This one has a story.
My wife has two brothers. Brother #1, two years younger than her, and brother #2, 8 years younger.
BIL #1 buys this '75 CB200T when he is 16. He bought it from an old lady- her husband had died, and they had a matched set- they kept them in their downstairs living room. It was in perfect- and I mean PERFECT condition. Mint. He rides it for a couple years, then goes to college. He needs money, so my father-in-law buys it from him. Understand my father-in-law doesn't ride- he was just helping him out.
He proceeds to take the bike and store it in the "family" barn, where it sits for 15 years, uncovered. Finally grandma moves off of the farm and they need to clean out the barn. I see this thing and I am heartbroken. Covered in dirt, pigeon shit, tires flat, spokes with surface rust, rims with surface rust, tank with some spotty rust, one sidecover had fallen off and someone stepped on it- SMASH, gone. Anyway, we take it to the father-in-law's barn where I vow to restore it one of these days.
Finally a couple years later I have some time and pick it up. I spend I have no idea how many hours on it- polishing spokes, removing rust, cleaning carbs and carb kit, readjusting the timing, new battery, polish the headlight, you name it- I brought it back. Kept a search on eBay for a couple years till I finally found the right matching side cover. These are not common bikes and stock decent parts are rare. Not perfect anymore (rust residue here and there), but REALLY nice (a few on here can attest to it having seen it here at the BBQ). I ride it once a week or so, and just enjoy it. I bring it back to my father-in-law, and he is overjoyed. BIL #1 speaks of how it has never run that well before. Every time I am at the inlaws I take it out for a spin.
BIL#2 (the younger) decides he is going to take it to his house for a few buddies to take the motorcycle riding test on. They all ride Harleys and can't pass the test on them, so they use this little CB200T to pass the test. Whatever. Anyway, he keeps the bike at his house in his barn. I think about it now and then, but mostly don't.
Fast forward a few years. We need a small, old motorcycle for a play at school- I know just the bike! I ask father-in-law, he says BIL#2 still has it. I call him and go to pick it up. Flat tires, covered in dirt and dust, non-running, battery shot, rust starting again. That pisses me off. So, I bring it back, clean it up, get a new battery (again), go through the same stuff again, and make it look and run nice. I figure since no one takes care of it I'm going to hang on to it and ride it around a little so it stays in nice shape. At dinner one Sunday, BIL #2 asks about it. My dear wife says "I'm not sure Clay is going to be too willing to give it back after he has fixed it up twice now." He gets pissed. Claim's it's "their" bike (which it actually is). Father-in-law eventually says "Think you could bring that thing back to me?" I say "Sure." I want to keep the peace, and it still actually is HIS bike. I bring it back there.
A few weeks later BIL#2 says at a family dinner: "Dad- I registered the CB200 in my name and got vintage plates for it- it was just easier to put it right in my name." At that point I'm done. He claims he's going to ride and care for it. Cool, but I doubt it. I borrowed it back this summer for awhile (had a friend from New York come out- he has the same bike and we went riding). He has put zero miles on it. The tank is starting to rust out from being stored empty. There's a few other issues that are going to crop up as it sits. Eventually he'll probably ask me to fix it.
My response will be "I'll fix it if you put it in my name." He will refuse, and it will die.
Lesson learned.
Here's the bike:
visitors can't see pics , please register or
loginvisitors can't see pics , please register or
loginvisitors can't see pics , please register or
login
