Honestly I am surprised that I have lived this long...
The stupid male gene has always been with me. As I age it still rears its ugly head sometimes, ok a lot of the time.Yes repressing it is easier as you grow older, though it will never leave you.
Your long lost friend...
The stupid male gene.
The first "big" bike I bought was a 1970 Honda CB750 "four" (4 cylinder).
It was rated as the fastest production bike in 1970 (though some will say the Kaw 1000 was faster?). The Honda was heavier and the Kaw had a little more horsepower.
Mine was a beautiful turquoise blue with lot's & lot's of chrome.
The CB was fast enough to scare the crap out of me, no wait that is because I am 58 now not 20.
Dang I was too stupid to be scared @ 20...
(reminds me of the James Bond film with the Russian computer geek spinning his pen saying; "I am invincible", remember?)
I bought the bike from a good friend in 1981 who in turn was buying the fastest production bike of 1981. The Honda Magna V65 1100cc cruiser.
Before I bought his CB he suggested that we go on test ride so I could decide if I wanted his old bike, really? (go ahead twist my arm). Off we went to Oak Creek from Steamboat, a great road for riding bikes.
There is this one long, very long straight stretch of pavement outside of Oak Creek.
Ya know what that means...
As we are heading back from Oak Creek I am feeling comfortable on my new ride (still gotta pay him), and then we hit that long, long open road.
No traffic to be seen, enter stupid male gene, let's see what this CB 750/4 will do.
5th gear full throttle in a upright position as I "Ride The Ton", or 100 mph+ on a bike.
Biker slang, subculture.
At 20 years of age, would you be satisfied doing the ton or looking for more?
Of course not more baby, down on the tank I lay and that wonderful 140 mph speedo started to climb, 105, 110, 115, 120.
(My friends new bike speedo only went to 85 mph, remember those?).
Now we are talkin', yeah I was grinning ear to ear.
That was until my buddy goes blowing by me laid back on his new cruiser like I was standing still.
Oh and by the way, his grin was a lot bigger than mine...
Nothing like the feel of speed on two wheels.
Onto the future.
37 years later I am still looking for either of these two bikes. I have owned over 80 bikes (this includes our trainers) and have always come back to the CB's and the Magna. The Magna because it was the one that got away, got away blowin' past me @ 120 MPH...
Searching Craiglist & FB marketplace are part of my daily routine. Once in a while I will come across either of these two memories.
Last week it was the Magna.
One popped up on my local CL;
It was listed with 25k miles @ $790.00.
OK I am interested enough to not run away from it, could it be legit?
Bikes with this low of miles and age are usually a good buy. Most of the time they have been sitting for years and someone wants to dump it to get it out of the garage.
Book on this bike is well over $3000.00 in good condition. So I am interested, ok to be honest I am interested in peggin' that speedo needle, maybe even break it off...
As I look at the pics I notice that it has not been left outside. Garage kept, nice!
The gauges are always the best way to tell. On this model, Honda as with most manufacturers, used a red paint for the "red line" marker on the tach. If the bike has been outside for any length of time, the red line is usually pink or white. Other hints as to its life were the lack of rust on bolts, chrome pitting, and the engine cut off switch was still bright red and not cracked.
Now my hopes are going up, could this be the one? Have to be careful with lust it can fog your mind, course that stupid male gene will be real happy.
Over the years I have bought and sold a lot of things on Ebay, FB, & Craigslist. Only once did I buy something I shouldn't have, and it was my mistake.
I missed a cracked engine casing.
I also have had my fair share of scammers. They are usually very easy to pick out, though sometimes they are quite crafty and experienced in ripping people off.
I dive in and contact the seller by phone/text. Patiently I wait a day & half and then he responds.
I communicate with him and he tells me he posted the ad for his sister. Flag #1.
He provides me with an email address (which is not typed properly) to contact her and the price is lower? Flag #2
Off my email goes and a day later I get this response;
Don't get pissy with me because of the "redactions"...
I do a VIN check and nothing glaring is reported, though I will not spend $20 to find out more.
I look at her? his? online album of the bike.
Very carefully I look at each picture and I am still hoping...
Next comes the discrepancy of the mileage, flag #3, it is not 25k miles it is 2k miles. A 1983 bike with 2k miles for $700? Though it could be an honest mistake from someone who does not know bikes? they might not know the last number was tenths of a mile?
Yes I am grasping at straws, I want this bike (down stupid male gene, down boy!).
No wait, something else catches my eye, something is wrong with the speedo. The bike pictured is probably not US spec. In the early 1980's US spec bikes did not have 140 mph speedos, flag #4.
I am still hopeful (yeah it is that stupid male gene again), though something is starting to gnaw at me.
Off goes the next email to "her";
I am still lead to believe that this bike is being sold locally.
Then "her" response, the mother of all responses, flag #5;
As the old saying goes, "I was born at night, but not last night". She (?) wrote a pretty good story but they had no idea I lived in the area before and could validate everything they said.
The fisherman did not take into account that the fish at the end of their hook was a Megalodon.
Next is my response to their heart wrenching story;
All of my email reply is the truth, really, the people and the locations that are mentioned are legit (this is the funniest part, and people say God doesn't have a sense of humor).
The fisherman had no idea...
The final response from the fisherman (adult language);
Guess I will not be invited over for Christmas dinner this year...
On to the coup de grace...
Experiences with people like this at first cause me to get angry, they are just plain lazy!
Get a real job to earn a living...
Then I start to feel sorry for them because they are caught by the fish, and being pulled to the bottom...
This is my final response to my fisherman;
I have done this 3 other times in the past with people who attempt to rip me off.
First exposing their stupidity carefully and honestly.
Promising all of them that I will pray for them for 30 days, which I take very seriously.
For 30 days I pray to God for Him to change their hearts and bring them into His kingdom.
As I do not know them or their reasoning for trying to rip me off, I leave it to God to repair.
He knows who they are and can change their heart, I can't...
One of the times in the past, the person who wanted to rip me off actually contacted me later and thanked me for my prayers and understanding. Letting me know that they had turned their life around.
I am no better than the fisherman, I am the same, flawed.
Looking for forgiveness and a better future.
How 'bout you, what are you looking for...
The Magna & the prayer.
W
