Hello all. I've officially given up on getting any more opportunities to ride this season, as we've already had snow stick for more than a night here in Michigan.
I learned how to be mobile on two wheels in a Ford dealership this spring, then went on a 2000+ trip from Michigan to Georgia via backroads and Deal's Gap. After surviving the trip, several laps on the dragon's tail, and 2 weeks of camping with 2 boys, I decided I needed my own bike.
I was riding a 1981 KZ 750 LTD. She was great; only 2 carb rebuilds on the trip, both completed in parking lots, (thank you CVS and Miguel's pizza), an amazing luggage capacity, and an amazing show of sparks on nearly every turn of the dragon when riding with said luggage. However, had I gone out for a solo excursion and happened to find myself on the ground, it was not possible for me to pick the poor girl up. At least not the 7 or so times we put her down so I could try. I sure did love the ol' gal, though. She is The Kow.
About a month ago, my special man friend came across an ad on Craigslist for a 125cc 2 cylinder late 70s Honda for $250. We went to look at it, and noticed a KZ 250...that was also for sale for $250. Neither bike was currently running. The Honda, however, hadn't run in 5ish years, had a cracked seat, needed a battery, new tires, and god only knows what else. The baby Kow, on the other hand, was running earlier in the season, had new points, a new coil, decent chain, and potential timing problems. A short conversation, a trip to the ATM, and $250 later, we were on the way home with the baby Kow.
Between my special man friend, myself, and our roommate, we spent just about an hour and a half and changed the handle bars, adjusted the points the timing and the chain, changed the oil, drained and refilled the gas, cleaned the carb and the spark plug, and swapped batteries with the big Kow. The moment of truth...insert key, hold breath, close eyes, turn key...and away I went, thumping down the road.
Flash forward to now...there's been a few more afternoons in the garage to fine tune the timing and play with the jets, and the baby Kow is now running like a champ. While she waits patiently in the garage for her next voyage on the mean streets on Ann Arbor, Michigan, I spend my lunches and weekends working up color schemes and finding inspiration for my winter project. I'm currently leaning toward hot pink frame, flat black body work. I haven't decided yet if I want to stick with the Kowasaki badges or replace them with 'Veal;' I do enjoy a bit of pinstriping, and we've taken to calling her Veal instead of baby Kow.
Please stay tuned for the updates and plethora of questions that will ensue.
I can hardley wait for next summer, but holy cats is this winter going to be fun.
