Not so bike related...

I've always had a soft spot for Cressidas.  I know most people think of them as Old Man cars, but my Dad had one when I was a kid and it left an impression.  When I was in my early 20s I bought an MX83 Cressida with a blown motor and then proceeded to put a 1JZ twin turbo motor into it.  It was a great car and went REALLY well.

From time to time I get stupid ideas in my head and I just can't shake them.  For some reason I decided to sell the Cressida and drive some other crap car and I just can't help but think that I should have stuck with it.  I had put so much work into it and it was so close to what I wanted that I should have faced reality and not tried to play with any other cars.  I just have trouble staying focused some times... no kidding I hear you say.

Another one of those stupid ideas was to sell this very rare and fun to drive car!  What the hell was I thinking...

Anyway, years later I bought another MX83 and this time didn't do all the work.  I just drove it in stock for and fixed a couple of minor things that went wrong with it.  It suited my purposes at the time and was nice and reliable... 'till it blew a head gasket about two weeks before the rego was due.  Oh well... I figure it didn't owe me anything so I just sold it for parts on ebay.

I've never really been into Subarus, but the wife and I had been thinking about buying a Forester as our family car.  The plan was to buy an 04 XT for the wife, but when my Cressida gave up on me we decided to buy and older and cheaper GT and it would be my daily most of the time and then double as the family car when we do trips and need the extra space.

So this is what we bought.

I have to say that after now having the car for a few thousand ks and doing some work and modifications on it, I can understand why people buy a Subaru and then never drive anything else again.  It is well built.  Goes hard.  Parts are cheap.  Servicing is a bit exy but that is the price you pay for all the other benefits.

So far mine has got a WRX turbo, an STI exhaust, full STI springs and shocks and several other smaller mods.  It already had an ECU tweak and I have to say that I am REALLY happy with the car now.  There is always more I would want to do, but really... I think a nice set of Liberty mags is all that is likely to happen now.  It handles well, runs well and just does what I ask.  What more could I want... except two wheels and no body?

So what's the plan?

Well the business is going well and since we need a bike to start testing a few parts on I decided to rego the XL600.  I was also listening to one of my podcasts the other day and there was a comment made about not putting too much off in life 'cause we should enjoy life now as well as enjoy planning for the future.  This motivated me to get back out on the bike and ride.

So on Tuesday I pulled out the XL to take it in for it's rego inspection.  I looked it over and all seemed fine.  I kicked it over and it started after about 3 kicks.  All was going well and I was really looking forward to going for a ride.  It has been a few months since I even sat on the bike and I just wanted to get going.  Then I noticed something.  Petrol was dripping from the bottom of the carbs.  DAMN IT!

After a bit of closer inspection it wasn't so much dripping as as running freely...  that will teach me not to leave the bike untended for too long!  Then, to add insult to mechanical injury, one of my two air filters broke!!!!  Just a little of the rubber came off, but it was right where it mounts to the carb and it aint going to stay on there now!

So I wheeled the thing back up to the shed and got in my car and headed to work... not quite as nice, but at least the petrol stayed where it should and not running down onto the ground.

When I got home I pulled the carbs off and started to look through them on the bench.  The jetting is too lean, so I really should look at that while they are apart.  They just look like they need a good clean and a couple of the linkages were a bit bent, but went back into shape nicely and the staggered action is working really well.  I'm planning on taking the left carb up to a 120 and the right to a 130.  We'll see how that goes and then make changes from there.  Not sure I'll mess with the pilot at first as it idles well.  I also should get my act together and upgrade the muffler, but I figure I can just leave that 'till the rear frame is redone the way I want.

So while this is all going on I came across this...

If you go back to one of my earlier posts you'll see that this is quite similar to my old motard.  The wheels are a bit different as they are cast and YELLOW, but I do like it a lot.  I'm seriously considering making an offer on this one, but not sure where the cash will come from.

That said, it would be the perfect bike for the business to use as it's demo bike for all the DRZ bits we stock.  We have so many parts for these bikes and it would be great to make some videos of how to fit things and do some reviews of other parts that our customers might be keen on... So how do I convince the business partner that we do need another bike?  There is a shelf in the workshop where I put one of each new part we stock, just in case we get another one of these... it would take me a week to put all the parts on there are so many (and I'm a bit slow too :).

What do you guys thing?  Should we add a DRZ to the list of bikes in our stable and mod the hell out of it?

About time I had more of a plan than just copy others

I've been thinking about this for a while now and while I started off with that XL tracker from my earlier posts... the vision has evolved since then.  Seeing that XL was a real eye opener for me.  Since then I've started reading Pipeburn and BikeExif every day (and The Knee Slider when I have time to really read) and while I don't like all the bikes on these sites, I can see something in every one and the overall effect has been that my views on what I want have changed.  I still think back to my DRZ Motard with fondness and watch them on ebay, but if I had the choice I'd take the XL as a finished project as it will be 100% unique and pretty much what I want.  That said, down the track I'll be modifying a DRZ to be something a bit left of centre so watch this space.

Anyway, today is a bit quiet at work, mainly due to the fact that I'm not meant to be here 'cause number two child should have been born by now, but with no baby showing up as yet, I'm at work.  The problem is I've set everything up to be done and with other people... so it's time to do a bit of drawing while I wait for work to be ready to do.

Here is my first sketch and I have to say, that it is pretty much right.  You can see the CBR wheels (a bit rough) and the new CRF forks.  The tank is about what I'm after, but it remains to be seen what I can do with the XL175 tank I have on the shelf... it will help having a bare frame to work on (when it arrives).  The question is, what do you think of the exhaust?  I'm thinking a stubby muffler off a modern CBR with the two pipes merging under the engine and coming out on the right.

So after that first pic I was happy with the stance.  I just wanted to rework the tank and tail.  To be honest, the lines of that tank are a bit of a copy of the BCR Armadillo but it's such a stunning bike!  I also drew in some clip ons and the HD Sportster headlight.  I know a lot of people don't like the little headlights, but I don't ride much at night and I like the HD unit.  It just seems to have some substance when you hold it in your hand!  I've added a set of rear sets and left off the muffler.  I think I will go with the shorty muffler and bring it up under the rear sets.  I don't like the seat and tail on this one as much, but you can see some quick sketches at the bottom of the tail with two round sets of LEDs and the plate.  I don't need a battery or much wiring so I'm going to have the bike very open and I'm going to look at cap on coil for the spark, to drop some weight and more bulk from under the tank.  Oh, the swing arm is going to be black and I'm thinking the wheels will be too.  I don't like to polish and those big flat alloy surfaces on the swing are just look too shinny!

 

I'd add the muffler, put on the seat and tail from the first bike, raise the rear sets and add a support frame for the seat.  I'm thinking about a 25 degree angle or close to that.  Maybe picking up a line off the header pipe or something in the engine?  Also, I do ride when it rains, so I need a front and rear wheel guard.  The rear will be right down on the swing arm, so I'll have to do a bit of looking at what's out there.  The front will also be down on the wheel and I have a lead on a GSX one at the mo.  It's cheap so I'll see how it goes and change to another if needed.  I was originally going with something motard, but this bike would look silly with a short and high front guard... maybe I should draw it and see?

Update on the bathroom?  It's 100% functional and working.  There is a sink, a toilet and a shower.  The nice frame-less glass shower screen will be put in early next week and the cabinet for the built in vanity is coming.  I  also ordered the ceiling paneling today and it might even be in for the weekend!  It's pretty cool really as it's tongue and groove, and shiny white!  I know that sounds weird, but I'll chuck up some pics when it's finished.

Life getting in the way of life...

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but when we bought our house it was a DUMP!  The first time I walked in I burst out laughing... that is how bad it was.  The agent didn't seem too impressed, but he came around when I made an offer all the same.  Every room was filthy and all the walls and ceilings were stained with nicotine!  The guy who lived there before was a chain smoking widower who didn't clean for 10 years!

My wife couldn't even get the kitchen clean enough to use so I just tore it out.  We also took out a couple of walls and joined the dinning, kitchen and laundry into one room.  Took out all the asbestos and then put in fresh gyprock.  It all came up really nice with a new kitchen, some polished floors and a bit of tilling.  I also painted the rest of the house, with some help from my Mum and a bit from my little brother.  I've never had blue walls before, but the wife liked it and I think it feels quite cool.

Notice I haven't mentioned the bathroom.  Well it was the worst room in the house.  I ended up painting it with left over paint, just so we didn't feel sick going in there and then just ignored it for two years.  Then my wife got pregnant with number two and a deadline was created.  New bathroom before the baby comes...  Problem is that Christmas got in the way and then work and then it was Australia day and there wasn't too much time left.  I striped it out pretty quick, but one issue after another has stopped it getting done and now it is about 80% and usable, but not finished.  Hopefully this weekend will see the floor done and then it will just be a few finishing touches.

So between all this house work, one gorgeous daughter and another kid on the way, my wife and the trips away to see family and just have fun, I don't have as much time as I'd like.  So where is the bike up to????

Well it rides.  The brakes work.  All the lights work and the kick starter sits in the right place and does it's job well.  The bike runs ok, but REALLY needs some jetting.  NONE of my funky parts are on it... they are just sitting on a shelf in the shed.  I even had it inspected for rego and it passed.  Problem was, I had to spend the rego money on something else so now the inspection is out of date.  It's ok though 'cause the shop will just write me up a new one without too much fuss, when I get the cash.

Once it has plate on it, I will focus on the engine and it's associated stuff.  I'll start with the new 30mm carbs I got for it.  I'm also toying with setting up a pair of flatsides for it, but maybe that should wait 'till later.  I'll jet them nicely and then move to the exhaust.  Two pipes down the front and then a y join underneath.  Then a muffler swept up a little but still quite low on the left.

While that is all being sorted I'm going to do the wheels and stuff another way.  I picked up a spare frame so I'm going to build that up while I ride the xl.  It will get the new CRF450 front forks.  It will get the CBR wheels and the alloy swing arm.  I'll get it all set up and perfect and then just switch in the engine and take it down for rego.  That means I can ride right up to the last day of rego and then register the other frame the next week!

So no pics today, but I'm going to get more into this now that the house is settling down and I'll put up some pics of the build as it goes!

1 year on and where am I?

Well I have managed to get a promotion at work, but it is just an acting arrangement and therefore only good 'till the end of the year.  I have got a few small jobs done around the house.  The kitchen is almost finished, though I could have said that last year.  I think there is only one door frame to paint and the pipe for the extractor fan to do.  We do have a 5000L water tank that has helped us to cut our metered water usage in half!  I love it when it's full and I run the whole house on rain water.  Nothing better than a hot shower in rain water.  Nothing but clean rainwater, except maybe a little bird poo!

So what about the bike?  Well it has a new home!  No I didn't sell it, but I have relocated it from outside, under a cover, to inside my new man cave.  Now I can work on it and not have to pack up at the end of the day.  I can do 10 mins here and 30 mins there so I should be able to get more done.  Also, due to the new storage, I should be able to find the missing air filter while I move everything around.  That said... I've moved half of the stuff now and still no sign of it?

This morning I was up a bit early so I went out and moved some things into the container.  I had my nice CBR600 wheels on the bench and decided to see if the sprocket thing I bought from the states fit it.  Basically I got a bare rim with none of the cush drive bits and no sprocket.  I did a bit of research and found that the CBR carrier would be way to fat anyway.  I came across one comment by a guy who rode SV650s and he said that lots of people put the CBR wheels on them and use a carrier from an old VF500 Interceptor that had a lot less bulk.

After a while looking around eBay I found someone who had the whole rear wheel of the VF500.  I did a deal to just send me the carrier, rubbers and sprocket.  The part was cheap, but the postage was steep.  I would rather pay the person a lot and skip USPS, but that isn't how it works.

So this morning I pulled out the carrier and the rubbers and the rim.  It took me 30 second to see how it all went together and the rubbers fit PERFECTLY! and are in great shape for such an old part.  The sprocket has almost no wear, but I'm not sure on the pitch and it also has 46 teeth... a bit to steep for me.  I like to cruise at low revs, but I think the 46 will just be too tall and have nothing off the line.  Time will tell, but the carrier is exactly right.

So we take the wheels from this bike

Then we take the carrier from this bike

The rear disk from this bike

And the swing arm and axle from this one

And we put it all on this bike

You have to love the Internet!  Where else could I find all the info to make a Frankenstein mix like this work.  That said, I don't know if it does work yet.  Stay tuned!

Well almost ridding...

So I pulled my finger out after the last post.  I got out my eBay special XR600 front brake and cleaned it up and fitted it.  Other than the me being a bit heavy handed with the spanner and breaking one part it all went well.  Luckily the part could be got from the old XL brake and reused.

I went over the oil system since I'd left it all finger tight after draining the oil a few months back.  I tightened the drain bolts, but on a new washer on the sump plug.  Tightened up the bit at the bottom of the frame where the mesh filter is and refitted the stone guard thing.  Then I got a nice semi synthetic oil at the correct viscosity and filled her up.  I kicked it over a few times to pump through some oil and nothing leaked.  You've got to love it when a plan comes together.

One of the foot pegs was still removed from when I had the engine side cover off to do the kick spring.  So I went to bolt that on and found the bolt that was there before was really worn out and not the right length at all.  I took the correct one to the shop and picked up a new one.  I cleaned out the thread and put the new bolt in and the foot peg is now as good as new. 

The battery replacement capacitor fits the old battery wires perfectly and will be temporarily cable tied to the frame.  Once the rego is done, I'll do a Saturday of wiring and find somewhere for the capacitor and the other bits to go as since the air box/battery box/ rear mudguard - Honda know how to make a part do lots of jobs - is now gone, they are just dangling in a big empty space.  And more than a little too close to the rear tyre!

I also test fitted the side plastics and they are going to need some loving.  New bolts and washers are needed and I might even have to rely on some cable ties where one of them is all torn up around the mounting hole.  They only need to be secure for now, but will be gone once I cut off the rear sub frame and make up a new one.  I just have to find a seat that I like the look of and let that guide me to what to build.

Then it was time to fill up the tank and start thinking about starting.  I found the jerrycan and jumped in the car.  5 litres of premium fuel should be a good start.  Back home again and I'm starting to get keen.  Think first... I'll have to rinse out the tank... then I remember that I haven't fitted the other air filter...

Air filter... where is that second air filter?  After a few hours of looking everywhere I knew it should be there is no air filter to be found!  Oh well.  I'm going to buy a car.  eBay I hear you say?  Well it just so happens that there is a Cressida on there I like the look of.  More on that later.

Time to ride... whether I like it or not.

Monday this week I drove to work as usual in my Commodore. I don't really like the car, but it was a gift and certainly did the job it was intended for. I've just jumped through all the hoops to get it registered again and the plan was to sell it in the next few months and then upgrade to something more to my taste, now that we aren't so broke.

Anyway, back to the story. I drove to work and parked in my usual spot. Grabbed my stuff, locked the car and walked off into work. 5pm came around and I headed back out to where I'd left the car, but was a little puzzled by an empty space. Maybe I parked further down the road? Nope, not there. Maybe the other way? Nope, not there. I guess someone likes Commodores more than me... It's been a few days now and nothing from the Cops. So time to rego the bike and see if we can be a 1 car + 1 motorbike family.

Even though I bought this bike with lots of great intentions and ideas. But it seems that between financial and family commitments, it just isn't that easy to mod a bike to perfection. So between the theft of my car and my lack of time and money, I've decided to change my approach. Fix all the bugs and rego the bike. Then add all the nice mods, as and when I can afford them.

All the little problems are fixed now and this weekend the vital fluids will be added. Some nice, yet cheap, synthetic oil is sitting ready to be poured into the frame (what a strange place to keep oil!) and 5 litres of premium petrol will go in the rinsed out tank. Then some filter oil on the two new foam filters and we'll see if I can get some life out of it.

One of the issues with removing the air box is the lack of a place for the battery. That said, there was no battery in the bike anyway, but I'm told that the charging system is designed to have one and tends to not last long without it.

"So what to do?" (as Doctor Joe would say - I so want to go back to Goa!) Some searching revealed that a few people have been here before and if your really keen you can buy a battery replacement thing from the US. The basic component is a large capacitor that acts like a battery and allows the bike to just get on with running the lights and spark.

After a bit of hunting down the specs I found the right part on ebay UK, for a fraction of the price of the brand name battery replacement in the US. A 19000UF, 25V DC Electrolytic Capacitor with screw terminals. Great thing is, it just fit straight onto the wires that use to go to the battery!

That thing in the bottom of the pic is a pen...  gives you an idea of the size of the thing!

So once I tape up a bit of wiring and double check everything, bolt down the tank and plastics and go for a little spin, it's off to the mechanic for a pink slip.  Lets hope that they aren't too picky and don't fuss about the few little mods there are and about the battery.  The XR600 never had one anyway!

What the hell am I doing here

After months of working on front line IT support - setting up computer, fixing hardware and software issues, talking to clients and even working in the call centre a bit - I'm now back working on development work.  The problem is... IT IS DULL!  There is none of the sexy coding and I can't do anything cool.  Just build reports and even that is slow going as the business are hard to get feedback from 'cause they have their work to do.  I think I'll go back to the other work when this job winds up, and just find a role where I get out and about and earn a little extra cash.  Stuff this crappy dev work.

Anyway, back to the bike.  It's been months, and while I was all keen at first, I lost momentum fast.  The problem is that I got given a car.  Now that would be nice and don't get me wrong, I appreciate it, but I can't have a car and a truck and a bike registered.  Anyway, so the truck is going on eBay this weekend and so is the car.  And the bike is getting rego'ed ASAP and I'm not getting stuck in the stupid traffic anymore.

Most of the issues with the bike have now been fixed...

• Kick start lever now has a new spring and returns when kicked!
• New master cylinder and caliper for the front... fitting tomorrow night!
• Blinkers are on and just need a little soldering
• Capacitor set up for battery replacement - just a little soldering and we're good!
• New light bulb
• I'm trying to ignore the front forks 'till after rego. Maybe I should just suck it up and do the seals?
• New oil filter and fresh oil

I did originally intend to do allot more up front, but I did also say this was a project I could ride and work on.  Once the rego is on I'll start making more plans.  I've bought some CBR600 wheels - that came with all new bearings and front disks - and a CR125 swing arm and brake.  I'm thinking that I could build that up on the bench to the point where it is all working and then just bolt it on and only have to work out the master linkage to the peddle.

 This is what  the wheels look like - mine are silver though and my bike will be quite different...

I'll also need to get some CR125/250 triples and a set of CRF forks.  They are really quite cheap in the states.  I'm also toying with the idea of getting a complete CBR front end and putting on my wheel and running the dual disks.  Imagine how that would stop.

I also got a new tank, but I think it will take a bit of stuffing with.  I might just skip that one for a while and get some ks on the bike.  I'm not so keen on being at work and I'd much rather be working on my bike all day, but at least I can ride to and from work if I get it rego'ed.  I'm not really very good at finishing projects, so I'm going to break this one down into mini projects and that way I can do several min projects and learn to finish them.  That way I'll have some practice for when I get my garage and my car.

This is what it looks like at the mo.  Needs some assembly and work...

It also occurs to me that I was a bit of an idiot selling my old bike...

This was my bike that I mentioned earlier.  AWESOME and I'm and IDIOT!

Well that wasn't quite as easy as I thought

So the bike has now arrived after quite a bit of stuffing around and alot more time than expected.  First of all the PO promised to drop it off to a bike shop in Ballina so they could fix the brake, fit some blinkers and put on a new rear tyre.  After that it should have been roadworthy and I could then ride it home to Newcastle.  After a week or so of it not being delivered I realised the owner had a bit too much other stuff going on.  The bike shop offered to go and pick up the bike for a fee so I figured that was a good idea since I was just taking the word of the owner so far.

So I get a phone call from the owner of the bike shop who has driven up to pick up the bike.  He sounds a bit pissed off and isn't too positive on the bike.  Turns out he got booked for speeding on his way up - not my fault and he was still helping me out.  He listed all the things wrong with the bike and told be that he wouldn't pay anything like what I was paying for it.  He suggested that the bike would need at least $800 work to get it rego'ed.  I rang up the owner and told him that it wasn't looking too good and that I wasn't keen on a bike that needed that much work.  2 minutes later I had a new price that was good enough for me to go with.

So at this stage I had a bike that I liked the sound of.  I'd saved enough money to be able to afford the repairs.  And I had an adventure planned to ride the bike home.  All good.  Then I get a call from the shop.  The quote comes to a bit over $1600 to fix up the bike for rego.  Once they got it back to the shop there were a lot more little things that needed doing and the parts were almost half the price.

It needed the whole front brake rebuilt, two new tyres, a chain and sprockets, 3 new blinkers (at $30 a pop!) and then the front forks rebuilt.  Most of the labor was being taken up with things that I can happily do myself and that just ticks me off.  It's not the shop's fault, though the quote has come in at double the original amount, as this is just a bit of an old neglected bike.  The only solution was to fork out the money to have it delivered home and just do the work myself.  The shop put on two new tyres and got the thing running and I ordered all the other bits and pieces from the States.  Turns out the nice O ring chain that I had left from the DRZ is a perfect fit for the XL.  That alone saved me a heap of cash.

So now the bike has been delivered.  The spare knobbly tyre went missing on the trip and when I got home the bike was leaning against the house as it had no stand.  Other than that it was all pretty much as expected.  A bit rougher in some areas, but obviously not abused, just a bit neglected.  Should come up really well.

Now I just have to wait for the parts from the States and then have my adventure once it's registered.  And you all know how much I hate working on bikes : )

This is what the bike looks like right now, with me half way through fixing a few things... How retro is that front guard?  A cool old look, but not really what I'm after.  It wont last too long :)

So here's the famous RFVC 600cc engine.  That cover on the side of cylinder head is for what is referred to as the Burp chamber.  There is a small fifth valve in the head that is triggered by the kick starter, which allows you to kick over the engine with much lower compression as it escapes through the valve into this chamber.  Honda later realised it wasn't worth the hassle and most guys just disconnect the cable anyway.

  

 

 How good do these tyres look?  Apparently they are similar to what the BMWs use and are meant for 70/30 road/dirt so they should suit me.  Now all I need is to track down a much smaller front rim, possibly a rear off another bike and have that ready to go for when I wear the front one out.  That said, I've only ridden about 500m so far, so it might take a bit.

Decision made...

So I've been looking online, cruising the forums and auction sites trying to find what I'm after.  I came across a really sweet KLX400 with a set of motard wheels last week and after bidding to my max it went up another $400.  It's kind of a strange feeling bidding on a bike that you want, but hoping you don't win it 'cause you know you have better things to do with the money.  With a bit of tricky accounting I could buy a house with the money I would have spent on that bike.  Anyway, as my wife keeps telling me, there will always be more opportunities.

A couple of days later I came across this.  It's an 83 XL600R which is the beginning of an era.  It was the first time this engine was used and it was still being put into new Hondas 'till 2009.  That is saying something.  This has a new piston and rings and about 25000 ks but that has all been on a farm.  I did a heap of reading over a couple of days and decided that this is a good alternative to the newer DRZ.  A little simpler.  A nice long production run, so lots of parts.  And not too flashy so I wont mind cutting it up a bit to make something unique.  I might even pick up a spare one if one comes up, but don't tell the wife.

Anyway, I rang the guy up and after a bit of a chat we struck a deal over the phone.  He's going to drop it off at a local motorcycle shop to get it ready for the ride home from Ballina.  If it isn't too hard I might even get the blue slip sorted before the trip and rego it.

The really nice thing about this bike is it's basically the same as the one at the end of my last post.  I don't really want to go with the fiberglass tank that he has on his, as emptying it after each ride sounds a little too much.  I'll just keep an eye out for something a bit nice and see where to go from there.

Maybe I'll start with the headlight and tidying up the front end?  I even have a stealth trailtech dash left from my old DRZ (pictured above) which  I should be able to get it all working with the XL.  I'll just have to get an oil temp sensor instead of the water one for the DRZ.  Maybe I'll get some newer suspension too... the much newer XR front and rear all seems to bolt in.  Also, there will be a weight loss program...  So many ideas and so much to do.

Do you like this headlight?  It's the same as the one that is on the Tracker on my last post

 Just came across this review.  I hope I can say the same in 2025 : )

Where to start...

I've just turned 30 and I've owned bikes on and off my since I was about 14.  The problem is that I never get them quite the way I want them and if I get close I seem to get a stupid idea in my head and sell them.

I tracked my last bike down over a 3 month search and ended up with a really nice low ks DRZ400e with a motard wheel conversion on it.  I then put on some really nice accessories and brilliant exhaust from MRD and sold it.  I've missed it a lot since then, but I did sell this one for a good reason.  We had just had our first kid and I wasn't riding it and we really needed the money.  Then I got an office job about 2 months later, and I could have used the bike, since I no longer had to haul tools to work each day.  Only problem is the money is gone, or should I say 'reallocated'.

We've made it another 4 months now with only one car and my gorgeous daughter is 6 months old.  It's time to get another bike.

I thought about stupid little bikes like the Madass and the ct110 Postie bike as they are cheap to register and run.  But they don't work for anything more than commuting (even when you mod the hell out of them like the one below) and that isn't going to satisfy me on a sunny Sunday arvo.  I need more power and I need something that I wont be too embarrassed to be seen on.  I also need something that wont need heaps of money to keep it running and that I wont cry over if I do drop it while doing something stupid .

Post Modern Motor Cycles

After deciding against the European bikes (too expensive to fix) and bikes with fairings (would cry if I dropped it) I'm down to two options and both have their pros and cons.

Option 1 is the DRZ400 again, but this time get the SM version.  It has nicer suspension and brakes and will take the left over parts from my last bike.  It is a bit underpowered but I can get the FCR39 carb and a set of hotcams from the US for not too much money - the Aus dollar is great at the mo.  The problem is that it is about $4K for one with quite a few ks on it and then I would have a hard time doing something really unique with it.  There are lots of these around already and they all look black on black with variation in stickers.

Options 2 was inspired by this - XL600 street tracker.  If you follow the links you can find his blog on here and the pics are great.  I really like the cut down style of it - the fact that it looks like a tank, an engine and a seat on wheels.  What do you really need to make a motorbike a motorbike?  It is based on a great engine and a simple frame.  I know how to weld and this is just the excuse I need to stop being so scared of getting everything wrong and to just get in there and have a go.  If I stuff it up and it looks ugly I can just start again and try something new.

What to do...