So I pick up my bike last Friday afternoon, with Saturday being my first opportunity to ride. My riding buddies and I have a favorite lunch restaurant that's about 50 miles out of town up in the mountains, that's only accessible by a very twisty, and thankfully very clean and lightly-traveled, road. We always meet up at a local convenience store parking lot, then ride up the mountain together.
So I arrive at the store on Saturday morning for my CB11's maiden voyage, and I'm awaiting the three friends who answered the e-mail ride announcement.
As I pull into the parking lot, there's a somewhat crusty guy, about 65'ish, seated on the front picnic table to the store, eating some biscuits and gravy. Next to him is a 1945 H.D. Flathead bobber. This guy looks like one of those folks who's never missed his annual obligatory pilgrimage to Sturgis. I park my CB11 about 10 feet from him and dismount.
We exchange pleasantries, and he's eye-balling the CB in between bites of his B&G. Now I'm not usually a fan of rat bikes (because so many of them just look like thrown-together crap), but this one is cool! The seat's about 20" off the deck, the rear is hard tail, the turn signals are brand-new H.D., the headlight is from a V-rod, and the oil can is an olive-drab green metal military ammo box--still with the yellow stencil writing!! I'm digging his ride.
As he's admiring the CB, I can see the gears turning in his head and he finally asks, "What year is that?" I make him take a guess. He gives it a shot, "1980?" He does a double-take when I tell him it's a one day-old 2013 model. Now he's on his feet, walking around the bike, telling me about a Honda he had back in the day.
Now the funny part of the story. One of my buddies arrives, and he's riding his Desmosedici. Yes, my buddy has a Desmosedici, he's let me ride it a few times--and yes, it is an angry beast of a motorcycle. Not only did it cost $72,000 new, but he's put at least another $20,000 into the bike (GP exhaust, 17" wheel/tire conversion, etc.)
In the presence of over $90,000 of super-exotic Italian sex-on-wheels, our Rat Bike guy doesn't even acknowledge its presence--he's too busy drooling on my CB1100!!
I just might like this bike!! You meet the nicest people...