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I thought I should drop a line since some guys in this forum encouraged/dicouraged me from buying the bike I got.

I have ~250 mi. since I got my bike a month ago. It's a 650 '71 Triumph Tiger.

Since I got it I have:
1) Fouled (gas) my plugs learning how to kick-start it properly.
2) Changed the (single) carb settings misthinking (not considering the plugs), that was the case.
3) Rode for awhile running errands (1 day, about 35 mi.) on a seriously underpowered bike. (That can happen when only one plug is firing 'properly'.)
3) Cleaned the plugs. (Ahh, the power was back!!).
4) Overheated the engine while idling (not too bad. due to messing with the carb's idle fuel/air mixture).
5) Reset the carb to run a bit too rich. (I know it's too rich, but am scared to run lean for a little while until I make sure that not too much damage has been done.)
6) Changed the main oil. (due to it smelling like gas, a previous 'old' Triumph owner *tasted* the oil and said that gas was present.)
7) Tomorrow, will work on carb settings.

The only *real* negative I've had was dumping the bike (only damaged the front brake lever) while parking it.
Lesson learned: When your bike only has a center stand, and you are not a big guy (5'8" & 170 lbs.), don't park on an inclined (left/right) slope. I can get away from you...

However, the riding has been going well. Leaning well, and rolling on the throttle properly in those non 90 deg. intersection turns. However, slow turns on city streets are tough b/c it tends to lug in 2nd, which requires clutching and coasting through intersections (I know that is not the way to turn the bike.)

Also, I would say that David Hough's
Proficient Motorcycling ISBN: 1889540536, has saved my life a few times. Watch for stupid drivers (always look at their front tires at intersections!).

Besides all that (when I can ride *not maintenanceing* [is that a word?]) I am loving it, and am so thankful I bought a bike!

Thanks,

Allen

congrats!

and glad to see you're having fun depsite of mechanical problems.

your bike lugs in second on an intersection.

On my bike I usually have to shift into second during the turn for most intersection turns, if I want the turn to be smooth, first gets a bit jumpy for those kinds of turns.

One pointer of advice for any would be CX500 owners. Get good at shifting from first to second during turns, first gear on the CX is pretty short

Sounds like my old Savage. You really had to give it around the corners, especially a long left.

Glad to hear you're having fun even though the bike is being a bag on occasion.

You knew when you bought this bike from the advice that was given you that this was going to be a dog to ride. Like all bikes though, you will learn to get the best from your individual machine and you have an advantage over some of us. Yyou get to do some wrenching and fiddling with your bike, some of us need to plug into NASA for anywork to be done.