Long post. If you are not in the mood for some light reading scroll on by.
I said goodbye to an old friend on Tuesday. After tens of thousands of miles I sold my beloved 2006 CVO Ultra with 111,000 miles on it. It was NOT an easy decision, but it was one that had to be made.
In February 2024 I was given a health diagnosis that woke me up and left me unsettled. Between the radiation and the meds I’ve lost a lot of muscle mass and strength, so much so that the bike became too heavy for me. After tens of thousands of miles it was time to say farewell and look for something smaller and lighter.
First of all I cannot thank “WrongWay” Dave King enough for selling it to me and “HD Dude” Jim Schloffel at Metal Dragon for keeping it going. The memories are countless, but I will try: Riding countless miles in the rain, heat, hail, cold and wind with James Clegg, John Shimada and Alan Paz. Doing Police Rodeos with the late “Trapperdog” Roger Lane, breakfasts with “110Mofo” Marty Olguin, countless trips up and down the California coast with my wife Denise. But its greatest moment came during what some would say was on the “downside” of its career. In 2024 I was on the road to meet up with JC and his neighbor Werner. We planned to ride Beartooth, Yellowstone, Cody and more. I took my 2018 GoldWing because it is more than 100 pounds lighter than the Ultra, has a lower center of gravity and has reverse. However just outside of Ely, NV the fuel pump went out. James came and picked me up. All the way home I wondered how I was going to get it into the shop and repaired under warranty in one day. I didn’t want to cancel the ride as I was going to start radiation when I got back. Then James reminded me that I had a 2006 CVO Ultra sitting in the garage. And just like a veteran player who comes off the bench in the 4th quarter when called upon, the CVO did me right. For 4,000 miles it never failed, never faltered and never gave me reason to complain. Even with 107k on the clock it delivered! Looking back I now I see that perhaps it was saying goodbye to me.
Earlier this week I thanked the CVO for all the pleasure, enjoyment and fun it gave me and bid it a fond Aloha. I am now on a 2012 Dyna Switchback with ABS. Often referred to as a “Road Queen” it had the minimum I was looking for, floorboards, a windshield and hard bags. And it has the venerable 103 High Output engine, not a CVO 103 but a good motor. And the bike weighs almost three-hundred pounds less than the Ultra.
While I was looking for a smaller and lighter bike I came to some self-revelations. In my search I was looking hard at the Honda Shadow ACE with its shaft drive, or a Kawasaki Vulcan. Both are dependable water-cooled motorcycles that are as bulletproof as they come. But when I was riding the Dyna home I understood something my sister told me, that I was trapped in a cult. A Harley-Davidson cult. Yes I have a 2018 Goldwing but I still couldn’t completely let the badge and shield go.
If you have ever been in a cult you may identify. Part of my identity is tied up in the persona the cult gives off. I am identified as a cult member by ball caps, shirts, sweatshirts, vests, patches, pins, flags, bandanas, scarves, jewelry, watches, boots and much, much more. My vehicles bear bumper stickers and sport flags in support of the cult. I go to “rallies” and circulate with other “cult members”. We repeat the same slogans and sayings the cult has created for us. And while we say we welcome other brands of motorcycles, we are stand offish and look upon them as lesser and inferior even though we have paid twice as much to buy one and spend three times as much in service and repairs.
So here I stand, another loyal continuing cult member,….lol!
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Topic: And the seasons, they go 'round and 'round. (Read 259 times)