A new project begins….

So I have not been taking as many trip as I thought I was going to take this year, but I'll keep blogging about that as I do. In the mean time let me fill you in on what I have been doing thus far, I enrolled in school this Spring to try and get a Motorcycle Repair Technician certification at a local community college, and its been quite an experience so far. Its a lot different being a student again.

Why motorcycles? Its a long explanation so bear with me. Well, I would like to eventually get my master's degree, but I wasn't sure if I would be able to handle going to school again with an intense study load. So I figured I'd test the water and do some thing fun.

Growing up as a kid I had always been fascinated with motorcycles. My dad used to ride when he was younger, and I remember him telling stories about how much fun he had some of the trouble he got in to. He rode a Honda CB450.

My mom's older brother, my late Tito Winnie, used to come over our house in Quezon City on his police bike with an M16 strapped to his back. He was a motorcycle cop. I thought he was the Filipino Rambo. My dad took me for a ride on that bike once, then I burnt my leg on the exhaust pipe. That was my first real experience riding on a bike that wasn't a passenger tricycle.

I also remember playing with motorcycle trading cards with other kids. I used to be able to tell you each bike Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki made in the 70's and 80's and how much horsepower and displacement each one had. I was kind of addicted to those cards. I couldn't tell you any of those now though.

These days, my brother has a bike—a Honda Shadow 600. My roommate, Scott, has a Harley Davidson Sportster 883 Iron (which, btw, was the bike I originally wanted until I told him about it and bought it 5 days later… punk lol). Also, the majority of the guys that I hang out with at Starbucks ride motorcycles. Steve with his Ironhorse Chopper, Raymon with his HD Road King, TC with his Frankenbike, Timmy with his HD, and Aaron with his Big Dog Chopper. I'll try and post those when I can find where I saved them.

Here's Scott's bike. He did a lot of customization to it to make it his own.


Being with a biker crowd would make someone want to ride a bike, and in my case, they brought up some unresolved childhood issues. So after much procrastination, I got my motorcycle endorsement last fall and proceeded with the motorcycle hunt.

My roommate sent me a photo one afternoon of a bike at the local custom shop down the street from our house. It… was…. beautiful. It turned out to be a Royal Enfield C5 Bullet. Since he pretty much bought the only bike I was interested in, he did me a favor by turning me on to these beautiful creations.




I'm a huge fan of anything different and anything that can transport you to the past with just a look. The Royal Enfield C5 Bullet is the bike that they forgot to stop making. If you guys still can comprehend the coolness factor of this bike, well, Steve McQueen rode one on the movie "The Great Escape" and Mr. Cool, James Dean himself, owned one. Needless to say, this bike went on top of the list of motorcycles to buy.

Anyway, I figured that since I'm already paying maintenance on my car, and certainly wanted to save money on maintenance on a motorcycle by trying to tackle repairs and services myself. Only one problem… I didn't know anything about how to fix a motorcycle. So I decided to test the water of returning to school by applying to a Motorcycle Repair Program. Whew! That was the long winded explanation.

I figured that it would be more cost effective to spend money on school and be able to do all the work myself, than paying someone else to work on my toys. Also, I really enjoy immersing myself into a subject matter that has been a part of my life that had never come to fruition until now. Besides, when all said and done, I can take a job at a motorcycle dealer to be a technician, so it could also pay for itself.

I was watching TV at my parents' house one day and a show called Cafe Racer was on. I had always been a huge fan for the Triumph motorcycle. The Bonneville and the Thruxton in particular. They just cost way too much for my budget. As I watched the show, I realized that these guys were taking old 70's and 80's Japanese bikes into something cool like the Triumph. I also learned about the subculture of the Cafe Racer. So I thought I'd keep my eye out for an old Japanese bike. Honda CB's, Kawazaki KZ's, Suzuki GS's and Yamaha Viragos were on my list for possibilities. Pretty much any old bike with the right tank and the right seat.

After a short wait, a bike showed up for sale on Craigslist that was on the list—a 1982 GS650G. I asked my friend Raymon if I could use his truck and help me pick it up in the chance that I might like it and buy it. The bike looked good for its age, and it definitely had a lot of potential. So I decide to pull the trigger and buy it. The price it was listed for was $700, but I managed to talk the guy down a little bit—final price of $640. I would have tried to talk him down some more if he wasn't standing close to the fence where he kept his pet wolves who were looking at me like I was their next dinner. We took it back home and here it is...


I wasn't going to mess with it that night, but I couldn't sleep without something to it. Even in the least bit. So the luggage rack, sissy bar and the bar that went across the cowl were taken off, and it changed the look a lot... for the better.


She needs a lot of work to get her going on the road, but that's what the classes are for and the willingness to resurrect this bike from the brink of death.


More to come...