We are planning some riding off road experience for her this year for sure with some of the great options that thread helped me find. In my mind a bike would take the better part of the season to get up and running or at least her save up the needed money for insurance / gear etc. So maybe more cart beside the horse...? At the end of the day if she doesn't want to ride I can sell the bike, having made memories and passed on some mechanical experience. Also my wife is on a DR200, so maybe she'll like the 'dad daughter' bike.
Check in with your local CVMG (Canadian Vintage Motorcycle Group). Some of the members have way too many bikes. They're also knowledgeable about finding parts. With your username, perhaps you should look into a well loved BMW.
Check in with your local CVMG (Canadian Vintage Motorcycle Group). Some of the members have way too many bikes. They're also knowledgeable about finding parts. With your username, perhaps you should look into a well loved BMW.
Looking for some guidance as even getting my bearings is daunting. My daughter is 16 and interested in riding and we wanted to use this opportunity to find an old bike (70's?) and fix it up thereby learning the mechanical basics as well as a daddy/daughter thing. I'm pretty confident and mechanical and have most of the tools and I'd love to pass that on. But the amount of bikes is so immense and knowing what is terrible to find parts for versus a good starter project bike is challenging to just read up on.
Any advice on where to start, good resources / forums / books / sellers etc. would be very appreciated.
j
125 to 250cc two strokes from that era were tons of fun and super easy to maintain unless your experience is more with 4-cycle if you find one with all the parts and was not used much since that era, that would be perfect
I second the trials bike concept but then you would have to buy one too and then you both would become addicted to trials riding and we all know what would happen then.
Carbs aren't scary when you understand them, nor are they as problematic as some seem to think.
And they don't require computers or even a battery for the bike to run and get you home at the end of the day when your stator decides to crap the bed, or your battery goes tits up.
Looking for some guidance as even getting my bearings is daunting. My daughter is 16 and interested in riding and we wanted to use this opportunity to find an old bike (70's?) and fix it up thereby learning the mechanical basics as well as a daddy/daughter thing. I'm pretty confident and mechanical and have most of the tools and I'd love to pass that on. But the amount of bikes is so immense and knowing what is terrible to find parts for versus a good starter project bike is challenging to just read up on.
Any advice on where to start, good resources / forums / books / sellers etc. would be very appreciated.
certainly 80's might be best bet with electric ignition...avoiding points would be nice and carbs might be fun for you guys to rebuilt/rejet...not sure her height but thinking of bike style easy to work on and readily available parts and something she could actually learn to ride on perhaps a 250cc dual purpose...XL250 or yammy XT250 or Suzuki SP from the 80s...single cyl not much body work...and she tips it over while learning who cares
I think this recommendation is bang on. Small single enduros are easy to work on and you can plate them after. They are also easy to ride, great for learners as they can cut their teeth on and off road. They are also dirt cheap to insure.
Personally I'd go with the Suzuki SP or DR 125 or 250 from 1984 on, new parts are easy to finds and cheap.
If you want to go into the 70s, try a 2 stroke. TC or TS 125 is a fun project -- and as with the SP bikes, Suzuki 125 & 250 parts are cheap and widely available.
I'm redoing An 84 SP125 right now. I needed a seat cover, brake pads, key switch, gas cap, brake & throttle cables, signals, both fenders, mirrors, carb and intake boot. Under $200 for the parts delivered to my door. I still need paint and tires.
Don't touch BSA or Triumphs -- I made that mistake with my first father/son project. We spent 3 years finding parts, and another 3 years eliminating electrical and drip gremlins.
Add TS185 to that Suzuki list. I have a spare engine if you need one.
Won't find lot of BSA or Triumph parts or bikes in Canada because somebody was shipping all that stuff back to England by the container load many many years ago. Probably too big and heavy anyway, even a BSA 250 single is a big lump with about 80 pounds of rear wheel, a heavy clutch pull and brakes like leather,
If you bought that T250 and didn't crash it or mess it up by stripping off the fenders, putting on fat firestone tires and covering it in rattle can flat black paint, I wager you would never lose money on it, 1970's bikes appear to be priced around 2 to 4 times their original price, when it came complete with a new bike warranty.
:I should have filled a garage with bikes still in the crate long time ago, they would have gained more value by now then most stock investments.
":I should have filled a garage with bikes still in the crate long time ago, they would have gained more value by now then most stock investments."
There are one or two singular bikes that this would hold true.
Bikes, or cars with providence might be worth money.
Cars and bikes, as a whole, are terrible investments.
I have a '74 CB200T that I don't use. It was running but has sat for about 5 years. I fired it up last year after cleaning the carbs (yes, it has two that you need to synch) and it ran and revved up but had no power. It either has further carb issues that need addressing or fuel flow issues due to a rusty tank. It ran highway speeds, barely, but is great fun in town. It's the version with the crappy mechanical front disc brake, so a conversion to hydraulic might also be an interesting project (check the web). I'm still trying to finish the trim and landscaping on the house so I really don't have time to work on it. I'd let it go for a fair price to a father/daughter project. Unfortunately, I'm down Kingston way so transport is an issue. PM me if interested. L
Add TS185 to that Suzuki list. I have a spare engine if you need one.
Won't find lot of BSA or Triumph parts or bikes in Canada because somebody was shipping all that stuff back to England by the container load many many years ago. Probably too big and heavy anyway, even a BSA 250 single is a big lump with about 80 pounds of rear wheel, a heavy clutch pull and brakes like leather,
I wish they had shipped mine back before I found it! The BSA B25 and Triumph TRW25W are the same steaming lump of British.
The nice think about rebuilding one of these is you gain some respect for what it was like to own a motorcycle pre-UJM. You will learn about sealing fork tubes with string, tickling carbs, decarbonizing, zeners, cycle threads etc.
I have a '74 CB200T that I don't use. It was running but has sat for about 5 years. I fired it up last year after cleaning the carbs (yes, it has two that you need to synch) and it ran and revved up but had no power. It either has further carb issues that need addressing or fuel flow issues due to a rusty tank. It ran highway speeds, barely, but is great fun in town. It's the version with the crappy mechanical front disc brake, so a conversion to hydraulic might also be an interesting project (check the web). I'm still trying to finish the trim and landscaping on the house so I really don't have time to work on it. I'd let it go for a fair price to a father/daughter project. Unfortunately, I'm down Kingston way so transport is an issue. PM me if interested. L
That sounds pretty cool, if the OP doesn't jump on that offer (and they should) I'm an hour from Kingston if you want to get it out of the way to make room in your garage I'd take it how much? they sold for about 680$ new as I recall lol.
If I were you, I'd go with an air cooled carbureted single. I have had a lot of fun working on my Honda CT90 and my Yamaha 2 strokes. Maybe ask your daughter and yourself what you'd like to be left with when its done. Street riding? Trail? Both?
If you end up with the CB200T, I have a bunch of parts for that bike including tank and two sets of side covers, original air filters w/holders, most of a top end gasket set, two sets of oversize pistons, partial carb kits and two floats, new fr brake pads, and some other bits and pieces. I also still have a repair manual kicking around too.
Your father daughter project may help some of us clean out leftovers from past projects. I have a service manual, turn signals and an h4 conversion light for a cb450sc I can pitch in if you end up with an early 80's Honda.
Maybe. The headlight isnt as free if it's not going to a father-daughter project, but if i can put my hands on the turn signals they are free to a good home. I moved recently and am not sure where they are as the garage is still chaos.
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125 to 250cc two strokes from that era were tons of fun and super easy to maintain unless your experience is more with 4-cycle if you find one with all the parts and was not used much since that era, that would be perfect 
