Motorcycles

Maintenance and features.

Here's one thing - I once had an early 80's Japanese motorcycle that had a rod bearing go bad. There was no replacing it short of replacing the entire rod (and therefore piston) because the bearing was just a machined portion of the rod.

At that point it simply wasn't worth fixing - even doing it myself it would've been a lot of work, a lot of risk of breaking screws, stripping case bolts, etc.

It was easier replacing the rod and crank bearings in a car I had at the same time, without removing the engine from the car, and using minimal tools.

Then even the availability of parts. I have a 90's bike now, and the only source of parts is a forum, and thankfully it's a bike that many were made, and it shared parts with a few other bikes.

Bikes aren't cars - parts are more scarce and more specific on a per-bike basis.

Ah, yes. A CB750 Four. I un-basketed a basket case one of those for somebody once.

Near as we can figure this one sat untouched for 21 years before its owner brought it to me to get it running. There was a registration sticker on it from 1997, and I worked on it in 2018. (I took these pictures back when I only owned three motorcycles. Imagine that.)

As usual for this sort of thing I think there's some nuance to it. I like an old bike mainly for one big reason: Simplicity.

For the most part, anyway. I'd much rather have a single cylinder or maybe a twin to keep running. If I don't have to work on another quad carb again anytime soon, that'll be fine by me.

Per the video, I disagree with most of that malarkey about "only" old bikes connect you to the riding experience and so on and so forth. Any motorcycle should do that if you're doing it properly, no matter how modern it is. I imagine younger riders are eschewing classic bikes for the same reason younger riders eschew classic cars: They have no connection to them from their youth, because their youth is now, not then. It's tough to have nostalgia for a decade you weren't a part of.

The oldest bike I personally own at the moment is my Shadow, which is a 2000. That suits me fine. It's carbureted, quite easy to work on, and contains no finicky or expensive electronics. The only electronic thing on it is the CDI, which is a $40 commodity part from China. There are few things in this world less rare than a Honda Shadow, so I don't foresee the availability of aftermarket replacement parts drying up any time soon. If you have some other screwball model or, ye gods forbid, some vintage thing that wasn't originally sold in this country, well. I can't help you with that.

Yeah, classic bikes are so cool but they can be such a pain. Luckily parts are somewhat available for my CX500 (not running lol).

I do, but they cost more than used bikes half their age with fewer issues and better parts availability.