How Well Do You Know Your Motorcycle?

[mscuddy]

Barb, I got mine at a garage sale for $5.00. It was one of those hump-backed twin-seat Lambretta Innocenti 150 Jobs, three speed on the left grip, etc.etc. Spare tire on the back. One thing though, it was way past being worn out, the wrist pin had a taper in it (!?#@@?) and the top end made this horrible clattering noise. But I rode that damn thing everywhere, and it never broke down. Once I had 11 of my friends fom Jr. High on it at the same time, like a circus act.

Finally sold it to a buddy when I joined the Navy, he got zillions of miles out of it (even with the tapered wrist pin!) before it finally blew up.

I can see how you rode one for such a long distance. They were indestructable. That mush have been some ride! Did you go through St. George? I got my XS1100 Vision touring rig lost in St. Geo trying to fnd the "old road" wherever that was. Now that is a hot stinking desert.

[sarnali2]

The only bikes I've owned that were unreliable were Honda's, an '84 V65 Sabre and a '97 750VFR. Both are the only ones out of 2 dozen bikes that left me stranded with cooked reg/rec plugs, even my 4 AMF Harleys were more reliable than that. Just bad luck with them I guess.

Other bikes have had penny ante stuff like oil leaks and wear and tear but both Hondas I've owned left me dead in the water on I-5 north through downtown Seattle at rush hour, no good dam* fun believe me.

[Barbara]

Hi Matt,

That's what I had---swoopy back with two single seats, a luggage rack and spare tire, and a little tool kit area under the luggage rack area.

I went from SLC down through St. George on the old road, before Hwy 15 was finished. I've never felt the heat I felt going from St. George to Las Vegas, and down through the desert. No sun screen in those days--my eyelids and ears burned crisp, and that heroic little engine just kept chugging, leaving a screen of blue smoke behind us. (The gas cap had a measuring cup for adding the oil, and I'd always put some extra in.)

Oh yeah, and the three-speed hand shift--how weird was that?? And the little brake pedal on the floorboard--jeez, I wish I still had that thing.

I've looked at a couple of Lambretta sites--they are pricey now, especially the old LD models. (Just like everything else.....)

The other neat Lambretta I had in SLC was a three-wheel delivery rig with a covered driver's seat and an exposed passenger seat in the back. You started the engine with a long lever in the cabin, and it had regular handlebars and controls.....

Long ago and far away....

[cloud9]

I know how motorcycles work and could probably do the simple things on them (don't own one yet) but working on one seems like a different story. I'm always fear full of forgetting that simple piece that you could normally get away with missing on a car, ending my joyride on a motorcycle. Plus tools are pretty darn expensive and the lack of a garage is really a pain in the butt.

[cloud9]

Originally Posted by pushrod

Barb,

Like was said, the bikes nowadays are so reliable, most folks don't need to do anything other than gas 'em and go.

Example. Next time you see a gathering of bikes, see how many have obviously underinflated tires. It's scary.

That's one thing I check religiously. Probably the most overlooked safety feature they made for cars (not sure if motorcycles use them yet) is the idiot light to at least warning drivers that the air is low in a tire. Some even tell you the psi in each tire. Doesn't help when people still ignore it like a check engine light though.