Piston and Pavement

Why Vintage motorcycles?



Alright, as this is my first blog post and you're probably asking yourself "why on earth should anything this guy says matter?" truth is, it doesn't. Nothing I say honestly matters but sometimes I'm funny, sometimes  (rarely) I make sense, but mostly, I just like to talk with other people about Motorcycles. I'm 25, I have more motorcycles than any one person needs but I always want more. I've worked on motorcycles for years , ever since my Grandfather taught me how to work on my 98 KX 80. So now, my first blog post.

You may have noticed at local bike nights all across the country, a rise in vintage motorcycles. I had a friend ask me just the other day, "why on earth would someone dump money into an old piece of junk instead of buying a new bike?" and when you narrow it down, there's one answer. They're Flipping awesome!. I'll save the "Do the Ton for another blog post but lets run down some of the reasons why vintage bikes are better than new bikes, Shall we?

1. They're cheap. Vintage bikes are stupid cheap right now. Get on Craigslist, set your preferences to include a photo, minimum of $50 and maximum of $600 and any given day you will find a slew of old, rusty, crusty, forgotten about and neglected bikes waiting for someone to breathe life into them once again.
2. They're simple. No EFI, no ABS, no traction control, no flux capacitors, etc. Vintage bikes are simple, clean the carbs, new battery, check the wiring and fluids and that thing should fire up. You don't need a tech degree from MMI to work on a vintage bike (it sure wouldn't hurt) but these are bikes that even your averagest of Joes can work on.
3. Customization. The parts for these bikes are endless, With shops like Dime City Cyles, and Mikes XS offering parts to turn a vintage bike into any style you want. Let me tell you from experience, there is no greater feeling than cruising into a bike show on a bike that is 100% one off with hand made pieces and is 45 years old. To know, that you have the only bike like that is pretty freaking awesome.
4. Keep it Stock. You want to keep your bike completely stock? That's super awesome too and completely doable! Like the aforementioned shops plus Ebay you can turn almost any neglected bike into a completely stock representation and return that bike back to its glory days. To see a completely restored Kawasaki h1 run down the street like it rolled off the showroom floor is as equally awesome as seeing a custom bike.
5. Smiles for days. I cant tell you how many people have come up to me at gas stations, car shows, bike nights, Walmart, etc. asking questions and reminiscing about their glory days of riding that exact same bike when they were younger
6. Value. They don't make Vintage bikes anymore. 1971 Yamaha Rt1s aren't rolling off the assembly line. As some bikes get sent to junkyards or rot and rust into the ground the ones that are running and riding go up (for the most part).
7. Quality. In a time of Mass production, things aren't quality built anymore, bikes are meant to be ridden for 60k then stripped and sold for parts it seems, they don't last like they used to. These old bikes, while they're not immune to issues, were built by people who cared about the products they created.
8. Its yours! You worked on it, You fixed it, You customized it, You restored it, You ride it, Its yours, no one can take that from you and that's awesome.

The Dark side

Nothing is without its downfalls and unfortunately Vintage motorcycles are the same, so lets look at the few downfalls that routinely occur.

1. Parts availability. Do your research before buying, for instance, finding parts for an xs650 is 10 times easier than finding parts for a tx500. Unfortunately, the rarer models have an issue with parts availability and unless you have the money to put up, you're gonna be left with a bike that wont run and you cant get parts for.
2. Customization. while its a positive it can also be a negative. We've all seen the bikes, the ones where Jim bob picked up a cb750 and decided to build a bobber, he got half way into and ran out of money, you look at it and dude has chopped the frame in half, half-hazzardly welded gas piped to "hardtail it", slapped a solo seat and some mini apes on it and its a bobber. This destroys the value of your bike, most agree, only build a custom bike if its already too abused to restore.
3. They're a little sketchy. Honestly, a drum front brake isn't going to stop even half as fast as a disc front brake when you're running 55mph. At higher speeds, they can be wobbly and unstable but, there's no other feeling like riding one.
4. They're slow(er). Face the facts they're slower bikes than newer bikes. I'm not saying they cant be fast or fast enough, but compared to a new cbr600, a kz900 doesn't stand a chance.

So, simply put, Vintage bikes are awesome, they may not be the fastest, the most comfortable, or the safest, but, the most fun? definitely. Once you've been bitten by the bug, you're in too deep already.  

If you liked my first Blog, and want to read more of my random adventures into the vintage motorcycle life, feel free to subscribe.

Keep it on two wheels!

oh! and pray for Scott Hall!