New Tinker Toy

I recently picked up a 1982 Honda CB750 Nighthawk, for free. Through a mutual friend, I connected with the owner, a guy who runs an automotive shop, who told me, "If you can haul it, you can have it." I was there that afternoon, trailer in tow.

I found the bike had been left outside behind his shop, not cranked for well over a year. Amazingly, aside from a broken mirror mount and missing a chain, the bike was intact, and in fairly good shape. I towed it home, got it in our basement, and soon set to work on it.

We've since removed the seat, tank, carbs, and starter, all of which were in great condition. The bike even had a good battery and plugs. Something wasn't right down deep in the crankcase, and I think we found the culprit- might be a bad starter clutch. I have it off, and am searching the web for a replacement or a rebuild kit. We'll see if this solves at least one of the bike's issues.

More to come,

Little Streets with Big Punch

I've had the opportunity recently, via the great folks at Hourglass Cycles of Buford Georgia, to sample two of Triumph's 2016 motorcycles, the all-new Bonneville Street Twin 900, and the Street Triple 675. These are two of Triumph's smallest bikes in the lineup, but both certainly "punch above their weight class" so to speak.

The first bike I rode was the Street Twin. This bike is a completely new, never before seen bike in Triumph's Bonneville line. Kyle, the owner of Hourglass, let me take it out for a spin, and it was a thrill to ride. Lightweight, quick, nimble, flickable were all words running through my head as I put the small-feeling steed through the paces. It reminded me of the old Triumphs, the late 60s-early 70s bikes many of us learned to ride on. In fact, it felt like the 1969 T100 500cc I worked on for a guy recently- a rowdy little "hooligan" bike that made me howl in my helmet when I got it running for him. This Street Twin brought back that feeling again. The new "hooligan" Bonney?

At an open house and demo day Hourglass hosted this weekend, I got to ride the 2016 Street Triple, little sibling to the Speed Triple 1050. I first intended to demo the 1050, but Kyle said, "Just try the 675 first. Trust me, you'll enjoy it." Prophetic. I did enjoy it, immensely. Compact, tight, super smooth, yet it almost screamed at me to rev higher through the gears before shifting, and dive into corners deeper. It may be the "kid brother" to the Speed T, but the Street T arguably has more attitude. Pugnacious little "Street" fighter.
Man, I love Triumphs! Would own one of...well, everything, if dinero were no option. Sadly it is, but maybe in the not-too-distant future, I might have the means to make some space for at least one of these in the family. One can dream, can't he?