'Ryuto Dabi' & Diana back on the road!

[Nick]

Been in storage for the past 8 years (under the house with the rats and spiders). Pulled off a valve cover and shot a bunch oil everywhere; pulled the plug and shot some more oil down the cylinder; new battery and....fired right up and runs as well as ever. Ran a few errands on it - too much fun. Have owned it for at least 30 years, daily rider in L.A. and a part-time rider here. One of my all-time favorite bikes. I've got a couple of NC 250s also (Diana & Scrambler), but I think the NC 350 is the best NC single of all. Just the right amount of power (with a Mikuni), plenty of speed for highway use, very lightweight and barely any more rolling resistance than a bicycle. Put rings in it many years ago and cleaned the centrifugal oil filter but other than that the engine's never been apart,

Got a spare 350 engine, think I'll put it in the Scrambler....

The Diana fired right up too. If only people were as faithful as old motorcycles.....
Bought it 40 years ago in rusty, non-running condition for $100. Broken coil wire was all that was wrong with it. Rode it to school daily, and after school strapped my toolbox to the seat and rode to the local marina to work on boat engines. After two years of trouble-free running, the rod went and it got parked for a few years. Then I rebuilt the motor and cleaned it up to its present state. Runs quite well, even with the stock carb. Great fun to ride.

竜頭蛇尾 (Ryuto Dabi)　'Dragon's head, snake's tail' A good beginning and bad end.

[Duccout]

Well done,


Cheers,

Colin