'72 HONDA SL 125 FINISHED! (OR IS IT...)

Well, I finished it... at least as of a month ago. Once I got the bike together I still had a couple tasks- namely, registering it and getting licensed to ride it. I went down to the DMV and got my permit since all it takes is passing a written test. That made me feel comfortable riding it around the streets of our immediate area. Then, I took a 3 day motorcycle safety/training course through CCMT. It cost $250 but it was worth it. After the course I felt safe and confident on a bike, and just taking it waves my DMV licence test.

(Done)

Next I had to go down to the DMV again and try to register the bike for dual use- street and off road. So I went down and filled out a billion forms and hoped that they didn't ask to see the bike... no blinkers and a chopped exhaust probably wouldn't go over so well. The lady at the DMV asked to see it right away. "You don't need to see it" I said, using my Jedi powers. "It has lights and it's an SL, so its Street Legal- you know, 'SL'." Apparently that was pretty convincing; the lady looked at me strange for a second and then sighed and handed me plates. I guess SL could stand for 'Street Legal,' who knows?

I've been riding her around for about a month now, and it's awesome. Top speed is about 55 mph if the conditions are right. For getting around town, going to the store, or riding out to my Dad's house ten miles away, this is the perfect bike. Since this is my first motorcycle I'm fine with it going slowish. And I'm fine with it being the obvious street legal dirt bike that it is rather than a cruiser.

But... I sort of want a bike that can at least go the speed limit, and I've been spending a lot of time looking at a shitload of bikes on the internet and in magazines. The speed problem is easy; my rear sprocket is a 58t, which is huge. I could easily drop 10 teeth and still be on the big side. I figure I'll go down to a 48 and see what that gives me. Maybe it'll get me to 65 mph. Plus an OEM sprocket for this bike isn't too expensive. The magazine and Google image problem is much bigger. I've realized recently that there are a lot of people out there who aren't in to stock motorcycles, cool though some may be. These people aren't into fancy show choppers either. Rather, they're all about building a rusty, badass conglomeration of gasoline, steel and anything else that can be altered or transformed into a low slung, growling bike to get you from A to B. It's not flashy, but it exudes creativity, individuality, and ton of real, gritty, knuckle grinding work put in at night, on weekends, any time there is a spare second. Poring over these bikes for the past couple of months has really inspired me; hell, the whole purpose of this blog is to showcase the shit I build, and there's a reason the blog's called contraption.

So I decided I'm gonna go all in. I'm hardtailing this baby. Dropping the frame 4 inches. Installing a springer seat, etc. I think I just can't stand to have a project finish. My brother was over the other day when I was working on the bike, and he asked me, "is it fun to own something that you have to fix constantly?" My immediate answer was yes. That's the best part, in some ways. So I'm going to make this little bike look smaller and bigger at the same time. It's going to be a beast. A relatively slow beast. Next post, the frame gets slammed and strutted.