I think my bike is finally cured. Not just tuned up better to mitigate the problem, or tugged at until the problem briefly goes away, but actually fixed. It was, as I was increasingly suspecting, the ignition coil.

Now it’s literally hitting on all cylinders, which it sure wasn’t. Amazing how much more power you get that way. Sure idles better too – as in it idles. I find I have very little desire to get a more powerful bike. Even the glorified moped engine I’ve got can kick out a scary amount of speed when you tug on the throttle. When it’s working. Like now.

I was afraid it would be the ignition coil, because I was afraid that I would either have to scour the bike salvage yards of the world to track down a replacement or order it (if they even still make them) from Japan at incredible cost and massive delay whilst it rode a container ship across the planet. Luckily, and I do mean luckily, Masao the mechanic has a Japanese model ’84 400 which, luckily, uses the same model ignition coil as my Californian model ’82 550. Also luckily for me, he had a spare coil kicking around and voluntarily offered it at reasonable cost.

In other news, I saw a guy hitching with a bicycle today, thumbing at pickups. To which I say, why the hell not? I hope hitching is in a renaissance period in which we develop and refine all sorts of new hitchhiking applications.

I of course, may have to miss the renaissance, much as I enjoy the minimalist freedom of hitching. I have a motorcycle.