Jimmy Young,
I wanted a Harley Davidson my entire life. As a kid, my neighbor had a 1961 Hi-Fi Purple Harley (pan head) with a white seat and bags. I was only 14 years old and loved the feel of riding. He would take me for a ride quite often. It was like having sex (which I didn't discover for another 5 years or so) I finally bought my first motorcycle in June of 2002 when I was 55 years old. It was a 1984 Harley FLTC. 680 pounds of muscle with the entire tour pack. Upper and lower fairings and the radio, tape deck, etc. Bought it from a local guy who had 2003 centennial Harley on order. I paid $6,000 for it. The guy who owned it had all the chrome custom engraved and repainted it with a Corvette red and white theme. It also had a Mikuni carburetor and the engine was rebuilt and bored ten thousandths oversize. It was the first year of the Evolution motor and the last year of the chain drive.
I was in my glory riding that bike. I have a picture of it somewhere, but not handy to post at this time.
My love affair was short-lived though! after my first months of riding it until winter came,
Then came spring of 2003. I had joined the local chapter of HOG ( Harley Owners Group) and rode with them for some unforgettable rides,
On Saturday, October 4th, 2003 it was raining in the morning and we had a ride planned from the Pittsburgh, PA area to the AMA Motorcycle Museum in Ohio on Sunday. About 1 o'clock PM the rain stopped and the sun came out. I went and got the bike and took a nice ride for a couple of hours. On my way home, I stopped to fill the gas tank so I could take the ride on Sunday. Three blocks from my home, I'm riding slowly down a residential street. I would be home in less than 5 minutes.
I never made it home with the motorcycle. An 86 year old man ran a stop sign and T-boned me. Thankfully, I saw him out of the corner of my eye and hit the front and back brake. The front brake grabbed better than the back brake and the momentum lifted my right foot from the foot pad. He hit square on from the lower fairing and crash bar to the foot pad. The foot pad was actually smashed into the transmission case. If my foot didn't swing back at that time, I might have lost it.
Anyhow, the ambulance came and I spent the night in the trauma unit of Montefiore Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA for observation. Thankfully, nothing was broken or missing. Just a lot of black and blue and aches and pains from flying through the air and landing on the asphalt street. The bike was totaled and I haven't been on a motorized two wheeler since.
My fight with the insurance company was another one year ordeal and is a whole different story. But at least I came out of that with a smile.
Enjoy riding and be safe.