Can I do it?

[Pete Wrigley]

ride like a grampa not like you did at 20

That's my plan. Ha ha. When I was 20 that bike had a V&H 4-1 exhaust. the carbs were jetted out with the 4 air pods. I had no idea what I was doing. That 16V engine can be a real screamer when tuned that way. I'll be keeping the airbox and 4-2 exhaust on this one.

[bwringer]

Get some good gear, including a real full-face helmet, armored jacket and pants, and gloves.

Leather work boots are fine and offer some protection, but there are some advantages in protection and comfort with actual motorcycle boots.

Helmets are light-years better than they were. Far lighter, more comfortable, and safer. Go try on lots of helmets in person and buy the one that fits the best. There are a lot of differences in how helmets fit, and sadly the online "fit guides" are largely BS.

Same for other gear. It's improved by leaps and bounds in recent years, and most includes excellent armor.

If you need to save a few bucks, the "Bilt" stuff from Cycle Gear, if there's a store in your area, is perfectly serviceable. Again, go to a store if at all possible to make sure you get a comfortable fit, but most online sellers do offer useful advice on fitment and measuring yourself.

I'd also sign up for emails from https://www.motorcyclegear.com/ - they have excellent fit advice and great clearance sales.

[wymple]

Not to start anything, but those rider safety courses are most comfortably completed on smaller bikes. Around here they mostly seem to use Honda Rebels, for example. My 27 year old daughter just did it last year, the bikes were furnished & they used a whole fleet of early 2000 Rebels.

[Rich82GS750TZ]

Here when I took my MFS course/test it was Honda Rebel and Buell Blast (which i remember as a 250, but researching shows me they only made this in a 500?), supplied by the MFS. Anywho, There was this one guy in the class (isn't there always that ONE guy), who insisting on riding some old POS, crappy running Harley he happened to own. Well, he dropped the bike in the figure 8, more than once, and failed the course. He was younger than me, and I was 32 at the time.

[Pete Wrigley]

Just finished my basic rider course. It was fun, interesting and educational. They mostly had Suzuki GN125s. It was the refresher I needed after the very long layoff. I feel much better about getting back on the road. Just waiting on a couple of more parts to show up (fuel petcock). So far replaced oil pan gasket, brake lines, rebuilt front calipers (new pads also) and front master cylinder. Even thought the bike ran and rode it definitely needed some freshening after 40 years and I really like being able to stop reliably.

Thanks for the support guys.

[trent]

you-can-do-it-meme-15.png ............



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[argonsagas]

Welcome to GSR and congratulations for your doing it so well!
Many people who have not been on bikes for years think they need no refresher course, but they are often quite wrong.


The bike looks great, but while I saw a number of upgrades being planned, I did not see the most important one: tires.

All tires harden over time and lose traction as this happens. If stored in sunlight it happens quicker.

Even if the tread appears very good, an old tire does not have the same traction and is not as safe as it once was.
Consider them as having a five-year lifespan, not from when they were installed, but beginning from date of manufacture.


Check the dates on the sidewalls and replace them if they are more than five years old

Here is a simple means of checking :

https://www.tires-easy.com/blog/tire-dot-date-code/

[Pete Wrigley]

I did not see the most important one: tires.


https://www.tires-easy.com/blog/tire-dot-date-code/

I agree...

Got it covered. Dunlop 404 front and back. The same as the 11 year old tires that are currently on the bike.

Dunlops.jpg