| Author | Message | ||
     Rek |
Every time I throw a leg over my 2000 S3T it takes me back to the summer of 1976. A fifteen year-old kid, dumb as a brick, who thought REO Speedwagon was the end-all be-all of rock'n roll music and had in his hot little hands a brand-new (to him) 1973 Suzuki TS 250. That bike opened a whole new world for me. I'd spent the previous few years believing I was an abused child. Every kid in the neighborhood (and I use that word in its broadest rural sense) except me had a motorsickle. Be it a Honda 70 or a Benneli 125, or every make and model in between. They had them and I didn't. My mother was the logjam. She refused to allow her #1 son the unmitigated priviledge of owning a motorcycle. By the time I was fifteen however, I did an end-run of sorts. I'd been saving my calf money for a couple of years and after a busy season of hauling hay I had $500 stashed away. And so under the guise of purchasing a potential "school" vehicle for the following year, when I would be 16, I convinced my dad to let me buy it w/ my own money. That was the summer of love for this pilgrim. A love affair that's lasted nearly 30 years and was recently rekindled by none other than Erik Buell. Thank you, sir, for creating a machine that transports me back in time to an era when every little thing was fresh and green. The birds sang louder and the sky was bluer, and the wind blasting through my hair was as sweet and clean as an angel's breath. I remember them as if it were yesterday. Cruising the gravel road past Laurie Cameron's house seven or eight times a day, just to see if she was in the yard and looking back at me. Or blasting Billy Allison's "puny" 175 Elsinor out of the gravel pit like it was a Bonanza 50 w/ its Briggs and scrap-iron power plant. You can't ask for better memories than that, nor can you find a better medium to renew them than a Buell motorcycle. And now they've gone and made one even better. A collection of metal and rubber transmorgified into the perfect "dream" machine that so perfectly captures the spirit of youthfull exuberance its difficult to imagine any other}. Thank you Mr. Buell. Rob | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
what Rob said.  | ||
| M1combat |
What Jerry said . | ||
| Buellzebub |
what Rob n Ferris said, the S1 still makes me smile no matter how crappy a day i had | ||
| Pdxs3t |
 | ||
| Steve_mackay |
Rek, speaking of REO, we heard them last night at Waukesha Country Fair! They still sound purdy darn good | ||
| Aydenxb9 |
Ditto! | ||
| Rubberdown |
Right On! | ||
| Whodom |
Amen! | ||
| Timbo |
LOL, I like this thread. Great word pictures Rob. I recognize. Timbo | ||
| Ryker77 |
I too remember the first day I rode my first bike a 92 Sportster. My next bike memory puts me on my nearly new 1998 S1W all white. Just got married and a new bike I was king of my world. Getting prepped for a bodybuilding competion... I rode my nice new bike up to let my old man ride it. Then on the way home an old lady pulled out in front of me. Even though I only had that S1w for three days it was the best fitting and looking bike for me.. Even to this day and two bikes later no bike compares to that s1w. My x1 bring back some of that "rush". Something us Buell riders can understand and wives can't! | ||
| Tramp |
My S2T is so reminiscent of my '72 XR-75 love it... | ||
| Bomber |
I've not had so much fun on two wheels since my 305 street scrabler with snuff r nots in the straights . . . . first time I met Erik Buell (during the middle of the shock recall days), I said "Thanks for building my M2.' he replied, "Thanks for riding it" I knew I'd met a kindred spirit thanks again, sir | ||
| Oldog |
Well said rek! Lil different story, same feelings, rode as a teen into my 30s (rice) In 1989 a serious near miss gave me cause to re-consider and I quit for a while (10 years) Years later I went with a friend to the local HD store, I was tagging along while he was looking for a sportie. There sat MY X1, John has had to sell his sportie. for me food is optional the bike is an essential. The riding and the other buellers, that I have met well thats another story, and Thank you Mr Buell!, I have enjoyed that slice of life the X1 has returned to me. | ||
| Charlieboy6649 |
Ahhh positive thoughts; keep good, block bad. Very nice Rek! | ||
| Rek |
keep good, block bad. LOL. Day one on the above-mentioned machine I took the corner at a gravel intersectiona little too fast, slid into the berm at the edge of the road and flipped the bike over on top of me in the ditch. Broke my collar bone. Several miles from the house. I had to limp home alone and then tried to hide the injury from my parents as this was just the reason my Mom was so against motorcycles in the first place. Needless to say my attempted deception didn't work. Rob | ||
| Xring |
Rek, This is the kind of attitude I wish we'd see more in motorcycle magazines, as opposed to the current trend of egotistical, pretentious, if-it-won't-go-180-it's-crap articles. It's all about having fun. And a farm boy, too! I like you already. As long as you're not a John Deere guy.  Good luck, Bill | ||
| Rek |
Bill, Bill, Bill, If it aint green it aint going in the field  Unless of course it's a Vermeer baler, then yellow's okay, too. Rob | ||
| Xring |
 http://www.geocities.com/xring222/2farmalls.htm 'nough said. Sometimes riding my Buell reminds me of riding along on one of the Farmalls. Bill | ||
| Rek |
Bill, Oh, one of THOSE. We've got an ol' H single tire out back w/ a post-hole auger on it. Scary, especially in road gear. Course it's not as purdy as those... Rob | ||
| Imonabuss |
Scary in road gear is right! Especially across bumpy filelds! Want a real thrill? Let an M coast backwards on a hill, then drop the clutch in top gear. Biggest wildest wheelie ever. Great fun when you are 13 and your Dad isn't looking! | ||
| Bomber |
yo, harvey -- I'm thinkin your Dad saw, and chuckled -- Dad's see a great deal, yes? | ||
| Crusty |
"Hey, watch this!" | ||
| LORETTA |
The RIDE makes me smile - not the machine. Yeah, I have a couple Buells but would be totally happy riding the Crest on a farcking moped this time of year. In its day, I loved my RD400. I was young(er) then, what did I know? The most love I ever felt for a motorsickle was my first - my Yamaha 80 (with the GYT kit mighta made 10 HP). I rode the snot outta that little guy til it got stolen. | ||
| Loki |
Nothing wrong with that RD400. Still wish I still had the RD350/400 monster I had. and to think...I learned to drive on a Massey Harris 33K. The graduated to a little sports car of a Allis WD | ||
| Awprior |
Bill, What's wrong with the green stuff? Grew up driving it, somehow managed to wrangle an engineering job with John Deere. Of course, I build yellow (construction) stuff now, but it's still Deere. And wheelies? Nothing like a hay rake on the back of a 2630 on a hill and a little cluch pop. The boss was behind me in his pickup. Got reamed a bit that day. Now? Wheelies in a backhoe? Totally possible. Stoppies in an 824J Loader (60,000#) way possible. Uncle John isn't too happy when I do that though. And I'm an FEA guy... you should see what the test guys can do. I bought my first Buell (00 Cyclone) for my 21st birthday, stomped the hell out of it, rode it across the continent, can't part with it. Bought my Firebolt for my college graduation present, can't part with that either. Riding a Buell brings a big smile to my face, the people who make our community are the best part of the whole deal. Thank you Erik and company! | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
Erik, what Alex said. hope to see you soon. Ferris | ||
| Jb2 |
Rek, your story is exactly why I hang here. Are there better stories anywhere on the web? I think not. | ||
| Xring |
Alex, Nothing wrong with JD's, of course. Just having some fun with Rek. I'm an ME, too, although employed in the mining/civil industry for the last 14 years. Wish I had the resources to learn FEA and FEA software. I've admired Erik and his bikes since the beginning...finally got my XB9S this year. Great history behind it, great product. An engineer's success story. Good luck, Bill | ||
| Whodom |
You know, there seem to be a really disproportionate number of us (maybe Buell riders in general) that are ME's. | ||
| Rek |
Then there are thoe of us whose eyes glaze over at the very mention of "engineer" or "spec's", and when the numbers and qualifications start spouting all I can hear is blah-blah-blah (kind'a like the adults in the old peanuts cartoons). For me life, and motorcycles in paticular, are a totally viseral experience. I can change my oil and fix a flat, do a little wrenching if I have to, but beyond that it's all about the ride. Besides, as a farm-boy I spend about half my time working on some ol' broken-down POS (no JD jokes inserted here!) and I don't even want to think about the what goes into making that ride possible. Not unlike 2/3's of the world today who think their food grows in a grocery store. Rob |
