Old guy new to HD
#1
08-20-2013, 08:46 PM
Old guy new to HD
OK, this will probably be the longest post I ever make here.
I'm 63 years old and my first bike was a Honda 50 Trail my dad bought for me and my brother in about 1966. It was the one with the larger wheels and a road sprocket that would let it go 65 or so. I used to ride it across town to work at the drive in theatre when I was in high school.
Bought my second bike, a well used Honda 350 Scrambler, right after we got married in 1970. I rode it quite a bit, but the upkeep strained our budget, so after a couple of years, it went down the road. I read Easy Rider through the 70s and dreamed of riding a Harley over the open road.
I bought a business in 1978, and in 1979 I stopped at the Honda dealership and saw the new CX500 Custom, the first Honda I'd seen with a 16" rear wheel. It was also a v-twin, water-cooled and shaft-driven. I had to have it. I test rode a bunch of other bikes, including HD (which was AMF at that time) and still ended up buying the CX500.
I rode that CX500 26,000 miles over the next five years or so. In 1985, about twelve people were killed in motorcycle accidents in my town, including one guy on a chopper who was rear-ended right in front of my shop. I lost interest and sold the Honda.
My wife has told me repeatedly over the years that she was never happier than the day I sold that bike. So I figured I'd probably never own another one.
Fast forward to three weeks ago. My best bud (who has a '01 Softail Springer) mentions that one of his renters has a 1999 Softail he needs to sell. My wife mentioned later that we may need to go see the bike. I asked her what had changed and she said "When you had your Honda, you were the sole breadwinner and I had three little kids at home. Things are different now. I know how much you love riding, let's go look at the bike".
So I became the proud owner of a red and black 1999 Softail with Super Trapp pipes and a Le Para seat and 39,000 miles. It had set for two years so it took some carb work to get it running, and the tab holding the spring for the kickstand had broken off, so I fabricated a new tab and welded it on.
Rode it for the first time Sunday, and have put maybe 100 miles on it since then. My legs are really rusty (and old) so I'm taking it extremely easy until I feel confident enough to take my wife for a ride.
Whew. I told you it would be a long post. I've been reading and learning here for a couple of weeks. My main interest for the last 30 years has been shooting and firearms, so I'll post in that forum from time to time.
I'm 63 years old and my first bike was a Honda 50 Trail my dad bought for me and my brother in about 1966. It was the one with the larger wheels and a road sprocket that would let it go 65 or so. I used to ride it across town to work at the drive in theatre when I was in high school.
Bought my second bike, a well used Honda 350 Scrambler, right after we got married in 1970. I rode it quite a bit, but the upkeep strained our budget, so after a couple of years, it went down the road. I read Easy Rider through the 70s and dreamed of riding a Harley over the open road.
I bought a business in 1978, and in 1979 I stopped at the Honda dealership and saw the new CX500 Custom, the first Honda I'd seen with a 16" rear wheel. It was also a v-twin, water-cooled and shaft-driven. I had to have it. I test rode a bunch of other bikes, including HD (which was AMF at that time) and still ended up buying the CX500.
I rode that CX500 26,000 miles over the next five years or so. In 1985, about twelve people were killed in motorcycle accidents in my town, including one guy on a chopper who was rear-ended right in front of my shop. I lost interest and sold the Honda.
My wife has told me repeatedly over the years that she was never happier than the day I sold that bike. So I figured I'd probably never own another one.
Fast forward to three weeks ago. My best bud (who has a '01 Softail Springer) mentions that one of his renters has a 1999 Softail he needs to sell. My wife mentioned later that we may need to go see the bike. I asked her what had changed and she said "When you had your Honda, you were the sole breadwinner and I had three little kids at home. Things are different now. I know how much you love riding, let's go look at the bike".
So I became the proud owner of a red and black 1999 Softail with Super Trapp pipes and a Le Para seat and 39,000 miles. It had set for two years so it took some carb work to get it running, and the tab holding the spring for the kickstand had broken off, so I fabricated a new tab and welded it on.
Rode it for the first time Sunday, and have put maybe 100 miles on it since then. My legs are really rusty (and old) so I'm taking it extremely easy until I feel confident enough to take my wife for a ride.
Whew. I told you it would be a long post. I've been reading and learning here for a couple of weeks. My main interest for the last 30 years has been shooting and firearms, so I'll post in that forum from time to time.
#2
08-20-2013, 08:46 PM
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08-21-2013, 04:47 AM
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