Bought a new bike, well if 1986 can be considered new. :)
 

I've been off the forum and off the bike for a while now. Started riding again about 8 years

ago on a GZ250, great bike, loved it and it met my needs for a while until I needed to do a lot

of Interstate traveling. So, I bought a Vulcan 500, another great bike, and I put 44,000 miles

on it in two years. Absolutely loved that bike. Along the way I also had a Vulcan 750 and a


Vulcan 900, which for a while I converted into a trike but eventually put back to two wheels.

Then I graduated from college (at the ripe old age of 49) and got a job in another city,

needed to move, needed money, sold the bike. That's been almost 2 years ago and I really

missed riding. Late this last Summer I walked into a showroom up in the big city of

Rossville, Georgia and saw a bike I'd never seen before. Fell in love with it, made an offer

on it and now I'm the happy owner of a 1986 Kawasaki ZL600 Eliminator. :) It was in good

general condition and ran great for a few hundred miles but then it started having some

"issues". Well, late in September I was having knee surgery so I just put the bike up in the

shop and let it sit while I delt with other pressing issues. Got back to work in November

and the first week in December I won a drawing at work our company calls "Fix my ride",

where they pay to get your "ride" in safe running condition (within some monetary limits).

So, the next day I had the ZL600 at the local Kawasaki dealer. They found several issues,

a rusting gas tank (inside), which fouled all 4 carbs, the coil was bad, the stator was bad,

a previous leaky battery had corroded part of the electrical wiring block, etc. The bad

news, those parts are no longer available for my bike, so aftermarket here we go. The

tank got cleaned and then a liquid liner put in, the carbs got rebuilt, aftermarket coil and

stator, the mechanic "rebuilt" the wiring block, new clutch cable and front tire and I pick

the bike up Saturday (I hope). I'll let you know more after I've got some more time in the

saddle.

Hey BB, glad to know you are still out and about. Had to Goggle your bike. I like it a lot. A lot of nice design features with very few warts to spoil the mix. I could happily ride a bike like that.
Please keep us updated and we all want to see some pics too. ATGATT.

Thanks WW. I'll get some pictures up soon. It is a nice bike. Kinda a throwback to the old "standard" position with a hint of cruiser thrown in.

Standard/cruiser is what I am waffling on right now in a minor sort of way. A dealer on CL is/was advertising a new 2014 Honda CTX700N naked bike for $5,000. That is an awesome price in Canada for anything that is very highway capable. Includes ABS too. Gotta think about this rationally though. I already have my old GLI650 Honda sitting parked and waiting for some exercise. It is almost a giant boat compared to the CTX and a lot heavier way up high. Bought the darn thing out of frustration and never rode it at all. I stayed home due to Lynda's health and never rode.

A shiney new bike might be just the answer to the last 2 years of heartache and hope. It would never make up for loosing Lynda but I would likely get out and about more often.The extra cash in the slush fund I saved this last 2 years would pay for the bike nicely. Hmm, decisions, decisions and more decisions.

Been mulling over the old Honda downstairs gathering dust. Think I'll put on the new mirrors and new grips and ride it a while. If it proves too top heavy for me I will just give it away to a stepson and then consider the new CTX 700.
The stepson has a used KLR 650 that has cost him more than a new one. It apparently was never maintained or wrenched in any way before he bought it. The previous owner just trusted a local shop owner who said it was serviced and handed him a bill for the work etc. You really gotta wonder about some folks.
I would personally be a little more curious than the PO of the KLR.

Good to see most of the old timers still riding.