Advice on potential CB-1 purchase

[Daveontheedge]

Keith...

Logic has nothing to do with passion and CB-1's are all about the passion we all have for bikes!
It is also amazing how quickly you will forget about the cost or the hassle of trying to make space for it after you have ridden it.

[kfsrq]

Today I visited the CB-1 that was on Craig's List for Tampa. The seller took it off, perhaps temporarily, because he found an issue that needs repair. It is quite simple, but imperative. A rear brake pad drags a little ... and then it heats up and drags some more ... and then it heats up and drags TOO MUCH!

So the seller, an admirable fellow who, with his wife's help, has put some 2800 miles on this CB-1 in a mere eleven years, will haul the bike to Hap's Honda Shop in Sarasota Florida and get the rear brake rebuilt.

Apart from that, the bike is in staggeringly wonderful condition. The motor starts readily, idles calmly soon after starting, and runs well. I cannot vouch for performance, because I rode the bike back and forth on a very very short street, and I could reach third gear only. But it accelerated briskly in first, and was a total treat in every way.

The paint is gorgeous and original, except on the genuine Hondaline mini-fairing+windshield, and the paint thereon is a perfect match for the bike's paint. CB-1 on the tank is black and gray, and it looks terrific! The seat is unmarred, and I had to look really hard to find a site with rust (two low-down brackets supporting the mini-fairing are a bit rusty -- 30 minutes to remove, wire-brush, and paint 'em). There is very minor pitting of some alloy surfaces, such as the two-inch-diameter disk on the left side of the engine. After eleven years in a sub-tropical seaside city, I would have expected much more.

Everything is in great shape (save the brake I mentioned). There are lots of little ways this bike offers extra value: powder-coated exhaust pipes, well-polished Kerker muffler, powder-coated bar-ends, custom mirrors and turn signals (yes, I understand these each can be symptoms of upsets repaired cheaply with non-stock hardware, but I do not think that is the situation).

So, why am I telling you about this gem instead of scraping money together to buy it?
Because I do not have time for another passion. Things I already cherish are in need of
more time than I could give them if I bought this CB-1.

I may be the only convenient route for an interested party to buy this bike,
so I'll help anyone who is interested.

Basically, the bike is a stock CB-1 in wonderful condition with almost 16000 miles,
on the very south edge of Manatee County Florida, between Bradenton and Sarasota.

The seller is a voluble and forthright fellow, and he knows bikes very very well.
He has serviced the items he can, and he has paid for service for carbs and other
components that are too esoteric for him. He has a service manual and a clear title,
but does not know where the owner's manual is. The prior owner (and second owner)
was a young fellow who worked at Hap's (and Hap has been selling Hondas since 1961).

Many thanks for your encouragement, but it seems that I have had my CB-1 ride,
and will not likely have another, much less a CB-1 to call my own.
That's OK, because I have a V-Strom and a CBR-125, and I get around jes' fine!
In 2010, my fiftieth year as a bike-owner, I rode 16000 miles, more than any prior year!

Keith

[ptlcb1]

Thanks for the heads up on that bike!  Sounds like a great value, even with a goofy rear brake.  A good cleaning of the caliper should take care of that issue.

How have you acquired a V-storm and a CBR125?  I know the 125 was never sold here...  Just being nosey 

[kfsrq]

I bought a 650 V-Strom in 2006, and have ridden it to 38 states, including six times to your state, and to all 10 provinces. I visit Ontario often, and in 2009 a friend in Toronto helped me buy a CBR-125R, in his name. I brought it to Florida, presented the signed registration, and jumped through some hoops and paid some fees, and voilà I have a Florida plate on my CBR-125R. It attracts a lot of attention, so I meet lots of people when I park it. Soon there will be CBR-250s in Canada and USA, some of them with ABS. When I bring the 125 back to Canada, the Florida plate attracts a lot of attention there.

I haven't taken the 125 on any long rides yet; Florida<->Ontario is accomplished on a trailer because I travel with family. The Strom has made one trip from FL to ON and back, and lots of trips from FL or ON to other places. Right now I have a date, and I'll use the Strom because I want to carry some cargo and the Strom has a rack.

Keith