Speech! Hey all-- Matt from Portland, OR here. I've been riding off and on for about 5-6 years. I'm good friends with Valvesprung (as you know him on this forum), who has been encouraging me to to revive my 'cafe fever' for some time now. Plus, he's helping me with my current project. Pictures and more info below. I'm pretty much mechanically inept, but learning... I'm hoping that by spending plenty of time on here, and working through my current build, I'll be a pro in no time.
So my first ride was an old baby blue 1966 Vespa Super 150. Got it when I was about 18, got my endorsement on it and scored 96% on the test! Maneuvering through those cones is a lot easier when your bike weighs just a little more than you do:
Sold the Vespa cause I wanted something with a little more HP. Picked up a '77 KZ400, put some clubmans on, rattle canned it and called it good. I didn't have the knowledge, money, resources, or imagination to do anything else. This bike did a lot of sitting because there were just too many mechanical issues that were beyond my knowledge and budget:
You've probably seen my old Kawi because it now belongs to my good friend Valvesprung, who rebuilt it into this beautiful piece of machinery:
Haven't had a bike for about 2 years, but this year for Christmas my wife got me a '75 CL360 Scrambler. She had a LOT of help from Valvesprung. Got the bike home last night. Here she is as she came, in her new home, after a nice haul through the sweet Oregon rain:
So the scrambler is my current project. It's getting the works, because I now have a little more knowledge, resources, cash and imagination than when I had the KZ400. I've also got a decent camera, so I plan to post plenty of photos throughout the build in the Big Arse Projects section. Keep an eye out for me there!
Nice to meet you!
So my first ride was an old baby blue 1966 Vespa Super 150. Got it when I was about 18, got my endorsement on it and scored 96% on the test! Maneuvering through those cones is a lot easier when your bike weighs just a little more than you do:
Sold the Vespa cause I wanted something with a little more HP. Picked up a '77 KZ400, put some clubmans on, rattle canned it and called it good. I didn't have the knowledge, money, resources, or imagination to do anything else. This bike did a lot of sitting because there were just too many mechanical issues that were beyond my knowledge and budget:
You've probably seen my old Kawi because it now belongs to my good friend Valvesprung, who rebuilt it into this beautiful piece of machinery:
Haven't had a bike for about 2 years, but this year for Christmas my wife got me a '75 CL360 Scrambler. She had a LOT of help from Valvesprung. Got the bike home last night. Here she is as she came, in her new home, after a nice haul through the sweet Oregon rain:
So the scrambler is my current project. It's getting the works, because I now have a little more knowledge, resources, cash and imagination than when I had the KZ400. I've also got a decent camera, so I plan to post plenty of photos throughout the build in the Big Arse Projects section. Keep an eye out for me there!
Nice to meet you!
