iced-t
6th February 2007, 19:01
Well, I did it. After several years of riding sportbikes I finally manned up and bought a Harley. After browsing the classifieds and drooling for a few years I finally said "why not?" and bought myself a Sportster. I am 23 years old and started riding when I was around 11 years old. I got into riding sportbikes in High School because all of my friends were buying them and riding together, and to me riding with a large group is one of the joys you get when riding motorcycle. I really wanted a Harley, but figured I would wait until I was a little older. Ever since I was a young kid I always loved the sound, the look, and the respect given to the Harley.
A few weeks back I was browsing the online classified sites and found something that sounded like a good deal. A 1985 Sportster for $3000 OBO. I called the guy and asked about the bike. He told me it was stock and "ran like a top". So after some debate in my head, and a decision to sell my Yamaha, I mentioned it to my friend. He kinda perked up, and said "Hell, I'm up for a road trip!". You see, the bike was in Milwaukee, WI, and we were in Fargo, ND. So we rented a trailer, hooked it up to the car, and began the 1300 mile round trip journey. When we got to Milwaukee and finally found the guy's address I was nervous, and really excited. This purchase was going to strain my financial resources until I put the Yamaha up for sale this spring (when the market is right). The guy took us out back to his shop and showed us the '85 along with the '98 1200 Sporty he replaced it with. The bike turned out NOT to be stock. It had drag pipes, drag bars, forward controls, windshield, sissy bar, and a handful of problems. There are some electrical issues that I'm sure I'll be posting about in the forums (which in my opinion might be a loose wire). I looked it over, the chrome was nice, the paint was crap, and there were miscellaneous cosmetic things here and there that need work to be perfect. I asked the guy what he wanted out of it, "3000" he replied. Well, I know I read 'OBO' in the ad, so I offered him 2600 (roughly trade-in value, and about 1500 less than what I can get for it in ND). He replied "2800, what's 200 bucks?", So I had to tell him that 200 bucks is a good chunk to a college kid. What he said next was awesome, "I'll flip you for the difference, you win it's 2600, I win it's 2800, you call it". Well, that flip saved me 200 bucks and after a night of partying with some friends of ours in Milwaukee, we loaded up my 1st Harley. Of course we had to stop by the Harley Plant, even though it was Sunday and the tours weren't running. We still got some pics outside... I know this was a long post, but I'm sitting here looking at the freshly fallen snow from last night, and I'm cursing winter every 5 seconds. That bike is sitting in my garage taunting me, I need to ride! At least now I have time to get rid of that peanut tank...
A few weeks back I was browsing the online classified sites and found something that sounded like a good deal. A 1985 Sportster for $3000 OBO. I called the guy and asked about the bike. He told me it was stock and "ran like a top". So after some debate in my head, and a decision to sell my Yamaha, I mentioned it to my friend. He kinda perked up, and said "Hell, I'm up for a road trip!". You see, the bike was in Milwaukee, WI, and we were in Fargo, ND. So we rented a trailer, hooked it up to the car, and began the 1300 mile round trip journey. When we got to Milwaukee and finally found the guy's address I was nervous, and really excited. This purchase was going to strain my financial resources until I put the Yamaha up for sale this spring (when the market is right). The guy took us out back to his shop and showed us the '85 along with the '98 1200 Sporty he replaced it with. The bike turned out NOT to be stock. It had drag pipes, drag bars, forward controls, windshield, sissy bar, and a handful of problems. There are some electrical issues that I'm sure I'll be posting about in the forums (which in my opinion might be a loose wire). I looked it over, the chrome was nice, the paint was crap, and there were miscellaneous cosmetic things here and there that need work to be perfect. I asked the guy what he wanted out of it, "3000" he replied. Well, I know I read 'OBO' in the ad, so I offered him 2600 (roughly trade-in value, and about 1500 less than what I can get for it in ND). He replied "2800, what's 200 bucks?", So I had to tell him that 200 bucks is a good chunk to a college kid. What he said next was awesome, "I'll flip you for the difference, you win it's 2600, I win it's 2800, you call it". Well, that flip saved me 200 bucks and after a night of partying with some friends of ours in Milwaukee, we loaded up my 1st Harley. Of course we had to stop by the Harley Plant, even though it was Sunday and the tours weren't running. We still got some pics outside... I know this was a long post, but I'm sitting here looking at the freshly fallen snow from last night, and I'm cursing winter every 5 seconds. That bike is sitting in my garage taunting me, I need to ride! At least now I have time to get rid of that peanut tank...