Guess what’s sitting in the driveway
I really didn’t expect the dealer would have this ready today. It was an interesting day then, when they called at 2:30PM and said it’s ready. That meant driving home to get the wife, going to the insurance company, then to the dealer. Two hours and 45 minutes and 125 miles later it’s a done deal. It’s amazing how quickly one can buy a vehicle when the banks are left out of the deal! Sign the check, sign the bill of sale, take the keys…
Up to now all of my bikes have been either sport or sport tour type bikes, this is my first V-twin. The first bike that was mine was a 1981 Honda Hawk CB400T that I bought in 1984 for $475 cash. In my first summer I put 17,000 miles on that little bike! Sometime in the 3rd year I traded it for a 1979 Suzuki GS1000 which had a sticker price of $900, big money! But my biggest money bike was in 1989 when I sold the Suzuki and bougth a 1986 Yamaha FJ1200 with 3600 original miles and the original tires for $2400. It was in February and the first I ever rode a bike when there was snow on the ground. And the last time. That Yamaha was a great bike but sadly had to trade it on a car and got married a few months later.
Anyway, a buddy who went from Honda CB’s to a Shadow Spirt warned me not to expect the performance I’m used to. I’d already been preparing myself for exactly that expecially since the ‘86 Shadow only had something like 65-70hp. If there are any advantages to not having ridden anything at all in 6 or 7 years (the last being a friends Kaw GPz750) it is the fading memories of a 130hp inline 4 cylinder underneith. Especially, when you just bought a cruiser… One of life’s small mercies, I think.