For the longer audio-only version of this conversation, check out our Highside / Lowside podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, LibSyn, or Google Play Music! And if you want more of the best motorcycle content online, head on over to RevZilla's Common Tread online magazine. rvz.la/36rAsBY
It's interesting to hear them talk about who taught them how to work on bikes, because I bet a lot of listeners (like me) themselves learned from the crew at Revzilla and Motorcyclist!
I really enjoyed this discussion. Just to be clear, I own a 1973 Yamaha DT250, 1974 Suzuki TC185Ranger, and the 77 RD400. Along with a 1995 Triumph Trident 900, 2007 Harley Davidson Sportster 1250 (stage 4) and the 2010 BMW K130GT. All GREAT bikes!!
A Spurge/Lemmy and Ari/Zach roadtrip video would be hilarious. Kind of like the Dukes of Hazzard episode which both sets of cousins Bo/Luke and Coy/Vance.
BMW airheads (70s-90s) are great starter projects. They're easy to work on, parts are readily available and often interchangeable across model years, and there's a terrific online community. If kept in good shape, they're as reliable as modern bikes.
At the age of 16 my son bouggt a rd 350. I helped him make it safe. He is 30 now and still has it. His new ride is an electraglide. Vintage is cool. You learn alot about the inportanse of maintance
I'm glad you guys did this episode. I just bought a 1980 Yamaha XS400 at auction for $200 as my first attempt at restoring a vintage bike. My daily Rider is a 2005 FJR, and having that bike takes the stress off finishing the XS. Its also makes it more enjoyable knowing I can take my time and finish the bike how I want, instead of doing the bare minimum so that I can go for a ride. I'm a mechanic by trade so I'm not concerned with the ability to do the work, I'm actually looking forward to learning new things like lacing and truing wheels.
Dont forget to join xjbikes.com, I found a set of xj650s seca turbo heads all intact and swapped them onto my $100 1982 xj650j maxim cruiser for better valve flow after porting and polishing, dimpling the intake runners and that nice hotrodder stuff even smoothing out the combustion dome now it sounds like a v12 instead of an inline 4 with yics. Get an impact screwdriver set asap because they used plenty of yamalubes threadlock plus itll save you the frustration of stripping out the brake master cylinder cap heads/threads. Shadetree mechanic has some vids even on fabbing a custom XS
I got my first bike because I wanted to learn something new. So finding a '72 Kawasaki for under $500, I figured I'd either learn to ride, or learn to work on bikes. And I learned a bit of both, and was happy. I got something newer to get back and forth to work on reliably, but the Kawasaki is just so much more fun overall. A big plus is, where I live, vehicles over 20 years old are not titled. So you get a bill of sale and past registration, and they won't give you any problems. Story time: The bike had a reg from like 1975 under the seat, but the DMV couldn't find it in their system so they wanted me to get an inspection and VIN check (which is weird, since inspections are basically only done for like salvage titles and stuff here). I got everything to the point of being able to maybe pass an inspection (tires were a bit shoddy, old electronics didn't quite match modern codes), went back to the DMV, sweating, and I handed them my bill of sale, and said ancient registration. They handed me a license plate and I had to contain my excitement!
@@theguitarhero898 It's an F7 - a 175cc two stroke dual purpose bike. It's better off road than on for the most part since it tops out around 60mph (with me on it anyway) and it makes a lot of its power lower in the rev range for a two stroke.
LOVE this episode. I've had this exact conversation with soooo many people over the years, particularly on Reddit. At least once a week some dude is like "Looking to buy my first bike, found this CB550 on Craigslist for $1000, guy says I can get a title from Vermont, and it just needs the carbs cleaned." First, don't buy a vintage project as a first bike (or your only bike for that matter): you'll get excited to get on the road and take shortcuts that you don't even understand will cause a crash. Second, cheap bikes are cheap for a reason, and bikes never "ran when parked," they were parked for a reason. Third, and most important (and so glad Ari brought it up) is to RUN from anything with ANY title issues. Always turns out to be far more headache than it's worth. Always, always, always turns out that the seller bought it thinking they could fix the title issues, and is trying to pass that problem on to you when they realized they couldn't. Vintage bikes are amazing, and I've owned my share because I love giving things a new life and love working on bikes. But getting a turd vintage bike is a great way to turn a motorcyclist into a non-motorcyclist.
"Ran when parked". I see that all the time in "motorcycle for sale" posts. : ) For the right person, a vintage bike can make a great first bike, but if you're new to motorcycles you should definitely buy a running bike....and you should be willing to learn the basics.
I'm so glad that you guys have a podcast, keep up the good work! It makes all my menial tasks bearable! Also we all miss Lemmy but wish him the absolute best, total legend!!
Spurgeon is a very good host imo. Really like the interviews, good recapping and summarising given answers. "Do I understand correctly...", "you said x, you mean x?" Great job!
Surprised with all the talk bout old bikes and no mention of HD. Bet Lemmy was somewhere screaming at the screen if he seen this, "Get a Sportster !!!". Was great to see Ari.
Thanks guys! Great episode. I have a 72 R/5 and chose the, have an experienced mechanic take care of it, route. It runs amazingly and I adore riding it. Have had it for 10 years and love its personality and quirks. My other bike, that gets taken across the country is a fuel injected modern bike, gets more of the daily beat down so the old bike is always a treat.
My first bike was a 1979 Suzuki GS1000 in the late 90s while in college. Bought it because a guy I worked with sold it to me for $300 and it sounded like fun. Of course my dad helped me with all of the work on it.
I love that guy!!!so great you had ari on man. Super cool. You guys need to add him and his friend on your crew. Alot of great points brought up in this.
So glad to see some content about vintage bikes. Great episode. I bought my first bike about a year ago, a 1975 Honda CB750 I paid 2 grand for. I love it. I've learned so much about motorcycles since I bought that bike. There's tons of info on-line these days (forums, youtube vids, FB groups) you can learn to do a lot when it comes to old motorcycles. Also easier than ever to find parts these days. I've found it to be really satisfying (and somewhat addicting) to learn to do my own work on the bike. There's a ton of stuff that's above my pay grade, but I've managed to do a lot of maintenance and upgrades. (New coils and electronic ignition, new master cylinder, pulled the carbs and replaced some parts, learned to check timing and valve clearance, sync carbs, etc.) I originally wanted to get a 60's or 70's Triumph but a mechanic told me to find a running 70's Honda CB because they're not hard to work on but reliable enough that it won't be sitting in your garage not running half the time. (That was his opinion...not sure if it's true or not in regards to Triumphs.) I'm glad I went with the Honda. Starting on a 2 cylinder rather than a 4 is probably not a bad idea, but I didn't know that at the time. I've learned enough that I feel like I could buy an old Triumph for my next bike and be able to maintain it.
I agree, get a newer used bike until/if/when you are ready to be a mechanic before buying a vintage bike. Number carbs/cylinders is a great approach to getting started, lower the better at first. Great discussion!
I repaired a KZ1000B2 about three years ago now, it was my first bike! Expect rust, pulling carbs off 1000 times and swearing, lots of swearing lol. Just get clean fuel flowing through clean jets into a motor that has compression, firing from new dyna (or whatever your choice) coils and ignition plates and it's good to go man. Vintage bikes are really fun! they are easy to work on, and have loads of charm to em. I especially love my kz because it was in mad max! which is one of my favorite series!
That's so funny about the registration stuff. I live in Wisconsin and the whole process for registering my 78 Kawi was as follows..."What year is it?" "78." "..And you said it's green right?" "Yes." "That'll be 22 dollars, come back in two years to re-up your plates!"
My first bike was vintage. 1982 GS1100EZ, Suzuki flavored. Bought in 2012, with 11k miles. Learned A LOT about working on bikes with that machine. Rebuilt it from the ground up. Replaced all the rubber stuff in it over six months or so, along with a fork refresh, and COMPLETE carb rebuild. Probably not the best first bike, only dropped it twice at less than 5 mph, was tough enough to to survive with no damage.
Binging the Zilla podcast and I think alot of us would enjoi an episode or series where all the zilla personalities look back into where/how they got into bikes, bikes they've owned, etc. Your opinions are important to us and appreciated.
My daily rider is a '76 CB550k. I spent 4 months working on it and there's always a bit of tuning to do on it after the off season, but I've pretty well turned it into a reliable commuter. I was even able to bring it on a 3 day cruise without being left on the side of the road. That said, even being 44 years old, it's a Honda so it's bound to be reliable.
+1, I have never had anything but vintage bikes and I have only been riding for 14 years. My newest bike is an '86 gsxr. I have logged literally hundreds of thousands of miles on Honda cb750 sohc and Kawi kz650 and have NEVER been stranded anywhere on these. Weekend rides are always 100+ miles, usually more like 200-300...Have done multi-day trips too. They are rock solid bullet proof engines that rarely need more rebuild than some gaskets.
im hoping to have the same opinion as you, seeing this makes me feel better. Im trying to get my dads old 80 yamaha xs400 running. Fix a few mouse damaged wires,new tires, spark plugs,chain, rebuild carbs etc... It only has drum brakes so i am planning on converting the front to disc in the future
I’m that 25 year old who bought a vintage motorcycle, cl360 1975 off Craigslist when I was 22. I over paid for a motorcycle that was in shotty condition. Got turned down from multiple dealerships and ended up having to pay 2 different mechanics only for the first one to do a bad job in re lining the tank and not finish the job of re building the engine which blew a hole in the piston (as I was on the highway) and the second one to rip me off in a complete rebuild only for it to break down again with terrible timing. Finally the third mechanic got me going and even taught me a little bit about maintaining the bike. The Honda absolutely hates cold weather and is temperamental subsequently, but I’ve learned a lot in these 3 years and honestly really do plan on keeping it. I love my Honda 😭.
Great discussion! I started riding on a CB350F four (I was 25). It took many (many) months to getting running reliably. I had the help of a coworker that spent his whole life working on motorcycles. I sold it to move up to a 1991 CB750 nighthawk (in 2004, still ride it today). Fast forward to 2017, I received a 1978 CB750F. Rebuilding from the ground up frame, brakes and rims came back from powder (Lester mags) (no need to mess with the engine). I think I will have $5k in parts when I'm done. It's not original but it will be reliable. Ari was awesome in MC Garage!
I was just watching an old MC commute video and thinking about how I missed Ari and Zack’s videos... I know they moved to some other ppv motorsports channel or something, but they do them no favours in visibility they don’t even have a playlist for them on the RUclips channel. Ari, I’m gonna watch the previous video with you that was mentioned, so maybe you’re doing something new now, but if not you guys should really consider either going back to the motorcyclist magazine channel or just launch your own thing.
Cam Lee-Brown: you hit the nail on the head. I watched them from over here in UK and they made me yearn for Californian weather. Then they dropped off the plot. Great to see him back
Technically vintage, but reasonably reliable with disc brakes and electronic ignition. But still carburetted and looks and feels like a classic motorcycle. Good idea!
I was waiting to hear you guys talk about 1950 and 1960 's simple BMW s .. My first older bike was a 61 R69S in 1977 ...It was the most inspiring ride I ever owned ... Never failed me ... I am riding a 2017 Bonniville Street Scrambler left over ..Very good price and a tone of fun ....
I just left this note over at MotorBob's clip on the R18 comming to America ..This is my wishlist for BMW : I want this clean R/5 design on a simple boxer 800 cc slightly underused motor with great suspention, Erle forks and single shock in the back . Great brakes .. CLean lines and made for 300 k miles ..The R nine T idea taken to a true neo traditional bike conclution..Quiet class and understated as the beauties of the 1930 - 1961 BMW's were .. Bacsiclly an R80 with modern parts and the look of the R/5 .. Be still my heart .. ( BMW How many Triumph STreet twins and its bretheren have sold in the last 10 years ? ) .. $$$$
Great video!! It requires a certain commitment to ride an older bike. I was broke down in front of a cop shop for 45 minutes, no help. I got it running and moving again, got pulled over on a back road and ticketed for no license in the same district. No harm, no foul
Spoke wheels and maybe a kickstart. That would be my ultimate. I have to agree with Jay Leno that “you have to be able to see through it” But....... if you buy your classic dream be prepared to tinker. I admit to being a polisher and not a tinkerer. That dream 1973 Electraglide I had for a few years with the dodgy clutch and the rubbish brakes (I live on a hill...) just destroyed my dreams. It’s a 2016 BMWR1200R Sport now and it genuinely covers all bases as lovely and lazy to ride with a hard edge if you want it. But the hankering is still there for an RD350B - should I???
Best discussion and topic yet, thanx. I'm 60 later this year, i bought my 79 T140 Triumph new, still got it. Very very non stock. Bought my 89 Guzzi Cali lll about 22 years ago. Very non std. Still got it. Own 2 x 84 Yam monoshock 250 trials bikes. Regretted selling virtually all the bikes i sold especially my various Guzzis, Norton, HD and Triumphs and RD Yams. Never ever owned a water cooled bike. Never will. Regards, Brit living in NE Thsiland.
Some key specs & items to check: get a running bike, 1 or 2 cylinders for simplicity, 4-stroke, non-dented tank without rust inside or coated 'cause the tank can be a very expensive part and hard to fix, most carbs are gummed up due to owners letting them sit with ethanol gas sit in them. I store my vintage bikes with a full tank of ethanol-free gas, and drain carbs when not in use.
One early Sunday morning 5-6 years ago I was drinking my coffee and scanning RUclips clips. I happened on a series of 40+ videos called Hack-a-Week where a fellow was restoring a 70s Honda cb750. Over the next week I watched all the videos and increasingly thought, I can do that. For about a year I watched videos, read websites, looked at bikes online. And I joined a web forum called SOHC/4 that was focused on Honda cb500/550s. I decided that the cb500/550 was a better bike to restore for me. For 6 months I looked and found a cb550 two hours away rusting in a driveway. I rented a U-Haul and brought it home. With a lot of help from SOHC/4 and parts from eBay and the web, a year later I had a restored 78 cb550. I enjoyed it so much, I then restored a 71 cb500. The advice on this video is 100% spot on. The joy of riding a bike you fixed is great. Both roughly cost me $2,500-$3,000 in total to buy and restore. Plus, I did have to buy new tools - which was fun. And, my lovely wife gave me her half of the garage. Bottomline, I am/was no mechanic. If you research, have patience, find extra cash, ask for help, YOU CAN DO IT. Next? I may do one more 500/550. I'm interested in smaller bikes too. But I will not buy one without a title.
It won't be everyone's cup of tea but I bought 2 1991 Gold Wings for $1000. Sold one for $1000, rode the other for 8 months, replaced the pulse generators as they went bad. Then rode it for 4.5 more years with almost zero issues. I do mean ride as I racked up close to half a million miles on that bike. It was my only transpo for those years all season in Missouri. I did wear out the starter twice.
I started on a '94 Honda Nighthawk 250 in 2015 - a vintage styled motorcycle built on technology that was already pretty old when it was made. I bought it for $800 and absolutely hated that thing. The drum brakes meant I never really felt safe on it, the carburetor was constantly in need of some sort of attention, the suspension was absolutely not up to the task for my two hundred pound weight, the odd wheel sizes meant buying tires was difficult, and it honestly spent more time in need of work than out on the road. I'm just lucky I received an inheritance of a few grand later that year and managed to buy a much better bike that was far newer and more reliable.
I have loved the process of modifying my first bike, a 2015 FZ 07. A vintage would definitely be above my skillset, but I totally respect the concept and wish I had the excuse to restore a vintage bike
Reminds me of my first bike that was a 2007 DR650. The bike hasn't changed since 96 so it would be like a vintage bike that's still made new today if you go by 20 years. It's a super reliable bike that's easy maintain and people even take them and turn them into vintage scramblers and cafe racers so I think that would be a good option if someone wanted something that's reliable and wont leave you stranded.
I recently bought an ‘82 Oldwing 1100. (for the second time. I too, regrettably, sold the first one). Not exactly vintage per se, (or a starter bike) but just the right amount of old for me. It looks great, is fairly easy to work on (tons of resources on RUclips alone), lots of parts available, it’s cheap to insure, and has plenty of jam on the road. Hard to go wrong with most Japanese machines from that era on.
I would add to this video that the best vintage bike to buy is one that is unmodified and and has been professionally maintained (if you can find one...) - Spurg brushed on it when he mentioned his old bike with the wrong carburetors. Factory service manuals and model-specific forums are excellent resources to guide someone just getting into mechanics, but if their bike has all sorts of weird parts on it then those resources don't necessarily apply and there is a whole extra layer of unnecessary mystery that will probably frustrate them and turn them away. And even if you know what parts on your bike are stock and what isn't before you dig into it, time after time when you start getting to know the bike you'll find that the previous owner may have installed things wrong, used junk parts, used baffling makeshift fasteners, found cheap band-aid solutions to bigger problems, broke studs and just left them there for you to deal with now... It is very frustrating to inherit someone else's problems and mistakes.
I only have vintage(77 triumph tr7, 68 triumph tiger, 73 Yamaha dt400 flat track race bike.) But I am a mechanic, I have built my bikes to challenge all expectations. I have ridden across country on the 77 and had no issues, 68 is an off road racer but all gets beat on the street. So idk it's all how much work you want to put in to it.
Started out back in the day with a brand new Honda CB250, 1873 - the year they changed colour from Gold to Maroon... Lot of fun (and pain!) on that machine!
I have a 77 RD400 and had not found a bike with better brakes till I purchased a 2010 BMW K1300GT. For a single front disc it is amazing and has good feel and can be applied progressively, it is actually a little easier to control than the BMW because of it requiring just a little more pull pressure - not so sensitive.
Registration In California. We bought a YZ125 dirtbike for my son some years ago. It was beautiful to look at and we were all noobs at the time. The guy told us the registration had expired but it would just be a matter of paying the current reg and maybe a small fee to bring it current. Wrong, for one, he had missed three cycles, DMV wanted to be paid for each cycle missed plus the fee. It was like $250 to register what should have been a $50 fee. Lesson learned.
I recently bought my first bike, a 2000 Honda CBR600FY. It’s not a vintage and I think here in the UK it has to be at least 40 years old to be a “classic” and thats the only category we have for old vehicles but I could be wrong. Anyway I just wanted to say if like me you already have good knowledge, skill and tools for working on machinery then you can get some real bargains with bikes or cars. My honda is a CAT D and has had 12 former keepers so the price was less than half what it would normally be (£1200 I paid), I was able to pay about £10 for a registration check to make sure it wasn’t stolen and I got a decent amount of info about the bikes repairs. Most notably two welds on the frame and the fork seals had been done just before I bought it so I knew the seller wasn’t lying before I bought it. The welds on the frame I could see from phots looked ok but a bit of a risk. Anyway they turned out to be fine. Had to rewire indicators because his aftermarket job was terrible. Replaced all the cable and some bolts and now I have a 600cc sport bike, one of the first honda did with an aluminium frame and the last of carbs so it was well developed tech. All for a fraction of the cost it would have been. Plus being an inexperienced rider and mike bike is already kind of ratty, doesn’t matter if I crash and it’s not worth much so when I eventually get a better (and bigger) bike I can use it as a track or stunt practice bike! Less likely to get stolen. Do you research, find the bike you want, find the best one you can for your money and have fun.
My first couple motorcycles were cheap used dirt bikes that needed work. At the time it was great because they were affordable and I had the time and energy to work on them. When I bought my first street bike, I wanted something new that didn't need work. I'm an auto mechanic by trade and don't always want to spend nights and weekends in the garage just to ride.
Honda CG 125cc 1982! Hi, I am in Brazil, and here the market at ’60-’80s was focused on small cc bikes. So they are cheap, a lot of parts you can swap easily with a new modern engine, they are perfect for a custom project, and they are easy to learn and FUN! Mine is a custom cafe racer. I am 38 years old. This is my first bike. I live pretty near from my work and I like to learn how to fix things. For me this bike has been a school. I am happy to be with this bike and now looking for an option for the next bigger bike. You guys don't think this should be every new rider 1st bike for 3-6 months? ’do you want to get a license? So ride this for three months and come back to get yours’!’
First time rider, got a yamaha sr500 as my first bike. Only has 9k miles and its in immaculate condition. Hopefully won’t deal with “vintage” issues soon
I have a carbureted Buel S3; need to make a new not-plastic tank for it, and just need a milling machine and a tig-welder to keep making non-stock parts to keep it roadworthy, no worries.
Having had a few vintage Hondas this was a great podcast. Totally agree on a first vintage pick of a CB350. Tons of parts available and a great community online. That said, when they are running they can stop at any time. I’m going modern for my first time now. Of course it’s probably gonna be a VanVan or something similar, but no carbs!
After I tuned my 2015 dr200s with a dynojet kit and some other side mods, I havent had to touch the carb in over a year internally but I just got the a/f screw perfect for idle screw speed adjustments from -18 all the way to 110f I've never had an issue, stock jetting was horrible it kept getting a clogged pilot jet from the factory and the header pipe would glow sometimes after "racing" for 20mile sprints
I restored a Norton and had my 90 % finished bike in Connecticut and tried to title it. I had a title so went to local DMV and they said sorry because it is over 25years old you new to take it to the main DMV in Weathersfield , made an appointment and as we were in this long line an another guy (on a Norton) stopped and informed me that the bike needed to be 100% operational or you fail inspection and no title or reg. So I left and went home to NJ and got it titled and the state does not have inspection for old bikes Done
I love older bikes, but if you can afford it, I'd buy a solid used newer bike with efi, & then get a vintage bike as a your 2nd !! That way, you can always ride the newer bike while learning about the older bike. I own a 2014 Bolt & a 1985 Virago ( they are essentially the same bike 29 years apart ), so I'm always on the road no matter what
Reasons for not choosing a vintage motorcycle for me are: 1. It is my daily commute and I want reliability day in and day out. 2. I want to spend my weekend or part of, out riding, not fixing it. 3. The improvements in brakes, and other safety features make the chances of seeing the weekend more likely. 4. I actually prefer the esthetics of some modern bikes over those from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. But each to their own, I'm sure some people like vintage bike and don't mind breakdowns and ongoing repairs, hell some people choose Harleys so they can have all that in an expensive modern bike.
Lol. I got a cx500 as my first bike as a commuter. Made the mistake of selling it. Now that I have a reliable commuter in the CBR500R but looking to buy another CX500. Put some hard bags, a proper pilion and maybe a wind jammer on it for long trips. Vintage bikes have character and I miss the arguments and joys I had with my old CX.
Buying a runner is one the best tips. Ive bought a 88 hawk which sat in a garden for 6 yeara and Im still running into problems months later. It runs for a few days and then something else breaks dow.
From what they're saying on the video, it sounds to me like the previous interview with Ari Henning is on the previous video, but it's on the podcast of the previous video, after the audio of the video is completed. Starts at 51:19 on the podcast for S2 E5.
Peace Love sorry for any confusion. The podcast version gets the added content of viewer comments and interviews. The only thing that’s ever been on video is the couch portion. Also, the added content is new for Season Two. The Season One episodes for both the podcast and video will be just the couch convos, but the podcasts sometimes run a bit longer without as much editing.
You refer to a previous episode with an interview with Ari Henning, but I'll be damned if I can find it. Is that only a podcast and not a RUclips video?
Correct! The Highside Lowside podcast is twice as long as our videos, with exclusive interviews and audience comments. Check it out on any major podcast platform.
@gemini232003 @tiger1 Podcast episodes are available on any device. Major platforms like Spotify and Apple can be accessed via browser open.spotify.com/episode/0oVlMVgwxfKRsjIcWzNAFJ?si=nwqs28qFR8ubdTMf__odcg
Love my vintage bikes, but so many folks today are not mechanically-inclined or even have tools. I sold a reliable & mint '81 SR500 w only 3k miles to a guy, warned him about the unique starting features for full disclosure, but he ended up calling me and complaining about it stranding him. He ended up selling it 7 months later for $1k less than I sold it to him for. Someone got a good deal. But new riders should start on a modern fuel-injected bike so they can focus on riding, not wrenching. And new bikes stop faster and handle better. Better to get a W650, TU250, Triumph or other retro-look modern bike IMO. Track days on a modern bike are better as again for a new rider, you can focus on riding and learning, not fixing and tuning. Also, vintage racing is actually quite expensive, as compared to a near stock SV650.
Biggest regrets? Probably selling two unfinished projects in the late 90's. A 500 Indian Scout and worse, a 37 or 38 Tiger 90, Triumph 500 single. Aaagh! Oh i forgot, the iron head Sporty with JMC alloy swingarm and tasty wheels...
Interesting video. I am a new rider. I started riding last summer. I, myself along with my bike are “vintage”. LOL. All though you don’t consider my bike vintage. It’s a 1985 Kawasaki ZN 700. It was giving to me. I have had my struggles with my bike. None of which were mechanical. The bike runs great. Height was one. I shaved my seat and got the highest heal boot I could. Problem solved. The other is that my bike compared to newer bikes has a very I guess, high center of gravity. That I found was something to get use to as a new rider. She seems very tippsy compared to my friends 2018 Vulcan S. And while practicing picking up our bikes hers being heavier was much easier to pick up. I have ridden the Vulcan. It is much easier to Handel than mine. So I guess what I’m saying is. If your a new rider and want to get the old bike because it cheap these are somethings to consider a long with the maintenance. But I figure if I can master this bike when I get my Indian Scout I’ll be golden.... LOL.
Vintage motorcycles I rode those bikes back in the day 850 commando CB 750 CB 500 Harley. Yeah the brakes the engine the biggest difference I think is the tires. Of course it depends on how you ride but if you ride in any weather the tires have come so far on these bikes. We ride those old bikes You read them a certain way and there’s nothing no difference
Unlike today's cookie cutter machines, the old bikes, the Brits, the Hogs, the Beemers, the Dukes, had a soul. Each and every one was just a little bit different. They shook so bad your mirrors were useless, the engines rattled and clanked, transmissions clunked, and the chain sang it's very own song. Suspensions pogoed, tank slappers were common, tires lost grip if it looked like it was going to rain, and pipes were loud. But one day on those old beasts was worth a year of sitting behind a windshield in a cage. If you remember this; Open the petcock, Tickle the carbs, Close the choke, Kick it through once or twice, Close the choke to half way, Bring it up on compression, Hit the switch, Lean over kiss the gas tank and say “you're turned on baby”, Invoke a small prayer, Open the throttle one quarter to one half, and Give it your best kick and Hope you get lucky, then you probably have a few years and more than a few miles on you and remember those magnificent machines. So now when your new machine starts to give you grief remember those old days of iron men and iron machines...........and quit your bitchin.
For the longer audio-only version of this conversation, check out our Highside / Lowside podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, LibSyn, or Google Play Music!
And if you want more of the best motorcycle content online, head on over to RevZilla's Common Tread online magazine.
rvz.la/36rAsBY
RevZilla hey what mics did you guys use for this video? It seems like every RUclipsr and podcaster ever uses these. Thanks!
They're the Shure SM7B Cardioid Microphones, and they're a go-to for podcasts, radio, voiceover, etc. -DrewZilla
Man I missed Ari Hennin MC garage episode like you can't imagine, learned a lot from this guy.
Zak and Ari were great
I religiously follow him on his Instagram because I can't afford to watch his throttle out videos.
@@floydian25 what is his Instagram name I can't find him
It's interesting to hear them talk about who taught them how to work on bikes, because I bet a lot of listeners (like me) themselves learned from the crew at Revzilla and Motorcyclist!
@@csiautodetail @arihenning211
Good to see Ari back on RUclips. Good show and Topic!
I really enjoyed this discussion. Just to be clear, I own a 1973 Yamaha DT250, 1974 Suzuki TC185Ranger, and the 77 RD400. Along with a 1995 Triumph Trident 900, 2007 Harley Davidson Sportster 1250 (stage 4) and the 2010 BMW K130GT. All GREAT bikes!!
A Spurge/Lemmy and Ari/Zach roadtrip video would be hilarious. Kind of like the Dukes of Hazzard episode which both sets of cousins Bo/Luke and Coy/Vance.
DO IT !!
BMW airheads (70s-90s) are great starter projects. They're easy to work on, parts are readily available and often interchangeable across model years, and there's a terrific online community. If kept in good shape, they're as reliable as modern bikes.
At the age of 16 my son bouggt a rd 350. I helped him make it safe. He is 30 now and still has it. His new ride is an electraglide. Vintage is cool. You learn alot about the inportanse of maintance
I'm glad you guys did this episode. I just bought a 1980 Yamaha XS400 at auction for $200 as my first attempt at restoring a vintage bike. My daily Rider is a 2005 FJR, and having that bike takes the stress off finishing the XS. Its also makes it more enjoyable knowing I can take my time and finish the bike how I want, instead of doing the bare minimum so that I can go for a ride. I'm a mechanic by trade so I'm not concerned with the ability to do the work, I'm actually looking forward to learning new things like lacing and truing wheels.
Dont forget to join xjbikes.com, I found a set of xj650s seca turbo heads all intact and swapped them onto my $100 1982 xj650j maxim cruiser for better valve flow after porting and polishing, dimpling the intake runners and that nice hotrodder stuff even smoothing out the combustion dome now it sounds like a v12 instead of an inline 4 with yics. Get an impact screwdriver set asap because they used plenty of yamalubes threadlock plus itll save you the frustration of stripping out the brake master cylinder cap heads/threads. Shadetree mechanic has some vids even on fabbing a custom XS
Missed Ari! Awesome vid like always. Much love from Puerto Rico ✌🏼
I got my first bike because I wanted to learn something new. So finding a '72 Kawasaki for under $500, I figured I'd either learn to ride, or learn to work on bikes. And I learned a bit of both, and was happy. I got something newer to get back and forth to work on reliably, but the Kawasaki is just so much more fun overall.
A big plus is, where I live, vehicles over 20 years old are not titled. So you get a bill of sale and past registration, and they won't give you any problems. Story time: The bike had a reg from like 1975 under the seat, but the DMV couldn't find it in their system so they wanted me to get an inspection and VIN check (which is weird, since inspections are basically only done for like salvage titles and stuff here). I got everything to the point of being able to maybe pass an inspection (tires were a bit shoddy, old electronics didn't quite match modern codes), went back to the DMV, sweating, and I handed them my bill of sale, and said ancient registration. They handed me a license plate and I had to contain my excitement!
Awesome story man!
Edit: What bike is it?
@@theguitarhero898 It's an F7 - a 175cc two stroke dual purpose bike. It's better off road than on for the most part since it tops out around 60mph (with me on it anyway) and it makes a lot of its power lower in the rev range for a two stroke.
LOVE this episode. I've had this exact conversation with soooo many people over the years, particularly on Reddit. At least once a week some dude is like "Looking to buy my first bike, found this CB550 on Craigslist for $1000, guy says I can get a title from Vermont, and it just needs the carbs cleaned." First, don't buy a vintage project as a first bike (or your only bike for that matter): you'll get excited to get on the road and take shortcuts that you don't even understand will cause a crash. Second, cheap bikes are cheap for a reason, and bikes never "ran when parked," they were parked for a reason. Third, and most important (and so glad Ari brought it up) is to RUN from anything with ANY title issues. Always turns out to be far more headache than it's worth. Always, always, always turns out that the seller bought it thinking they could fix the title issues, and is trying to pass that problem on to you when they realized they couldn't. Vintage bikes are amazing, and I've owned my share because I love giving things a new life and love working on bikes. But getting a turd vintage bike is a great way to turn a motorcyclist into a non-motorcyclist.
"Ran when parked". I see that all the time in "motorcycle for sale" posts. : ) For the right person, a vintage bike can make a great first bike, but if you're new to motorcycles you should definitely buy a running bike....and you should be willing to learn the basics.
I'm so glad that you guys have a podcast, keep up the good work! It makes all my menial tasks bearable! Also we all miss Lemmy but wish him the absolute best, total legend!!
Spurgeon is a very good host imo. Really like the interviews, good recapping and summarising given answers. "Do I understand correctly...", "you said x, you mean x?" Great job!
Surprised with all the talk bout old bikes and no mention of HD. Bet Lemmy was somewhere screaming at the screen if he seen this, "Get a Sportster !!!". Was great to see Ari.
Awesome, so like seeing Ari again. 👍
The happiest two days of a vintage bike owner is the day they bought it and the day they sold it
I really miss Ari on MC garage. His videos seriously motivated me to do repairs on my bike on my own.
Thanks guys! Great episode.
I have a 72 R/5 and chose the, have an experienced mechanic take care of it, route. It runs amazingly and I adore riding it. Have had it for 10 years and love its personality and quirks.
My other bike, that gets taken across the country is a fuel injected modern bike, gets more of the daily beat down so the old bike is always a treat.
My first bike was a 1979 Suzuki GS1000 in the late 90s while in college.
Bought it because a guy I worked with sold it to me for $300 and it sounded like fun.
Of course my dad helped me with all of the work on it.
Really enjoyed this topic... great to see Ari back!
I love that guy!!!so great you had ari on man. Super cool. You guys need to add him and his friend on your crew. Alot of great points brought up in this.
So glad to see some content about vintage bikes. Great episode. I bought my first bike about a year ago, a 1975 Honda CB750 I paid 2 grand for. I love it. I've learned so much about motorcycles since I bought that bike. There's tons of info on-line these days (forums, youtube vids, FB groups) you can learn to do a lot when it comes to old motorcycles. Also easier than ever to find parts these days. I've found it to be really satisfying (and somewhat addicting) to learn to do my own work on the bike. There's a ton of stuff that's above my pay grade, but I've managed to do a lot of maintenance and upgrades. (New coils and electronic ignition, new master cylinder, pulled the carbs and replaced some parts, learned to check timing and valve clearance, sync carbs, etc.)
I originally wanted to get a 60's or 70's Triumph but a mechanic told me to find a running 70's Honda CB because they're not hard to work on but reliable enough that it won't be sitting in your garage not running half the time. (That was his opinion...not sure if it's true or not in regards to Triumphs.) I'm glad I went with the Honda. Starting on a 2 cylinder rather than a 4 is probably not a bad idea, but I didn't know that at the time. I've learned enough that I feel like I could buy an old Triumph for my next bike and be able to maintain it.
I agree, get a newer used bike until/if/when you are ready to be a mechanic before buying a vintage bike. Number carbs/cylinders is a great approach to getting started, lower the better at first. Great discussion!
I repaired a KZ1000B2 about three years ago now, it was my first bike! Expect rust, pulling carbs off 1000 times and swearing, lots of swearing lol. Just get clean fuel flowing through clean jets into a motor that has compression, firing from new dyna (or whatever your choice) coils and ignition plates and it's good to go man. Vintage bikes are really fun! they are easy to work on, and have loads of charm to em. I especially love my kz because it was in mad max! which is one of my favorite series!
78 model year incase anyone cares.
They were a common police bike, plenty of power and yours will probably be just as reliable once you get the carbs in order….can’t let it sit!
the most ambitious crossover doesn't exis-
That's so funny about the registration stuff. I live in Wisconsin and the whole process for registering my 78 Kawi was as follows..."What year is it?" "78." "..And you said it's green right?" "Yes." "That'll be 22 dollars, come back in two years to re-up your plates!"
You guys need to do this once a week! I can’t wait for you all it takes to long! I love this!
My first bike was vintage. 1982 GS1100EZ, Suzuki flavored. Bought in 2012, with 11k miles. Learned A LOT about working on bikes with that machine. Rebuilt it from the ground up. Replaced all the rubber stuff in it over six months or so, along with a fork refresh, and COMPLETE carb rebuild.
Probably not the best first bike, only dropped it twice at less than 5 mph, was tough enough to to survive with no damage.
Binging the Zilla podcast and I think alot of us would enjoi an episode or series where all the zilla personalities look back into where/how they got into bikes, bikes they've owned, etc. Your opinions are important to us and appreciated.
I see Ari Henning, I click
sweet Ari on here! learn a lot from him. thx for bring him on the pod
My daily rider is a '76 CB550k. I spent 4 months working on it and there's always a bit of tuning to do on it after the off season, but I've pretty well turned it into a reliable commuter. I was even able to bring it on a 3 day cruise without being left on the side of the road. That said, even being 44 years old, it's a Honda so it's bound to be reliable.
+1, I have never had anything but vintage bikes and I have only been riding for 14 years. My newest bike is an '86 gsxr. I have logged literally hundreds of thousands of miles on Honda cb750 sohc and Kawi kz650 and have NEVER been stranded anywhere on these. Weekend rides are always 100+ miles, usually more like 200-300...Have done multi-day trips too. They are rock solid bullet proof engines that rarely need more rebuild than some gaskets.
Yamaha XS650
Hands down the best beginner, or all around vintage bike out there
im hoping to have the same opinion as you, seeing this makes me feel better. Im trying to get my dads old 80 yamaha xs400 running. Fix a few mouse damaged wires,new tires, spark plugs,chain, rebuild carbs etc... It only has drum brakes so i am planning on converting the front to disc in the future
I’m that 25 year old who bought a vintage motorcycle, cl360 1975 off Craigslist when I was 22. I over paid for a motorcycle that was in shotty condition. Got turned down from multiple dealerships and ended up having to pay 2 different mechanics only for the first one to do a bad job in re lining the tank and not finish the job of re building the engine which blew a hole in the piston (as I was on the highway) and the second one to rip me off in a complete rebuild only for it to break down again with terrible timing. Finally the third mechanic got me going and even taught me a little bit about maintaining the bike. The Honda absolutely hates cold weather and is temperamental subsequently, but I’ve learned a lot in these 3 years and honestly really do plan on keeping it. I love my Honda 😭.
Great discussion! I started riding on a CB350F four (I was 25). It took many (many) months to getting running reliably. I had the help of a coworker that spent his whole life working on motorcycles. I sold it to move up to a 1991 CB750 nighthawk (in 2004, still ride it today). Fast forward to 2017, I received a 1978 CB750F. Rebuilding from the ground up frame, brakes and rims came back from powder (Lester mags) (no need to mess with the engine). I think I will have $5k in parts when I'm done. It's not original but it will be reliable. Ari was awesome in MC Garage!
I was just watching an old MC commute video and thinking about how I missed Ari and Zack’s videos... I know they moved to some other ppv motorsports channel or something, but they do them no favours in visibility they don’t even have a playlist for them on the RUclips channel.
Ari, I’m gonna watch the previous video with you that was mentioned, so maybe you’re doing something new now, but if not you guys should really consider either going back to the motorcyclist magazine channel or just launch your own thing.
Cam Lee-Brown: you hit the nail on the head. I watched them from over here in UK and they made me yearn for Californian weather. Then they dropped off the plot. Great to see him back
I would highly recommend a carbureted Harley EVO. tons of parts easy to work on and still available/ easy to find
Technically vintage, but reasonably reliable with disc brakes and electronic ignition. But still carburetted and looks and feels like a classic motorcycle. Good idea!
Harleys in general are super easy to get parts for. Surprised they didnt mention them at all
I was waiting to hear you guys talk about 1950 and 1960 's simple BMW s .. My first older bike was a 61 R69S in 1977 ...It was the most inspiring ride I ever owned ... Never failed me ... I am riding a 2017 Bonniville Street Scrambler left over ..Very good price and a tone of fun ....
I just left this note over at MotorBob's clip on the R18 comming to America ..This is my wishlist for BMW : I want this clean R/5 design on a simple boxer 800 cc slightly underused motor with great suspention, Erle forks and single shock in the back . Great brakes .. CLean lines and made for 300 k miles ..The R nine T idea taken to a true neo traditional bike conclution..Quiet class and understated as the beauties of the 1930 - 1961 BMW's were .. Bacsiclly an R80 with modern parts and the look of the R/5 .. Be still my heart .. ( BMW How many Triumph STreet twins and its bretheren have sold in the last 10 years ? ) .. $$$$
I absolutely loved this video! They brought up almost all the points that I personally thought about. Keep up the great work!
Great video!! It requires a certain commitment to ride an older bike. I was broke down in front of a cop shop for 45 minutes, no help. I got it running and moving again, got pulled over on a back road and ticketed for no license in the same district. No harm, no foul
Spoke wheels and maybe a kickstart. That would be my ultimate. I have to agree with Jay Leno that “you have to be able to see through it”
But....... if you buy your classic dream be prepared to tinker. I admit to being a polisher and not a tinkerer. That dream 1973 Electraglide I had for a few years with the dodgy clutch and the rubbish brakes (I live on a hill...) just destroyed my dreams.
It’s a 2016 BMWR1200R Sport now and it genuinely covers all bases as lovely and lazy to ride with a hard edge if you want it. But the hankering is still there for an RD350B - should I???
Best discussion and topic yet, thanx. I'm 60 later this year, i bought my 79 T140 Triumph new, still got it. Very very non stock. Bought my 89 Guzzi Cali lll about 22 years ago. Very non std. Still got it. Own 2 x 84 Yam monoshock 250 trials bikes. Regretted selling virtually all the bikes i sold especially my various Guzzis, Norton, HD and Triumphs and RD Yams. Never ever owned a water cooled bike. Never will.
Regards, Brit living in NE Thsiland.
So this was a glimpse of what to come. Can't wait for an ari and zak show again. The topgear guys of motorcycle.
Some key specs & items to check: get a running bike, 1 or 2 cylinders for simplicity, 4-stroke, non-dented tank without rust inside or coated 'cause the tank can be a very expensive part and hard to fix, most carbs are gummed up due to owners letting them sit with ethanol gas sit in them. I store my vintage bikes with a full tank of ethanol-free gas, and drain carbs when not in use.
One early Sunday morning 5-6 years ago I was drinking my coffee and scanning RUclips clips. I happened on a series of 40+ videos called Hack-a-Week where a fellow was restoring a 70s Honda cb750. Over the next week I watched all the videos and increasingly thought, I can do that. For about a year I watched videos, read websites, looked at bikes online. And I joined a web forum called SOHC/4 that was focused on Honda cb500/550s. I decided that the cb500/550 was a better bike to restore for me. For 6 months I looked and found a cb550 two hours away rusting in a driveway. I rented a U-Haul and brought it home. With a lot of help from SOHC/4 and parts from eBay and the web, a year later I had a restored 78 cb550. I enjoyed it so much, I then restored a 71 cb500. The advice on this video is 100% spot on. The joy of riding a bike you fixed is great. Both roughly cost me $2,500-$3,000 in total to buy and restore. Plus, I did have to buy new tools - which was fun. And, my lovely wife gave me her half of the garage. Bottomline, I am/was no mechanic. If you research, have patience, find extra cash, ask for help, YOU CAN DO IT. Next? I may do one more 500/550. I'm interested in smaller bikes too. But I will not buy one without a title.
It won't be everyone's cup of tea but I bought 2 1991 Gold Wings for $1000. Sold one for $1000, rode the other for 8 months, replaced the pulse generators as they went bad. Then rode it for 4.5 more years with almost zero issues. I do mean ride as I racked up close to half a million miles on that bike. It was my only transpo for those years all season in Missouri. I did wear out the starter twice.
I started on a '94 Honda Nighthawk 250 in 2015 - a vintage styled motorcycle built on technology that was already pretty old when it was made. I bought it for $800 and absolutely hated that thing. The drum brakes meant I never really felt safe on it, the carburetor was constantly in need of some sort of attention, the suspension was absolutely not up to the task for my two hundred pound weight, the odd wheel sizes meant buying tires was difficult, and it honestly spent more time in need of work than out on the road. I'm just lucky I received an inheritance of a few grand later that year and managed to buy a much better bike that was far newer and more reliable.
I have loved the process of modifying my first bike, a 2015 FZ 07. A vintage would definitely be above my skillset, but I totally respect the concept and wish I had the excuse to restore a vintage bike
Reminds me of my first bike that was a 2007 DR650. The bike hasn't changed since 96 so it would be like a vintage bike that's still made new today if you go by 20 years. It's a super reliable bike that's easy maintain and people even take them and turn them into vintage scramblers and cafe racers so I think that would be a good option if someone wanted something that's reliable and wont leave you stranded.
I recently bought an ‘82 Oldwing 1100. (for the second time. I too, regrettably, sold the first one). Not exactly vintage per se, (or a starter bike) but just the right amount of old for me. It looks great, is fairly easy to work on (tons of resources on RUclips alone), lots of parts available, it’s cheap to insure, and has plenty of jam on the road. Hard to go wrong with most Japanese machines from that era on.
So exciting! I only wish I had the time and a garage to work on a bike of my own!
I think Ari would be a great addition to the couch. Miss Lemmy, but I think Ari brings a great new perspective. Hope he finds his way on as a regular.
I would add to this video that the best vintage bike to buy is one that is unmodified and and has been professionally maintained (if you can find one...) - Spurg brushed on it when he mentioned his old bike with the wrong carburetors. Factory service manuals and model-specific forums are excellent resources to guide someone just getting into mechanics, but if their bike has all sorts of weird parts on it then those resources don't necessarily apply and there is a whole extra layer of unnecessary mystery that will probably frustrate them and turn them away.
And even if you know what parts on your bike are stock and what isn't before you dig into it, time after time when you start getting to know the bike you'll find that the previous owner may have installed things wrong, used junk parts, used baffling makeshift fasteners, found cheap band-aid solutions to bigger problems, broke studs and just left them there for you to deal with now... It is very frustrating to inherit someone else's problems and mistakes.
I only have vintage(77 triumph tr7, 68 triumph tiger, 73 Yamaha dt400 flat track race bike.) But I am a mechanic, I have built my bikes to challenge all expectations. I have ridden across country on the 77 and had no issues, 68 is an off road racer but all gets beat on the street. So idk it's all how much work you want to put in to it.
Also my 77 cost me 6k in rebuild to so yeah I paid less then that for the bike. I know I'll never get my money back but that's not why we do it is it.
Started out back in the day with a brand new Honda CB250, 1873 - the year they changed colour from Gold to Maroon... Lot of fun (and pain!) on that machine!
1873, now THAT's vintage! -DrewZilla
@@RevZilla Oops! That would have been steam-driven!
Vintage law in my state is anything over 25 years. Vintage definitely goes up to 80s bikes for sure.
I have a 77 RD400 and had not found a bike with better brakes till I purchased a 2010 BMW K1300GT. For a single front disc it is amazing and has good feel and can be applied progressively, it is actually a little easier to control than the BMW because of it requiring just a little more pull pressure - not so sensitive.
Registration In California. We bought a YZ125 dirtbike for my son some years ago. It was beautiful to look at and we were all noobs at the time. The guy told us the registration had expired but it would just be a matter of paying the current reg and maybe a small fee to bring it current. Wrong, for one, he had missed three cycles, DMV wanted to be paid for each cycle missed plus the fee. It was like $250 to register what should have been a $50 fee. Lesson learned.
Missed the guy. Nice to seeing him again.
Buy a 90s bike. It will have a lot of the same old technology and they are more reliable.
So this is the thing...where does the experience change...I would argue going a bit newer and getting a fuel injected bike minimizes the maintenance.
I recently bought my first bike, a 2000 Honda CBR600FY. It’s not a vintage and I think here in the UK it has to be at least 40 years old to be a “classic” and thats the only category we have for old vehicles but I could be wrong.
Anyway I just wanted to say if like me you already have good knowledge, skill and tools for working on machinery then you can get some real bargains with bikes or cars. My honda is a CAT D and has had 12 former keepers so the price was less than half what it would normally be (£1200 I paid), I was able to pay about £10 for a registration check to make sure it wasn’t stolen and I got a decent amount of info about the bikes repairs. Most notably two welds on the frame and the fork seals had been done just before I bought it so I knew the seller wasn’t lying before I bought it. The welds on the frame I could see from phots looked ok but a bit of a risk. Anyway they turned out to be fine. Had to rewire indicators because his aftermarket job was terrible. Replaced all the cable and some bolts and now I have a 600cc sport bike, one of the first honda did with an aluminium frame and the last of carbs so it was well developed tech. All for a fraction of the cost it would have been. Plus being an inexperienced rider and mike bike is already kind of ratty, doesn’t matter if I crash and it’s not worth much so when I eventually get a better (and bigger) bike I can use it as a track or stunt practice bike! Less likely to get stolen.
Do you research, find the bike you want, find the best one you can for your money and have fun.
My first couple motorcycles were cheap used dirt bikes that needed work. At the time it was great because they were affordable and I had the time and energy to work on them. When I bought my first street bike, I wanted something new that didn't need work. I'm an auto mechanic by trade and don't always want to spend nights and weekends in the garage just to ride.
Honda CG 125cc 1982! Hi, I am in Brazil, and here the market at ’60-’80s was focused on small cc bikes. So they are cheap, a lot of parts you can swap easily with a new modern engine, they are perfect for a custom project, and they are easy to learn and FUN! Mine is a custom cafe racer.
I am 38 years old. This is my first bike. I live pretty near from my work and I like to learn how to fix things. For me this bike has been a school.
I am happy to be with this bike and now looking for an option for the next bigger bike. You guys don't think this should be every new rider 1st bike for 3-6 months? ’do you want to get a license? So ride this for three months and come back to get yours’!’
The purchase price of a "Vintage" motorbike is only the cost of admission :-)
First time rider, got a yamaha sr500 as my first bike. Only has 9k miles and its in immaculate condition. Hopefully won’t deal with “vintage” issues soon
I have a carbureted Buel S3; need to make a new not-plastic tank for it, and just need a milling machine and a tig-welder to keep making non-stock parts to keep it roadworthy, no worries.
Read tittle “ari henning, name sounds familiar:..........OOOOOOHHHH”
Lemmy on this panel would've been the cherry on top
Nice to see you Ari Henning... Please come back to RUclips...
Revzilla hires the coolest people...
Not to be immodest, but I sure think so!
-Zack
Having had a few vintage Hondas this was a great podcast. Totally agree on a first vintage pick of a CB350. Tons of parts available and a great community online. That said, when they are running they can stop at any time. I’m going modern for my first time now. Of course it’s probably gonna be a VanVan or something similar, but no carbs!
After I tuned my 2015 dr200s with a dynojet kit and some other side mods, I havent had to touch the carb in over a year internally but I just got the a/f screw perfect for idle screw speed adjustments from -18 all the way to 110f I've never had an issue, stock jetting was horrible it kept getting a clogged pilot jet from the factory and the header pipe would glow sometimes after "racing" for 20mile sprints
Clean chain club, wya? 👊🏽
Heyo! #cleanchainclub
In Georgia a vintage bike is defined as over 25 years old. Sadly, my 2000 BMW RT is getting really close now.
Got a 96 that's needing and abs rebuilt lol
I restored a Norton and had my 90 % finished bike in Connecticut and tried to title it. I had a title so went to local DMV and they said sorry because it is over 25years old you new to take it to the main DMV in Weathersfield , made an appointment and as we were in this long line an another guy (on a Norton) stopped and informed me that the bike needed to be 100% operational or you fail inspection and no title or reg. So I left and went home to NJ and got it titled and the state does not have inspection for old bikes Done
Lots of vintage bikes here in Stockbridge, Michigan during the May or September "All Clubs Day/Ride Events" :)
its refreshing to see my boi Ari not reciting a script, good episode
Most vintage bikes or car are Sunday drivers unless your a mechanic
Carbs are definitely a pain but so much easier to learn how to tune than messing with points for the ignition system
lol I bought a 75 CL360 for my first bike last summer. No regrets.
I love older bikes, but if you can afford it, I'd buy a solid used newer bike with efi, & then get a vintage bike as a your 2nd !! That way, you can always ride the newer bike while learning about the older bike. I own a 2014 Bolt & a 1985 Virago ( they are essentially the same bike 29 years apart ), so I'm always on the road no matter what
My first bike was a 1980 Suzuki GS250T. Worked fine for me, not perfect, but it always ran.
Reasons for not choosing a vintage motorcycle for me are:
1. It is my daily commute and I want reliability day in and day out.
2. I want to spend my weekend or part of, out riding, not fixing it.
3. The improvements in brakes, and other safety features make the chances of seeing the weekend more likely.
4. I actually prefer the esthetics of some modern bikes over those from the 60s, 70s, and 80s.
But each to their own, I'm sure some people like vintage bike and don't mind breakdowns and ongoing repairs, hell some people choose Harleys so they can have all that in an expensive modern bike.
Lol. I got a cx500 as my first bike as a commuter. Made the mistake of selling it. Now that I have a reliable commuter in the CBR500R but looking to buy another CX500. Put some hard bags, a proper pilion and maybe a wind jammer on it for long trips. Vintage bikes have character and I miss the arguments and joys I had with my old CX.
Buying a runner is one the best tips. Ive bought a 88 hawk which sat in a garden for 6 yeara and Im still running into problems months later. It runs for a few days and then something else breaks dow.
From what they're saying on the video, it sounds to me like the previous interview with Ari Henning is on the previous video, but it's on the podcast of the previous video, after the audio of the video is completed. Starts at 51:19 on the podcast for S2 E5.
Peace Love sorry for any confusion. The podcast version gets the added content of viewer comments and interviews. The only thing that’s ever been on video is the couch portion. Also, the added content is new for Season Two. The Season One episodes for both the podcast and video will be just the couch convos, but the podcasts sometimes run a bit longer without as much editing.
@@SpurgeonDunbar no problem. Maybe I was the only one that was confused! Lol!
Too late already bought one last week. But listening to this it seems i did a good job.
I had an 82 440 LTD. I got it cheap in 85 with 2 miles on it. That's one I should have kept.
Awesome episode....enjoyed watching. Always good to see Ari.....even though he laps me at Barber!! LOL
OHIOCAFERACERS he lapped me at Sonoma, don’t feel bad!
I'm pretty sure I would have waved if/when I passed you. It's the polite thing to do ;)
@@AriH211 I think you tried to slap my butt. The salacious thing to do!
at last a cross over available in this channel.. Maybe next time RyanF9? Haha
Have a look! -DrewZilla
*bit.ly/RyanF9_Interview
Yes sir saw the article but was hoping for a video on this channel😁
Revzilla + MCgarage "how to"= Yamaha FJ1200, baby!
Don’t forget the trailer needed for the vintage bike!
You refer to a previous episode with an interview with Ari Henning, but I'll be damned if I can find it. Is that only a podcast and not a RUclips video?
Correct! The Highside Lowside podcast is twice as long as our videos, with exclusive interviews and audience comments. Check it out on any major podcast platform.
podcast only
@gemini232003 yeah can you get podcast on a pc?
@gemini232003 @tiger1 Podcast episodes are available on any device. Major platforms like Spotify and Apple can be accessed via browser open.spotify.com/episode/0oVlMVgwxfKRsjIcWzNAFJ?si=nwqs28qFR8ubdTMf__odcg
www.revzilla.com/common-tread/highside-lowside-motorcycle-podcast
Love my vintage bikes, but so many folks today are not mechanically-inclined or even have tools. I sold a reliable & mint '81 SR500 w only 3k miles to a guy, warned him about the unique starting features for full disclosure, but he ended up calling me and complaining about it stranding him. He ended up selling it 7 months later for $1k less than I sold it to him for. Someone got a good deal. But new riders should start on a modern fuel-injected bike so they can focus on riding, not wrenching. And new bikes stop faster and handle better. Better to get a W650, TU250, Triumph or other retro-look modern bike IMO. Track days on a modern bike are better as again for a new rider, you can focus on riding and learning, not fixing and tuning. Also, vintage racing is actually quite expensive, as compared to a near stock SV650.
Does a 1981 Suzuki GS450T count as Vintage? That's my first bike, bought in Nov 2017. It does have electric ignition, but not much else.
Old Beemers seem to work for me, a wealth of original and aftermarket parts available too.
I have an 82 Nighthawk- carbs ugh, seems like wrenching a lot sometimes but it is nice bike. It does have helmet lock and centre stand!
Biggest regrets?
Probably selling two unfinished projects in the late 90's. A 500 Indian Scout and worse, a 37 or 38 Tiger 90, Triumph 500 single. Aaagh!
Oh i forgot, the iron head Sporty with JMC alloy swingarm and tasty wheels...
Interesting video. I am a new rider. I started riding last summer. I, myself along with my bike are “vintage”. LOL. All though you don’t consider my bike vintage. It’s a 1985 Kawasaki ZN 700. It was giving to me. I have had my struggles with my bike. None of which were mechanical. The bike runs great. Height was one. I shaved my seat and got the highest heal boot I could. Problem solved. The other is that my bike compared to newer bikes has a very I guess, high center of gravity. That I found was something to get use to as a new rider. She seems very tippsy compared to my friends 2018 Vulcan S. And while practicing picking up our bikes hers being heavier was much easier to pick up. I have ridden the Vulcan. It is much easier to Handel than mine. So I guess what I’m saying is. If your a new rider and want to get the old bike because it cheap these are somethings to consider a long with the maintenance. But I figure if I can master this bike when I get my Indian Scout I’ll be golden.... LOL.
I grew up with CZ 400. So easy to work on.
Vintage motorcycles I rode those bikes back in the day 850 commando CB 750 CB 500 Harley. Yeah the brakes the engine the biggest difference I think is the tires. Of course it depends on how you ride but if you ride in any weather the tires have come so far on these bikes. We ride those old bikes You read them a certain way and there’s nothing no difference
Unlike today's cookie cutter machines, the old bikes, the Brits, the Hogs, the Beemers, the Dukes, had a soul. Each and every one was just a little bit different. They shook so bad your mirrors were useless, the engines rattled and clanked, transmissions clunked, and the chain sang it's very own song. Suspensions pogoed, tank slappers were common, tires lost grip if it looked like it was going to rain, and pipes were loud. But one day on those old beasts was worth a year of sitting behind a windshield in a cage.
If you remember this; Open the petcock, Tickle the carbs, Close the choke, Kick it through once or twice, Close the choke to half way, Bring it up on compression, Hit the switch, Lean over kiss the gas tank and say “you're turned on baby”, Invoke a small prayer, Open the throttle one quarter to one half, and Give it your best kick and Hope you get lucky, then you probably have a few years and more than a few miles on you and remember those magnificent machines.
So now when your new machine starts to give you grief remember those old days of iron men and iron machines...........and quit your bitchin.