Hello All ! sort of a Newbie here .

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ddavitt · #1 Unread post by **ddavitt** » Sun Oct 20, 2013 2:55 pm

Hello !
I am a 53 year old who has been away from riding for about 30 years . I have owned (in chronological order) a 1973 Yamaha 125 Enduro , a Honda 350 , a Triumph 750 , and most Currently ride (or very soon will again) a 1986 Honda V-65 Magna 1100 . I found this site browsing for restoration knowledge and sources of spare / modding parts .

I had to lay down the bike a few weeks back to avoid a vehicle , and the replacement parts should be landing next week . I was really lucky in not being hurt . I was wearing full gear and head protection and suffered a mere few bruises and a single scratch on my hand . I quit riding 30 years ago when I laid down a 350 in very similar circumstances .

I had almost forgotten the feel of a day trip on a bike and Arizona has some beautiful roads and by-ways for amazing rides ! I'm glad I climbed back on and hope to be posting pics of places I visit ! Plus maybe more than a few general knowledge type questions I haven't been able to search out an answer for here or elsewhere . This seems like a good friendly knowledgeable group and I expect to lurk quite a bit !

#2 Unread post by **dr_bar** » Sun Oct 20, 2013 3:45 pm

Welcome to TMW, and you got the most important thing right.... A picture of your ride...

ddavitt · #3 Unread post by **ddavitt** » Mon Oct 21, 2013 12:18 pm

Thanks for the welcome Doc !

BRUMBEAR · #4 Unread post by **BRUMBEAR** » Mon Oct 21, 2013 12:51 pm

Welcome !!! aaahhh the ol Andromeda red I had a 84 V-45 as my daily rider post army days best of luck with it don't let the bounce keep ya down!!!

ddavitt · #5 Unread post by **ddavitt** » Tue Oct 22, 2013 1:13 pm

Thanks BRUMBEAR !

That tussle was a friendly reminder from above to be a bit more conservative in my riding , (one that I will take to heart !) Ya never know what the idiot in front of you is going to do , or why they do it . In part I panicked and locked up the rear wheel after the front end dove on me . I take my share of blame for dumping the bike .

I have a question about front forks in general as that is where the brunt of damage happened , most of it appears to be cosmetic . Initially the fairing disintegrated (acrylic) the front wheel was tweaked to about a 45 degree angle in relation to the handlebars , the stabilizer sheared just above the front fender (it is very thin diecast potmetal , Zinc/aluminum alloy) . The front wheel and tire appear unscathed except for the expected dust from about a 10 foot slide in dusty gravel . Cables , lines and what not appear to be as good as before .

My question for those who have gone before me is twofold , what hidden damage should I / Could I check for ? and whats the best way to realign the front end for a DIY'r like me .
I am an industrial mechanic with a fair amount of experience in high precision work in a machine shop environment , but not much experience in working on bikes .

I plan on milling a new sturdier stabilizer from solid aluminum and black anodizing it as I cant find a replacement for it yet anywhere . I have the pieces of the original stabilizer and can obtain the dimensions from it . Most everything else , I have found either OEM or aftermarket (Handlebars) parts for . I also have a "Barn Queen V-65" bike as parts , its been out in the Arizona weather for years , seals rubber vinyl and plastic are gone but the bike has less than 1100 miles on the engine and drivetrain

I am also a firm believer in "Loud Pipes Save Lives" and been looking at options for the V-65 . There are many threads here on that subject and rejetting and I'm only a fraction of the way through those , so I will save that question for another day . The exhaust on the V-65's is a bit different than most bikes , so my best option may be to go with a 2 into 1 dual system . I'm still learning about all the options that might be available to me there . I'm also not at all impressed with the anemic horns on the bike .

BRUMBEAR · #6 Unread post by **BRUMBEAR** » Wed Oct 23, 2013 12:48 pm

I'd make sure your radiator mounts are solid grab the front brake and give the suspension a good bottoming out if you can and listen for stuff to rattle around in there ride it and make sure you don't have any wobble in the front end if so take the tubes out of the triple tree and straight edge em.

Wed Oct 23, 2013 4:41 pm

Welcome to TMW.

I am a firm believer in loud pipes irritate neighbourhoods.

I hope you get your bike fixed soon and get back to enjoying your riding.

ddavitt · #8 Unread post by **ddavitt** » Thu Oct 24, 2013 3:01 pm

blues2cruise wrote:
I am a firm believer in loud pipes irritate neighbourhoods.

Its a fine line between Obnoxious and noticeable , I'm shooting for the latter

Now , the Horn on the other hand is a safety device used to warn of imminent danger to myself or others . That means I want a visceral reaction to it !

Thu Oct 24, 2013 3:55 pm

I changed the horn on my Motorcycle. It is definitely noticeable when I need to use it.

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