The day I found out that the V65 Sabre existed, it jumped straight to the top of the “bikes I have to own” bucket list. So I got one. For the first time, I bought a bike that ran, was in good shape, and was actually worth modifying, so I went all out with the suspension – RaceTech up front, CBR shock out back. Brakes rebuilt, tires replaced, and more, all in preparation for my yearly 3000 mile trip to North Carolina to tear up Deal’s Gap and the surrounding roads.
The last piece of the puzzle to make sure that trip went well was to make sure I could carry the necessary gear. I found a dirty and worn backrest on eBay and snatched it up.
I painted the rack with some Rustoleum hammered-texture paint (motto: “Get hammered! HAHAHA but for real alcoholism is a disease.”)
Alrighty, good to go for the rally, right? HAHA JUST KIDDING TIME FOR THE CLUTCH TO START SLIPPING! I ordered a kevlar clutch kit and new clutch spring to ensure it would never slip again.
With everything finally in place I could pack all of my goodies.
And with that I was off. Day 1 took me from Des Moines to Indiana, where I met up with a few friends that would be riding the rest of the way with me. I crashed at their place for the night, then the next day we were off again. The highlight of the morning was me nailing a giant pothole on an Indiana interstate. Remember those tapered steering head bearings I installed in preparation for this trip? Turns out they weren’t fully seated. Well, at least they weren’t fully seated before hitting the pothole. Afterwards they definitely were, but that meant my steering was loose. Like hot dog in a hallway loose. Any undulation in the road meant the handlebars would move several inches in any direction. If I had to describe my feelings while this was happening in one word, that word would be “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH”. So when we pulled off the interstate to grab some lunch, I pulled the whole front end apart and got the bearings properly seated.
With that out of the way, it was on to better roads and better views.
Of course, no trip to the area is complete without a trip to the Dragon.
But it’s hard to find a bad road in the whole area, and most other roads are less crowded (and less heavily-policed) than the DAGRON.
And after a few days of tearing around the local roads and a few nights of sitting around the campfire <ACTING IN A PRUDENT AND RESPONSIBLE MANNER> it was home again home again jiggity jig. Total: 7 days, 2910 miles.
The Sabre remained my primary bike (and vehicle) over the next year and a half. To round out my modifications, I threw on a Superbrace fork brace, a set of Supertrapp slip-on mufflers, and a set of (super?) handlebars from a Nighthawk 700s. They share the Sabre’s adjustable design, but are several inches lower for a sportier riding position.
The rack on back made it useful for carrying just about anything.
And I rode it in just about any weather.
And then, in June of 2012 after two years and 6104 miles, I listed the bike on Craigslist.
In spite of the incredible power and extensive suspension work, it remained a big, unwieldy bike, and I decided that’s just not what I’m into. It’s hard to hide nearly 600lbs of bike, and that weight is especially apparent in riding around town, commuting, and running errands, which is like 99% of my riding.
I listed it for $2750 and I received the typical barrage of the tire kickers and scammers, including this gem:
Hello,
Thanks for the mail, I’m interested in buying this item for my son and
I’m okay with the price, I’m a Petroleum Engineer and currently
offshore I want this as a surprise gift for my son so I won’t want him
to be aware until delivery. Kindly reply me with your paypal email
address for the payment should incase you do not have an account with
paypal you can easily set-up an account with them today as it’s
secured and reliable in terms of transaction arrangement. Visit the
website on www.paypal.com I will be responsible for the paypal
charges. My movers would come around for the pick up as soon as
possible after the payment has been made and your full address and
phone number will be needed for the freight arrangement I would love
to speak with you through the phone but due to the nature of my work
as a Petroleum Engineer i work mainly offshore and our phone is down
on the rig right now due to bad weather, We can still communicate
through the email exchange for now.
I will be looking forward to read from you in real soon with the
paypal email address and your full address including phone number for
the freight arrangement.
Oh man! It’s my first day on the internet and I’ll definitely sign up for this PayPal thing and just trust that everything is on the up-and-up!!
In the end, a gentleman came and took a look at it, started it up for a minute, then paid me asking price.
For the moneys:
Original purchase price: $1250
Upgrades: $1259
Total investment: $2509
Sale price: $2750
????
Profit!!!: $241
Cha-ching.
Epilogue:
About two and a half years later, in December of 2014, I received an email from the man the bought the Sabre:
Just a quick note to let you know about the Sabre. I have ridden it every day the weather has allowed. I just went for a ride yesterday, as a matter of fact. It now has 49k miles. It looks as good today as when you sold it to me. Very dependable. Only once has it left me stranded (fuel pump) and everywhere I go I get positive comments about this 30 year old bike. I have spent countless hours polishing, touching up, detailing etc.
My wife and I ride to Kung Fu Tap frequently and pull right up into the middle of all those Harleys. It’s a blast! When we leave we always say to them, “We’ll wait for you when we get there. Just do the best you can.” LOL
Anyway, thanks. Here’s a pic taken just after our last snow storm.
It’s very cool to hear that the bike is being ridden and loved, and that it has held up well. Selling an old bike is always a gamble, and it’s especially scary selling to someone you know for fear of consequences to the relationship should something go wrong (I’M FORESHADOWING A FUTURE POST HERE, PEEPS!).
Thanks for the memories! Had an 85. Did to mine much of what you did to yours. Made saddle bags and mounts for it out of gun cases and they looked and worked great. The mounts were old chair legs. 700 mile days were effortless. After two years of enjoying it, I made it into a sidecar rig. Lots of fun. Had it another two years before selling it. Also had a parts bike with it.
Awesome! I’d love to make a sidecar rig one of these days.