got a new toy...and learned the importance of gear...

[welcome2thedawn]

so, i've been on the hunt for a 70's style bike...mainly looking for a honda cb550f, or similar...but today i found this...and had to have it...
edit...its a 1974 kawasaki 400 triple...2 stroke...


was riding home in the rain...making sure to take it slow, especially on corners, as the tires are pretty old....was taking off from a stop to turn onto another street...only going about 10mph....and lowsided....thankfully i had on all my gear, or i probably would have hurt my ankle...ended up without a scratch...and thankfully i'm strong enough to pick it up by myself...i was in the middle of street, on the corner of two main roads, and not one person offered to help me, or even stopped to see if i was ok...people are so disappointing sometimes...i mean really....better not get out of the car, the rain might mess your hair up i would stop and offer help if i saw anyone go down, but you'd think me being a 5'4", 110lb girl, someone would at least help me pick the thing up....so i pick it up, and am still in the middle of the road trying to move it...the light changes, and cars just start driving around me finally after one whole cycle of the lights, a cab driver get out, and helps me get it to the side of the road....THANK YOU...the whole thing kinda ruined my excitement...but since i always hear that it's not a matter of if, but a matter of when...maybe this will be my one and only when, and thankfully i ended up with nothing worse than a broken turn signal

[sharky nrk]

Wow, that thing is freaking awesome. I really want one just like it.

[Flashmonkey]

Dawn...I'm glad nobody ran you over. People can, indeed, be a bunch of assholes sometimes.

But that's an awesome bike! Congrats

[bob706]

Great looking bike Sorry to hear you went down

[Indy250r]

Nice bike! Hope it didn't get too banged up.

[CC Cowboy]

People suck!

Great bike.

Ride naked, more people will stop to help.

[backinthesaddleagain]

great bike Dawn, glad you are ok

[Snake]

First of all I am glad to hear that you are OK with no injuries. What happened to the good old days of chivalry or even just helping to help?
I love those old school spoke wheels. Great looking bike. A classic.

[mrlmd]

That bike looks great from the photo - no dings, no rust, shiny chrome, no blue pipes, good paint, seat clean. Just change the tires if they are 5 or more years old. Do you know about recent maintenance, like oil changes, filters, valves? Good luck, keep it looking like that.

[00NissanNinja]

That is one clean looking classic looks great! Glad you were okay. When I lowsided a couple stopped to check if i was okay other than that I got no help getting the thing back up or moving out of the road.

[Rosie]

Last week when I got stranded on the road I sat there helpless for at least 10 minutes until somebody offered to help push the bike out of traffic
I wanted to do it myself but had to cross 3 lanes of VERY heavy traffic and was afraid not to make it. Point is, nowadays people willing to help are less and less. I'm glad you're ok and didn't get hurt

[00NissanNinja]

Oh yeah... and my bike stalled on the highway (seems like it just didn't have enough gas to keep going). I sat for about an hour, not a single person cared. Some of those truckers even passed by me pretty close so I got pushed by the wind turbulence. Yep people really don't care that much, well at least I have family and friends.

[Rosie]

Originally Posted by 00NissanNinja

well at least I have family and friends.

It's still sad nobody cares anymore. At least 30 motorcycles passed by me without even looking at me as I was stranded on the side of road. I kept thinking.. wow, this is sad. I would have stopped for someone in need.

[00NissanNinja]

Originally Posted by Rosie

It's still sad nobody cares anymore. At least 30 motorcycles passed by me without even looking at me as I was stranded on the side of road. I kept thinking.. wow, this is sad. I would have stopped for someone in need.

Yep motorcyclists went right by me too... It is a sad thing

[welcome2thedawn]

people's general lack of caring, and willingness to come together to help others, is something my boyfriend and i talk about quite a bit...sometimes it gets frustrating being someone who IS willing to help a stranger, and not getting a thank you, or help in return when we need it...we wondered if maybe we started treating others that way, we would get further in life...but what it comes down to, is that being helpful and considerate is something that makes US feel better...and we wouldn't feel too good about ourselves if we weren't that way...it's too bad more people don't realize that something as simple as putting a smile on someone's face, goes a long way towards making your own day/life better...and that person is more likely to do the same, making things better for everyone....well, that's my rant.....anyhooo...yeah, the bike is in great shape....other than now having broken turn signals

[250rr]

That bike simply rocks! Glad to hear you're ok.

Originally Posted by welcome2thedawn

so, i've been on the hunt for a 70's style bike...mainly looking for a honda cb550f, or similar...but today i found this...and had to have it...



was riding home in the rain...making sure to take it slow, especially on corners, as the tires are pretty old....was taking off from a stop to turn onto another street...only going about 10mph....and lowsided....thankfully i had on all my gear, or i probably would have hurt my ankle...ended up without a scratch...and thankfully i'm strong enough to pick it up by myself...i was in the middle of street, on the corner of two main roads, and not one person offered to help me, or even stopped to see if i was ok...people are so disappointing sometimes...i mean really....better not get out of the car, the rain might mess your hair up i would stop and offer help if i saw anyone go down, but you'd think me being a 5'4", 110lb girl, someone would at least help me pick the thing up....so i pick it up, and am still in the middle of the road trying to move it...the light changes, and cars just start driving around me finally after one whole cycle of the lights, a cab driver get out, and helps me get it to the side of the road....THANK YOU...the whole thing kinda ruined my excitement...but since i always hear that it's not a matter of if, but a matter of when...maybe this will be my one and only when, and thankfully i ended up with nothing worse than a broken turn signal

[komohana]

scumbag biker buddy built up a cb550f ... loved the look of that ride...

sorry you took to the pavement, and it IS too bad people so easily look the other way...glad you're ok and its STILL a beautiful machine ya got there

[GeneJunkie]

That is a cool lookin bike.

I can't believe no one offered to help you, people these days are awful. Ryan and I always stop if we see a downed rider. About a year ago we saw a car run a cruiser off the road and the lady kept driving. We ended up turning around to help him pick his bike up.

[backinthesaddleagain]

Saw an old KH250 triple today for sale. Even included the nest on top of the case. LOL

[BlueRaven]

great find

[zartan]

hey guys, somebody does care, so far 1 cab driver and 20 of us!!
It isn't all hopeless.

I am so glad you are ok and that bike is sooooo bitchen. yingying ygin===
2 strokes rock! and a triple no less.

[Blackwidow]

wow, that totally sucks Dawn. When i had dropped my bike I had ample amount of people asking if i needed help. So those people do exist, maybe just not in Oregon? Or they saw you have massive bicepts and figured you'd manage? I dunno, but all in all, i'm glad you're ok.

Can't see the picture of the bike, but i'm sure its super cool!

[Cuongism]

To redeem a little faith in humanity, a good Samaritan helped me yesterday. I somehow ran out of gas (at 206 miles).
Gas is about 3 miles both directions. A lot of cars and about 7 bikes ride past. About 1/2 mile down as I'm walking, there is an Acura pulled over. Turns out he was waiting to help me out
He drove me to a gas station and back to my bike. He's never ridden before, but someone had helped him out in the past when his car had ran out of gas in almost the same spot as me. If anyone knows a Kevin in Pacific Beach, I can't thank him enough.
On a side note, if you're pouring gas from one of those containers, invest in a funnel as well. I had to use my dress shirt to wipe off gas from the paint

[Darling Ninja]

Beautiful bike!

I'm sorry to hear that it took so long for you to receive help. When I crashed last month, a couple of people got out to see if I was OK. A lady offered me her flip-flops to walk to my work (I was around the corner from my job). I don't know why she did, my boots were fine. And the lady I crashed into actually helped me pick my bike up. There are a lot of jerks out there, but sometimes, just sometimes, people surprise you with acts of kindness.