"Hot" To Get Going On My Next Project
I noticed on Scooter in the Sticks that Steve is recognizing the first signs of the change of seasons in his neck of the sticks. Well, right here in good ol' Port Angeles it is full-on Summer. We are cookin' in 80 plus temps, and the forecast is for hotter tomorrow. Not even my ride home from work cooled me down. I do like it though.
Well, my latest motorbike project is finally getting a little momentum behind it. My pal Paul, the lead motorcycle mechanic at Olympic Powersports is guiding me through the steps to restoring a 1978 GL1000 Gold Wing. Maybe not restoring as much as "rustoring" since we aren't doing a frame-up job on it. We will get it in good running order with some elbow grease, parts and cash though. I'm looking forward to the project, and can't wait to throw a leg over the saddle. (After it comes back from the upholstery shop.)
The one hitch in the gittalong is the application for lost title. The girl at the Vehicle Licensing desk told me that the vin number look-up showed a titleholder, and a leinholder. The title holder appears to have vanished, and the leinholder has since closed his business. I did however contact his daughter, and it looks as though he will sign-off on his portion of the affidavit.
The nutty part is that if I follow their guidelines, I will need to send the affidavit to the last known address of the registered owner by certified mail. If it is returned unopened, then I can turn it in to the gal at the licensing desk to be hopefully registered to me, but not as the titleholder. It seems that I will need to wait for 3 years in case the original dude decides to come out of the woodwork to reclaim it. That would suck. Oh, and I was told that the State Patrol will need to inspect it. They told me that they don't do inspections any more. What a mess.
I e-mailed Paul the other night throwing out the option that maybe we could look at one of his other Wing's that doesn't carry so much baggage. He has six of them. I have had my eye on one that I call Old Black. It has all the character that appeals to me in a beater motorcycle. If the title is clear and he hasn't become too attached to it, I may end up coming up sweet on the deal. I contacted Paul today to tell him to check out his e-mail box, then let me know whats-up.
And with that, when I know, I'll let you know.
Have fun,
Bill
Well, my latest motorbike project is finally getting a little momentum behind it. My pal Paul, the lead motorcycle mechanic at Olympic Powersports is guiding me through the steps to restoring a 1978 GL1000 Gold Wing. Maybe not restoring as much as "rustoring" since we aren't doing a frame-up job on it. We will get it in good running order with some elbow grease, parts and cash though. I'm looking forward to the project, and can't wait to throw a leg over the saddle. (After it comes back from the upholstery shop.)
The one hitch in the gittalong is the application for lost title. The girl at the Vehicle Licensing desk told me that the vin number look-up showed a titleholder, and a leinholder. The title holder appears to have vanished, and the leinholder has since closed his business. I did however contact his daughter, and it looks as though he will sign-off on his portion of the affidavit.
The nutty part is that if I follow their guidelines, I will need to send the affidavit to the last known address of the registered owner by certified mail. If it is returned unopened, then I can turn it in to the gal at the licensing desk to be hopefully registered to me, but not as the titleholder. It seems that I will need to wait for 3 years in case the original dude decides to come out of the woodwork to reclaim it. That would suck. Oh, and I was told that the State Patrol will need to inspect it. They told me that they don't do inspections any more. What a mess.
I e-mailed Paul the other night throwing out the option that maybe we could look at one of his other Wing's that doesn't carry so much baggage. He has six of them. I have had my eye on one that I call Old Black. It has all the character that appeals to me in a beater motorcycle. If the title is clear and he hasn't become too attached to it, I may end up coming up sweet on the deal. I contacted Paul today to tell him to check out his e-mail box, then let me know whats-up.
And with that, when I know, I'll let you know.
Have fun,
Bill
posted by Bill Sommers at 4:57 PM
8 Comments:
My pal Paul, the lead motorcycle mechanic at Olympic Powersports is guiding me through the steps to restoring a 1978 GL1000 Gold Wing.
Big heavy bike and more than I would want. So is the scooter preaching going by the side?
There is a difference between converting others to scooters as opposed to converting them to big bikes you know.
I'm going to sell my scoot and just put my cute little 4 cycle motor on a bicycle. That's all I need.
But later, my favorite hot girlfriend will arrive on the ferry in a few hours to go camping with me this weekend.
And we're going in comfort, won't be getting laid but it will be a great weekend.
I've lived in a lot of different states, all with different forms of Government bureaucracy. Some I've like better than others. Washington state seems to take the cake for me in wierd protocol.
There has been more than one occasion where I've had to play the title game with our State's licensing division. I just figured that I was too much of a simpleton to make sense of it all and tried my best to be a "Good Dog" and jump through the hoops when one was presented to me.
There is a certain comfort that I take in sharing your frustrations.
E.T.
What year is Old Black? I love those old Gold Wings. My friend and a '77 in that faded orange to grey color. He bought it from a friend who had the original piples but put some upswept aftermarkets on. When he and I rode together the sound that Wing made with my Sporty beside it at approximately forty per sounded a little like the old biplanes you see at air shows.
I hope you get your bike ;)
Harv
I've been getting the urge myself to revive some sort of older motorcycle. Not so much a showroom condition restoration but getting it back on the road. That's really weird for me because I'd rather much be riding than wrenching. And I hate breaking down on the road. Is there something about getting older that compels us to reach to the past?
I put on lot's of hours and lot's of miles on an old Gold Wing back in the late 70s in the Tacoma area. My job was locating vehicles for the Repo Man. I didn't own the bike but sure loved it! The newer ones are just a little too bulky for my tastes but those older ones were great! Hope you go for it, It will be a fun project, getting a great bike out on the road again.
Looking forward to hearing more about what you end up doing. Keep us posted Bill.
Hey, when you get a minute (five actually) pop over and watch my first ever ride video. Who knows, maybe it will motivate you even more to get yourself a restored Wing.
So much for our great two weeks of summer.
That is some project. Sounds too complicated to be fun. Hope it works out and we see some before and after pics.
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