Tuesday, April 10, 2012

My new bike


motorcycle

Last year I bought a motorcycle.  Another one really.  I'd owned two bikes, and as a young dad with three little kids, decided that it was probably time to stop skydiving and riding motorcycles for a bit.  When my friends Bob and Brad got bikes, I got the bug for one.  I didn't want anything big or fancy, or even a Harley at that point. I was interested in a bike for occasional riding.  My friend Bob knew a guy that had a Harley Sportster that had sat in his garage for 15 years: a 1992 Sportster to be exact, with only 2,500 miles.  I got a great deal on it, put about $1000 to have it overhauled and put back into mint shape.  I loved it.  It had a stage one kit and a great sound and rode nicely - for a bike made in 1992.  The suspension was rough, especially for two people, the engine was carborated, but it was still great.  I got brought into the harley family hook line and sinker.  I fell in love with the sound and the style of bikes, not to mention the harley davidson stores.  I slowly got the HD shirts, the hat - everything but the trucker wallet.

Last fall, my friend Mike came over with his new bike.  I took my riding buddy (Emily) for a ride and she was sold, and so was I.  The bike was so smooth and handled beautifully.  I started looking.
motorcycle
My friend Matt and Mike both advised me on what to get, and after lots of looking, I found a deal too good to pass up at badmc.com, a harley davidson dealership in Chicago. I bought a 2011 Harley Davdison Street Glide in February and was waiting until we had some nice weather to bring it home. Mid March, we had some freakishly warm weather, and on a Tuesday, I booked a one way ticket to fly out to Chicago to pick up my bike from the dealership.  I drove it the five hours back, meeting my friend Mike mid-way in Kalamazoo for an escort.
My beautiful new babyNew motorcycle

The bike is magical.  It's smoother than butter on a bald monkey.  It's got an amazing sound system, which I love as much as any feature.

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