I Ride My Bicicleta To Schoooool

[GTBrandon]

Turns out being on a racetrack wasn't enough risk for my twenty-year-old self, so it was time for another mode of transportation. I wanted something to enjoy calm cruises, get to class without trying to manage to find a parking space, and enjoy sweet sweet gas mileage and 87 Octane. So after a couple days of looking on Craiglist, I had a slew of bikes lined up to see over the weekend. Managed to find a 1985 Honda Shadow 700c in Harrisonburg from a younger guy who seemed pretty cool and had owned the bike for around five years. He threw in two helmets, original tools, a bike cover, and service manual for $1,150 which seemed reasonable for a first bike given its condition with only 15k miles. It needed a little TLC which I was okay with, so onto the items at hand.

I needed a lot of choke to start even in the warm weather, so my first thing to do was take apart and clean the carbs up. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to take everything apart and made me see so quickly the appeal of working on bikes. Anyways, cleaned up the carbs, put everything back together, and bike runs much better now




Next, I had a slight leak coming down the side right here. I didn't see any lines running there that could be leaking other than a breather tube for the battery which I think was loose. I reconnected that so I think it should hopefully fix the issue.

Took that time looking for the leak to clean up the bike a little and I have never seen more sludge coming off tires, in my garage of all places..



Now the only other part I really need is the rear turn signal stocks as the rubber failed over time and I've got a limp-dick turn signal currently..Have them ordered and on the way so my OCD can be at ease again. 



On the list of to-do:

Front Pads/Rotors (Where can I get cheap rotors, I can't find any under $150 and that seems ridiculous for a bike)
New threading on the clutch reservoir (Currently held on one side with a hose clamp)
New Tires (Current ones 10 years old but ya boy doesn't have the money right now and they still have tread so...)
Custom Plate (You know I had to do it)
Eventual modifications to turn into bobber down the road?

Also, 10 points if you understand the title reference.