"Museum Condition"

  "Level one, museum-like condition, plus extras"

This was how the condition of my 1990 GB500 was described by the previous owner in the Ebay listing. This would turn out to be false.

It's been an illuminating experience so far, buying a "vintage" vehicle. Some of my expectations were exceeded, some were not met at all, and some might have been unrealistic... naive, even.

With the bike loaded in the back of a friend's truck, I tucked into the scrapbook that was included with my purchase. It contained magazine articles, manuals, brochures and all of the other memorabilia an enthusiast would wish for with the purchase of a well-loved and well-kept collectible vehicle. It was deep within the binder that I came across a professional appraisal of the bike that was commissioned 3 years ago when the recent owner bought the bike from a collector. I had a quick spell of deja-vu.... the rating on the 3 year-old appraisal was "level one, museum-like condition, plus extras."

You see, this motorcycle did indeed spend its first 18 years sitting on display in a pair of museum-like private collections before it was purchased 3 years ago by it's most recent owner in California. Apparently he has no imagination because he used the exact wording from his 3 year old appraisal to describe the motorcycle's current condition. It wouldn't normally be an issue, but in those last 3 years he did what any self-respecting motorcycle enthusiast would do and rode the thing. The extra 8000 miles he added to the odometer did indeed put some wear and tear on parts of the bike, and it's condition is closer to a 2 today. I could more easily forget about it if the pictures in the listing were actually current, not just the same images as when he bought it.

Level one condition examples wouldn't have grime on the front of the engine, a messy drive chain, pitting on the fork legs and mirrors, a fuel leak and a broken seat mount bolt.

I'm irritated, but I'm thrilled with the GB and I'm still relatively happy with the deal I got, especially with the boxes stuffed with extras and spares that came with it.

Maybe it's just as well that it isn't in "museum condition" because if it were it wouldn't stay that way long. I plan to enjoy this motorcycle, and riding is enjoying.

  When someone removed the smog pump, they used a couple of coins to block the ports. Cute, but not ideal.

pitting on the fork legs

Chain and sprockets will need some cleaning

  Fuel drips from the Mikuni carb when the petcock is turned on

This is the hinge where the seat swings away. The stud is broken off.