Ah, the good old days...

So here I am.  I'm 30 or so years older, have a lot of time on my hands, and a few dollars to spend.  I've been tinkering, learning, restoring, building vintage motorcycles for a while as a hobby.  I so loved the old XT500 I used to own, that I bought another.  Now, its pretty much original, with 2,600 miles on the clock when I bought it.  Way too nice to mess with.

So I've been on the hunt for a clunker which I can use as the basis for the cafe racer of my dreams.  There are not that many 1970s bikes on this island.  Its a scene dominated by Harleys and the climate here just eats old motorcycles.  Its warm, its wet and its salty - not a good place to have anything made of steel.  Even aluminum succumbs to the environment. 

But, finally, I find one.  Some kid was given it by a friend.  Yes - GIVEN.  He wanted to sell it to finance the repairs on some modern motorcycle - an absolutely forgettable model.  So I buy it - for $700.  Thats a few dollars more than it was worth but no point arguing.  It went, the frame was good, had title and registration.  So all in all, it was what I needed.  And... it was ugly.  Time, weather and previous owners had taken their toll on this poor thing, and it needed to be rescued.  Here she is in all her glory.  Lets see what can be done: