project recomendations

[U_W v2.0]

so as a few of you will remember, i have my CBT on the 6th.

i already own a chinese 125 ready for when i get my CBT. and i asked about 500/600 bike recomendations.

well i decided to take a different tact.

i want to find a nice easy 500cc bike that would make a good restoration/project bike.

a nice cheap one thats easy to fix up but requires learning a fair bit.

why?

1) i cant really afford to spend out for a decent running bike
2) i suck at saving up
3) i will learn invalueble lessons in doing so
4) i will have an intimate know how on that particular bike
5) i get the fun and enjoyment of doing a project bike while learning the roads and so on on my 125
6) it'll "hopfully" be finished just in time for completing restricted liscence (cant afford das and im happy with a 2 year restriction)

so i was hoping someone can give me some pointers on what i should be looking out for really? also where to be looking for these sort of bikes.

something....sporty i suppose, something that has nice clean lines, something not quite naked but not completely faired up either

p.s 500cc engine size is my choice due to tax costs lol
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[lihp]

[U_W v2.0]

[U_W v2.0]

[lihp]

everybody that does this will tell you the same, buy and fix costs more than buying a runner

[U_W v2.0]

[lihp]

Not helpful? You wanted opinion you got it. Helpful is put the money away and buy a runner.

[U_W v2.0]

your not being helpful because its not answering the most basic questions

what sorta bike should i be looking for and where.

thats the question,

NOT if i should do it or not

doing it is MY choice, NOT your fucking choice. its something that I want to do, and doesnt affect you so get the fuck off my thread you utter prat and stop telling people what they should and shouldnt do when its fuck all to do with you.

god damnit people like you are one giant cluster fuck of ignorant cuntish bastardisation. now fuck off
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[Derivative]

[Teflon-Mike]

Advice offerted mate is NOT abusive; and certainly not spam; just becouse you dont like the answer dont abuse the khama system!

As for rebuilding a bike?

He's right. You buy a ratty runner; becouse:-

a) its all there, so when you take it to bits,
1/ you know you have them all
2/ what they should all look like

b) you know how they came apart, so you know how they should go back together.

c) reclaiming bits is usually a damn site cheaper than trying to source bits you dont have.

Garanteed bits you want are unobtanium, when it comes to project bikes.

And its nearly ALWAYS the case that you will spend more on parts than you will on the bike, AND that you could buy something cheaper than you build.

Have a look at Show & tell..... plenty of evidence to support this.

Renovating a CB125 Super-Dream cost over £2K in parts alone.... and that was starting with a 'runner'.... THIS is the reality of projects, unless you simply expect to buy something completely scrap, pull the plastic off re-paint them and have a pristing 'runner' for the trouble!
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[multijoy]

[N cee thirty]

https://www.huoniao-owners.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3053

trololololol


''given up with bike chat forum. bunch of immoral, homophobic, abusive crettins. the people over there REALLY do let down the entire biking scene and just promote the typical "Biker pig" image.

anyways, will be here a little more now. one thing i have noticed though, theres definatly a lack of uk biking forums''
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[Slacker24seve...]

[colicabcadam]

give up already.......

you are choosing a 500 for tax reasons ? a 500cc costs £50 ? anything above 600 costs £75 ?

if you a querying over £25 a year, there's no way you will be able to fix your current chinese bike (it;ll fall to bits, trust me), pay for your DAS, pay for tools, pay for another bike, pay for parts for said bike, insure chinese bike etc etc

sit back, relax and save, saying you can not save is just stupid
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[U_W v2.0]

[U_W v2.0]

[U_W v2.0]

[G]

[colicabcadam]

show me a chinese bike that has more than 20,000 miles on it

you seem to be a very nasty person, you don't want advice, because the best advice has been ignored and you simply became offensive like a small child

you'll end up buying a shitter, doing a shit job fixing it up and you'll be down financially - it's pointless unless you are going to restore a classic motorcycle that has some value, buying a gs500 with dodgy carbs, a stuck caliper and a snapped throttle cable is pointless

i would imagine a lot of people on here have done what you have done and wish they didnt bother for the simple reason of loosing money

i spent £8k on extras on my ducati, all i can say is what a waste of money, you'll do the same, trust me
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[Teflon-Mike]

Advice: I think we have got the message that you want a 'Project'.
I suggest you go wiki the defanition of 'a Project'.
A 'Project' is anything the fuck you want it to be!
So rather hard to ask us what YOU should want in a project!?!?!?!?

Tell you what, sod that;

1977 Honda GL1000 pre 'Gold-Wing' de-accessorised, back to show-room; with show quality chrome bright work, proper enamel finish frame & cycle-parts, in a nice red-purple fade candy with gold-leaf stiping & badging...... and a super-charger.

There... there's your project; go look on e-bay US for an Arizona or Texas 'Dry-State' barn-find as the base.......

Just give me a heads up before you flog it on as an 'UFP'

More usefully? Get out, look, look at bikes that YOU would like to ride when you have the licence, ones that are already rideable.

Look at the prices of good running examples; and then go research spares suppliers, and specialist forums for that marque or model, find out what common problems are.

Look at prices, and then look at what 'projects' are fetching, and do some sums to work out the ecconomics of whether they are viable...

DONT buy something you dont really have any interest or knowledge of JUST becouse its 'cheap' or readily available.

Think also of functionality and long term ownership; becouse once done, you wont sell easily, as the £-loss will be too hard to bear. So think along the lines of what could sit hapily along side a daily rider, as a week-end toy, or earn its keep as a daily 'hack'.

Think about time, space and logistics. All well andf good having a bike, but where you going to work on it? Who's going to moan about pudles of oil, or tripping over engines? Where you going to keep bits secure to stop the tatty man wondering off with the exhausts thinking they are 'scrap'?

Think also how you will transport a half tripped engine to the local M/C shop for them to use press to get the frigging fly-wheel off, or rebore the barel. Etc.

There is a HECK of a lot more AROUND any project than JUST what make or model is 'best'...... to which there is NO right answer ANYWAY.

Personally, for a 1st time project; I would highly reccomend somethig like an air-cooled Yamaha DT100 or DT175, rather than a big-bike.

Simple, two stroke engine, simple rugged design, BRILLIANT spares availability new or used; and a bike you COULD keep indefinitely, insured almost 'for free' as a 'second bike' taxed for £16 a year, that you can haul out to get to and from work, pop to the shops, or go do a little green-laning on.... versatile, useful and NOT too likely to get you into deep water, with loads of valves and pistons and stuff.

For your post-restriction 'Ride' just get an already road-able GS500 or ER5....

BUT, that's just MY opinion.... its YOUR FUCKING PROJECT WE GET THE MESSAGE!
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My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[U_W v2.0]

thanks for those points mike.

theres some good things to think about, although space isnt an issue.

im in a basement flat with 2 large under-pavement alcoves that the project bike would be kept in (brought in via back yard and wheeled out to the front, easier as far as steps go) and will have pleanty of light during the day and a floodlight for night working. as well as pleanty of space.

kind of like agent gibbs and his boats from ncis lol. getting it out might be awkward but it'll be doable.

as far as make, i just meant that some makes are probably easier for parts than others. but yeah, i do suppose that after finding a bike to work on research does need to be done afterwards.

im prepared to take the financhial hit of the project, because it will be a prolonged project i dont really mind the hit because it would be stretched out more so less noticable.

the main reason for wanting a 500 is because of the complicity of it.

this will (in my case) force me to take more time and care over the project doing research on what ever procedures are needed to be done that im not up to speed with.

transport to garages for things i cant do: not really an issue, my neihbour has access to a transit and i have several favour chips i can call in lol.

also mike, none of the abuse was aimed at you, sorry if it seemed otherwise. as i said, i have realised that people listen to you for a reason around here.

although i might be hard fetched to find an arizona barn bike being in the uk lol.

spose i'll check the locals
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[G]

Any not too silly old Japanese bike will be fine parts-wise.

But, if you're talking "taking the bike to a garage" money, you're talking "working bike money". And I still reckon it's much better to buy a working bike and do the things that need doing while riding it - keep your 125 as a back up.

Are you the one that hasn't done their CBT yet?

If so, you may well find that you do actually enjoy riding bikes and want to spend a good bit of time and money doing that rather than chucking it at a spares company and getting frustrated with ebay and breakers.

[Itxi]

I know where you're coming from, I've been wanting a project for my first 'proper' bike for a while now but the people from this forum and my own limited experience have warned me against it.

If you want to learn the basics then buy a cheap 125 (you can get them for £100, that's how much my CG cost) and learn how to fix that. It's not cheap but 125s are simpler in design so you can pick up the basics.

As I said though, not cheap. I've spent more than I would had I bought a working bike and doing the same with a 500 would have cost me even more.
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[Pie-Roe]

[U_W v2.0]

no, i havent done the CBT yet. got that next friday.

i have a 125 to get me around until i do my restricted liscence and for after it as well.

so the project wouldnt need to be rushed or anything as i'll have a daily run about bike.

honestly people who advice against a project JUST because its likely to be your first big bike probably did the same, fecked it up and wished they didnt bother for reasons as simple as they rushed it or bodged it.

its something i will be taking my time with. theres no real reason not to do a project that will end up as your first big bike.

"you'll crash it, drop it write it off" well frankly that can happen on a project bike if its your 15th project after 30 years of riding. so it doesnt concern me and find that a pretty weak arguement.

mainly because on the flip side you might NOT do any of those things. much less likely to drop a bike you've rebuilt because your more "aware" of it.
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