Ketchup Files - Gotta Gettit Done

Welcome to the Ketchup Files! These are for motorcycle experiences that took place a while ago but for one reason or another I didn't write up at the time. Procrastination most likely...

For those not in the know, I am the lucky owner of two motorcycles: an 87 Yamaha Virago 750 and a 97 Kawasaki Ninja 500 (what I call the "Jr. Ninja").

I've had the Virago nearly 10 years (wait... what?) and since I bought it with something under 25 000 kms and it is now pushing 95 000 - I could say I've had my money's worth out of it.

The Virago has been to Manitoulin Island, Tobermory a couple times,

Port Franks to the family trailer/cottage,

Friday the 13th in Port Dover,

(OK so that wasn't during Friday 13th THAT time)

Wellsboro PA

and the New Jersey Shore before it was a TV show.

Unfortunately most of the pictures have been lost to the sands of time otherwise referred to as: the crash of old hard drives.

Friends call me "hardcore" and I've been known to go riding in less-than-warm conditions when I simply have to get out. Unfortunately after some of these salty excursions, I didn't rinse the Virago off. Oops.

So I finally paid for it a couple seasons ago when a hole rusted through the exhaust. It was fun for a while - sounded kinda cool with almost straight pipes - but it gets old fast. After numerous attempts to patch, paste, screw, wrap - I had to bite the bullet and pick up a replacement exhaust/muffler.

I'm a mend-and-make-do kind of person, so it was off to the used-parts dealers first.

Fortunately there are a few bike recyclers that come within the radar on more or less a regular basis. I found a system at Sonic Cycle in London, ON (just pop in while en route to visit my son). http://soniccyclesalvage.info/homepage/

I started to loosen bolts and clamps on the bike but rust immediately got the better of me and, deciding that discretion was the better part of not making a bad problem worse, I'd let a pro have a go at this. I rang up one of the local shops. (St. Catharines Motorcycle Centre www.scmc.ca)

So I take the poor Virago in and in a couple days - because I believe mechanics are like miracle workers - "You rush a miracle worker, you get rotten miracles" so I give them lots of time - the phone goes: "You're gonna need a rear header too. I checked around and one from Yamaha is [some outrageous price] and will take a month to get." Now, I know I have another bike but for a bike that ISN'T a project bike to be up on blocks for that length of time... well I couldn't bear it.

"Let me check around..." I said and leaped on my browser - to the internets Batman! dah dah dah dah dudu daaah!

Headers I found online, on ebay and the like, in the US, which would entail a week of shipping, never mind duties (maybe) and customs inspections... time to call the recyclers.

NCK Cycle in Woodstock (http://www.nckcycle.com/) came through! For $35. Only catch, I need to pick it up and before 5:30 and it's 1.5 hour drive. Solution? Work through lunch, leave early, drive like mad.

So Shawn at St Cath Motorcycle Centre sounded rather surprised when I called him back to say I had the header. I dropped it off the next day and a couple days later she's all done. Purring like a drunk tiger. (well you would too with nearly 100kms on you.)

I must say I was quite impressed with myself. The things we do for our bikes!

Cheers!