Well it
has been a interesting time for
me lately. In case you didn't
notice I did not do a May story.
The reason was that I was in no
condition to sit-up straight. It
was thought that I had a stroke.
All the signs were there, but
all the tests came back
negative. Don't get me wrong,
I'm as happy as a fat rat in a
cheese factory, but I would like
to know what happened.
The doctors told me no
motorcycles for three months,
but that I could drive my truck.
I said, if I can drive one, I
can ride the other. No way will
I sit out the summer. Enough
said.
So lets talk about making your
bike represent you. What do I
mean by this you ask. Well let
me put it this way. When you see
my bike in a crowd of other
bike's you know it's mine. When
I first started riding it was
because I wanted to be different
from other people. I didn't want
to be just another robot in a
grey flannel suit, marching in
step with the world. But also I
wanted not to be just
another biker. I wanted
to be me, or who I thought I was
at that time. One of the things
that drove me crazy about some
of the biker's then and now, was
what I call cookie cutter bikes.
Here is what I mean. I went to a
rally last week, everyone was
dressed in the same black
leathers, (aka. grey flannel
suits) and with the exception of
paint color, all the Harley
looked the same. It was like the
mirrors at a fun house. You
stand between two mirrors, and
no matter which way you look,
you see the same thing. That's
what happened
to me. Here were all these great
machines, but they all looked
the same. Oh sure, there was
enough chrome to choke a whale,
but they all had chrome, so
really, no one's bike was
different that the next guys.
Not to put down anyone's bike.
They were all great looking
bikes. But after the first 20 or
so, I just didn't bother to look
at any of them. There was
nothing that jumped out, and
said, hey look I'm different.
Now I know I'm going to hear a
lot about all the custom
bikes out there and such. I
don't give a damn about those
bikes. They are build for
trophy's or ego. And most are
not riding hard, for fear of
damage. I'm talking about making
your bike, your everyday
ride yours. That is shows your
personality, not the company's.
These days everybody thinks you
have to spend thousands of
dollars to have a bike that says
you. Bullshit! You also don't
have to do it all at once. Make
changes a little at a time. Let
your bike grow into being your
bike. Where's the fire? What's
the rush? Enjoy the journey.
It's like riding cross country.
Once you get to where your going
it's over. THE END.
The fun and laughs happen during
the journey. So enjoy yourself.
Six months ago I gave up my 1975
Harley for a new Wideglide. So
now I had to make this new
Harley mine,
not Harley Davidson's. But how?
Big paint job's or custom wheels
where out of the question. I
just spent $500.00 more than
I paid for my first house for to
buy this bike, so big money is
thin, and will be for awhile.
But I had to start to change
this bike, from Harley's bike,
to mine. So I started looking at
all the other Harley's I saw to
form a plan.
The first thing I noticed was
that almost all the bike's I saw
had no sissy bars, and the ones
that did have them, had very
short padded ones. No higher
than ten inches. So the first
thing I did was have a custom
24" high sissy bar made, with
lots of twists and turns for my
bike, and no padding. It cost me
$200.00, but, no one else around
has one that tall, or one that
looks like it. This was step one
in making my Harley say, hey
look at me, I'm different, and
so is the person who rides me. I
can't begin to tell you how many
other biker's and non biker's
have said how great my bike
looks with this sissy bar.
As a matter of fact, last week
I was sitting at a red light on
route 1 in Branford, in front of
the cherry hill shopping center,
where the road is two lanes. A
van came skidding up on the side
of me tires smokin, and almost
smacked into the car in front of
him. I mean he stopped less than
six inches from the other car's
bumper. I thought the girl in
the car in front of him was
going to pass out, she got so
white in her face. I looked at
him and with a smile I said that
was pertty close. He smiled back
and said yea. That's what I get
for checking out your
cool sissy bar, and not watching
the road.
Turns out he was a fellow biker,
he had a Harley sticker on his
back window. We both laughed and
went our separate ways. To me
that was a confirmation that I
am on the right path, to making
my Harley mine. I next did some
drawings and had a set of foot
pegs made. They are like nothing
I have seen yet. I still have to
get them chromed, but it is
another step into changing my
Harley from the cookie cutter
look, to my Harley. Bottom line
is this. It does not take a lot
of money to make your bike
different, and to break free
from the flock. It also is not
written in stone that you have
to bolt on chrome billet parts
like everyone else is to be
different. Sit down with pen and
paper. Make a few drawings
of what is cool to you, don't
worry about what the rest of us
think. Make
your ride say you.
