Pete Swede

Yes!!!... Didn't think of that. The war stopped -53. First CJ (made with IMZ parts?), what 54-55?... But that is interesting, this is the second picture on M72 from the Korean war that I found, so they couldn't have been that uncommon...

The first American M-72... Or is it CJ750?

Very, very nice...!!! Thanks a zillion times for that link...! :thumbsup!:

Hi Max, and welcome to the Wild Bounce Bunch...

My condolences...

Thanks Ken, Very good information...

Nice, reminds me a little bit of an old Husky dirt racer from the early 70ties...

A true quality in life that is hard to find... Yea, the bars are key... Either some kind of broomstick on longer swept risers or some kind of frisco style T...

And then eventually go for a more "real rigid" look, either by buying parts from Ryca (Expensive, but not to expensive, don't have to buy the complete kit). Or copy the concept and go from scratch, then she would have a reason to learn welding to (And I have a reason to buy a MIG ;) ). But I think it's more realistic to get bolt on parts for the first bike... Looks much better when it gets a little bit longer... Maybe a little bit more rake...

She can't go rigid straight away so I think the chop has to go gradually in a couple of steps: First just a cleaner look that still have the suspension... I think she wouldn't feel ashamed going around with something like this... Then after a season or two go for a "simple rigid" mod... Doesn't look to bad either. The only problem is that it looks a little bit "short tailed" for me. A problem I think it's hard to solve without changing the tail completely...

Yes, and I have been thinking about that a lot... If I wouldn't have had my accident in 2010 I wouldn't have met her and still be in Laos now. Life is strange... Yes it's a Suzuki LS650 1998, later they became Boulevard s40 but it's the same bike except for 4 gears instead of 5 (S40). When me and and my girlfriend met online one year after the accident (2011), the thing that brought us together was motorbikes. She wrote that she had been wanting to ride a motorcycle since she was a kid. When she was 10 years old she was going somewhere with her parents and when they stopped by a gas station to fill up the car, a big chopper gang rode in to fill up their bikes, and that was it for her. When I asked her what it was with the gang that made her interested she answered that she always liked engines. Motorbikes, airplanes, steam engines, everything that moved, sounded, smelled and was oily. That together with the adventure of traveling and freedom of going wherever you want, not trapped inside a hot car. She said that she often had her face outside the window in her parents car when they where going somewhere because she loved the wind in her hair. When I asked her if it was only the ride she wanted, she replied that she wanted to learn how to take engines apart and understand how to "make them feel better" and that she wanted to learn to build a bike from scratch so she could get something that nobody else had, "a bike with personality", and I think that was it for me... That I was 46 and she was 21 years old had of course nothing to do with it at all ;) I will be 50 next year and she will be 25 around Christmas... LOL So last autumn I bought her a 50cc Suzuki K50 from 1979 (foot gear and much like a small-big motorbike) and I said that if she could fix the engine up so it always starts on the first kick and then learn to ride safe with it, I would: 1) Buy her a good beginner bike that had a potential to be chopped... 2) Help her learn to ride it so she could take a driving license... 3) Help her to learn to take the engine apart... 4) Help her to chop it, to get it like she wants... So last winter she took the 50cc apart and fixed it (first time with any engine). I told her how to tune it, and she did (the whole summer). Now the moped always starts on the first kick...She learned to ride it really good (very, very scared in the beginning). So I had no choice than to buy her a bike. This spring I lent her money to buy a bike (Shes to proud to just get it as a gift). I choose Savage because it's a single cylinder bike, not to different from the small 50cc (valves and 4 stroke). It has good torque on low to middle rpm:s and a low center of gravity. With reputation of being very reliable, a very good bike for beginners... And It can be chopped to a quite decent bobber to. Shes been out the whole summer with the moped busking (playing on the streets) and she just payed me back for the bike ;) ... Nice!!! Since I want her to do most of the chopping by her self (I will only help her) I checked out if there was any nice "bolt on" kits around and I found Ryca... http://rycamotors.com/news/ They also make a really nice coffeeburner kit... A nice variation... Cafe bobber?

LOL...

So after about 400 more kilometers, everything seams okay. Nikita is silent (or as silent as M72 can be). We have had good weather for some time now and I have been riding with my girlfriend to practice for her driving license, and that means that she won't kill me (for now)... I start to feel the difference with the new ignition now (PowerArc). She's quite easy to start and she runs much smother and have a very stable idle. I had a problem to start her after the first 300 km, a problem that got worse and worse. In the end I set the timing again and turned the airscrew in 1/2 a turn and that made a big difference. The ignition timing wheel that gives the signal for spark must have moved slightly, have tightened it now and used more locktite, let's see what happens... Here are some pictures from the bike practice... If something happens with the gears, I post it...