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Pesky Ninjas... have been Intercepted...

Two years ago I traded a couple arcade games, (Tron and Soul Edge. Still regret selling the Tron...)
for a "newer" motorcycle.
What I got was a 1988 EX 250 Ninja.

I figured since I graduated from High School in '88, and I couldn't afford one
of these back then no matter how much I wanted it, it had to be a sign...

I had to drive from Northern Minnesota, to Nebraska to pick it up. Stopped
over in Souix Falls, SD at my sister & brother-in-law's place for the night before
driving home the next day. That was, to say the least, a long streatch of driving...








Like anything, and everything it seems, that I buy, it required work to get running.
First I had to reattach the speedometer cable. Then a few issues, such as some serious cleaning
had to be done.
It had okay mileage, but required the tank to be cleaned (it had rust inside). I ended up
buying a newer tank off eBay and repainting it. The paint job I did was kind of shotty,
But it worked. I should have waited a few days after painting it, for the paint to completely cure
but I didn't and when I filled it with new gas it marked the top of the tank a bit.

So far I have...

1. Had the carbs professionally cleaned and tuned. Rust residue in them from the old tank.
2. Bought, sanded, repainted, installed different gas tank for about $100? I forget.
   The tank was another eBay purchase.
3. Bought 2 new tires at about $160 for the set from Chaparral.
4. Installed new clutch cable (came with bike)
5. Bought, installed new(er) left hand control assembly. $20 from eBay.(Horn works now!)
6. Bought, installed new horn (Wasn't needed. Oh Well...) $12 from local Kawasaki dealer.
7. Spraypainted the chain guard silver. Looks like brushed aluminium. Looks neat!
8. Buy a complete set of bolts used to secure the plastics. *DONE* Replaced 5/03 $40 from local Kawasaki dealer.
9. Do an oil change...*DONE* 5/03
10. Mileage on 8/11/03: 40.9 mpg! Cost me $6.00 to fill the tank with the expensive gas at $1.69/gal.
11. Ditched my old leather "police" jacket for a Joe Rocket Phoenix mesh jacket ($88 on eBay compared to $119 retail.
    Soooooo much cooler to wear in the summertime than that black leather oven. I also added a
    set of JR leather/kevlar gloves as well (I think they were like $20 or so on eBay. Good deal over the retail price of like $50?
    I feel a bit safer now since the jacket has additional armor inside for protection.
    All I need now is a set of leather pants and a decent set of bike boots and I'll be ready
    for the AMA Superbike championships! Look out Nicky Hayden! Okay, not really...
    The color even matches the new bike okay so I won't have to buy a new matching set of gear when
    the new bike is up and running.

I stil need to...

• Replace the rear shock with one from an EX500.
• Replace/repack the front forks. The springs seem a little too soft, and she
  wants to dive when you hit the brakes hard.
• Another oil change...
• take apart the left control grip and clean the contacts on the horn button.
  The horn quit working sometime last summer so NOW I know it's dirty contacts.
  Probably the same problem on the original controls assembly too.

I feel that the 250 Ninja is a GREAT bike to learn on, or re-learn after not riding
for a number of years. It's not overly powerful, easy to control, and has great styling.
Plus, the fact that this bike, even thought it's 15 years old, still gets over 40 MPG!!
Try getting that kind of mileage in your gas guzzling SUV or sports car!

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Interception!

Okay, so I'm driving home from work and I see a motorcycle parked in a yard, with a home made
for sale sign on it. I think the sign says $3,000 and drive by, but decide half a block later,
even though I can't afford $3k, I'll look at it anyway.

Turns out the asking price is $300.00 instead! Half the bike is in pieces, so I
offer the guy $200 which he accepts.
The bike is a 1984 500cc Honda V-Four Interceptor (VF500).
I'm pretty certain that sometime in it's life this bike was laid down because the right side engine
casing is scratched. Also, you may have noticed that this bike is blue in color.
Most of the original VF500's had a red, white and blue (or black) paint scheme going, which also makes me
believe that some or all of the plastics have been replaced or repainted at
some point in time.

Well aside from the color differences, here things get really interesting...
As I said, the bike was partially disassembled...




All the parts are in boxes... and a red igloo cooler... No, I'm not kidding...
When all is said and done I'm still missing...

• The exhaust header pipes.
• Ignition key. Yep, heading to the local locksmith to get a replacement. You have to yank the
  ignition switch so they can make a replacement or buy a full lock replacement set, which includes
  ignition switch, gas tank lock and seat/helmet lock. The locksmith will be cheaper...
• Side body plastics under the seat are missing.
• *UPDATE 8/03: Okay, then after digging through the parts boxes I also discover that half the
  parts that were removed from the engine... are missing! Well, not really half, but enough that
  rebuilding the rusty mess would be probably expensive, and hard to figure out.
  

So far I have...

1. Wheeled it home. It sure rolls nice. ^_^ $200.00
2. Bought a manual from eBay for $25.00
3. Bought a different, complete engine. $375 shipped from eBay.
4. Bought a complete set of four replacement exhaust manifold pipes. $65 from eBay. If I'd have gottem them from a dealer
   they would have cost me at least $75/pipe for the front pipes, and $60/pipe for the rear pipes!
5. Got a replacement key from locksmith. $20. Took me 4 hours to remove the ignition switch
   because one of the bolts would NOT come off, and then I ended up stripping the head of the bolt out
   in short order. Cheap ass bolts!
   
6. Ordered a set of ignition coils and a new helmet/seat lock... $35.00 on eBay.

I need to...

• Spray the chainguard silver like I did on the Ninja. It's black now.
• Spraypaint part of the frame silver. Somebody touched up the exhaust
  with black, and oversprayed onto the frame.
• Um, I think I need to rebuild the engine. What do you think? Actually, I was given the name of a local shop
  and his rates are half those of the local Honda dealer, and from what I've heard he was a former
  Honda mechanic, so things are looking up!
  
• Buy replacement side panels, and tail plastics. Maybe relocate the rear signals under the seat?
• Buy replacement seat locks. The left side lock casing is shattered.
• Get the bodywork repainted. I'm thinking of a Red, White, Silver and Blue scheme similar to this...