The Hollow Victory of Purchasing Progress
Project cars and motorcycles are funny things to measure progress on. Keeping track of how close to done your blown-apart vintage is can be a heady task, and one I am typically pretty terrible at. This leads to getting overwhelmed easily when visible progress grinds to a halt, especially after a couple of setbacks and re-routes to the plan. The easiest way to force a second wind into the sails of a project? Pay up.
I’ve often said that a project will cost you more time than money. Anyone who has tackled a big project knows there is a limit to what time alone can do, though. The combination of time and money crosses off lines on the to-do list more efficiently. Doing one without the other for an extended period of time is a tough way to make progress, and often frustrating when it comes time to switch direction. Case in point, my 1988 Honda XR600R project.
This bike was purchased on a lark and a plan hatched shortly after. A close friend has been wanting to participate in a dual sport ride on the West Coast and my 600R purchase was the kick we both needed to lock in an actual plan. We are both building vintage big-bore thumpers and shipping them out to ride the event together. It’s not the ideal bike choice, but the event is not a race so we might as well bring out machines that put our own flair on the fun. More than anything, it justifies my irrational purchase and gives me a deadline for the project.
With the turkey still cooling on the table last Thursday, a soft ding kept my eyelids open for a second longer to read the text message on my favorite tiny glowing screen: “Happy Thanksgiving boys. Better be seeing you 12 months from now for Barstow to Vegas.” My initial two-year deadline was so casual I got caught out and will now be under a little pressure to get this bike completed, sorted, tested, and shipped in time.
Especially since the bike has been shuffled around more than worked on in the last few months. Other new and exciting projects came in and stole the relatively small amount of time and money I could sink into my fleet. Not one to break from a plan though, I opened my laptop and returned to my log of where I was on the project and what the next steps were. Well, actually I took a nap first. Let’s not act like a 20-minute nap is going to be the time that will derail this 365-day countdown.
Upon bringing myself back up to speed with a cup of coffee and note scrolling, I was pleased to find that previous progress stalled due to lack of funds. Pretty much any task I could do without spending more money had been completed, and when I last touched the bike, I was low on funds so progress just stopped. This was a roadblock I had happily since solved. Credit card in hand, I went out into the fields of the internet and harvested products with quick swipes.
A purchase of the items needed to prepare and spray Cerakote ceramic coating will enable the engine to be finished and broken in before painting the frame allowing me to double-check that the mish-mash of parts I’ve assembled will all play nice before making them pretty. Fresh plastics are a fun purchase but will wait longer to get installed. Just buying them locks in a few other items and decisions, though, like the overall color scheme and final look. I’m keeping it all vintage in the looks department but modern performance will be hiding in plain sight underneath.
A small but noticeable rush of excitement and daydreaming followed. But much like eating a Big Mac, the positive feeling faded quickly as the daydreams transitioned to a bloating feeling about all the tasks I just signed up for. This spending spree must be backed up with just as much real effort—maybe more—for it to mean anything.
The internals for the 600R’s engine have been mostly complete for months now. However, buying all the equipment to Cerakote the engine covers myself only helped me realize how much cleaning and organization I needed to do in the garage to rein in the momentum of other projects and shuffle my priorities effectively. Painting of this caliber will require a clean workspace, which I do not currently have.
At the same time, I’ll be finishing the engine assembly and test-running it in the frame before tearing the frame down for blasting and finishing. It’s a lot of big steps to tackle with little run-up, but with a project I’ve been looking forward to for a while it might not be so bad.
The progress that comes from having parts and tools in hand and seeing a transformation somewhere besides just my bank account balance is often more fulfilling and what I truly look forward to. With a lot of the heavy lifting and thinking already done, it’s time to just follow the plan. Hopefully that will only require a steady trickle of cash rather than a firehose pointed squarely at the ol’ Honda. The feeling that spending a bunch of cash gave me disappeared quickly but brought about an appetite to get back into the shop and back to work. Maybe not so bad after all.
“…much like eating a Big Mac, the positive feeling faded quickly…”
Great moments in modern literature, my friends, right here on the Hagerty Media pages! That is brilliant, Kyle – and if anyone doesn’t relate to it, they’re just not experienced at either buying frenzies or Big Mac eating. 😉
Better choice would have been a Quarter Pounder or a McRib! 😉
No shame in purchasing some gains.
When talking about McDonald’s or ANY fast food, really, the words “better choice” are quite relative. It’s like saying a quick death is a “better choice” than a slow one, but…one is still dead.
IMO, a “better choice” is to avoid fast food altogether (and apologies to any readers who own or work at one, but that’s the way both I and my Cardiologist see things). 😉
I feel like your paint issue could be solved with more money.
Have you looked into those cheap inflatable booths? One of those paired with an oil filled space heater (no exposed elements or flames) could give you the space you need to paint and/or blast. Especially for the size of parts you’re doing, you wouldn’t need a full size booth.
Kyle, rare is the person who can do ALL of the work their project requires. Rarer still is the person who CAN do all of it, but in the interest of time (or time management, as the case may be) chooses to hire out parts of the job. Then there’s the rest of us, who just don’t have the infrastructure, the equipment or the experience to do most of what it takes to get a project done, and so we farm out what we must.
kyle, i can relate to your comment of spending $$ can motivate oneself with a project. and also having a deadline that’s multiplied by involving others. i have a ’63 caddy that i plan to take on rte 66’s 100th anniversary. to prove my commitment, mostly to myself, i drove a 4,500 mi round trip last june/july to get a very low mileage rebuilt engine and tranny from one of my nephews. zoom calling my brother weekly (he’s one of the other 2 attendees), i’m reminded to not just install the powertrain, but to give needed attention to many other items. current highs in the mid-30s here in tn ain’t exactly a cattle prod in the rear, but reading this and other of your articles are a nice lower voltage jolt.
big macs? i’ve had maybe 4 since the early 80s. i recommend, as a reward to completing your 600 project, going to your favorite hole-in-the-wall burger joint, enjoy a sloppy 1/2 pounder, and reminisce…
Kyle, forget the 12 month deadline. You have 6. Period. That’s the only way to make sure it’s done and sorted. I pulled kind of the same stunt earlier this year. I bought a 1988 KLR 650 for riding the Black Hills BDR-X with two of my childhood buddies. Thought almost 4 months would be plenty of time. However, parts availability caused a few kinks in that timeline. FInished it in less than a week before we left. Had only 40 miles on it the day we started the trip. It all worked out fine. So, cut yoyr time frame in half and you’ll be fine
Hi Kyle,
Can you tell me how you did the inverted shock swap. I have a 1994 XR600R and it desperately needs stiffer forks. The stock forks can twist hitting obstacles, sending me off course.
Are you concerned that stiffer forks might break the frame? Years ago, I remember someone reporting their frame broke after the swap.
Thanks, John
Having never fully restored a bike (or really even worked in depth) I wonder if you can shave some time by disassembling the frame and painting the frame and engine parts at the same time? This would make reassembly and tuning a bit more tedious, but maybe save some time? And, it could also allow you to contract the painting out to a body shop, who can finish that work while you get other parts prepared.