um, yah. were you not paying attention? yes, actually, I was but I was not blogging, I was living. September is the most important month for me but I guess I won’t share that on a blog.
I was sorry to see my hot rod R75/6 go but felt that it was the right thing to do because I needed that R100RT Sharona to get to that job in Rockford IL. Right. That job is gone. The contract ended after 91 days, it did not lead to direct employment and maybe that is a good thing. But still, if I had known that I was going to be unemployed again would I have spent the $3000 on the RT?
I have adjusted to my 2nd stint of unemployment in 2009 by
- putting the R100RT up for sale. The original price was $3200 which went to $3000 and is now at $2700. It is the wrong time of the year to be selling old motorcycles. I have a couple coming here from Iowa to take a look at this bike this weekend. I even have a deposit from them but I am not terribly confident that they will leave with this ‘sight unseen’ motorcycle.
- I organized the remaining bits from parting out the traded-in R60/6 along with left over stuff from the R75/6 project and other things and started selling those online in preparation to …
- Paul and I went to the U.P. to Marquette Michigan on Lake Superior to buy a 1982 R100 for $1000. That may have been too much! I always want to rescue these old bikes but survival tells me that I need to part this out for a small profit. This was a good running motorcycle but there are some components missing that would make it profitable. It had a Pichler fairing on it which I haven’t gotten rid of yet. The fairing precludes some pricey parts like the headlight and related parts. The tank may not be worth trying to sell. The front end was from a mono-shock motorcycle and are not really in demand parts. There is a lot of risk on this venture and prolly not a lot of profit. Well, I have just managed to make my $1000 back and that is in the bank in time for bills and I have a lot to sell yet but things are moving slowly. Still, it is providing some extra income and …
- I am always looking for the advantage; there are some parts of this R100 that will go towards putting the 1979 R100RT back on the market in the spring as a ‘bare’ bike and, if things go as planned, I may be upgrading my Gilera, the R100T, finally. I am hoping to add Nikasil cylinders, electronic ignition and dual Brembo disk brakes from this parts bike along with the reinforced swing arm from the R60 and the fork brace from the 1979 R100RT. So, Gilera has been patient and long-suffering; three years since I have done major work on her and probably some neglect before that. But with all the before-said improvements and stuff like a new rear main seal and other maintenance this poor thing will leap so far forward … there won’t be much else that I can possibly do for her!
