Posted by Frank on August 21, 1999 at 02:09:51:
I fell in love with motorcycles at an early age (9 or 10), before I even had a license. It started out on my dear old Grandad's farm in Texas on a Honda Z50, and then my friend's XR75. when I was 13 or 14 I couldn't wait to ride a steet bike. I would alway try and get rides from my sister's boyfriend on his Honda CB750. I begged my parents to let me have a bike when I turned 16. It was a tough struggle, I don't know how I won them over, but I did. I worked and saved. My parents insisted that I get proper training, so I had to take a riding course. I finally bought my first street legal bike, a new Honda XL100 for $900. I think I cleaned and stared at it more than I rode it. It didn't have any power but I loved it any way. I was so into biking that I bugged the manager at a local Honda shop (not in business any more) for a job doing anything. He finally hired me just to get me off his ass. I was a lot boy, I did all the dirty work around the shop. I cleaned the shop, washed the windows, picked up parts and broken motorcycles etc. The best job was keeping the new models nice and clean. I got to touch all the new Honda models of '79 and '80. My parents kind of gave up on me about motorcycles and just decided to let me grow out of it and hopefully I would'nt kill myself. Well, I bought my next bike. I never had much money so I bought the parts manager's CB125. Man that bike was a blast for a 17 year old kid. I put an aftermarket kit in it and bored it out to a 145cc. For a little bike, she had a lot of torque. That's how I fell in love with thumpers and ultimately bought the Savage 16 years later. I went into the Military after high school. I think my parents sold my 125 while I was away, I don't remember. In the service I bought a buddy's 1979 Suzuki 425s. That bike was rugged. She survived the Montana winters, got back to California and still ran like a champ. She was a good weekend get away bike as well an a much neede commuter. I traded her in for a 1991 fire engine red Suzuki GS500E. For the money, this bike is a great deal. Strong engine, good sport bike, great brakes. It was in 1993 that I took my only break from motorcyling. I don't know why but I just lost interest and wanted to sell my 500 for a computer! Worst decision I ever made. I dreamed of having a bike again someday, it just wasn't in the cards until 1996, when I bought a 1985 Shadow 1100. The biggest bike I've ever owned. The wife and I took her to Oregon via the California coast. I started to commute on her when my cage died after 165K. The Shadow already had 56K on her when I bought her. She died at 81K. Too expensive to fix, so she sits silently in my garage, the engine out of the frame and in pieces (cataloged and organized). That's when I turned my eye to the Savage. I wanted something not technically complicated. Something I could rebuild myself. The Savage took me back to my roots, the little thumpers I had as a boy. I don't care that the Savage is not the fastest thing out there, or that it appears as a harley look a like. It's a damn fun bike! And you know what? After all these years I still have the motorcycle bug. I never out grew it. You know, it's funny....A lot of guys get into motorcycles at some point in their lives. Usually in the form of dirt bikes or high school/college commuting. Most guys tend to move on, get married, have kids, get a career and get tied down. I meet these guys all the time, in parking lots or stop lights. They look at my Savage for a while and then comment about the bike they had years ago. Some say they will get another one some day, but the wife won't let them, or they're too dagerous. I just smile and ride away. How about you guys/gals out there? Do you have a similar story? Do you have "the fever"? I still do.