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comment by user-inactivated
user-inactivated  ·  2045 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: August 22, 2018

Hubski must be some kind of good luck, made a late post in last weeks Pubski complaining about my inability to find a bike. Within 30 minutes of complaining here I had set a deal up to pick one up the next day.

Behold.....

My first shitty motorcycle. Definitely needs a tune up and some style but I'm content to tear it apart and have fun with it, for 1500 I have no guilt or reservations doing whatever I want to to it. I'm gonna take off the highway bars and other stuff I consider frivolous this weekend and move the foot controls forward. Excited for the slow couple weeks of winter to come at work so I can be at home more than 1-2 days a week and start working on proper fab for the bike. First project will probably be building a pipe bender then making some handlebars, after that a Dick Allen style springer.

Been slacking heavily on my hobbies recently, been bouncing between 50-60 hour weeks the past month and shitty sleep. It's made it hard to not be a lay about when in my free time. Just a momentary break though, I'll use this post to make me accountable and am going to work on drawing lessons once it is done.

Enjoy your Wednesday Hubskiteers.





goobster  ·  2045 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Nice bike to modify... a good, solid standard, with lots of parts available!

One thing about moving the foot controls... you need to be careful about the pivot point. Simply elongating the shift lever (for example) can result in the throw getting way off, and making it hard to shift. So, for example, if you have to tap it 1" up to shift now, if you elongate the shifter that can quickly become a 3" lift to shift, resulting in poor shift performance, and having to take your foot off the peg just to lift up far enough to shift.

If you move the pivot point, then you need a bracket, because you can't just drill a new mount point into the engine casing. And the bracket is going to push the shifter out away from the bike a bit, and even 1/2" difference can make the footing and control very different.

Not to discourage you at all! But just make sure to keep all the parts you remove, and prototype the replacement and how well it works, before cutting anything down or making other irreparable changes.

(On this era Honda, one of the great things to do is take off the side covers, remove the airbox, and put air filters directly on the back of the carbs. This opens up the space under the seat, and lets the frame breathe... makes the bike looked stripped down, and sleeker!)

user-inactivated  ·  2045 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I will definitely keep that in mind! Thank you for the tip. In regards to the air filters I've seen that done on cb's before but wasn't quite sure how it was done looking at mine haha. So thanks for running through that, I will probably grab trumpets, If I was going more cafe I'd go for the air filters though! Excited that there's a lot of builds I can do in the future for it.

It sounds like you're got a bike, or an interest at least?

goobster  ·  2044 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Avid rider, and have been for more than 40 years.

Currently have two old-man bikes in the garage: 1991 Honda ST1100, and 2015 Suzuki C90T.

Sportbikes I have had: Katanas, 600/750/1100, Honda CB1, FJ1200

Standards: Yamaha XS 400/600/750/1100, Honda Nighthawk, Kawasaki 440LTD, Suzuki GS500, and a couple others I can't remember right now.

My airheads: BMW r-bikes, 75s, 80, 90s, 90/6, 100, 100s, and probably one or two others.

So yeah. I ride. :-)

user-inactivated  ·  2044 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Sounds like you got more experience on different bikes than some journalists I've read hahaha. I will try to keep my "build" update in these pubski threads and would love to hear your opinion, especially mechanically. On the note of beginner questions, do you reccomend a helmet? I have few opportunities to try them on in person. I'm prepared to spend a bit of money for comfort, seems pointless to buy a helmet if I never want to wear it.

goobster  ·  2043 days ago  ·  link  ·  

First off, you are never going to find the right helmet unless you go somewhere that has a wide selection, and try a bunch of them on. People's heads and faces are all different shapes, and each helmet manufacturer fits differently. To find your correct size, and the right one for your head and face shape, you are going to have to try on a bunch of different brands. That'll help you decide which brand helmet fits your particular head.

I'm a Shoei guy, for example. I have tried two different Arai helmets, and neither of them worked out for me. They never "fit right".

Second thing to consider is what type of riding do you do?

When I rode every single day, rain or shine, on the freeway, in commuter traffic, for more an hour each way, I spent $1000 on a fantastic helmet. If I was gonna crash, it was going to be fast, in traffic, and with many things flying at my head.

Nowadays, I mostly run quick errands on my bike. I may do a couple hour leisurely ride on back roads once a month, or so. But mostly I am running down to the hardware store for something, doing some light shopping, or cruising around and sightseeing around town.

So I still have my hardcore full-face, high tech helmet, for the long rides. (Last year I rode from Seattle to San Francisco for my 30th high school reunion. Wore the "serious" helmet for that trip.)

But most days I wear my 3/4 helmet. Like this one. Integrated flip-down sun visor. Face shield flips up and exposes my face and mouth so I can talk to the cashier at the hardware store. It's more noisy than my full-face helmet, and can buffet pretty badly at freeway speeds, but it's great for around-town riding.

Any helmet less than $250 is as effective as wearing a KFC bucket on your head.

Anything over $750 is overkill unless you ride professionally, or do 20k miles in a year.

Buy your helmet too tight. They stretch after a month or so of wear, and you want this thing to last 5 years. If it makes you look like chipmunk-cheeks for a month, but keeps you safe for 5+ years, that's a completely reasonable tradeoff.

Feel free to look at Revzilla and send me links. Ask about helmets. I have Opinions. :-)

elizabeth  ·  2044 days ago  ·  link  ·  

My boyfriend has a motorcycle and I feel like a helmet is great for comfort. Besides the whole possible not dying aspect, I feel glasses are not that great on the highway. And without anything you get super watery eyes. And then a bug hits you in the face at 70 mph and it huuurts. A great helmet with a transparent screen in front ofyour eyes is awesome.

user-inactivated  ·  2044 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Yeah i get that, I'm looking more for a recommendation on something with proper ventilation/padding to remain comfortable for long periods of time. A lot of my friends went cheap on helmets and find them too hot or uncomfortable to wear for more than an hour or so.

elizabeth  ·  2043 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Ahh sorry! I misunderstood

user-inactivated  ·  2044 days ago  ·  link  ·  
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