I almost screwed up this week. Me and the wife have been together for 5 yrs. When we met I was riding an 07 RoadKing Custom. That was the bike we dated and got married on. We were at a shop in Hot Spring on our honeymoon and I bought my boy a Nightster. The agreement with him was he would work and make the payments and pay the insurance on it. That didn't happen so I traded it in on an '11 Eletra Glide Classic for myself and upgraded myself to 2 bikes. I didn't like that bike and traded it off the following March for an 09 RoadKing Classic that my wife found for me. The one in my signature. Last Oct. on my wife's birthday we were in Toadsuck HD picking up a couple of things for here for her birthday and I traded in my '07 RK Custom for a new '13 wide Glide because when I was younger the first Harley I wanted was a black Wide Glide with tank flames. That was mistake #1. I still haven't put 1000 miles on that bike. I found out that the bikes of the youth might have been fine when you were young, but they can suck when the body isn't what it use to be.

This brings me to I almost really screwed up this week. I have put over $4k and several hrs in my '09 RK Classic over the last 2 months. Some of it was needed most of it was just wanted. I stopped at Toadsuck between a meeting at work and lunch. In a 2 day period I almost traded in both my bikes to downsize to 1. It ended with the MOCO wanting both of my bikes and a chunk of change that I wasn't going to give them to make it happen. My wife had been quiet all week and I spent a couple of days by myself on the '09. When we finally talked about it she told me," You traded off the bike we got married on." and she was quiet for awhile. Then she said, "You told me if you could have the bike you wanted what it would be and I found it. You love that bike. You just spent $5000 on it and were going to trade it off to and for what? An Ultra, you don’t even like a dresser" Well she nailed me there.

 

Man, you done so much flip flopping I can't even figure out what you really done here lol.

I could have saved you disappointment on the wide glide. The new ones feel like a vastly different machine than the old ones you gawked at in younger days. The old ones turned into a nice touring bike with a windshield and good seat, and still looked good.

 

I have a 2002 RKC my wife absolutely loves and she's told me that I will never trade or sell that bike. I think your wife must have felt the same about the one you got married on...and she may be at the end of her rope with all the swapping. Better hold onto her and quit walking into dealers (bet they love to see you walking into their stores).

 

Wow, makes me glad that I'm happy with what I've got! (Of course, with all my history with this one, we're pretty much inseparable anyway.)

 

I'm passed almost screwed up. I have screwed up. More than once. Its easy to get sucked into the latest and greatest. Glad you caught yourself before you did it again. Now sell that wide glide to some one who will ride it. Stop paying pp tax and insurance on it. Take that money and start your new bike fund and start saving till you reach your goals. If that's what you want to do. Payments sux, they are a albatross hang around your neck.

 

I can honestly say No....


I have bought 3 brand new bikes in my life and I wore all three of them out before getting rid of them.
I buy what I actually want and have never gotten pulled in by the "latest and greatest" scam.


I can't even imagine having a perfectly good 1 year old motorcycle with almost no miles on it.

 

Kinda hard to relate to almost screwing up in that fashion. Trading in a vehicle frequently to "scratch that itch" just doesn't enter into my thought process.
I don't do vehicle swaps that often. I typically have a good idea of what I REALLY want, and once I have it, I keep it. Then I'll change it up to suit. I've had my truck, that I bought new for ten years, and my drag race car, I've had for fifteen years.
When it comes to bikes, It was always gonna be a Harley, but I also wanted a bike that could perform well on twisty roads, and wasn't overly heavy. What I wanted was a Sportster...one without EFI. I found an ultra clean example and have been working on it to be the way I want it to be. They are always a work in progress and never really "done."

Anyway, about 25 years ago, I did screw up in a way that has me kicking my own *** every time I think about it. I bought a 1970 T/A Challenger in the summer of '78 for $3000. A lot of money then. My wife ( god rest her soul) and I had a lot of good times with that car. I street raced it, and raced it at the track for several years, then sold it when my two boys were very young because I couldn't afford the maintenance. Sold it for $3500.

Fast forward to today, and those cars are worth well north of $100,000. Who knew? Dammit!

I hope you find what you're looking for. But it seems the '09 has special meaning for your wife. That right there is something to chew on for a while.

 

We were talking about it last night. The Wide Glide will go down the road next spring or the mill will become a donor for the 09 if ever needed. The 09 RK will stay. It actually has more real estate than the 07 had. There isn't much there that is Classic anymore.

As far as the bikes go she said that she doesn't care what I have. It's my bike. She said the 09 is set up now where it is comfortable for her and she is relaxed on it.

 

You running synthetic or conventional oil in your bikes?

 

There's your answer. If you feel the need to "play" do it with a 2nd bike and leave her ride/memories alone!