. The seat sucked and the tank was empty at 120 miles, but I loved it.
 
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Alot of ironbutt talk around here, and lately.
Has me wanting to try one next summer, and my main 2 riding buddies are down too(Africa Twin and Gsxr).
400-500 miles is no problem for me.
The back half concerns me keeping my eyes open, staying focussed, lol.

The distance doesn’t have to be accomplished in one fell swoop. You can catch some zzs in between as long as you do the distance in the required time. Interstates are your friend for doing 1,000 miles in a day. Some years back I rode over five Sierra passes on a weekend on my 79 CBX but had a steak and some sleep Saturday night in Sonora. :D
 
The distance doesn’t have to be accomplished in one fell swoop. You can catch some zzs in between as long as you do the distance in the required time. Interstates are your friend for doing 1,000 miles in a day. Some years back I rode over five Sierra passes on a weekend on my 79 CBX but had a steak and some sleep Saturday night in Sonora. :D
A friend mentioned that, lots of highway, maybe ride out to the coast.
Take an hour or 2 break mid way.
I'de like half of it to be mountains, all that highway would be awful, I need to do some planning.
Thanks
 
Soo, what did we get with our sight unseen purchase you ask..?

The good:

New Michelins!
Akrapovic exhaust (nice sound / not loud).
Bar-end throttle lock (no worky).
Heated grips (thought would be dumb / actually super nice).
"Double Bubble" windshield.
Braided brake lines / radial-mount front master.
Gear position indicator.
Dyno Jet magic box!
Fancy-pants air filter.
Claimed 175 whp!

The bad:

Weird tail light / turn signal thingy and flashing headlight thingy (no high beam).
She has spent some time outdoors.
She is dirty.
She is dirty (did I say that?)


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