hi from milwaukee

oms1981 · Full Member Joined: May 07, 2009 Posts: 14

hey all, my name is Owen and hopefully tomorrow I am going to pick up my first motorcycle; a 1982 XS 650 SJ Heritage Special. It's in real nice shape and I am getting it at a great price so let's hope nothing goes wrong between now and 6pm tomorrow Very Happy

In addition to being my first bike it will also be my first project. A few buddies and I are going to eventually work it into a soft-tail bobber; nothing too extreme, just a bike that looks cool and is fun to ride. This is a great website and I'm sure I will have some questions for everyone sooner or later.

Cheers!

nj1639 · Posted: May 7, 2009, 7:33 am Post subject: Re: hi from milwaukee

Soft-tail bobber is cool. Cool and comfortable.
Post some pics and don't lose your lower side covers.

oldbikenut · Posted: May 7, 2009, 8:27 am Post subject: Re: hi from milwaukee

oms1981 wrote:

let's hope nothing goes wrong between now and 6pm tomorrow :DCheers!

Welcome. Hopefully you got some sleep and the deal went through! It's always exciting and stressful at the same time, at least it is for me when I I'm getting a new bike. Make sure to post pictures of your new project, before, during and after!

oms1981 · Full Member Joined: May 07, 2009 Posts: 14

Ok, time to finish the story. It's long...

I woke up in the morning, but ready for what should be a stress free and exciting day. The key phrase here is "should be." It wasn't. Anyway, I called my landlord and managed to secure a vacant parking spot for the bike, for next to nothing. sweet. The bike was about 45 miles out of the city, so I called my friend with a pickup truck to make sure we were still on later. We were. Then I decided I better get over to the bank as the seller and I agreed to a cash deal. This is where the situation gets stupid.

I arrived at my bank, filled out the withdraw slip, and strode confidently up to the window informing the girl that I needed to take out some cash.

"Oh, I'm sorry our computers are down."
"And?"
"We can't give you any more than $100 cash."

At this point I'm think "you've gotta be shittin me. of all the days..." I fought very hard to keep my cool, because I knew it wasn't her fault. She informed me that it wasn't just that location, but that the computer network was down for all U.S. Bank locations in the greater Milwaukee area. She told me to call the 24-hour banking hotline and ask them to tell me what my maximum daily atm cash withdrawal limit is. So I called them and of course I was on hold forever because they were busy getting yelled at by half the population of Milwaukee. I finally got through and the lady told me my limit. Not enough. Not even close. So I tried pleading with her to change the limit just for 1 day.

"I'm sorry sir, only your branch location can do that."
I see where this is going...

Back in the bank I talked to the same girl and she did inform me that under normal circumstances, changing that limit would be no problem. However, on that day, it just wasn't possible. After a few more minutes of discussion she went to the branch manager to see if there was anything at all we could do. He informed me that basically I was screwed and there was absolutely no possible way to get any money.

At this point I was convinced that someone else was going to get this bike. It was too nice. It was too cheap. It wouldn't last at the price. To make an even longer story shorter, I jumped through several hoops and called in a few favors and several hours later purchased my first motorcycle on someone else's dime. They were paid back the next day, when U.S. Bank decided to stop failing.

The bike is a 1982 XS 650 SJ Heritage Special and it is absolutely perfect. There is barely a scratch on it anywhere, it's nearly pristine. The only thing that's broken is the button on the electric starter. It still works too, it's just a little goofy. The thing starts effortlessly on the first kick, or a quick tap to the starter. Runs like a champion. It has exactly 14k miles on it. The guy I bought it from said he had it for 4 years and when he got it, it was around 4000 miles! Apparently it was almost all highway miles as he drove it to work and back everyday; a 60 mile trip. It was immediately obvious that this bike was loved and well cared for. The best part was that he had just purchased a touring bike, and simply wanted space in his garage. He could have sold it for a lot more, but I think he just wanted to get it out of his way and send it somewhere it will be appreciated. To think I almost purchased a crappier looking bike the week before for about $500 more... I'm so happy.

This morning, I had a final exam to deal with and the second it was over I raced over to the DMV to get my class-M instructional permit. Mission accomplished. I borrowed a spare helmet from my buddy because I don't even have one yet, and I set out on my first ever motorcycle ride. Yep, that's right. I had never even driven a motorcycle before today. I drove up and down the street and around the block about a million times to get the feel for upshifting, downshifting, and turning. After about an hour or so, I was feeling pretty confident about moving into traffic. I was having absolutely no trouble shifting and I'm a very avid cyclist so I am unfortunately, extremely used to drivers not watching what the hell they are doing. I started off riding down streets that are a little busier with no trouble at all, and continued to loop around my neighbor hood for another half hour or so. Then I decided to venture a little further from home. I rolled to the gas station, topped it off, and hit the town. I drove all over the city, one side to the other, southside, northside, along the lakefront, through downtown, what a day. I finally decided to head home because it's getting chilly, but I have been riding all day long. I can't imagine a better way to welcome the end of the hardest semester I've ever taken.

My buddy that loaned me a helmet and drove over an hour to pick up my bike is in the process of tuning up his 1971 CB500 right now, so tomorrow I will have a riding partner. I can tell already that this was money very well spent.

So here concludes the first chapter of my motorcycle tale. Some pictures for your viewing pleasure are here:

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jayel · Posted: May 11, 2009, 9:07 pm Post subject: Re: hi from milwaukee

i like it ... even if it is a Special Laughing

ride safe and good luck

gordo · Posted: May 11, 2009, 10:03 pm Post subject: Re: hi from milwaukee

OMS, nice ride!!Got yourself a keeper, even when you get the "bug" for something bigger. I believe you are right about the previous owner, he took good care of her.Now you gonna need some gear, try motodirect.com, they got alot of good stuff cheap! Oh,by the way, did you get the saddlebag's with it ,too? I got a set from moto & now I can at least bring home a gallon of moo juice.Many safe & joyous mile's of riding, Gordo Cool

pumps · Posted: May 11, 2009, 11:49 pm Post subject: Re: hi from milwaukee

Welcome oms1981. My starter button broke a while back and I replaced it with an aluminum one from this guy. Actually I bought two. I figured the horn button might not be too far behind and they are the same..

www.freewebs.com/kibokojoe/

oms1981 · Full Member Joined: May 07, 2009 Posts: 14

gordo wrote:

OMS, nice ride!!Got yourself a keeper, even when you get the "bug" for something bigger. I believe you are right about the previous owner, he took good care of her.Now you gonna need some gear, try motodirect.com, they got alot of good stuff cheap! Oh,by the way, did you get the saddlebag's with it ,too? I got a set from moto & now I can at least bring home a gallon of moo juice.Many safe & joyous mile's of riding, Gordo Cool

Yes I did get the saddlebags as well. I just took them off for the picture.

UNDEAD357 · New Member Joined: May 12, 2009 Posts: 2 Location: Texas

Nice bike !!! Nothing better than getting on the bike and having a good ride.

nj1639 · Posted: May 13, 2009, 5:53 am Post subject: Re: hi from milwaukee

Wow! I would have been freaking about the bank/money knowing THAT was on the line. Good find.

What Happened to 650rider.com?

Yamaha xs650