chesterburnet
Active Member
I just joined and started posting about the CB550 I'm building. I guess I should introduce myself. I'm 66 and totally addicted to motorcycles again. I started putting motors om bicycles when I was 13 years old. I've owned a BSA 350, CZ250, Yamaha DT360, Yamaha IT 175, Yamaha YZ400, Maico 400, Can Am 350 Qualifier, 2 Husky 250s. Stopped riding at around 40 without ever having owned a street bike. Never really thought they were much fun.
in 2016 my GF's son was home on leave from the air force and she asked if I would go look at motorcycles with them as she knew I owned them before. Once we got to the motorcycle shops, she saw how much I started geeking out over the bikes. She decided to buy me a 2016 Ducati Scrambler for Christmas. I was excited but had no idea if I'd like riding on the street. Long story short, I fell in love with it again. I told her that it was on her because my motorcycle obsession was back. After a year I traded it on a Yamaha XSR900 which got totaled along with my knee when I was hit in a parking lot. It took 6 months to be able to bend my knee enough to get it on the foot peg of a motorcycle and then I promptly bought a Yamaha FJ09. After a year I traded that for a 2019 Yamaha MT10 which has been the love of my life. I ended up spending another $4000 in mods - new suspension and lots of other cool stuff. Besides riding motorcycles, I love working on them just as much and did all of my own work. I've been on 3 motorcycle vacations, once alone and with a bunch of people I met on the Yamaha MT09 forum. 3 years ago I went to California and rode the Rim of the World, old Rt 66 and the Mojave desert. Last year it was to the Back of the Dragon in Tazwell Va. This past June was western North Carolina. All have been way cool. It was quite a big thrill for me to end up riding a motorcycle on Rt 66 even though it was just a straight line through California. I do about 10 - 12K miles a year until this year. this year I only did 6K. Last year I had a total knee replacement to fix my knee from the accident and was back on a motorcycle within 4 weeks. As it turns out, modern street bikes are a lot of fun.
I've been getting Cafe Racer magazine for a few years and kept telling my GF that I'd like to build one but the asking prices for old bikes are just too crazy and I figured that I'd never find one that made sense until I found one that made sense - a 77 Honda CB550 for $300......and....my GF bought it for me for my birthday. Since June, I've almost got the motor done and have spent over $4000 on parts. My home office looks like a motorcycle parts department. I started a thread on here detailing my progress....mostly because when I'm not riding motorcycles or working on them, I love talking about them. I've been getting a lot of good info here as well as feed back on what I've posted. This seems like a good forum and I'm looking forward to some good future motorcycle conversations here.
View attachment BOTD-AJ-0272_8-14-21_12.04.PM.jpg]
in 2016 my GF's son was home on leave from the air force and she asked if I would go look at motorcycles with them as she knew I owned them before. Once we got to the motorcycle shops, she saw how much I started geeking out over the bikes. She decided to buy me a 2016 Ducati Scrambler for Christmas. I was excited but had no idea if I'd like riding on the street. Long story short, I fell in love with it again. I told her that it was on her because my motorcycle obsession was back. After a year I traded it on a Yamaha XSR900 which got totaled along with my knee when I was hit in a parking lot. It took 6 months to be able to bend my knee enough to get it on the foot peg of a motorcycle and then I promptly bought a Yamaha FJ09. After a year I traded that for a 2019 Yamaha MT10 which has been the love of my life. I ended up spending another $4000 in mods - new suspension and lots of other cool stuff. Besides riding motorcycles, I love working on them just as much and did all of my own work. I've been on 3 motorcycle vacations, once alone and with a bunch of people I met on the Yamaha MT09 forum. 3 years ago I went to California and rode the Rim of the World, old Rt 66 and the Mojave desert. Last year it was to the Back of the Dragon in Tazwell Va. This past June was western North Carolina. All have been way cool. It was quite a big thrill for me to end up riding a motorcycle on Rt 66 even though it was just a straight line through California. I do about 10 - 12K miles a year until this year. this year I only did 6K. Last year I had a total knee replacement to fix my knee from the accident and was back on a motorcycle within 4 weeks. As it turns out, modern street bikes are a lot of fun.
I've been getting Cafe Racer magazine for a few years and kept telling my GF that I'd like to build one but the asking prices for old bikes are just too crazy and I figured that I'd never find one that made sense until I found one that made sense - a 77 Honda CB550 for $300......and....my GF bought it for me for my birthday. Since June, I've almost got the motor done and have spent over $4000 on parts. My home office looks like a motorcycle parts department. I started a thread on here detailing my progress....mostly because when I'm not riding motorcycles or working on them, I love talking about them. I've been getting a lot of good info here as well as feed back on what I've posted. This seems like a good forum and I'm looking forward to some good future motorcycle conversations here.
View attachment BOTD-AJ-0272_8-14-21_12.04.PM.jpg]
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