Hello everyone,I have been lurking on here for a while now and enjoying the ride reports very much.My job doesn't really allow me to do long trips like I want to,so I'll just remain content with my little day trips for now...FOR NOW! Well,since no one knows me,real quick.Im Eric,31,self employed in HVAC and most importantly...my bike is a 1976 Honda CB750 SS.The bike was given to me by a fellow racing buddy,the Cafe idea was a pipedream,and i got it all done about a month after i recieved the bike.I've never ridden a street bike,rode dirt bikes years ago,but i've been a little over 1700 miles since the end of october and i just cant seem to log enough to satisfy me. Anyway,I noticed the normal theme of bikes around here so I hope my street only bike is not rejected.lol. So here goes, First things first:never wave with your clutch hand.My knee still hurts.So,I got an idea to make a movie a few days back so I've been out riding gathering pictures and videos with my little cheap Walmart camera.I have no idea if this is going to turn out good,bad or not at all.Either way I have been over 250 miles of back roads in my hometown of Bedford in the last 3 days...it has been a blast.The reason for this post is this.I saw a gravel road with a removable post stuck in the middle to prevent cars from going down it.Now,since this was obviously not personal private property,but a State owned road following beside the railroad,if figured, "what the heck...i pay taxes...its my road,right?" Right?Anyway,it turned from (HUGE!) gravel to mud pretty fast.I thought about Rich and the road he posted pics of when i got to this.It also made me respect Piute's choice of tires! I went on down the road(...why not?)wondering if i was going to have to push the bike backwards to get back out.I know,I know, if i had a capable bike i wouldnt have that problem.LOLAfter about a quarter mile it dried up and I was on the huge gravel again,another quarter mile or so later i came up on this awesome old bridge.I had to go exploring to find it topside and it was pretty disappointing to see from the top.The pics dont do it justice.The legs/frame are the only parts made of steel or iron.I dont know which.The beams running lengthwise are huge wooden beams.I would guess 14-16 inches squared.Of course the deck of the bridge you drive across is wooden,too.It sounded cool just to per-plunk...per-plunk...per-plunk across this thing.You can see a little daylight peeking through the deck in this pic.You could easily fit your whole foot through it. So after cruising on down past the bridge the road goes for quite a while.I looked at the odometer and it was right at 1.2 miles until the road curved around into a little clearing.Up ahead i could see some sort of small station(?) on the side of the tracks.I thought there may be someone in there that would not want me on this road so I found a spot and doubled back.I parked the bike under the bridge and was contemplating when i was going to come back here with a few pieces of lumber so that i can ride my bike up on to the tracks them selves and get a really cool picture when i heard a train coming.Dang it! I wasn't ready!I got my camera off the homemade mount as fast as i could and set it to video.I had to get this,there is no way im ever gonna be this lucky again!I was looking for a place to stand when i noticed i had parked my bike in the PERFECT spot for this.I was able to set the camera on the foundation of the bridge and start recording literally 2 or 3 seconds before the train started by.Sweet!I was so happy to be able to get that shot!Forget the bike on the rails idea,this train was moving way too fast.You could never get off the tracks in time if it snuck up on you.Poo...oh well.It was a fairly short train but i managed to snap one quick still pic of it passing by.This gives you an idea of where the bike sits in the frame in the video.Its a blurry pic,but like i said,its a cheap camera. Standing that close to a speeding train was kind of eery.Between that kinda scaring me(Mr. Train,please don't throw some huge chunk of something and hit my bike...or me)and being excited about the video i just got i guess iwas pumped and not thinking too clearly.Actually,that would be a fact.Here's what my stupid self did.When exiting my little muddy highway directly across the road was a guy feeding his chickens.He just turned and looked at me like,"what the heck are you doing down there???".I thought i would be nice and wave.I did...with the bike running...in 1st gear...with my clutch hand.What an idiot!With the slippery ground under me the bike had no intentions to stall.The back tire spun the rear of the bike around and threw me and itself on the ground. ow Like i said,i was pumped and just snatched the bike up and knocked the mud off of me and it.The fellow asked if i was alright and I told him,"never better!",kicked the bike and off i went.I'd like to know what he thinks about me.Maybe not.I ended up in downtown Bedford because i thought there might be some cool stuff to look at in the industrial areas.I got a few nice pics and a few strange looks as well.I snuck around some chains to get at this one abandoned building and got busted by a cop.He was cool,though.He asked what i was doing in there and i told him i was just taking some pictures."Didnt you consider that maybe those chains were there to keep people out?"...I smiled and said "I didnt know if they were for keeping out or keeping in".He just laughed and shook his head.I have found that if you can make a cop laugh,and not give him a hard time,or a line of BS, things usually go a little smoother.He then told me,"Just because you can fit something in somewhere doesn't means it belong in there........that goes for women,too".LOL!I told you he was a cool cop!I asked him if i could spend a few more minutes and he said to just hurry up.I was able to park on the side walk and get this one cool pic before i felt like i was pushing my luck too much.I asked if he rode bikes,he said no.I asked if he wanted to me to get a pic of him on the bike(i really wanted that pic for myself for some unknown reason)he declined.I told him thanks for not ticketing me and for letting me get my pics,kicked the bike(my knee still hurts)waved goodbye with my THROTTLE HAND and headed back here.I'm still amazed at how many cool things i drive by everyday in the car or truck and never notice them.It was a good day to not be in my "cage".I stole that one from Bobber.Cage...i like that.Later guys.Happy riding...my knee still hurts. P.S.-Some of the names mentioned,actually all of them,are handles of guys from another forum so don't worry yourself trying to figure out "who is that?!".Also,I don't really condone trespassing so...
Yeah, I agree, nice bike. Is the back of the seat a single sheet of aluminum? Looks good. I have a fairly nice '77 GS 750 suz. that I always thought would make a good base for a cafe. That last photo of the building with the big steel sash windows, beautiful. Won't be long before that stuff is all gone unless redeveloped for some reason.
Thanks for the kind words.Yeah the rear fender and seat pan are all aluminum.Its two pieces i made.One on a brake,the other on an english wheel then welded together.A very small english whell lol! Of all of my ride pics that one of that building is my favorite.It was a company called Rubbatex.They closed down about 10-12 years ago and it just sits empty.Strange thing is there is a graveyard attached to that factory?! I got a really cool pic of that,but i cant get it posted.Imageshack says its too large to upload to them,so i dont know how to post.I'd love to,though. Cafe that GS! That would be nice.Go for it!!!
Nice ride report! I like the short and simple reports alot. You don't usually have to sift through pages of comments to read the story. In what state are you in? There's a Bedford in Indiana that this reminds me of.
Thanks .I didnt either until i learned.Some things come easier to certain people,but just go for it,ma! I got a lot of scrap metal where i screw up all the time.Its only the finished product that matters.Sometimes i will start a project headed in one direction,run out of skill,find myself unable to make what i want,but ebd up with something better than i originally planned.Like my seat.I started out wanting one out of fiberglass.Determined to learn how to work fiberglass I soon found it wasnt for me.So I fell back to something i new.Metal.I'm happier with what i have compared to what i originally wanted.Go for it man!Head first is the best way~
Oops,my bad guys.Bedford Virginia I actually have several pictures of places I've been over the past three months since it got the bike going.It's amazing how much stuff you just whizz by when you're in your "cage".I was debating whether to post them or not. BTW.Is there an easier way to post pics than Imageshack?I am very impatient and my fat fingers are better suited for handlebars than they are keyboards.Thus the short ride reports!LOL
Ahhh! Flickr IS nice! Thank you! Here is that pic of that the old Rubbatex factory and its graveyard.Strange combination. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/74366205@N06/6697023349/" title="train 060 by Shiny Ribs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7168/6697023349_32aae0a5cd_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="train 060"></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/74366205@N06/6697074053/" title="train 061 by Shiny Ribs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7174/6697074053_283c6019e5_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="train 061"></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/74366205@N06/6697079479/" title="train 063 by Shiny Ribs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7150/6697079479_25067f7738_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="train 063"></a>
They worked 'em til they're dead! Kinda like Wal-Mart! LOL Nice pics though. I enjoyed going through Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond the last time I went through VA, getting to see all the Civil War generals' tombs and some pretty scenery!
Hollywood Cemetery.Sounds cool. I'll have to add that to my list of places to go check out. Thats only about 3 hours from me.What part of Richmond is that in? Anywhere near Powhattan?It takes me exactly 3 hours from my house to Powhattan
Its...I don't remember! Lol I stayed at a friends place and they drove me around. She lives in the Fan district. Its a really cool historic part of Richmond that's also close to VCU. I do know that the cemetery is right on the James River where the flat rocks are that the locals use to bath and chill out during the summer! It's very cool! There are about three presidents buried there too!
Here are a few pics from a day trip I took about a month ago.Found a nice little waterfall and a few nice overlooks on the Blue Ridge Parkway <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/74366205@N06/6712545753/" title="water fall 032 by Shiny Ribs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7018/6712545753_0c2955f9f2_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="water fall 032"></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/74366205@N06/6712540957/" title="water fall 024 by Shiny Ribs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7173/6712540957_1c43f1fe3e_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="water fall 024"></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/74366205@N06/6712554681/" title="water fall 033 by Shiny Ribs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7021/6712554681_a01359651a_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="water fall 033"></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/74366205@N06/6712559697/" title="water fall 034 by Shiny Ribs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7149/6712559697_cb4a7d8140_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="water fall 034"></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/74366205@N06/6712604999/" title="water fall 036 by Shiny Ribs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7003/6712604999_856a2bda00_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="water fall 036"></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/74366205@N06/6712564249/" title="water fall 035 by Shiny Ribs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7018/6712564249_0f55b74879_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="water fall 035"></a> Here is a shot of the Peaks of Otter from waaay too far away.That trip is to be done shortly <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/74366205@N06/6712549931/" title="water fall 037 by Shiny Ribs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7015/6712549931_259c725c28_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="water fall 037"></a>
