AB6ZE

PERFECTION, HAPPINESS, FREEDOM

How often are you wondering about these things? In my youth I often pondered these ideas and had some vague notions. I wasn't happy because I was frustrated by the state I was born into and struggled to improve my situation since I didn't want to be the victim of the circumstances. One thing I cared about was to get a bike so I could avoid the crowds on street cars, buses and to have more freedom of movement. You see, in Hungary motorcycles weren't only just a hobby, it was transportation so you could save time and shrink distance.
So my first bike was an old junk I bought second hand, a Hungarian made 125 cc two stroke scooter which broke down usually at night so I stopped under a lamp post and tried to fix it. A friend of mine made fun of me at work and it hurt. He had a brand new Czech made Tatran that never broke down. He could pass me any time. I worked on the bike a lot, it was jumping out of gears but I took it apart, replaced the worn gears and became a reliable transport. Eventually on account of an accident in which my bike was totaled I could replace it with a larger bike, with a 250 cc engine, now I could pass him any time...But when I was looking at an East German bike (MZ) at a motorcycle dealer from a shop window, my heart was bleeding; I could never have a bike like that!
It turned out that I had to leave the country, because I had no future there. It wasn't until twenty eight years later when I had a chance to get a bike here in California when the traffic on 405 became so bad that it took me 2-3 hrs to get home from work. I was watching bikers whizzing by splitting lanes when I decided to get a bike.To make a long story short I ended up with my big mean green dream machine, a Kawasaki Voyager XII, a touring bike that I used for work for nine years, splitting lanes on Thursdays and Fridays when the traffic was heaviest. I put 58 K miles on it.
After I retired I didn't use the bike that much so the carburetor got sick. I still needed a bike to make short errands to the bank, hardware/electronic stores etc.or just for fun. So I got the last common sense retro bike with modern features for a low price, the Triumph America LT. Even the name was appealing. I feel lucky that I found that bike because the bike makers went berserk and make all kinds of stupid crotch rockets, bikes with giant V twins, ugly as hell. Triumph discontinued making the LT so old timers who like the traditional (sensible) bikes are left out.
There are three kinds of men in this world, those who have a bike, those who had a bike and those who will have one.

Many guys go out and buy a bike without really thinking it over or researching and when they find that they don't really like it they buy another one, making the same mistakes. They end up having or sold several or many bikes during their love affairs with bikes in their lifetimes.
Now, there is nothing wrong having several motorcycles, just like having several wives, shoes, suits, etc. for a particular occasion. You may want a touring bike, a cruiser or a sports bike. But you don't buy 'em just for the sake of having several bikes. You have to justify them so they give you pleasure for a long time.
And this is where happiness comes in. When you have a well made, aesthetically designed machine it pleases you, makes you happy.
It's a rare occasion when a manufacturer maker makes a perfect bike, but tastes change and this same bike is not a "success" because of that therefore the maker drops them from production. I wouldn't buy something because it's a fad;
BMW makes good bikes but they also tend to follow the (bad) taste of the masses and make motorcycles that look like they came from another world, the worst contraptions that makes no common sense, not to mention the outrageous prices. Motorcycles in this country are a hobby. People pay any price to get what they want, no matter how ridiculous it is.

I am happy with the America LT and the Voyager XII they are keepers. Here is where perfection comes in; when I see something perfect ( I am a perfectionist) at a reasonable price I get into a peculiar frame of mind and try to justify having it. I discovered recently that BMW made such a machine, the R nine T Pure! Not only is it a marvel of engineering, it is offered at a reasonable low price! I found out about it over a month ago watching a YouTube video about the 10 best retro bikes under $10K!
This was my chance; I remembered the bitter memories of my youth when I couldn't afford something that would've made me happy. I decided to get it and feverishly contacted the local BMW dealer who advertised one but with the wrong color and equipment. It had an orange/gold tank and wired wheels. The color is absurd, also the spokes which require inner tubes, an obsolescence in itself. I wanted a black/white tank and black aluminum wheels. The salesman told me don't worry one is ordered and should be here within a month and a half and he would call me. Then I watched a video about the BMW factory in Berlin and found out that they make three hundred bikes a day! I became suspicious and called him 3 weeks later and he said that the bike is still in production. He lied; he knew I wasn't going to buy their bike so he pulled my leg. I searched some more and found that a dealer in San Jose in California had the bike I wanted.

And here is where freedom comes into the picture, a freedom of choice. I told the local dealer that he was a liar and to piss up the rope. I contacted the dealer in San Jose, made a deposit to hold it for me until i get there a week later. I had a cold so I had to beat it before I could fly up there. That day was last Friday morning, a one hour fight to San Jose for only $120, a motel room full of cockroaches for one night for $80 and the next day I could ride my new perfect machine home, a mere 375 miles.

The dealership was very nice to me, they picked me up at the airport, previously they installed a windshield for me I requested and completed the paperwork the same day. Yesterday morning I got on the miracle machine and nobody could've stick a pin in my rear. ( A Hungarian saying when somebody is happy) I did 170 miles on the scenic route on 101 Saturday, down to Paso Robles, took a nice room there at Holiday Inn and finished the trip today another 200 miles (Sunday) by 4 pm.

So I joined the club of real men who make things happen and have a BMW motorcycle. Would you join us?

Recently added crash bars to protect my investment. The stainless steel engine guards add a finishing touch to the bike.