Life of Dave

Life of Dave

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Classic Motorcycles of the '80s

I really know better. That is, I should know better than to peruse the motorcycle ads when I already have a motorcycle, albeit a project bike.

The motorcycle I really wanted back when I started looking was a 1979-80 Honda CB750F. I had one in my sights, but at the last moment the seller wouldn’t sell. I don’t know what happened, but I suspect a friend of his found out it was for sale, and the seller pulled the rug out from under me and sold it to him. And in case you think I’m being overtly cynical on the matter, it’s happened to me before.

Once upon a time, in my naïve twenties, I traded a ’71 Super Beetle for a 1940 Buick Super 4-door sedan; the worst deal I’ve ever made. Of course it was a restoration project, and I came across a seller in Seattle that had some parts I needed, among them 16” bias ply tires in new condition. He was cleaning out his garage, he said, and was transitioning into vintage bicycles. Fair enough. I made the trip and did purchase a few items, but on the very day I was there a buddy of his showed up and scooped the tires. I had made prior arrangements on the phone and it was a big reason I traveled from Vancouver to Seattle that day.

But getting back to today’s post, however, I stumbled upon no less than 5 motorcycles I’d have looked into if I was in the market for a ‘bike today, including a CB750F, a bike I haven’t seen advertised in this region in about 2-1/2 years. Oh well, them’s the breaks, I guess. I already have a motorcycle and since I located a stock exhaust system recently, things aren’t looking as bleak as they were not too long ago.

Just for interest's sake, the accused temptations are: a 1982 Yamaha 650 Maxim,


a 1985 Yamaha FZ750,

a 1981 Kawasaki GPz1100,

a 1979 Honda GL1100,

And finally, a 1980 Honda CB750F Supersport.

Now I must be strong against temptation, and continue in my original quest to put my GS850 back on the road. It’s getting there.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

GS pipes

Last weekend I installed a new (used) set of exhaust pipes on the GS. Their condition turned out to be as advertised; perfect. I de-greased them and chrome-polished them before installation.

One thing I learned, however, is that these "L" model pipes are not exactly the same as my 850G, as I thought they would be. The "L" pipes are about 6" shorter. It's not a huge deal, although I like the longer look better; it just makes the bike look more 70's somehow. In any case, The 4 into 2's look a lot better, in my opinion than the rusty 4 into 1. I've also gained a lot of clearance under the exhaust pipe. With the header installed it didn't seem to matter how slowly I went over a speed bump, I'd always at least scrape the pipe, if not dent it.

And one more thing, I don't know if an age-related or not, but I'm much happier with the quieter exhaust note. I know I really irritated my Dad back when I was 17 and I insisted on running a loud exhaust pipe known as a Stinger on my VW Beetle. He hated it, and I loved it.

Here are the before and after shots:


I found a photo of a restored GS850G with correct exhaust pipes; it's even the same colour scheme as mine. Notice how much longer the pipes are.



Friday, October 15, 2010

Searching for Treasure

I seriously considered selling my motorcycle last week. But a funny thing happened. As soon as I had that thought I realized I hadn’t checked the on-line ads recently for parts I need.

In order for this project to come to fruition I need a new exhaust system. One of my major complaints recently has been that after a ride my clothes smell very strongly of exhaust fumes. I narrowed it down to an exhaust leak but I couldn’t seem to identify the exact source, so I decided to try a relatively cheap solution of replacing the exhaust gaskets between the cylinder head and the header pipe.

I bought them, installed them, and the smell persisted. But this time, prior to parking the bike in the garage, I let it idle, and I watched for tell-tale wisps of exhaust to exit in places they shouldn’t be exiting from. Bingo! The pipe is leaking from the collector beneath the bike, where the 4 pipes converge into the single exhaust canister. Unfortunately, that’s really not an area that can be fixed. Pinholes are created due to corrosion, and corroded metal can’t be successfully welded.

So that led me to another option of replacing the entire exhaust system. I’d prefer to go back to the stock 4 into 2 arrangement, but in the 2-1/2 years I’ve owned this GS850, I’ve only come across one ad for a parts bike with a complete exhaust, and it turned out to have a hole in the bottom of it the size of a fist. This was discovered after the seller told me “the pipes are good”. “Good” is a relative term if I ever heard one.

Needless to say I was skeptical, to say the least, when, upon performing a Craigslist search for “GS”, I came upon a complete parts bike, pictured with its gleaming chrome pipes. In the print ad the seller said the pipes were “mint”. When he returned my voicemail that evening he further elaborated by describing the exhaust system as “f---ing mint”. Weren’t you just swept away by the enthusiasm? Just to re-cap, that’s “f---ing mint” as opposed to simply “mint”. As you may be able to tell, I’m generally not impressed by such unnecessarily colourful descriptors.

But, as I explained at the top, I was this close to just throwing in the towel and cutting my losses, because I really thought that finding a good-condition, chrome-plated, sheetmetal assembly that has hung below a motorcycle for 3 decades, being assaulted by all manner of moisture and abrasive debris, would not be easy to locate. Especially when you narrow it down to one specific year, make and model of bike; a 1979 Suzuki GS850. I mean really, how many could there possibly be in 2010?

Well, I’m happy to report, there was at least one satisfactory set left. And I bought it! The seller had been completely on target in his judgment. I traveled to the seller’s house, complete with cash and my tool box. He assisted me and we unbolted the pipes from the donor bike right there in his driveway. As a bonus I also bought a pair of bolt-on engine protector bars. They protect the engine side covers if the bike should happen to tip over. And, much like the exhaust system, I’ve never come across another pair in my 2-1/2 years of ownership.


At this point my plan for tomorrow is to remove the old header and install this new original equipment 4 into 2 pipe. I’ll post a photo once it’s installed.

Needless to say, I’ve now changed my mind about selling.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

2011 Spaniel calendar

I thought I'd put in a plug for a worthy non-profit society called the Cocker Spaniel Rescue of BC. It's the organization through which my wife and I adopted our Spaniel, Tannah.

If anyone is looking for a Chistmas gift idea for the dog lover in their family, the CSRBC has produced a 2011 calendar. And I'm proud to say that our dear Tannah is Miss May. And her sister, Emma, is featured in January.


Calendars are $20 each and are available through Paypal using this email address: csrbc@shaw.ca. Or you could mail a cheque; it'll just take longer.





Monday, October 11, 2010

"Love Shines"

Last weekend I dedicated a couple of hours to reading the VIFF movie catalogue in order to choose a couple or three movies to see. We like to go to the film festival every year to take in at least a sampling of non-Hollywood films. It’s not that we’re part of an anti-Hollywood movement or anything; we just like to keep abreast of what the rest of the world sees.

However, September is a very busy month for us, especially Shauna. She puts in many extra hours during evenings and weekends getting prepared for the new school year, and thus doesn’t generally have any time for choosing film festival movies. It’s no small task either, as I think there are over 300 to choose from.

So last weekend I settled into our comfortable living room chair, in the corner by the window, with our warm Spaniel sprawled on my lap, and cracked the cover of the 208 page 2010 Vancouver International Film Festival catalogue. It was a little overwhelming at first, but my wife suggested a strategy. Why not check the program guide first and see which movies were playing on days we had available, which made perfect sense. I narrowed it down to the Thanksgiving weekend. It still turned into a 2 hour time commitment, but in the end I chose one movie, and Shauna chose one from my list of finalists. Plus we have one in reserve that we’ll try to get rush seats for tonight after the one we’re scheduled to see.

I chose “Love Shines”, which is a documentary about one of Canada’s best, but least commercially recognized songwriters, Ron Sexsmith. Shauna was only vaguely aware of him, and admitted she couldn’t name even one of his songs. To be honest, I couldn’t name one on the spot either, although I was quite sure I’d recognize a few in the movie once I heard them.

Back in 2006 we visited friends that had just moved back to their hometown of Toronto, and I remember Oona and Nick mentioning Ron Sexsmith. The conversation had turned to music one hot, humid evening as we sat in their backyard enjoying a bottle of wine. At the time I didn’t want to admit I really didn’t know who Ron Sexsmith was; I chalked it up to me being a few years older that they were and I figured I’d just somehow missed Ron’s envelope of radio airplay. As it turns out, lack of radio airplay has been a big issue in terms of Ron remaining under the radar all these years.

But getting back to VIFF…last night we went to see “Love Shines” and, wouldn’t ya know it, it was the World Premiere of the film. And who should be seated about 3 rows behind us but Ron Sexsmith himself! There was a Q & A session after the film, and Ron and Bob Rock (“Legendary” record producer) and the film’s director were all in attendance.

At the end of the evening, as we all filed out of the theatre, I found myself standing in the aisle right behind Bob Rock. I was close enough to be able to catch the scent of his leather jacket. People seemed to making a big fuss of him, because after all, he is pretty famous. Nowadays he’s behind the scenes, but he’s very sought after to produce big names in music. As far as I’m aware he’s most famous for working with Motley Crue, Bon Jovi and Metallica.

That made for interesting irony for the movie, that a famous heavy-metal record producer would take on an unassuming, low-volume-selling, singer songwriter. Filming for this movie began eight years ago, and I would imagine that the film director was thrilled that a plot device such as this would drop into his lap. Of course I’m assuming that filming began on this movie before Bob Rock signed on to produce “Love Shines”, the album. I’m really not sure about the timeline of events.

The movie as a whole was a refreshing glimpse into the life and struggles of a man displaying a "typically Canadian" trait; modesty. There were many well-known music industry personalities in the film singing (pun intended) Ron's praises. Elvis Costello even favourably compared Ron Sexsmith's talents with Paul McCartney, and suggested that perhaps Ron was born "out of time", that being that his productive song-writing years would have gotten him a lot further ahead if he'd been writing pen-to-pen with McCartney in the 60s.

Ultimately, I think we saw that Ron is doing what he loves to do most, and making a living at it. And although he's not a household name (yet), I really can't picture him remaining Canada's best kept secret indefinitely.

Apparently the album drops, as they say, in February 2011. I'm eagerly anticipating the release of a tour date for Ron's next Vancouver visit.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Miss May


It’s now official. Tannah is Miss May in the Cocker Spaniel Rescue of BC 2011 Calendar.

I submitted 2 photos, and the one that was chosen is of Tannah seated on a large chunk of granite on the site of the Olympic Village against a sunset backdrop of Science World and the Citygate residential towers.

Reflected sunlight from the Vancity building provided a backlight to Tannah in the form of a feathered edge along her back. It almost makes her look like she was photo-shopped into the scene. She looks like a happy, well-adjusted dog in her adopted city of Vancouver.