It has been said that the two happiest days in a boat owner's life are the day he buys it, and the day he sells it. Boats, being primarily "Hobby items", one feels that the above statement could also be analogous to Motorcycles. I recall that day four years ago when I brought home my first Enfield Motorcycle. I had traded a 1971 Honda CB 100 for it. The little Honda was identical to that first bike that I put serious miles on. It was a bike that I had found in East Tennessee at a Yard Sale for only a couple of hundred bucks. The Honda was totally Original. complete with the OEM Tyres. which were cracked and rotten. With a new set of "Chink Skin" tyres I was soon able to get to work on the little beastie. (parts were still being made in China) After a month and having applied for an Antique "Permanent" license tag, the 100 was back on the road as my regular daily ride to & from work. About thirty miles from my Home in Murfreesboro was a custom motorcycle shop in Columbia Tennessee
The fellow who ran it was mostly into Choppers, but also had a veritable museum of antique and classic bikes ranging from Triumphs to a couple of Brough Superiors. Most of the individual bikes in the "museum" were for sale!
An old friend who had lived in Columbia told me of the Shop and suggested that I see if there might be a Royal Enfield to be had there. Indeed there was. I loaded the Honda into my pick up and set out to make a "Deal". The Enfield was a 1999 four-speed Kick Start Enfield India 500 Bullet with only fifty-one miles on the clock. The Honda was in Truly Cherry condition with only slight paint peeling around the fuel cap as its only flaw. With only a little cash added to the deal, I was the proud owner of an Infield Bullet.
It seemes that the fellow in Columbia did not have a clear title to the Enfield, and the female hound at the County Court Clerk's office would not issue a title to me for the Enfield. I got the bike running, but with no License tag I was limited to poking around my neighborhood on quiet days.
I liked the handling of the bike, the simplicity of the design even if the "Rube Goldberg" shift linkage was awkward.
Damn, but you guys jumped on this before I could get back to it. Bad timing on my part and apologies to all.
I will have to piecemeal the rest of this through the rest of tonight. By dawn Tuesday (Tennessee Time) I should have it finished.
There is not really all that much more to tell. I found this group on line, and convinced myself that I really wanted to ride a Royal Enfield. I had looked at the "modern" offerings that were on the market but found that with the exception of the Royal Enfield, all "new" bikes were either Harley Dumbelson wanna-bes, or "Sport Bikes" where the rider rode crouched like a jockey with his butt in the air like a cat in heat. I don't like either riding position. I don't feel in control reclining on the Harley Style with my feet in the air. And I am far too old and fat to ride crouched down with my ass up in the air. I found a dealer in Chattanooga (about a hundred miles from the house) and bought one of the last of the REAL iron motorcycles a 2008 500 Bullet ES
. Once again I was a happy rider. The old four speed Bullet sat chained in the driveway behind my garage for a year slowly rusting. The four Speed did come with front and rear "Crash Bars", a luggage rack, and pedestrian slicer so it didn't take long before they were on the new five speed. I also upgraded the five speed to the seven inch headlight and solo saddle (both were great improvements.)
Through these postings I made the acquaintance of another Bulleteer, who told me of a mechanic in Nashville who would take the four speed and get it running and after a while (90days or so) file for a mechanic's title. and sell it back to me so I could have a clean title to it. (Sort of a questionable and back door method I agree, but quite legal.)
The friendly Bulleteer told me that he had to do a similar maneuver with his bike. The mechanic would only charge me a couple of hundred bucks for the service. The mechanic came to my house and picked up the old four speed, plus the seat, fender, and 5 1/2 inch head light from the new bike. With the new bike running I didn't need the four speed and told him to sell it if he could get me twelve hundred dollars for it. . After a year as a conversation piece at his shop, I asked him how much I owed him to get the bike back. I had found a fellow who wanted it in trade for a Jeep Cherokee. What I had thought was going to cost me a couple of hundred was actually going to run just over nine hundred dollars.
I figured that the Jeep was not going to be worth that so I told him to go ahead and sell it if he could. Within a week, he had the bike sold. I got his check in the mail today and deposited it in the bank today.
HAPPY Day
Topic: The Happiest two Days in a fellows life (Read 2627 times)