When I was just a kid, I got into motorcycles hot and heavy. Love everything about them so far. Since the parents were (and still are, really) convinced that I should never own a motorcycle, when I was 25 or so, I picked up my first real road bike, a maroon 1981 Suzuki GS 550T…
Six months later, met my future wife, and between her, and the best friend at the time, decided it’d be best to go ahead and sell it to avoid the constant aggravation and whining. Worst mistake I ever made.
Now that the now-ex-wife is married to the former best friend, I’m back into developing a true love of the hobby, having had two bikes since October of 2007. The first, an Orange Honda VTX, the latest, a “Black Cherry” 2008 Honda Goldwing GL1800.
Now for the funny part. Starting around September of 2007, my dad and I were at a local flea market, reminiscing about how he would love to have a Goldwing. This, of course, lit my fire for a new bike, so I ran right out and picked up the VTX. Not to be outdone, dad calls me from Daytona Beach (Bike Week) and tells me that he bought a Suzuki 800 Marauder.
Over the next two weeks, we put on about four 200 mile days, which literally turned into a pain in the butt. The VTX was too small for touring for my fat ass, and his Suzuki just wasn’t what he wanted. So… On a pretty Saturday afternoon, he runs out and buys a 2008 Yamaha V-star 1100. Pretty bike, but about two weeks later, he realizes that he can’t sell the Suzuki, so he goes and trades BOTH bikes in on a Yamaha Road Star Midnight Silverado 1700.
Simultaneously and after a lot of thought, I had been researching Goldwing prices throughout the southeast. One Wednesday afternoon, I walked into the local Honda Dealer, said “here’s my price”, and he said “we can do that” (dammit, now I gotta buy a bike). The next day, I rode off on my 2008 Goldwing 1800.
Two days later, dad was having his bike worked on (new, louder pipes), when he noticed a red, 1994 Goldwing 1500 in the shop in great shape with 87,000 miles on it. Swapsies later, and dad owned his first Goldwing. Life was good.
There are a lot of pictures on my Flickr page which show the two bikes together, but alas, his was not long for his world. Turns out there was a mechanic / dealer nearby with a Silver 1998 GL1500 with 42000 miles on it in better shape, so now dad was back to owning two Goldwings. The red one he sold (the buyer now rides with us on weekends) and the silver one he kept.
Now jealousy is a funny thing…
Dad used to be a motorcycle cop in Huntsville back in the day. When he got back into riding, he met up with a bunch of his old motorcycle cop buddies. One of which has now decided he wants a Goldwing and to move up from his Harley. Two Mondays ago, off they ride to Cullman, AL in search of a new wing for the friend, when they happen upon a Jupiter Orange 2003 Goldwing 1800 with only 4200 miles on it.
Suffice it to say that dad is now on his sixth bike in 9 months, while I’m happily on my second.
Every weekend, you can find us putting 300 to 400 miles on the bikes touring, and it’s the closest I’ve EVER been to my dad, so I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.
2 responses so far ↓
amigadave // September 4, 2008 at 3:02 pm |
Hi Wayne, this is my first blog comment anywhere, but I just wanted to say hi and tell you that I enjoyed your story about you and your Dad riding motorcycles. I too was smitten early with riding, getting my first bike as a Christmas present at age 16. I owned a bike almost continuously until age 24, then had a long drought until I bought a Kawasaki KLR 650 at age 50. I was not sure I would remember how to ride anymore, but it seemed to be coming back to me until one day while on my way to work I snaked through traffic at a stop light and was a little nervous about the drivers being a bit upset that I had gotten in front of them in that way, but I tried to relax. I assumed that the traffic in the left turn lane in front of me would get a green arrow before I would get a green light to go, so I put the bike in neutral and my hand off the clutch lever. You can guess what happened next. I got the green to go and panicked to put the bike in gear too fast to get out of the way of the cars I had just snaked through and I ended up popping the clutch on a bike that I had only been riding for a couple of weeks after not riding for 20+ years. I performed the highest wheelie I had ever seen across the entire intersection, so much so that I had to take my feet off the pegs and I was laying on the tank with my feet and legs flailing behind me. I don’t know how I managed to keep it straight and pull myself back on top to bring it back to Earth, but I survived and made it to work unscathed. I later found that the KLR did not suit me as it is too heavy for riding in the dirt near my home, and it is not comfortable or stable enough for cruising on the highways, so I have it up for sale and have bought a Suzuki DRZ400 SuperMoto and installed rain tires to have a bit more tread in the dirt when I take my 15 year-old Son riding on his Yamaha 125 TT. The Suzuki was modified by the previous owner and has more power than the KLR 650 and much less weight, so it is very quick and fun on the mountain roads, but again it is not exactly what I need as the rain tires just don’t cut it in the dirt and I have already fallen a few times riding with the Son. I guess the solution is to either stop riding in the dirt or get two bikes. Congrats on becoming closer with your Dad, that is a great story and what life is all about.
Wayne // September 5, 2008 at 11:54 am |
@Amigadave
I would have given anything to see the wheelie from hell.. Sounds like it was almost a tossup between “take your chances” and “let go of the bars and take your lumps” but I’m glad it all worked out for you in the end.
As for dad, he’s keeping his latest, the orange 2003 goldwing, but just bought a 2005 VTX 1800c to ride around with all his Harley buddies.
Me? Feels like I’ll be paying for my Goldwing until the second coming..
Wayne
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