Yesterday was pretty neat. I've got four jackets currently listed for sale on FB Marketplace that are too large for me now. Wish I still worked in my old shop, as I had a shipping station, and I'd be able to list them here and ship to anyone.
Anyway, my favorite jacket is my Olympia Alpha. Been wearing it, but being a bit big on my now, it flaps in the wind and is pretty aggravating. I've been cruising Marketplace for jacket listings, and there's a guy in Chino Hills showing racks of new jackets available for $65 each. Sounded tempting, and in one of the photos, he had a new Alpha tucked in with the other jackets. I messaged him "What size is that one?" To which he he answered "I have something in every size, come take a look".
Mapping his address, he's up in Carbon Canyon, a nice twisty road. I figured if nothing else, it would be a nice ride to check it out. And, the weekend was nice and mild. Had a great ride up to his place, and was bewildered by his offerings. He had quite a few bikes for sale, along with racks of jackets, boots, gloves and helmets. We didn't talk details, but he's definitely in the wholesale business in some capacity. And, the Alpha jacket was in my smaller size, so I scored!
He saw my CB1100, and wanted to check it out. He was geeking out on the bike and we had a long conversation about it. Really nice guy, a great ride, and I got what I was looking for.
If anyone in the Brea/Chino area needs riding gear, this is the guy to see!
Took a rode trip out to Danbury Wisconsin over the past weekend to go to my girlfriends cabin for a few days. Since she just got her license this year we wanted to take the bikes up and have her first bike trip since its just over a 2 hour ride up. Great experience for me since I finally got to use all my saddlebags and see how the CB handles fully loaded. We were able to fit 5 days of clothes and miscellaneous supplies in the CB along with each of us having a small backpack.
We knew it was going to rain on the way up, she was a bit nervous about riding in the rain but was up to the challenge..... well what started as a light rain turned into a downpour thunderstorm for about 45 minutes of the ride. We were both absolutely soaked to the bones lol. Very proud of her for riding through the rain and handling the old magna like a champ. It was definitely a fun adventure riding through the rain together.
Rest of the weekend was great, warm weather on the lake can't beat that!
And our ride home was a normal July ride in Wisconsin, hot and very humid.
(07-29-2025, 07:21 AM)pdedse Wrote: Sounds like a very fun adventure! It always good to see a young CB1100 owner...seems most of us are north of 1/2 a century.
Some of us 3/4 century
It doesn't matter what I ride, how far or how fast, only that I ride .... every day
(07-30-2025, 07:40 AM)peterbaron Wrote: MR, who rides the CB, and who the other one, or you switch bikes from time to time?
The CB is my baby, and it's just me who drives it. It's too tall and heavy for the girlfriend to feel comfortable on it. I hope the CB stays with me forever lol.
I rarely ride the old magna anymore; it works wonderfully for a 41-year-old bike. I was going to hold onto it since I got it for next to nothing as well as a parts bike for it. I probably have just over $500 dollars into it total. I started riding last year with it after I restored it (Rode dirtbikes/atvs since I was 5) and put about 5000 miles on it no issues. I've rode it maybe 10 miles this year just test riding it and showing her how to ride the bike with her on the back.
Anyways, it worked out well that she wanted to ride and I had a spare bike I could let her use. Replaced a few O-rings and stuff over the winter just to make sure the bike would be reliable for her. I think this fall or next spring I am going to sell the Magna and try to get her something newer with FI, ideally a vtwin cruiser of sorts that is cheap. Just want something with good low end torque so hill starts are easier for her, and she is not a speed demon more of a safety devil lol.
Yesterday my replacement center stand arrived, so this morning I snuck out to the garage to install it before work.
It was easy, except for re-installing the springs. I couldn't stretch them far enough with pliers or channel grips. I ended up using a loop of strong cord and pulling them, one at a time, onto the metal loop on the stand which they hook onto. The inner (smaller) spring went fairly easily. The outer one was a real bear. I struggled to get it stretched and then displaced in the proper direction to hook onto the stand, especially with the rear tire in the way. I ended up routing the cord to the right side of the metal loop, then to the left side of the rear wheel. Then I gave some hard pulls on the cord, hoping for a miracle. Eventually, I pulled so hard the cord broke. To my astonishment, when I looked at the center stand, the big spring had in fact grabbed right onto the metal loop where it is supposed to go. I still can't believe it worked, and I hope I never have to touch it again.
The new center stand works perfectly. For those who didn't see the previous post, the original stand was damaged by the previous owner. I'll post a picture below showing a comparison of the two.
I had enough time left in the morning to change the oil, which was a breeze. I love the 17mm nut on the K&N filter. I was surprised that none of my funnels fit in the refill hole, so I made a makeshift funnel. I actually torqued the drain plug and filter, which I've never done on any vehicle before. Why would I treat my CB1100 better than my more expensive vehicles? It must be love.
(07-30-2025, 07:40 AM)peterbaron Wrote: MR, who rides the CB, and who the other one, or you switch bikes from time to time?
The CB is my baby, and it's just me who drives it. It's too tall and heavy for the girlfriend to feel comfortable on it. I hope the CB stays with me forever lol.
I rarely ride the old magna anymore; it works wonderfully for a 41-year-old bike. I was going to hold onto it since I got it for next to nothing as well as a parts bike for it. I probably have just over $500 dollars into it total. I started riding last year with it after I restored it (Rode dirtbikes/atvs since I was 5) and put about 5000 miles on it no issues. I've rode it maybe 10 miles this year just test riding it and showing her how to ride the bike with her on the back.
Anyways, it worked out well that she wanted to ride and I had a spare bike I could let her use. Replaced a few O-rings and stuff over the winter just to make sure the bike would be reliable for her. I think this fall or next spring I am going to sell the Magna and try to get her something newer with FI, ideally a vtwin cruiser of sorts that is cheap. Just want something with good low end torque so hill starts are easier for her, and she is not a speed demon more of a safety devil lol.
Her only experience before this trip was riding pillion? She's never even ridden a dirt bike before?
It doesn't matter what I ride, how far or how fast, only that I ride .... every day
