Post by mattb on May 29, 2007 9:17:51 GMT -5
Hi all. My name’s Matt, and I thought I’d introduce myself, now that I’m an SR500 owner. My baby arrived yesterday, transported by the highly recommended Fergusan Racing.
I put a wanted ad up for one on this forum and got a reply, for which I afterwards won the bid on Ebay. Here’s a sales video of the bike: and by the time all expenses are covered (I’m chasing up the RWC at the moment) I’d say it will cost me just over $4000.
Bikes have always been my only transport as well as a great passion of mine. I’ve wanted an SR500 for a while, for two reasons especially. My last bike, which blew up, was a Kawasaki GT550, a great bike and quite superior to the SR from a performance perspective. However, given the price of mechanics (I’m a long-term student) and being idealistically driven to do my own work anyway, I didn’t like its mechanical complexity (which is saying something!), and I hankered after a bigger version of what I had previously ridden: an SR185. When the GT died I was back on the SR185, which is now my partner’s, and once again I found a lot of pleasure riding it, while I really appreciate the simplicity when working on it. The second reason for desiring the SR500 is that my taste in bikes, while broad, includes especially a love of both vintage British bikes and the 60’s ton up / café racer scene, and this bike is a great way to reach for the aesthetics of these on a limited budget – it became my dreamed-of bike.
Being a (complicated) kick start only, starting is meant to be a chore, but this starts first or second kick (though I’ve stalled it once and it took some patient effort to start again – when I got it going I did a u-turn back to the intersection where it had stalled, and it did it again! Else-wise it’s behaved itself). I absolutely love this bike: the feeling of kicking it into life, the way it pulls away, the sound it gives as it does that, the way it feels as it idles, the mechanical simplicity from both the visual as well as the somewhat actual dimensions, and the way it looks as a whole: lean mean and 1960’s.
I look forward to catching up with other SR riders around Melbourne (I’m in Carlton). Also I’m hoping that with my partner we’ll take both bikes to the rally later this year. I’m sure there’ll be desperate posts here from time to time when I can’t fix something and need the bike going in a hurry to get places… :-)
Cheers, Matt
Ps can anybody recommend a good place in Melbourne to get work on the bike when needed? Also for parts? Also is there a good place to get a RWC for these? Also, where do people get insurance? I’m finding they either won’t insure the bike because of its age, or are offering a value of $1600 for the bike! I’ve been in the city today buying and organising some things for the bike and I found that a lot of shop owners turn the nose up – it’s not a ’07 XZVRR1000! I was used to that blindness toward my previous bikes, whose virtues were more hidden, but this is a shining classic, d**n it! :-)
I put a wanted ad up for one on this forum and got a reply, for which I afterwards won the bid on Ebay. Here’s a sales video of the bike: and by the time all expenses are covered (I’m chasing up the RWC at the moment) I’d say it will cost me just over $4000.
Bikes have always been my only transport as well as a great passion of mine. I’ve wanted an SR500 for a while, for two reasons especially. My last bike, which blew up, was a Kawasaki GT550, a great bike and quite superior to the SR from a performance perspective. However, given the price of mechanics (I’m a long-term student) and being idealistically driven to do my own work anyway, I didn’t like its mechanical complexity (which is saying something!), and I hankered after a bigger version of what I had previously ridden: an SR185. When the GT died I was back on the SR185, which is now my partner’s, and once again I found a lot of pleasure riding it, while I really appreciate the simplicity when working on it. The second reason for desiring the SR500 is that my taste in bikes, while broad, includes especially a love of both vintage British bikes and the 60’s ton up / café racer scene, and this bike is a great way to reach for the aesthetics of these on a limited budget – it became my dreamed-of bike.
Being a (complicated) kick start only, starting is meant to be a chore, but this starts first or second kick (though I’ve stalled it once and it took some patient effort to start again – when I got it going I did a u-turn back to the intersection where it had stalled, and it did it again! Else-wise it’s behaved itself). I absolutely love this bike: the feeling of kicking it into life, the way it pulls away, the sound it gives as it does that, the way it feels as it idles, the mechanical simplicity from both the visual as well as the somewhat actual dimensions, and the way it looks as a whole: lean mean and 1960’s.
I look forward to catching up with other SR riders around Melbourne (I’m in Carlton). Also I’m hoping that with my partner we’ll take both bikes to the rally later this year. I’m sure there’ll be desperate posts here from time to time when I can’t fix something and need the bike going in a hurry to get places… :-)
Cheers, Matt
Ps can anybody recommend a good place in Melbourne to get work on the bike when needed? Also for parts? Also is there a good place to get a RWC for these? Also, where do people get insurance? I’m finding they either won’t insure the bike because of its age, or are offering a value of $1600 for the bike! I’ve been in the city today buying and organising some things for the bike and I found that a lot of shop owners turn the nose up – it’s not a ’07 XZVRR1000! I was used to that blindness toward my previous bikes, whose virtues were more hidden, but this is a shining classic, d**n it! :-)
