Rear Set Installation

Finally, here it is! The rearsets go on! I documented everything while doing it, getting the camera nice and oily in the process. I apologize for the picture quality, as the lighting in the garage is not studio-grade, and I was one-handing most of the shots!

• Flickr photo series of rearset install
  

Two Wheel Tuesday - Recap

The ne'er-do-wells of PRIMER did indeed attend this week's Two Wheel Tuesday at Abbaye... and we had a good time. Turns out everyone wound up knowing someone, and new friends were made.

A bunch of Ducatis and Triumphs were on hand, as well as some tasty Beemers (for the difference between Beemers and Bimmers, see here). It was all washed down with a glass of La Chouffe ($3 special!) and a big honking plate of fish and chips. After a little late summer night hooliganism on Kelly Drive (map), I retired a happy boy.

Anyways, we discovered the fine folks that put on this weekly shindig are none other than the Philadelphia Riders. These cats run the gamut, and the list of bikes represented is impressive. Check out their site, and look at some of the other events coming up. Chances are, PRIMER will be there!

Two Wheel Tuesday

In keeping with the good weather, the ne'er-do-wells of PRIMER (and some special guests) will be riding the bikes down to the Abbaye in the Northern Liberties for Two Wheel Tuesday, a weekly gathering of unique motorcycles. It's something we've been trying to get together for some time now. Finally, the weather, our schedules and my bike are all cooperating. See you there for some Yards?

Bend that Kickstart Lever!

Last night I went over to my friend Brian's house (fellow rider and business partner in PRIMER), where he graciously lent his vise, torch and shutterbugginess to my ongoing quest of mounting rearsets to the R5.

To recap, I got Raask rearsets for the R5 from friends for my 30th birthday. However, when mounted, the relocation of the rear brake lever impedes the full travel of the kickstart lever, meaning if I put 'em on I wouldn't be able to get the bike started easily. This required heating and bending the kickstart lever to clear the brake before mounting. I got a spare kickstart off Ebay a few weeks ago, and finally got the chance to start bending things into shape last night.

Here, Russ (in background, fellow Yammie rider and also a member of PRIMER), Brian and I take turns heating, bending, and swearing at the lever in Brian's basement workshop. It was quite fun, I must say. The process was well-documented by Brian himself:

• Flickr photo series of bending
  
• Video of bending action (492k QuickTime)

Stay tuned... there's more to come on the saga of the R5 rearset install...

Cleaning up...

Some of you may have noticed things are changing a bit around here. I'm in the middle of redesigning this site. It's become less of a site about my personal bike and more of a site about R5s in general, plus due to it's age I think a freshening up and a good reorganization are in order.

Most importantly, I've switched to a archived posting system, so not every single post will be visible anymore, as in the past. You'll find the archives sorted by month at the bottom of the left-hand navigation bar.

Keep an eye out for more changes coming soon!

FOR SALE

Roland, a fellow reader (and R5 owner) from whom I just picked up that NOS right-hand mirror, is currently selling a member of his collection (shown above):

For Sale - 1973 Yamaha RD350, near completion, 90-95% restored. If ever you hear of a prospect buyer, I am asking 1200.00$CDN (950.00$US). Pics available.

Anyone interested (or know someone who might be)? Contact Roland with questions and pic requests.

Help find this ride a new home!

Moment of Zen

I know it's not a Yamaha, but just listen to this Honda RC174 replica...

Parts are coming in...

Finally got the right set of rearsets from Omar's. These were a gift for my 30th from my friends, just about all of whom ride. At first I had gotten the wrong set, but the right set (shown above loosely mocked up) has arrived.

It's amazing how light these things are. All major components are made from cast aluminum, and have lightening holes wherever possible. They look great!

I haven't mounted them to the bike yet, as doing so requires that I bend the kickstart lever. So until I can do that, the stock foot controls will have to stay. I picked up a used kickstart lever from Ebay so I can keep one in reserve for when/if it needs to be switched back. Or if I screw up bending it!

I tracked down and purchased a NOS right-hand mirror from Roland via the Yahoo! R5 Group. Finally I'll be able to see behind me completely! It just arrived, but I need a bracket to mount it, so I'll have to do more digging to scrounge one of those up.

ALIVE!

So after so much speculation as to what could possibly be wrong with my bike (condenser? points? coils?), it turns out that the battery was shot and wouldn't hold a charge. Mike over at Hiway Cycle was nice enough to fill up my new battery with acid and charge it up... and first kick she roared back to life!

Apparently, the ignition on the R5 relies completely on the battery for spark. So, a bad battery = poor spark. A good, fully charged battery should be able to run the bike for a few hours or so, with no lights on.

Anyways, looking forward to a nice long riding season.

Great mail

Sorry, been a while... PRIMER has been keeping me busy...

But that hasn't stopped the mail from coming in... Just got this great message the other day, had to pass it on:

Dude, you're my hero! My first motorcycle was a 1969 Honda 90 purchased for $200 in the summer of 1973. I was 15 and full of piss and vinegar. A year later I sold the Honda and bought a 1973 R5C. When I bought it it had a sissy bar and ape hanger handle bars. I yanked those off right away and put a set of clubmans on. The kids at school kept asking me, "Isn't it hard to steer with those handlebars?" Anyway, your restoration looks just like my Yammie looked over thirty years ago. I'm inspired. I might just try a resto myself!

Sounds familiar! Glad I can help inspire - I say, get that bike back out there!