The CBR

Circa 2002

This was the first bike I ever “built”. A 1992 CBR600F2 picked up from my cousin as a salvaged bike. The frame was straight and mechanically it just needed some love.

1992 Honda CBR600F2 - Before fairings, graphics, and a lot of elbow grease.

Back then, finding parts meant spending a lot of time wandering through motorcycle boneyards.

It always felt a little like a treasure hunt. Some days I came home empty-handed. Other days I found exactly what I needed buried beneath a pile of parts that had probably been sitting there for years.

One day, I stopped at a Honda dealership and started talking with a guy at the parts counter. I was halfway through explaining what I was looking for when he suddenly cut me off.

“Follow me.”

He led me down a steep set of concrete stairs and into a dingy basement filled with boxes and forgotten parts. Somewhere in the middle of it all was a complete set of fiberglass race fairings that would fit my bike.

The chances of this happening have to be

They were supposed to have been returned years earlier.

The look on his face was part “Oh shit!” and part “Wait a second!”.

Apparently, the easiest way to avoid explaining why they were still in the basement was to sell them to me for next to nothing.

Built in the Driveway

I was in my twenties and broke as broke could be.

I rented rooms in my house to help make the mortgage, and we still occasionally came home to find that one of the utilities had been shut off. There also seemed to be a project sitting in the driveway, usually leaking something.

My neighbors were unbelievable patient with us.

Back then, there was always a very messy project in the driveway.

The picture above tells the story of a 20-something year old kid who was broke as broke could be. I rented out rooms in the house to make the mortgage and still came home to one of the utilities being shut off now and then. There was always a project leaking oil in the driveway. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate my neighbors for being so patient with us.

My buddy Otis helped me fix and paint the fairings, and I designed some custom graphics. Slowly, the old salvaged F2 began to look like a new bike.

The custom graphics labeled the bike as a CBR600RR, which didn’t exist at the time. Other riders would almost break their neck when we passed or they’d turn around and follow me to see the new model. Much to their surprise when I revealed that it was an old F2.

Honda did eventually release what became an iconic 600RR in 2003.

Mom’s First Sport Bike Ride

My parents visited Park City for a weekend, so I rode the now street-ready bike up the mountain to see them.

At some point, my mom agreed to climb onto the back.

It was her first ride on a sport bike and, as far as I know, her last. She was speechless after our short wheelie through an intersection.

My moms first and probably only ride on a sport bike. :)

Eventually, I added a new exhaust and changed the gearing, looking for a little more speed at the top and stronger pull down low.

At the time, it was just a bike I’d rebuilt in the driveway. I had no idea how much of my life would eventually become connected to it.

Shortly after finishing the build, an accident on this bike changed my life forever.

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