For those of you who do not know the saga of my Paso 750.....
I bought my Paso 750 as a non-running project bike for $900 over two years ago. It was complete, just that it hadn't been running in over four years when I bought it, and it took me another two years to get it running and on the road. The bike had previously been taken apart to the bare frame and powder coated silver, but it was not reassembled the way it should have been. Anyway, I have finally rolled the first 1000 miles on the bike since getting it on the road.....about 70% commuting on fairly straight roads and 30% on nice mountain twisties. Here are my thoughts on the bike.....
Compared to my other bikes, it obviously is down on power, but it doesn't bother me. I accept the fact that it has had a hard life and is over 20 years old, so I try not to abuse it too much. For commuting duties, the stock 15/38 gearing seems too low. I roll 4000 rpm at 60 mph, and the 10+ miles of interstate riding I do to-and-from work is usually around 70 mph (70 mph equals 4500 rpm on the tach). I think the Paso feels about right at 60 mph and once I go over 70 mph, the bike seems to be straining. I'm constantly looking for a 6th gear, which does not exist, so I just try to do 60-65 mph and I figure it will help prevent me from getting a speeding ticket.
My gas mileage is not the best at 30-34 mpg, but it is still running a little rich. I still need to fine-tune the carbs. It probably needs to be rejetted as dropping the needles down a little didn't really help. I have a Corbin seat on the Paso and for the 20-50 mile commute, it does fine. The bike has really comfortable ergonomics, also. I have probably ridden it no more than 50 miles at one time and no more than 200 miles in a single day, so far.
Now for the mountain-twisty fun riding....I recall reading a few years ago that the Paso doesn't handle very well, is not neutral in the curves, and takes some effort to "man handle", but....apparantly, the person that wrote those words never owned one of these bikes. I was actually shocked how light, nimble, and flickable the little bike is. Little is true, too. Compared to my ST2 and the 748, the Paso is puny. It's just a little thing. I was pleasantly shocked how well the 16" tires with a wide and low profile didn't seem to negatively effect the handling. The Paso is easy to turn into the curves, it can transition really well in "S" curve sections, and the old-style Michelins stick pretty well. The bike handles well enough and the tires stick good enough that I actually dragged a knee in two curves this past Sunday on the Paso.....and dragged a slip-on exhaust clamp.
Overall, I've been quite pleased with the little Paso and the nostalgia aspect is really cool. It seems like every time I have the bike out, someone stops me and asks about it. I'm hoping to rack up several thousand more miles, as the bike just rolled 30,000 miles, but it looks like I need to do some more work to the bike. When I got home Sunday evening, the bike is making a weird squealing noise. I'm hoping it is nothing major. It doesn't really sound like a bearing, and it doesn't sound like the belts, but I'll strip the bodywork off the bike and try to track down the problem before I ride it, again......I guess it is expected from a bike that has had such a hard life.
