The End!

Finally got sick of the "off the road, fix it up, break it again" CB500. It's gone. I was nearly glad to see it go! But then again, after all the time, money and attention I gave it I'm still a little sad to see it go.

Brought it down to MotoTechnic run by some of the soundest lads around and had the fork seals done on it and an oil and filter change done while it was there. Took a tour of their workshop, drank copious amounts of coffee and had a look at some of the bikes they had for sale. After my fifth cup of coffee I was handed keys for a yellow VFR800 (the FI one, just pre-VTEC) and was told "put some juice in it and take it for a spin."

Because I hadn't been on the CB much I decided I'd stay off the motorway and stick to riding it around in traffic. Man that V4 was smooth! It was well clean too. Standard can still on it but when the throttle was hammered there was a sweet sound out of it. Being followed for the first 10 minutes of my spin by a hearse wasn't the best of signs though! Ha ha!

So anyway, I decided that it would be a decent bike to upgrade to from the CB. Upon my return I said I'd have a think about it, ring the insurance company to find out what the damage would be and talk to the credit union about a loan. I also wanted to get rid of the CB and my old (2007) DT on trade in. All done and dusted a few weeks later and I've now got a VFR in banana yellow! Wasn't too gone on the colour to begin with but it's kind of grown on me. That said, once I have the money I think I might get it resprayed.

So that's it. The CB is gone. Such a great and easy bike to work on. I can't promise I won't buy another one again and do something special with it (cafe racer anyone?). I'll whack up the last of the pics at some point in the future but I'll have to make myself another blog for the VFR. First post will explain how to remove the saddle! Working without a Haynes on the VFR for the moment as I don't have the 40 odd quid for a new one from Halfords. Anyway, watch this space on that one!

Sigh...

Why do I always end my posts with "Updates Soon"?

The 7 inch headlight assembly I ordered arrived from eBay shortly after I posted last. I took it out of the box expecting something truly magnificent but was let down... The lovely chrome leadlight I had seen in the pictures and presumed was metal was made from chromed plastic. The only part of it which was metal was the rim.

"Great," I thought. I could use the rim on the existing headlight bowl and I'd be back in business. Not so. The design wasn't the same. I probably should have guessed before I tried to make it fit.

Anyway, I said enough is enough and went onto David Silver's website and shelled out for a new headlight rim that I knew would definitely fit. It was delivered in about a week and I had to admire it for a few minutes before fitting it. (It actually makes the headlight bowl look a bit shabby to be honest!)

Charged up the batter on Saturday two weeks ago and took the bike to the petrol station. Both tyres were pretty badly flat. The rear was about 4psi. Scary stuff!

Gave the CB a bit of a wash and a thrash around by Raheny and the coast road last Saturday in order to make sure that the battery was ok and also that my left hand mirror bodge (more info on this at a later stage) would hold. The motivation for this was a run on Sunday down to Laragh and Glenmallure and boy was it totally worth it!

The weather was absolutely amazing for it. Met up with a pile of GS riders a Ducati and a stunningly restored Norton 750 Commando and took some nice and not so nice roads through the Wicklow Mountains as far as Laragh for breakfast. Got a nice bit of a sunburn drinking coffee outdoors in Glenmallure to boot!

I'm sad to say the CB isn't in the best condition though. Having it parked up for so long has taken its toll. The front forks felt a bit lumpy on the way home and when I stopped at the lights I realised why... Both seals had been spewing fork oil for the majority of the spin. Now I know the bike is well due a service but that just makes me feel bad!

Some problems with point fixation and a general unease after being off the bike for so long has encouraged me to save for some lessons. Need to make a choice now. Do I keep the CB off the road and completely strip it down and restore it (and possibly modify it a little) or do I part it out?

Decisions, decisions. I'll take some photos and do a complete breakdown of what I'd like to do in the coming weeks. Ideally if I can get a workshop set up where the shed is currently I'll take it off the road (and get the tax exemption form stamped by the Gardai!!) and tear it down and build it back up properly over a few months.

Until next time, keep 'er in between the hedges.

On again / Off again

So about a month after getting the bike on the road I decided I'd take the headlight rim (which was rusted to bits!), remove all the chrome and respray it in gloss black.

I managed to get it all cleaned up, sanded down and put filler on it. Then I sprayed 4 coats of primer onto it, wet sanding in between each coat. That was December.

So the bike is sitting (battery probably well and truly dead) since then. Yesterday I decided just to go ahead and buy a new 7" headlamp. It was shipped today and will be fitted once it arrives.

I've been procrastinating and having to use bloody public transport, all the time paying bike insurance. Smart idea? No not really...

Updates soon.