Proper Care and Feeding

I was recently blessed with a late model Triumph Bonneville. Its truly a beautiful machine. I am not the original owner, but I am the owner now. That is important to understand. The bike now belongs to me and for the sake of this fantastic bike, my ownership is a very good thing.
Eric down at Lone Star BMW/Triumph called me one day and told me he had this Bonneville coming into his inventory of used bikes. I had been looking to replace my recently departed T-100, so I went to see the bike. It was in good shape but a few things didnt add up in my mind. While the bike had only 1800 miles, there was surface rust on the rims, under the headlight and on the bars. Not too noticeable, but it was there. There was oil build up on the swingarm and some stains on top of the case. I realized I was looking at a nice bike that didnt come from a good home. It had not been abused but it certainly had not been loved. Probably kept in a car port with a cover thrown over it, never ridden, never cherished.
Last night I sat in my garage with that Bonneville. I rubbed and polished, check linkages, tighted spokes, and listened to her stories of her old home. How sunny days passed one after the other and she was never taken out for a run. How her old owner walked past her time after time without a glance. No sparkle in his eye, no excitement, no passion for her at all.
I whispered goodnight to the Bonnie around 11pm. She shines and sparkles now. She in my garage. She is in a good home. It will be a different life for that bike now. Also, a different life for me. A new relationship is just the thing to get your passion for life moving again. Proper care and feeding for us both.
My latest issue of VMX (Vintage Motocross) magazine arrived in the mail this week. My wife had it layed out on the kitchen counter when I came home from work. She winked and smiled at me and pointed at the magazine. The subscription was a gift from her for my birthday. Like that lovely Bonneville, Im in a good home, getting proper care and feeding.
Enjoy your bikes and care for them well. Moreover, cherish the people that are taking care of you and return the effort. We all need each other.
Have a good time with your fall riding season. Take care and come see me soon.

The Beauty of Bikes

I was at my local Triumph shop yesterday to drop of my Bonneville for some tweaking and I noticed the shop cork board. Down in the lower corner, partially hidden by the usual flyers for lawn mowing services, happy hours, dog training, and photography services, was a beautiful depiction of a sexy Ducati. The card with the picture on it virtually jumped of the board at me. Sleek and silver with swept back lines, how could anyone not notice her? I picked up the card and admired her sexy shape. I was smitten.
The card was a notice for the Harvest Classic Bike Show. Held out in Luckenbach, Texas on Oct. 22-24.
While I have never been to the show, it is obvious that they are interested in guys like me showing up. The picture of the Ducati is right up my alley. Whoever picked out the art for the advertisement obviously understands the beauty of bikes. They are often art and should be depicted and handled as such. Like beautiful women, there is a magic to them as well as a mystery. We are drawn to them and can never get them out of our heads.
I have made phone calls and sent emails already. I will be at Harvest this year. I imagine row after row of beautifully appointed classic bikes. I can hardly wait. It is already the stuff of my dreams.
A cooling fall day in the Texas hill country, open asphalt leading to the oasis of  bike beauty. Me and my crew twisting the throttles a little more as we get closer. I can almost taste the first cold beer. I can almost feel the first high five.
Join me at the Harvest Bike Show if you can. We can admire the bikes and tell stories of loves past. I look forward to meeting you there. I will most likely be on a Triumph Bonnevill. All silver. A pudding  bowl helmet with a yellow 9 ball on the side and crossed checkered flags (don't laugh) on the barck with R.R. Tx written below. Smashingly handsome.  Thats me.

I look forward to seeing you there.

The Wonderful Youth

Kids these days. Exactly! Kids these days are really something else. I would also have to say, in retrospect, that they always have been. I get tired of the Bill Gates stuff as I am sure you do, but as an example, he was in his 20's when he founded Microsoft. In motocross terms, Bob Hannah was 19 when Yamaha signed him in 1976. He won three straight AMA Supercross titles. In Moto GP terms, Valentino Rossi was barely legal when he signed to Aprilia in the 125cc class. He has won 9 Grand Prix World Championships! Kids, at the time. All of them kids. Wonderful achievements. Boldness and bravery beyond compare. How about President George Senior? 19 years of age when he flew his first combat mission in WW II. Amazing. When I was 19, I was struggling with making a car payment and trying to to perfect my mullet.
What is my point? Kids are good. Youth is good. It is a time to go and forge new ground and to make daring moves. On the race track, in the boardroom, on the world stage. That's only the half of it though. If youth is a physical condition, you know what I mean, no wrinkles, strong bones, livers that still work, then why cant that boldness continue into later life? Boldness is not a physical condition. Courage is not either. These are mental states. So, if your body is still in good shape, why can't people continue to win races at 30?
Ill tell you why. Because many of us let youth drive us to old age. Yes, we allow youth to be squandered on the pressure to be successful and the pressure to build a life.
Let's take racers for instance. Young riders have nothing at stake and everything to prove. So, the ride like mad men. Pin the throttle and hold on right? Then come some victories. Then some sponsorships and then some endorsements and then some money and that is ALWAYS followed by wife and kids. Now the picture looks very different indeed. Now while sitting in the paddock, our once wreck less, ass hauling, hero is concerned with just finishing the race in one piece. Forget winning. He is worried about making his child an orphan. This isn't a bad thing. Its just life. Youth drives us to a place where we are suddenly much, much older.
So we will not be seeing 40 somethings on the podium any time soon. I say this because riders don't slow down because their bodies are older. They slow down because the cost of going fast is too high for them at some point. This is a reasonable thing. Kids need their dads. I get it. But what of the boldness of Gill Gates? Is he still as bold today? I suppose so. He is so freakin' rich I suppose he does not worry about his next big idea failing. What does that mean to you and me though? Hell, I don't know. I suppose I want to still go fast in some area of my life.  Still hold on to some boldness, some courage.
Maybe there is still a race to be raced. A place in life where we can still "pin it and hold on".
If you are like me, you are hungry to find it. The wonderful youth. Is it still out there for us older boys? Lets hope so.

Intentions vs. Actions

The road to "-----" is paved with good intentions. Fill in the blank. You could fill it with almost anything. The road to failure, heartbreak, loneliness. Whatever. Don't freak out on me now. Im not in a mood or getting ready to fill up  a page with a bunch of mushy stuff. Im just saying that often times, when you land at a spot in life that you dont particularly like, you can often look back at the road that took you there and see that for most of that journey, you were simply trying to do the right thing.
Ahhh yes. "the right thing", whatever the hell that is. Its a moving target for sure. It is so  hard to manage the moment by moment decision on "the right thing".  Still, most of us do try to find it and let it guide our decisions. What I have found out though, is that everyones idea of what "the right thing" is, is very diverse from person to person. That is to say, you may be doing the right thing in your mind, but in someone elses mind, you are being a complete bastard for that action.
So, we get hung up in the action and completely overlook the intention. Especially when we are judging the actions of others. Particularly when they have hurt us right? We get focused on our hurt and we stop looking at the intention behind the other persons action. We apply a different set of rules to others than we apply to ourselves. We are totally focused on intention when we evaluate our own actions. Boy do we.
Well, so here I am. I am in a bit of a situation with some people. Some dear loved ones that mean the world to me. I wish we could all look past the action and see the intention. I suppose I am being a dreamer on that issue. Its tough to get others to look past the damage and see the good intentions behind everything. Its is tough enough to get ourselves to do it.
This post wasnt about pistons and hand grips. Sorry. My intention is to write something that helps me feel better about my situation today. My intention is to put up something that others can read and get some good from. If the action seems a bit out of place for MotoMania, please forgive me. Yeah, we all have motorcycles but we all have hearts to. I hope yours is in good shape today.
Ride safe all. Come back in one piece and bring a friend.

I Never Had The Stones.

For the love of Christ! I have been watching the Isle of Mann TT for the last couple of nights (DVR baby!) and I have to say that those boys are a breed apart.  Those speeds on a city street?
If you have not tuned into Discovery HD, you must do so tonight. Set to record the episodes. You must see the speeds that these fellows ride at. Truly amazing and truly beautiful. A fantastic combination of athletic prowess and top notch machinery.
I suppose that many of us have fancied ourselves racers. I know I did. I raced a boatload of motocross in my day and I thought a couple of times that I was going pretty fast. On an occasional day, I thought I might even have what it takes to be a pro.  Right.
This Isle of Mann thing has removed all remnants of my school boy fantasy of my relative stone size. That is to say, I never had the stones to do what these pro riders do. True, its not motocross, but its racing at its finest. Watching these boy's helmets cams and realizing that I cant process the information fast enough in my living room, much less my on a race bike, confirms that I am a true race fan. Not a racer. Maybe a nice little senior club racer, but never a possible pro.
Thats O.K. though. Eventhough I never had the stones, I still look back on my younger days as a rider/racer and enjoy remembering the dreams and fantasies of going pro. Now, at 43 years old, I am truly enjoying watching the courageous boys who actually did it.
As I said, tune into Discovery HD and watch the fellows have a go.
Tune in next time for  a quick little book review.