Young love, first love...

[BillJ]

Twenty-nine years ago today, my true love and I consummated
our relationship. We've been together ever since!



Given that, prior to sobriety, I drank and drugged away all my
motorcycle money, and that, in sobriety, I've been down to
nothing but that bike, the fact that we're still together is proof
AA changes lives!

[toad]

At first I thought I was going to congratulate you on a lengthy marriage, now I realize that I am congratulating you on a lengthy marriage......many more Bill............toad

[Rarly Harley]

29 years with the same ride...! That is indeed a cause for celebration. Congrats to you both....

[sticker]

think Im getting tearie eyed sniff sniff,

[quendrida]

awwwwwwww cute !

[BillJ]

And even as my ever-faithful shovel awaits my loving caresses (translation: I'm still not able to get in and do the final adjustments needed to get it back on the road, dammit!) another member of my harem takes her leave. About an hour ago I let The Rust-Pile - my 1948 James Comet - be taken by another. She's gone to a good and loving home, and a master who will shower her with the kindness and attention she so richly deserves.

Meanwhile, I've got another few hundred bucks in my pocket to replace what we spent on the '86 bagger!

Bill and the 1948 James Comet in 1982

[toad]

Hey Bill cool picture...........who is that guy????



If that guy got sober, anybody can get sober.


Got my tour pack put on today.......if it would ever stop raining and snowing (today), I would geezer glide around town and look my age. Suppose to be 76 degrees Friday as I head to Eureka Springs, Arkansas for AA's Spring Time in the Ozarks. Hurricane get the mud off your bike and get it polished, and we'll head out.

Correction on Friday's weather. The news just said 70 and rain......they change their mind every hour....."God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change."

Next winter I want to live in Texas..........toad

[BillJ]

Originally Posted by toad

Hey Bill cool picture...........who is that guy????

That handsome devil? He's that crazy biker our mothers warned us about!

Originally Posted by toad

If that guy got sober, anybody can get sober.

True dat! If he can do it, anybody can!

Originally Posted by toad

Next winter I want to live in Texas..........toad

I know what you mean. Next summer I want to live in Colorado!

[best]

I took a quick look around trying to find a picture of my first bike.
Will need look some more.

You must feel like a dad after a wedding as you watch your child leave the driveway. Is the Comet close enough that you will see her again and maybe see her on the road?

[BillJ]

The buyer said he'd bring it around after he got it running, and let me take a spin on it. I won't hold him to that - he's going to put a lot of heart and soul into restoring it, and I could never forgive myself if I dropped it! - but it would be nice to see the finished product.

[The_Hammer]

Daaanng it, I woulda at least thought about givin ya wanna my kidneys fer that comet.

[toad]

When I was 9 years old I lived in Paris France with my folks. We lived there for 3 years, my dad was in the Army. He bought me a French made Moblelette, and for the next two years I rode everywhere. I can remember going to the edge of the suburb we lived in and riding in the french country side for hours. The year was 1955-57. It wasn't until 1969 that I bought my first motorcycle, it was a Yamaha 250 Scrambler. I saw the movie Easy Rider and bought it. I rode it from Indiana to KC, and from KC to Springfield Mo. several times. My alcoholism escalated and I could not afford another bike until 2007. So this bike is my first love. I posted this to show you the tour pack. The dog is Shelby, and the chicken house is where I learned to smoke when I was eleven. We would blow the smoke out a knot hole in the back so my granny would not see us. Took 44 years to break that habit...........Love you guys, thanks for letting me share.

[harleyrunt]

You know it is funny how attached you get to bikes. My dad has a 1976 Shovelhead, beautiful bike. I could not figure out how to post it as a pic so I put the direct link to it below. This bike has truly been a member of my family My dad brought her (yes, were refer to the bike as a woman she gets a bit cranky sometimes, esp if my mom is riding on the back) My dad brought her home when I was 8 years old and I am almost 31 now. My father will never sell that bike because she is a part of the family. That bike has given me so many irreplaceable father/daughter moments. Every winter we would move her down to the basement and tear her down together do so fixing and make some adjustments for the follow riding year. I may just be sentimental but those times with my dad make that bike PRICELESS in my book!!


http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/d...dadsshovel.jpg

[BillJ]

Gotta love dem ol' shovelheads! Tell your Dad you know another shovel freak, and direct him to Shovelriders.com. Not the fastest forum on the 'net, but some good folks there, and links to other shovel-related boards.

Finally got mine down off the rack yesterday, and rolled it outside for a photo op. Thursday I get the pic-line out of my arm, and should be okay to ride. First time since before my last surgery on March 6th, and I'm already drooling at the thought. My palms are a little sweaty, too!

The Bitch, before its surgery:


The Bitch, yesterday afternoon:


And yes, that is a backrest from an old office chair! If it works, I plan to upholster it and paint the support bracket black.

[BillJ]

Originally Posted by The_Hammer

Daaanng it, I woulda at least thought about givin ya wanna my kidneys fer that comet.

Wish I'd known. Could always use a spare kidney!

I really screwed up when I listed that thing. After a search on the 'net, and finding only one James listed, at what I thought was a ridiculous price, I offered it on Craig's List for $400. The guy who bought it told me all about how he was gonna restore it, but it turned up on eBay the next day for $1000.

[BillJ]

Originally Posted by BillJ

The guy who bought it told me all about how he was gonna restore it, but it turned up on eBay the next day for $1000.

Well, I assumed something, and you know how that goes!

In this case, I saw that my buyer had ended his auction early, and assumed he'd sold the bike locally. I was outraged and enraged that the guy lied to me. Never mind all the folks I've lied to in my life. How dare this joker lie to me? My mind immediately went to violence and mass destruction, and how many different ways I could ruin this guy's life.

Instead, I e-mailed him, and told him that, while I had no problem with him making money on our deal, I objected to his dishonesty. He just wrote back to tell me that (as he'd predicted when we met) his wife flipped when he brought the bike home. He listed it at a ridiculously high price to keep the peace while he worked on sweet-talking the bike to her. She finally relented, and he de-listed the bike this morning.

Boy, I would've felt silly if I'd gone over there to lay waste to his entire homestead, only to find my old motorcycle in the ashes!

Thank God for the principles of AA! I don't have to go to jail today! Yay!