swedstal
New Member
Hello, all. Glad to be part of the community here. I guess I'll start by giving a little backstory:
My two-wheeled story begins in 1967, 17 years before I was born. My father bought a 1965 Honda CB160 which he rode from Wausa, Nebraska to Washington state to work at an orphanage for the summer. Although he ended up selling the bike for a plane ticket home, his brief time with a motorcycle was full of some very interesting stories.
When I turned 17, I found an old CB160, a '66 model, on ebay for a couple hundred bucks. What an awesome first bike! I rode that relic proudly, though I probably never looked as cool as I felt
. I learned so much from that machine.
About four years ago, I “updated” to a 1971 CB350 twin. Any vehicle this age is a labor of love to keep running, but it has been great to expand my very limited mechanic's skills. Last winter I did my first engine rebuild to repair a leaky head gasket. As long as I had the engine apart, I decided to bore the cylinders, replace the pistons/rings, and clean up the valves. It was a big project since it was my first time, but it went really well....almost. About 500 miles after the rebuild, the two bolts holding the cam sprocket onto the camshaft sheared. It turns out an engine does not run very well when the valves aren't opening. I tore the engine apart, again, and put in another set of NOS Honda bolts, torqued down to spec and secured with red locktite.
(I'm sorry this is long. I'll try to get to the point)
The 350 was running so well that I decided I wanted to try a long distance trip to Niagra Falls, about a 2,000 mile round trip. I had taken a ride of about half that length the summer before. I secured two weeks off of work and planned to leave on October 13th. A couple of weeks ago, on September 27th, mechanical tragedy struck again. My cam bolts both sheared off...AGAIN!
So there I sat, a great adventure planned, but without a trusty steed.
I decided that I really needed this trip (for mental health reasons) and that I was going to make it happen. I will fix the 350, but I just did not have time. When the NC came out last spring and I looked at the specs, I was sure that was going to be my next bike. This is the motorcycle that I've been waiting years for someone to build. It combines all of the things I love about my old 350 - efficiency, agility, versatility, simplicity, an upright riding posture, and of course a reasonable price - and adds the handful of mechanical advances that have been made in the last 40 years - electronic ignition, fuel injection....uhhhh.....a fuel gauge. (I guess not too much has changed )
Getting an NC now became a present, rather than a future consideration. I am extremely frugal (as well as single and healthy) so I had the money available. As fate (or luck, destiny, etc.) would have it, I found a 2012 model with just 1,200 miles on it in Sioux City, about 2 hours away. I agreed to buy it, unseen, just three days after the 350 broke down. I paid $5,350 which seems a fair price.
My first ride was fairly eventful, with about 15 minutes of hard rain. Unbeknownst to me, a tornado was tearing through Wayne, NE, just about 30 miles west of where I was riding. Yikes!
First impressions are pretty much as expected. I have a hard time believing the curb weight. They did such a great job of keeping the weight low. I'm loving the storage compartment, but not sure whether to call it a "frunk" (front trunk), a "fank" (fake tank), a "tox" (tank box), or a "mood" (motorcycle hood). Maybe someone can help me with the accepted vernacular. It is a bit eerie for me not being able to hear the engine at highway speeds, it's quieter than I thought it would be.
I'm heading out to Niagra Falls in just 4 days! I will probably do a ride report over on advrider. I'll link it here if I do.
I ended up posting my ride report in the touring/traveling section on this site. HERE is the link.
The old (Meiling):
The new (No name yet, TBD):
My two-wheeled story begins in 1967, 17 years before I was born. My father bought a 1965 Honda CB160 which he rode from Wausa, Nebraska to Washington state to work at an orphanage for the summer. Although he ended up selling the bike for a plane ticket home, his brief time with a motorcycle was full of some very interesting stories.
When I turned 17, I found an old CB160, a '66 model, on ebay for a couple hundred bucks. What an awesome first bike! I rode that relic proudly, though I probably never looked as cool as I felt
. I learned so much from that machine.About four years ago, I “updated” to a 1971 CB350 twin. Any vehicle this age is a labor of love to keep running, but it has been great to expand my very limited mechanic's skills. Last winter I did my first engine rebuild to repair a leaky head gasket. As long as I had the engine apart, I decided to bore the cylinders, replace the pistons/rings, and clean up the valves. It was a big project since it was my first time, but it went really well....almost. About 500 miles after the rebuild, the two bolts holding the cam sprocket onto the camshaft sheared. It turns out an engine does not run very well when the valves aren't opening
. I tore the engine apart, again, and put in another set of NOS Honda bolts, torqued down to spec and secured with red locktite.(I'm sorry this is long. I'll try to get to the point)
The 350 was running so well that I decided I wanted to try a long distance trip to Niagra Falls, about a 2,000 mile round trip. I had taken a ride of about half that length the summer before. I secured two weeks off of work and planned to leave on October 13th. A couple of weeks ago, on September 27th, mechanical tragedy struck again. My cam bolts both sheared off...AGAIN!
So there I sat, a great adventure planned, but without a trusty steed.
I decided that I really needed this trip (for mental health reasons) and that I was going to make it happen. I will fix the 350, but I just did not have time. When the NC came out last spring and I looked at the specs, I was sure that was going to be my next bike. This is the motorcycle that I've been waiting years for someone to build. It combines all of the things I love about my old 350 - efficiency, agility, versatility, simplicity, an upright riding posture, and of course a reasonable price - and adds the handful of mechanical advances that have been made in the last 40 years - electronic ignition, fuel injection....uhhhh.....a fuel gauge. (I guess not too much has changed
)Getting an NC now became a present, rather than a future consideration. I am extremely frugal (as well as single and healthy) so I had the money available. As fate (or luck, destiny, etc.) would have it, I found a 2012 model with just 1,200 miles on it in Sioux City, about 2 hours away. I agreed to buy it, unseen, just three days after the 350 broke down. I paid $5,350 which seems a fair price.
My first ride was fairly eventful, with about 15 minutes of hard rain. Unbeknownst to me, a tornado was tearing through Wayne, NE, just about 30 miles west of where I was riding. Yikes!
First impressions are pretty much as expected. I have a hard time believing the curb weight. They did such a great job of keeping the weight low. I'm loving the storage compartment, but not sure whether to call it a "frunk" (front trunk), a "fank" (fake tank), a "tox" (tank box), or a "mood" (motorcycle hood). Maybe someone can help me with the accepted vernacular
. It is a bit eerie for me not being able to hear the engine at highway speeds, it's quieter than I thought it would be.I'm heading out to Niagra Falls in just 4 days! I will probably do a ride report over on advrider. I'll link it here if I do.
I ended up posting my ride report in the touring/traveling section on this site. HERE is the link.
The old (Meiling):
The new (No name yet, TBD):
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