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I Get My First Harley For quite some time, probably three years, I have been wanting to get a Harley. Why? To tell the truth, I don't think I ever wanted to be without a motorcycle. Back in the '70's, my lifestyle was all about motorcycles. I rode with friends, I rode alone, I raced dirtbikes every weekend. It all came suddenly to a halt at 19 with the loss of my dad. I continued to race for another year after that, but finances limited my efforts to the point where I simply gave it up. That was followed by marriage, child rearing, and the college tuition years. There was little time, and less money on something that was a potentially expensive hobby. Then, the Discovery Channel started running shows that were about building custom motorcycles. As I watched custom motorcycles being crafted from raw sheet metal and hunks of billet, I thought to myself, "I could do that." These TV shows reignited my interest in motorcycles, and for the first time, made me interested in custom V-Twins and their fabrication. Now, at 50 years old, I was mostly free of those familial encumbrances, and I was ready to act. I decided to spend about $5000, which meant that I would be limited to a used Sportster. It wasn't the only thing that I would consider, though. Here is the story of how I got my first Harley, which turned out to be nothing like a Sportster. I had just closed an annual support contract, and the money was burning a hole in my pocket. My burning desire to own a bike was fuel for the fire burning that hole. I started shopping for my bike on eBay, and posting questions on biker forums to get other people's opinions. As I was searching eBay and looking at what bikes were going for, I could see that a fairly recent model Sportster would fit my budget of $5,000. I also looked at other models. Several people suggested that if I got a Sportster, I would be hating life and want something better in short order. Some referred to the Sportster as a "chick bike."
As time and a number of possible bike candidates passed, I realized that I did not want a Sportster, I was settling for a Sportster. My budget of $5,000 was mostly arbitrary, so I decided that I would spend $8,000 instead. This opened up the Dyna line to fitting my budget. Then, this bike came along: 1993 Harley-Davidson : Dyna / FXR : Dyna Wide Glide Vehicle Description
I started reading between the lines, and it slowly dawned on me that this guy was not selling his beloved bike, he was giving it up. His lack of enthusiam about selling it was evident. I wanted to see what the saddlebags looked like, and asked him to send me a picture.
One look at this picture confirmed my belief that this bike was nicer than it looked on the eBay page. I posted a message on a Harley technical forum titled, "Am I Insane to Try This?" Here are selected remarks from that thread: [Am I Insane?] One of the biker forums where I sought advice was the Motorcycle Tourer Forum on Delphi. One of the regulars there had a friend in Livermore who went to look at the bike for me: "I just got back from looking at the bike. It has everything on it that is listed in the eBay ad. The bike actually looks better in person than in the picture. I checked the odometer and it reads a little over 38K. The Metzler tires are new, maybe 150 miles on them. The bike comes with saddlebags and a windshield. The windshield is just OK, nothing to shout about. The bags work but need some TLC to get back into shape (meaning they need to be cleaned up, their shape is fine). The bike started right up from cold. The Vance and Hines pipes sound good. The owner has done alot with the bike. His wife just sold her 1200Custom and now they want one bike to tour with. I did see one small paint chip on the front fender, nothing that really stands out. The back fender has one as well. The primary cover has some pitting in the chrome, but still looks fine. I know the shop where the bike was originally purchased from (Oakland HD). I would say that the handle grips need to be replaced, but nothing to worry about. The foot pedals look new, Kuryakyn. The owner appears to be a guy that is a rider and knows his bike. I am familiar with the family in general. Get back to me with any questions. For da dough this should be a nice ride. Looks like it's ready to travel." One of the things that caught my eye with this bike was the fairly low price that was expected. It had a "Buy it Now" price of only $9,000. I placed my bid for $8,000, which was the reserve price. Someone on the Motorcycle Tourer Forum also recommended HK Cycles in Livermore as an independent shop that could inspect the bike for me. I called them and they knew the bike and its owner, and offered to inspect it for $75. The bike passed their inspection with minor quibbles. (MORE Next Week) |
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