4/26/03

I strain to describe what it's like to ride the SR500.  It's like no other bike I've ever ridden.  It also draws attention like none other, even the Hawk!.  Almost every time I take it out someone stops to look at it if they are walking by.  At stop lights, out of the corner of my eye, I see people checking it over, often with reminiscent smiles on their faces as they watch the front wheel bounce around from the thumper vibrations.  Sometimes they lean out of their windows and comment on it.  "I used to have one of those!"  or "Nice 'Thumper'".  If I ride to a moto event, fuh-getaboutit; there's always someone who will walk up as if an old friend just rode up.  She's no looker, either:  fork oil stains on the fork sliders -evidence of leaky fork seals, caked grease along her bottom.  The Duct taped seat cover cramps her style in a big way.  Despite these imperfections heads turn without fail.

The SR is by no means an easy bike to ride.  Singles are not called "Thumpers" for nothing.  My butt goes numb after just 15 minutes on the freeway.  SRs inherently stall if the throttle is abruptly cut at high rpm cruising.  Kick starting a 500 single isn't always pie, either.  The 34HP power house makes the biggest racket.  She's most likely way overdue for a cam chain adjustment, except I completely stripped the lock nut on the cam chain adjuster, so this essential tune-up task was never completed.  I even found ferrous metal flakes in the screen filter in the sump.  The oil rings are shot and I need to top off the oil (understatement) after every ride.  I've never redlined the motor, but I'm not easy on it, either.  Despite it's poor condition that motor purrs on.

What is it about riding a 23 year old bike, a bike that forces its rider to pull over every so often on a warm day to let the engine cool down, a bike that stalls in traffic for no good reason and leaves you stranded, kicking the motor over furiously, a bike that vibrates so violently that your butt and hands go numb after a few miles on the freeway, a bike that has 1/3 the horsepower of today's average street bike, that has me coming back for more?  I think for me it's the nostalgia of it.  It's a piece of history, different, fun, cool.  I have to work to ride this bike.  As Hawk lister Tom Ross recently put it, sport bikes are so "tame today...push the button, open throttle, shift, close throttle, yawn."  Old eccentric bikes such as the SR don't offer a chance to yawn.  If you did you might stall and get run over by a MAC truck.  Yong Joo's reaction to riding the SR demonstrates its coolness factor.  After riding it and stalling at a light with a hundred cars behind him, he still got off of it with a smile.  Before we parted ways after our ride he even asked me if he could kick her to life one last time.  There's something about a kick-start bike that no other can satisfy.  Building up compression, steadying yourself, a swift kick down on the kick lever and "Vrooom!"  This is a very satisfying act.  Oh, and another thing that makes this bike all the more fun to ride is that it most definitely has "the 'tude".  I was cruisin' down the freeway the other day, behind a slower car.  I became impatient, opened the throttle and roared past the car.  As I did a small dog almost leaped at me out of the car's rear window, which was open half way.  Had the dog not been leashed inside somehow I have no doubt it would have made a jump for me.  It yapped frantically as I left it in a haze of white smoke and loud exhaust notes.  Any bike that works a dog up like that is cool, in my book.  Although, that little bastard yapper probably would have done the same with any bike passing by.  Not to mention the sound (see above links for sound/video clips).  Darn thing sounds like a helicopter while cruising at low rpms.  Did you know you could back a thumper up by revving it?  Sure, put it on the stand, stand next to it, and rev.  The vibrations from the motor will move the bike.

I wonder if the fact that all these bikes I seem to be drawn to (SR500, RD400, etc), are all from the same era in which I was born.  Perhaps we can relate, we share a sense of history.  They were born when I was born, and this we have in common.  Either way, I made a life long friend.
 

Since I got the SR ten months ago it has begun to burn quite a bit of oil.  I've decided it's time to get my Hawk insured again and back on the road and park the SR until I have enough extra cash to rebuild the motor.  I've only had the SR up in the twisties a couple of times, so before storing it I wanted to go for one last ride.  Road Rider in San Jose has an annual parking lot sale with excellent deals on clearance items, and free food.  Every year hundreds of people show up.  It's almost like a  mini moto meet.  There's as much hanging out and shootin' the shit  as there is purchasing merchandise.  Rick Holtzman, Rich DiGrazzia and a few other listers were planning on meeting at Road Rider and going for a ride afterwards.  We all met up there around 11:00, browsed, ate, and hung out for a couple of hours, then decided to head over to Calaveras Rd (East 237), an up along the Calaveras Reservoir for a 17 mile (one way) ride.  Pashnit.com has a good report.  I honestly feel more confident on my SR than on my Hawk.  I can really throw that thing around up in the twisties.  I think my Hawks ergos, handling, and suspension need serious tuning.

I had so much fun on that road yesterday, and felt so good that before I got home I snuck off to a quiet street and tried pulling a wheelie!  I tried it in 2nd:

-started out, shifted to 2nd, pulled in the clutch and coasted for a sec., revved up to about 4k, and popped the clutch.  The bike surged and the front got light, but no lift-off.

Shit, now I'm on a mission!  I'll get that front end up no matter what!

-Start out slow in 1st, going about 10 mph, pull in the clutch, coast for a sec, rev it up to 5k, pop the clutch and GAS IT!  Whoa!  That front end comes right up and stays there for a couple of seconds!  Ha, this is great.  So I do it a couple more times, some failing some soaring.  Fun, fun, but not about to try it on my Hawk.

I love my SR...