Another Motorcycle

There is one thing about refurbishing an old motorcycle that seems incongruous with what I see as Zen Buddhism. Fixing an old motorcycle requires ‘stuff’. Not lots of stuff; not ‘flashy’ things or even new shiny things. But lots of ‘stuff’ none the less.

In particular, parts. I have come to understand that parts are everything. The gaps in my blog are the result of one thing and one thing only.

I don’t have parts to fix what needs fixing, so I find myself waiting.

Well, my wait should be over, as I have accumulated more ‘stuff’ in the form of another motorcycle! It is a 1981 Honda CM400E. It has all the same components as mine, except the wheels are spoked and it uses drum brakes. So I have a great parts source now. The bike came with a large assortment of parts from another 1981 CM400T that the guy had taken apart. It was a good deal, costing me only $100 and 3 hours driving time. The parts I need form my bike I can already take from these sources will more than make up for it and I have several people looking to buy the parts off me that I will not need. Overall, the purchase will be revenue neutral in the long run. However, in the meantime, I have a lot of parts. The guy I bought these things from had just thrown all the parts in a bin. That just drives me crazy! I can’t stand digging around for things. I find the more I am disorganized, the more time I waste looking for things or cleaning up mistakes (See my blog on the missing bolt for example). I have arranged the parts into liquor boxes, using the various compartments to separate and organize the parts. I have advertised on several internet sites to get rid of the parts I don’t need (And to raise some revenue for my project). But, I also had to reorganize my garage because now I need space for two motorcycles.

I have decided, however, that the accumulation is going to stop. I should have enough now to get the bike going. And if I don’t I am going to end the project, as I am putting money into it and getting to the point where I could have purchased a running motorcycle.

As I hinted in the past, I am not a patient guy when it comes to mechanical things. With people, I have the patience of Job, especially with children. That’s a big part of my work, sort I have developed it over time. But with machines, it is another story. Part of the reason is just my lack of knowledge. Not knowing why something isn’t working drives me crazy. In the past, I have focused my ‘manly’ manual skills on work that doesn’t require a lot in terms of knowledge, such as renovating several homes. The knowledge I needed wasn’t extensive. Skills needed developing, but that is practice. The actual level of knowledge is not vast. Even basic plumbing I have completed without much concern because the level of knowledge needed is straightforward, even if the level of skill needed can take some time to master.

But working on motors with electrical parts and mechanical parts requires a great deal of knowledge. Even the task of trouble shooting requires quite a bit. Take the problem I have right now in not getting my bike to start. I can follow a troubleshooting sequence, but when there are multiple reasons that can cause the same problem, experience and skills are important, but knowledge of the intricacies of the various parts and how they interact make it very challenging.
The patience to know and acquire skills is one thing I hope to find in this project. The use of my mind and skills to achieve a sense of order, to me, is the best form of peace. In that it is akin to prayer. If the accumulation of stuff is not exactly Zen, I am pretty sure that state of being is.