Well as they say, we all do have to except that times are changing..... like ageing, dying from an inevitable disease, or maybe a simple economical disaster.... well i just thought id post about something that is a major change in course of my life. First of all i had to say goodbye to my bikes which was Virago 250, Honda CM125T Custom and Virago 400 i seriously was in need of money to clear up few debts which i owe and i sold both of them. Even though they are gone they helped me to relieve all of my problems and now that i feel like i am a freeman. Well the free word does not come that easy in my mind because like in some forum says "Four wheels move the body..... Two wheels move the soul......" i was desperate for a bike just after six hours of selling my bikes. Since i was left with very little money i had no choice, i went around in all possible places looking for a bike. Well this time i ain't going for another 400cc because fuel economy problem was way high over my head last time. I looked for a Honda rebel 125 - 250cc. There were many but the condition was not good enough for my taste, some of them were badly hacked, so i decided to go for a Indian made motorcycle straight from the showrooms. Money i had in my hand was not enough even to reach the lowest class 100cc in the showroom. I was left hopeless until next morning i woke up with a strange but yet bright idea. I start hunting around in the scrap yards where they dump unwanted stuff. Then i came across this warehouse which has so many unloved dumped stuff and guess what i found!, i found a "Honda XL125R" and it seems like from somewhere 1985. I quickly ran over to it and pulled it out from all the ruble and taken it to light. It didn't look very healthy, the tires were worn out to the canvas, engine was leaking oil all over, speedometers were dead, battery is full of fungus but luckily it was inside a warehouse so never got caught to rain and stuff so the rust wasn't there and nothing is corroded. I asked the warehouse owner about it and he said one fellow came and pawned it to him for some money along with it's registration documents and owner ship documents about five years back. It was lying there ever since and nobody took an interest. I gave him a price and he agreed to sell it to me, so i bought it on the same day... next problem was starting it up and taking it home. I bought a can of oil since engine was completely out of oil and pour it and after few kicks bike fired up like nothing and i was really happy about it. I manage to take it home and within in two days i restored the engines missing stuff, fixed all the leaks, new tires, services all the other parts including speedometers etc.
There she goes, runs like a newborn (bike), i am really happy i find it extremely easy and maneuverable in the good roads as well as bad condition roads. I thought to my self that Enduro/Off-road motorcycle is the ideal thing for the Sri Lankan road conditions. Even though i have ridden enduro's so often i never owned one. It's been four days now since i ride this bike from home to work, and almost everywhere. It's a great little bike which does extremely well on fuel. It's fast enough for a 125cc i am very happy with it. I am thinking of getting it completely restored to factory conditions, even a new paint.
And after all i found out one thing..... Even though i thought i was built and born to ride cruisers, i was kind of wrong about me..... I figured out that offroad / Enduro's are also another ideal bike for me. It's like they always say.... you are never too late to discover your self......
here's a picture of my Honda XL125R after doing all the services and fourth day on the road.
