When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Welcome Area OnlyNew Member Welcome Area Only. Be sure to pop in here and introduce yourself & let us know what Harley Davidson you own. Save your bike related questions for the proper area.
Howdy, y'all!
Got my first motorcycle -- a 1974 Harley-Davidson FX-1200 Superglide -- in April of '79. It had 6K on the clock when I got it, and well over half a million when I parked it a few years back. I still have it. In fact, I'm working on getting it running again as we speak. The image below shows the shovelhead's history over the years.
A brief pictorial history of my beloved 1974 shovelhead, from the day I got it in April of 1979 to the present day.
The 2016 Freewheeler I'm currently riding.
A Happy Biker's Garage! From left: my '74 FX-1200, the '86 FLHTC I bought that day, my '00 BMW R1100R and my '87 FXRS before I repainted it.
In the meanwhile, I've owned seven other bikes -- a 1976 FXE-1200 Liberty Edition Superglide, a 1949 James Comet, a 1995 FLHTCU, a 2000 BMW R1100R, a 1987 FXRS, a 1986 FLHTC and, most recently (and currently) a 2016 FLRT Freewheeler.
I've spent most of my adult life riding, reading and writing about riding, collecting motorcycle books and art, and just generally having a grand ol' time. I've traveled all over the Midwest and Rocky Mountain regions on my bikes, and loved every mile of it. My main gigs were working on motorcycles and working on signs. Unfortunately, in 2004 I was disabled in a 35' fall off a sign structure, which put a hitch in my get-along and a crimp in my style. I stayed on two wheels as long as I could (a loooooong story, all that!) but a year ago I acquired a 2016 Freewheeler. I've adapted it to accommodate my disabilities, and once I got a few issues dialed in (suspension and engine heat, mostly) it became a right pleasant ride. Still miss riding my shovelhead, and still hoping I'll find a way back on it soon, but in the meanwhile I just want to hang out, ask questions when I must and offer help when I can.
Welcome from College Station. Lots of great riding on the Hill Country back in those days. It was much different back then, but still fun today.
I frequently visited Austin Harley on Guadalupe (long gone) run by Dan James and his father. Lots of other shops, Elrod on W. Mary etc.
Paul
We're not related, but I knew Dan, traded with him and attended his funeral. Damn shame, that: a heart attack at 48. A friend who worked the ER the night they brought Dan in said they worked for over an hour trying to save him, but his heart was just too far gone. I knew Buddy and Charlie, who took over the Guadalupe shop after Dan died, and watched as they spun off in different directions. Lost track of Buddy after he left the stealership on Lamar. Charlie opened a custom and speed shop on Airport.
I knew Tom Elrod from the racing circuit, but never traded with him. Last I heard he was up in Taylor, but that was decades ago. Knew Little Gary and a bunch of the other shop owners around the region during those years. I took a gal to some flat-track races at the Sheriff's Posse Arena near Elroy, and after we'd been there a while she looked at me and said 'You know everybody!' I looked around and realized that, yeah, I did! I've heard that Gary's down near San Marcos now, and the rest are gone to the four winds.
Me, I spent most of thirty-six years as a Known Associate of Bud's Motorcycle Shop over on East First Street, from the summer he opened in '79 to the day he died in 2015. He was my mentor and best friend.
I taught myself to ride by chasing those Hill Country roads -- some of the best years of my life -- but I tend to avoid them now, because that whole area is so built up. I go east, instead, out to Bastrop and Caldwell and Lee Counties. Nice roads, pretty scenery and far less traffic.
7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles
Slideshow: The bar-and-shield logo shows up on far more than motorcycles, some of the company's most unexpected products have nothing to do with riding.
Slideshow: From the troubled AMF years to modern misfires, these bikes earned reputations for reliability issues, questionable engineering, or disappointing performance.
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Slideshow: The Swiss custom shop has taken a Harley Softail and stretched it into something so long and low that it looks closer to a rolling sculpture than a conventional motorcycle.
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Slideshow: A standard cruiser becomes an intricate metal canvas in the hands of a Swiss custom house known for pushing Harley-Davidson platforms far beyond their factory brief.
Slideshow: Harley-Davidson's challenges aren't abstract; they show up in dropping shipments, shrinking dealer traffic, and strategic decisions that aren't yet translating into growth.
Central Texas
I stayed on two wheels as long as I could (a loooooong story, all that!) but a year ago I acquired a 2016 Freewheeler. I've adapted it to accommodate my disabilities, and once I got a few issues dialed in (suspension and engine heat, mostly) it became a right pleasant ride. Still miss riding my shovelhead, and still hoping I'll find a way back on it soon, but in the meanwhile I just want to hang out, ask questions when I must and offer help when I can.
I've heard that Gary's down near San Marcos now, and the rest are gone to the four winds.