No room at the Inn..........

So I gathered the family around the last glowing ember of the fire...the wife, daughter, older and younger brother, the schnauzer and the mother-in-law....and told them the story of Bobbybonez and the Last Maxim......how the little 550 was unloved and left in the bitter cold of Nothern Ontario.....so cold that emasculated brass monkies were endemic (Brit cultural saying for "freezing your assets off").....how it's little hats were rusting off and the little rubber booties were turning brittle......I looked at my family and........they all had their heads down....little hands working feverishly at iPods, iPads and iPhone....the wife looked up, hauntingly beautiful in the fading light and said in a faraway voice..."Wot..anuvver bike? Here? There's no room...." So I reminded them it was Christmas.....and it was the least we could do......and so the little XJ 550 was bundled into some warmer clothes.....and will soon be coming south(ish) to my humble hovel..........to live (hopefully) a long and happy life........

(see XJ 550 entry posted by Bobbybonez further down the board)

 

HAHAHAHAHAH wow i haven't laughed like that in awhile.

 

Glad to see our members joining forces to rescue another neglected pup!

 

GOOD SAVE! I just checked out Bobbybonez' pictures of the bike. It's got a clean and apparently solid and complete original exhaust and its RIGHT side cover!

It's imminently restorable. It needed to be rescued-- sitting there with snow on it was what made me have to rescue my '81 Seca.

Good going.

 

I think the warmness of your heart...might just be enough to melt the snow off that bike.

 

I'm confused on one detail;

are you storing the bike for Bobbybonez; or are you the proud new owner?

Either way, I'm glad a bike that clean and complete isn't going to get left out in the snow any more.

 

Ah Fitz....would that be a bit of coveting going on there?.....But you're right, it does look to be a good candidate for a makeover and I really did not want it to be parted out.......my current ride is in rehab and needs backup......and I really do like these bikes.........!!! So, Bob gathered up the little bike - I have a CB 350 for him in my garage and we'll switch them over early next year.......

Dave

 

Hey Dave I got the UVIP today and the last owner is a few towns over (In Balmertown). I`ll need to figure out how to get a hold of him. Also I should tell you, the original ignition button is broken, there was an aftermarket one installed just under the gauges.

And really in this whole situation, there are two bikes being saved. the 550 and the 350

 

Hey Bob: A very Happy Christmas to you and your family....And two bikes getting a facelift..............and thanks again for grabbing the 550.....it really wasn't on my list for 2012 but sure is right up there now..........if you can get that signature, fantastic - if not, it's still doable but just more paperwork....oh and I caught a glimpse there of your dad's Norton.....ooohhhh yeeaarrrr....nice...

Dave

 

ahh.. the magic of christmas.
I feel all warm inside..oh wait thats humidity

 

I think I'm gonna throw up.

Dave

 

Make sure you don't have on your full-face when you do

 

I have a modular, so I can flip it out of the way quick. 'Course, it's sleddin' season now, so it wouldn't be a problem.....just break the puke-sicle off and give it a toss.

Dave

 

The P.O told me that it was a great bike and a strong runner. It has made a few trips to the east coast but there he had never done any maintenance to it. Although he did say something about welding the exhaust.

 

Im just stoked the little pup "stayed in the family"
pretty cool really.
and on a side note-- God bless all you guys in the COLD, sleds seem cool but Im pretty sure I'm not engineered to operate in that kind of weather.