Bad influence on my kids

Discuss anything about other motorcycles, accessories, riding gear and other motorcycle related topics.

Moderators: Whiskerfish, ascot, Forum Moderators

Post Reply
JSBail
Silver Member
Silver Member
Posts: 796
Joined: Sun Jul 27, 2014 5:08 pm
Location: Indiana

Re: Bad influence on my kids

#16

Post by JSBail »

A couple years ago my son bought an older cbr900rr and it ended up having a bent frame due to a previous owner dropping it hard and my son ended up getting another frame with title, had it powder coated and then reassembled the entire bike and it came out pretty nice so the idea of getting another frame with title isn't new to him but finding another cb400 frame may not be as easy as it was for the cbr. Another issue is that I'm not sure how committed he is to the bike, after putting so much effort into that cbr900 he sold it not long after finishing it and was lucky if he broke even on it. This 400 is his first venture into vintage bikes and I'm not so sure he has the same passion for them as I do ..... and I'm not so sure I want him to because it is a labor of love (money pit). If it were mine I would take it on the chin and get the court order if I coudn't find another titled frame however that's where I have to tread lightly and be careful on how I advise him because I don't want to talk him into doing something he may not really want to do because it's his money he's spending, not mine. At the moment it doesn't seem that the cost of the court order is the issue but more so all the red tape he has to cut to make it happen. I'll be seeing him this weekend so we'll talk it over then.
Scott
JSBail
Silver Member
Silver Member
Posts: 796
Joined: Sun Jul 27, 2014 5:08 pm
Location: Indiana

Re: Bad influence on my kids

#17

Post by JSBail »

Well my kid stopped by earlier and we talked a bit about the 400 and it seems he's not completely giving up on the 400 at least not just yet. He's going to mess around with it today to see if he can fire it up and depending on how well it runs he'll kick around his options and then decide where to go from there. I'd be over at his place helping him but I've got the top end of my 750 apart at the moment due to a severe oil leak coming from the gasket at the base of the cyls so I've got my own stuff to worry about.
Scott
User avatar
chewy999
SUPER BIKER!!!!
SUPER BIKER!!!!
Posts: 3214
Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2012 11:21 am
Location: Haddenham, Cambs, UK

Re: Bad influence on my kids

#18

Post by chewy999 »

I still find it hard to understand why it's such a problem to get a title. I assume that's like us registering a vehicle in the UK.
Each vehicle here has a log book which is essentially a sheet of paper with the vehicle details, the address of the (registered) owner, and a few other details. When you buy or sell a vehicle, there is a tear off section which you fill in and send it to the licencing centre at Swansea and you get an updated log book with the new owners details, all for free!


anim-cheers1 anim-cheers1 anim-cheers1
Previous Rides,
1980 CB250N Good to learn on
1981 CX500 good mid range tourer, went to Austria on it!
1983 GL1100C Pride and joy, sold when I bought my 1st house, big mistake
1985 GL650 Silverwing another mistake, horrible bike
1986 CBX550 Good commuter
1989 Suzuki GS750 (1976) cheap and cheerful until a dog ran out in front of me on Xmas Eve, 1991
Current bikes
2010 CB1300 back on a bike after 19 years, two divorces, children grown up etc
1980 GL1100 NOW ON THE ROAD, still use CB1300.
User avatar
Lucien Harpress
Honored Life Member
Honored Life Member
Posts: 4077
Joined: Sat Dec 24, 2011 11:41 am
Location: Michigan

Re: Bad influence on my kids

#19

Post by Lucien Harpress »

Things actually work sort of similar to that over here, but just with the title itself. If you've still got the paperwork, that's usually how easily it is to transfer ownership. If the title is missing, however....?

Whenever this comes up to folks across the pond, the best way I think I've heard "our" (US) situation described is to think of our country as 50 separate countries, each with their own way of doing things. There's this weird hybrid of federal and state practices, all mingled together in different ways because there's no agreeance on the best way to do things. Some states are really easy to get a title (fill out a form, check to see if the VIN comes up stolen, and if not, new title in the mail), while others are like pulling teeth. And applying for a title on an out-of-state vehicle? Don't even bother. It CAN be doable (maybe), but definitely not worth the hassle.

Yeah, it can be.... "fun".
1997 Valkyrie- Light Cutomization, but Too Busy Riding
1980 KZ1300- Bike's Haunted
1976 GL1000 (Yellow)- It Runs (Poorly) and Doesn't Leak (Mostly)
1974 Velosolex 3800- Better Than Walking
1972 CB750- Broke the Chain And Ate the Motor
1969 CT90- The Most Fun You Can Have on 90ccs.
1965 CA77 Dream- Needs a Full Teardown, but Complete

All advice I give is only valid until an expert corrects me.
JSBail
Silver Member
Silver Member
Posts: 796
Joined: Sun Jul 27, 2014 5:08 pm
Location: Indiana

Re: Bad influence on my kids

#20

Post by JSBail »

chewy999 wrote:I still find it hard to understand why it's such a problem to get a title. I assume that's like us registering a vehicle in the UK.
Each vehicle here has a log book which is essentially a sheet of paper with the vehicle details, the address of the (registered) owner, and a few other details. When you buy or sell a vehicle, there is a tear off section which you fill in and send it to the licencing centre at Swansea and you get an updated log book with the new owners details, all for free!


anim-cheers1 anim-cheers1 anim-cheers1
The title as we know it here is just a piece of paper, a very important piece of paper mind you but being it's just a piece of paper means it real easy for an owner the doesn't organize their private files well to loose it especially if it's something like a bike that the owner has had for 20+ years and the owner simply forgot where he put it, it may have gotten mixed with some other papers that were thrown out and so on. Another issue is being transferring ownership isn't a free process here creates other problems. Many times someone who's just purchased a used bike or car wont immediately transfer that title to their name until that bike or car is roadworthy especially if it's something the person plans to sell quickly and let the new owner deal with the cost of registering to their name. When I got my cb750 I found out it had changed hands at least 2 times since the last registered owner had sold it and none of those owners had the title transferred to their name. No big deal because the title I had was signed by that last registered owner EXCEPT he singed it incorrectly which made it worthless. I was able to get a hold of that last registered owner and fortunately got it all sorted out but I was a bit anxious for a bit. If it were all free it probably wouldn't be the issue it is now but as Lucien pointed out each state has it's own laws on this matter which of course just complicates things even more which is why motorcycles for sale here that don't have a title have little value compared to the same bike that does because getting a legitimate title for that bike with no title can be such an absolute expensive hassle.
Scott
User avatar
chewy999
SUPER BIKER!!!!
SUPER BIKER!!!!
Posts: 3214
Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2012 11:21 am
Location: Haddenham, Cambs, UK

Re: Bad influence on my kids

#21

Post by chewy999 »

Oh, I understand a bit more now. Still seems a strange way to do things.

anim-cheers1
Previous Rides,
1980 CB250N Good to learn on
1981 CX500 good mid range tourer, went to Austria on it!
1983 GL1100C Pride and joy, sold when I bought my 1st house, big mistake
1985 GL650 Silverwing another mistake, horrible bike
1986 CBX550 Good commuter
1989 Suzuki GS750 (1976) cheap and cheerful until a dog ran out in front of me on Xmas Eve, 1991
Current bikes
2010 CB1300 back on a bike after 19 years, two divorces, children grown up etc
1980 GL1100 NOW ON THE ROAD, still use CB1300.
JSBail
Silver Member
Silver Member
Posts: 796
Joined: Sun Jul 27, 2014 5:08 pm
Location: Indiana

Re: Bad influence on my kids

#22

Post by JSBail »

chewy999 wrote:Oh, I understand a bit more now. Still seems a strange way to do things.

anim-cheers1
You got that right and being the authorities can be so picky about it even when you do have the title makes it worse.

Oh well enough about titles. My son called me yesterday and asked if I had a usable set of spark plug resistors because the ones on the 400 were showing way too much resistance so I nabbed the ones off my 750 which tested good and off I went to his place and of course stuck around to help him with the 400 a bit. The carbs still need properly cleaned but we shot some carb cleaner in it to see if it would at least pop but nothing happened. For whatever reason it has a really weak spark so we have to figure that out, it could be the points or a corroded connection somewhere and so on but we'll eventually sort it out.
Scott
JSBail
Silver Member
Silver Member
Posts: 796
Joined: Sun Jul 27, 2014 5:08 pm
Location: Indiana

Re: Bad influence on my kids

#23

Post by JSBail »

A few weekends ago my son and I played around with his 400 again to see if we could get it to fire up, he pulled the carbs and did a basic clean up on the carbs and we did eventually get it to fire up but it wasn't hitting on all 4 like it should've ....however it didn't run too bad. It was clear the carbs needed a thorough cleaning and one of them needed repair due to the previous owner getting to hasty removing the float and broke the post and that's where my brother in law came to the rescue. I know there are other ways to repair a broken float post that doesn't require welding but welding is my preferred method provided I have a TIG welder good enough to do it and fortunately for me my brother in law is that good with a TIG. He's done this repair for me before on a cb550 carb where I was the one that got hamfisted with the carb and also repaired the engine block of a cbr900 that had a broken mount for my son, my brother in laws ability to pull us out of a jam has gotten to be normal. :) Once my brother in law repaired the carb I finished cleaning all the carbs with my ultra sound cleaner, got all the floats set at the correct height, got them all back on the rack and bench synced and they're ready to go now.
Attachments
repair.jpg
repair.jpg (82.09 KiB) Viewed 212 times
Scott
User avatar
dontwantapickle
Silver Member
Silver Member
Posts: 944
Joined: Fri Oct 13, 2017 9:26 pm
Location: Colorado

Re: Bad influence on my kids

#24

Post by dontwantapickle »

:-D
Last edited by dontwantapickle on Sun Jan 14, 2018 2:04 am, edited 1 time in total.
JSBail
Silver Member
Silver Member
Posts: 796
Joined: Sun Jul 27, 2014 5:08 pm
Location: Indiana

Re: Bad influence on my kids

#25

Post by JSBail »

Hopefully it will run good enough to convince my son to pursue a title for it, at the moment he's planning on just selling it now because he doesn't feel like going through all the red tape to get a title for it. He's been wanting a cb400 or 450 4cyl for a long time but they're pretty rare around here and even though the cost of getting a title added to what he paid for the bike would makes it's value questionable I just don't think he's going to find another one at least not around here that's in as good of shape as this one is certainly not one with only 7k miles on it. It needs some TLC no doubt but considering the changes he plans to make to it anyhow this bike makes a good foundation to start with. He told me I had first dibs on it of I wanted it and I actually would love to have it but I have too many projects going on as it is and don't need another one right now.
Scott
JSBail
Silver Member
Silver Member
Posts: 796
Joined: Sun Jul 27, 2014 5:08 pm
Location: Indiana

Re: Bad influence on my kids

#26

Post by JSBail »

Turns out my son stopped by yesterday to pick up his carbs while my wife and I were at work, I didn't even realize they were gone until I read a facebook PM from him once I got home. Of course I wasn't at his place when he fired it up but according to him the 400 runs much better now with clean carbs and is firing on all 4 cyls like it should, some fine tuning is still needed to make it right but it's a step in the right direction. Whether or not the engine responded well enough to convince him to pursue a title for it I don't know yet but we'll talk it over sometime this weekend. As much as I'd like to see this bike roadworthy again I have to keep reminding myself it's his money that's being spent.
Scott
User avatar
Track T 2411
Honored Life Member
Honored Life Member
Posts: 8482
Joined: Thu May 29, 2008 9:37 pm
My Album: http://www.ngwclub.com/gallery/v/wingmans/Track+T+2411/
Location: Prairie du Sac Wisconsin

Re: Bad influence on my kids

#27

Post by Track T 2411 »

One step at a time...
"I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein

"He that is good with a hammer tends to think everything is a nail" - Abraham Maslow

"If you can't take the time to do it right the first time, how are you ever going to find the time to do it over?" -Unknown

Current Rides:
'Grumpy' - '81 Standard, now fully dressed.
'Layla' - '81 Standard w/dealer installed fairing and Hondaline bags.
'Scarlett' '76 'Survivor' nekkid as a j-bird!

Under Construction:
The 'Jalopy' '78-'79 Mash-up
'Quikie' '81 gl1100I back on the lift, project with the step-son!

In The Shed:
'81 gl1100I barn find aka "Josie, the farmer's daughter." (almost comatose build)
'77 gl1000, roller parts bike.
'82 gl1100I, 'Old Crusty' titled roller parts bike (free!)
'82 gl1100I, My first 'Wing, and an expensive lesson!
New2U Bike? Read Me.
JSBail
Silver Member
Silver Member
Posts: 796
Joined: Sun Jul 27, 2014 5:08 pm
Location: Indiana

Re: Bad influence on my kids

#28

Post by JSBail »

Track T 2411 wrote:One step at a time...
As far as the title is concerned my youngest son deosn't realized he's being ganged up on because my oldest son is badgering him to get a title as well so that we can continue with the bike. One thing is for sure is that i want my spark plug resistors back soon. The ones originally on the 400 were questionable when tested with a volt/ohm meter so I pulled the ones off my 750 which i know are good to put on the 400 to see if it would fire up. They don't fit well on the 400 (too long. wrong angle) but good enough to fire it up. Problem is I may have my 750 back together soon and i'm going to need the spark plug resistors to fire it up when ready. :shock:
Scott
JSBail
Silver Member
Silver Member
Posts: 796
Joined: Sun Jul 27, 2014 5:08 pm
Location: Indiana

Re: Bad influence on my kids, guess what I got for Christmas

#29

Post by JSBail »

My youngest son decided that although he liked the 400 he would rather put his money into his cbr600 track bike, get himself a truck to haul it to the different tracks he rides on and then use his Subaru WRX as his "toy" rather than the 400 so he handed my wife and I the keys to the 400 for Christmas so the question now is what am I going to do with it? My passion for old CB's had made me postpone some much needed remodeling to our house for quite a few years now and my ever so patient wife has let me slide on it but this coming year I've decided to focus on the house and not my "toys" so having another project bike wasn't what I had in mind even though the 400 is very cool. My son later told me that he hope we didn't feel he was unloading the bike on us, I assured him it was all good but with other household projects having a higher priority the 400 wont be seeing any serious attention for a while. The good thing is that my wife likes the bike and it will eventually be her's once she "outgrows" her cb350 twin.
Scott
JSBail
Silver Member
Silver Member
Posts: 796
Joined: Sun Jul 27, 2014 5:08 pm
Location: Indiana

Re: Bad influence on my kids

#30

Post by JSBail »

Well it's been almost a year now since my youngest son handed my wife and I the keys to the cb400 and I have half halfheartedly pursued getting a title for it but finding out who the last registered owner was turned into a mess. Here in Indiana I have to file for a court order to get the process of getting a new title started and showing that I've done my very best to contact that owner is key because a court order would cost me $170 regardless if the judge approves or not. That turned out to be an issue because the 400 hasn't been registered in so long it's not on record anymore so I would've had to pay some more to have a title search done so I gave it a rest being I had other things to do. I had gotten so aggravated that I commented to clerk at the license branch office saying "I know you're doing your job like you're supposed to by following the law but has it ever dawned on anyone that if a bike hasn't been registered in so long that it's not on record nor has it ever been reported as stolen, isn't it obvious that last registered owner doesn't care who has the bike now?" In the meantime our youngest son still felt he "unloaded" the bike on us and has been searching for a titled frame and that too hasn't been easy because the cb400F is a rather rare bike. We even went to a motorcycle swap meet and found 2 complete 75 cb400F's but neither had a title ..... I spotted an 836 big bore kit for my 750 and bought it instead, :)

All is not lost though because my son works as a service tech for the company he works for and travels all around the midwest and he will often check out the local Craigs List of the area he knows he'll be traveling to see if anything interesting pops up and on a trip to Ohio he spotted a 75 cb400F rolling frame with title so he nabbed it while he was there. The title was legit and properly filled out by the owner but the drama doesn't stop there. When my son went to transfer the title to his name the license branch office rejected it, it turns out my son was a bit in too much of a hurry when he filled out his portion of the title and the date he wrote looked like he scribbled it out and that's a big nono. Luckily it happened to him because being the hoops they made me jump through I probably would've come unglued on them for nothing more than a clerical error. The title is still valid however he needs to get a bill of sale from the guy he bought it from to make it legit and fortunately that seller is being cooperative and already has it in the mail. Why my son didn't get a bill of sale in the first place will be a lesson learned for him.
Scott
Post Reply

Return to “General Motorcycle Forum”