I love to Ride

Incredibly, I didn’t start riding until an adult, though I’ve had the itch since I was a kid.  As a pre-teen, I remember having dreams of riding motorcycles, but in those dreams, I was always pedaling the damned things.. maybe I was a bike rider in the early 1900s in an earlier life?  (Just kidding!).   I always wanted one of those fat tire Honda or minibikes we’d see around.  However, due to moving a lot and lack of peers who had bikes, it never happened.  

While in the USAF, my neighbor was selling his Kawasaki LTD440.  Now at 6’4 235 back then… this was a small bike!  However, I got my feet wet with it.  Two years later, a buddy let me ride is V65 Magna…   then a few days later I’d traded up to an LTD1000!   With a few moves (I’m retired USAF now), I’d sold the LTD1000, rode a Suzuki GL 1100, and in ’02 after retiring, made the jump to a Vulcan 1500 Classic.  I rode this bike a lil’ here and there, putting on only 5500 miles over the next 7 years.  My wife wouldn’t ride with me back then due to two reasons;  our daughter was in school and she was worried about her losing two parents in one accident, and …… her memories of my driving habits on the LTD1000 were not good ones  .. ( that poor bike was abused.. but.. what a blast ) !!

In 2009, EVERYTHING changed!!!  A buddy bought my Vulcan and I picked up a new bike.  The wife was riding with me now and my buddy and his wife were our new riding partners… let the fun begin!

This is where everything gets a little crazy.  Back in 2003, I wanted to pick up an Indian Chief, but they went out of business before I made the decision.  Lo’ and behold, in 2009 they were back!  I picked up a 2009 Indian Chief Vintage.  Now, at 6’4, 290lbs, Harley Davidson’s feel ‘small’ to me.  However, the Indian was a perfect fit.  The first year, I put on as many miles as I had the previous  7 … I was back in the saddle and hooked…..  and .. this is where things get a little crazy. 

I’d been to the Big Dog Factory around ’04 time frame and always loved their choppers.  Twelve months ago, I snagged a Big Dog Ridgeback (hard tail with 330 tire).  Then, acquired a custom softail and had it converted to a Bobber.   I’ve been working on the wife to ride, and she’s agreed (summer 2010)!  So, I quickly picked up a Suzuki 650 for her to learn on, and a Ridley Custom ( automatic) due to her ankles, but she’s chosen the HD route so we’ve got a Custom Sportster with hard bags awaiting her graduation from the Suzuki!

To top things off, late Fall 2010 I stumbled across a steal of a deal on Craigslist, and picked up  a 2000 Indian Chief with 850 miles on it, and a Indian Scout ’03 with only 6 miles on it via CycleTrader for my wife.  (That’s three Indians; I plan on putting them in bike shows if you’re wondering!)

Somewhere in the mix, I always wanted to own an HD.  So, on a whim, with a few beers in me, I scoured Craigslist and found a high mileage Ultra Classic and traded a car that had been in my garage sitting for the last five years in a straight up trade!   I spent a couple of bucks changing out the seat, extending the boards and shifter, etc, etc to size it … However, I didn’t trust it 100% due to the high miles and didn’t know the history.  Additionally, I wanted to repaint it, new stereo, etc…. my local chop’ shop recommended I get one (via trade) that was closer to what I wanted.  Well, I went overboard and found a Road Glide Custom with the Powerpac 103 option.  The Road Glides had the extended fairings that don’t feel as ‘small’ in my opinion.  Moving the Boards out allows me to stretch out and relax.   My new ‘two wheeled Cadillac!’

Now…is this all crazy?  Yep!  I’ve given up trying to explain why I’ve done all this …..But I can tell you two things.

1.        I LOVE riding.  I enjoy my Indian ’09 the most.  It’s a piece of art and with a 105 engine, tons of power. It’s a large bike!  For around town, the Big Dog is awesome, and the HD for road trips.

2.       I’m not done.   A V8 Chopper tempts me.  The Triumph Rocket III is tempting (150hp!).  A 40s/50’s Indian Chief is in my future…

But for now….I just want to ride…  sometimes it’s hard to keep my mind on work….  Stay focused…. I’d rather be on the back roads…at a Bike Rally …    even my circle of friends are changing ….spend most of my time with friends that ride.....  ( hint hint )

One thing I’ve got say in closing.   In the early days, I believed in riding only Metrics.  The HD’s seemed too high maintenance to me, and too expensive.   Then, I got my Vulcan and it was a ‘look alike’ cruiser.  I loved it, it was a great value, and was super reliable.  Then… things began to change.  I got an Indian and became ‘pro American V Twin’, but still anti-HD (felt like many owners were ‘posers’).  Then…..  I felt the urge to join the ‘club’……  So then I became over the top pro American V Twin!

Now.. I’ve come full circle.  All that matters is … you ride!... Metric… American ….   Brit…. Does it matter?  Depending on what bike you choose will determine the ‘group’ you may affiliate with ….. But we’re in the same club... and it’s a minority club….. But one of the best…

……………………………….

Hayabusa… did I mention how much fun one of these would be?