Last Saturday I was dinking around on the internet as usual burning up time before going to work. I read the news, a couple of newspapers and generally messing around. Googling just about any fleeting thought that comes to mind.
So I stumble on the Honda motorcycle site. One of my pipe dreams is to get one of the dual sport motorcycles that can be ridden on the street and off road. I had one in the early eighties and it was a hoot. I could ride it around town. My girlfriend lived five miles down a gravel road. With tons of places to ride off road on their farm.So I fill out the on line credit application. To be approved. Which was a surprise at my income level with some debt. The delusions of grandeur kick in. All the great things that are going to happen when I get this bike. I will be so cool. I can go all these places and do all these great things. It even gets 77 miles per gallon. Bearing in mind I hardly drive the car I am making a payment on. Also there is the fact that I have been riding a bicycle to work for six years. Realistically something I do not need or can afford.
So I am hammering the Honda website at the bikes that might fit into my budget. As if any would. Narrowing it down to three. Now looking at the reviews of all three. Many different sources on the web. Spending hours looking them all over. The bad and good. Owner reviews. Checking it out hard. After being turned down for financing for years I can buy now man. I am a citizen again.
All day Saturday and Sunday I am pretty pumped up about this. Monday morning I am going to get up shower and shave and trot right down to that bike shop and get my new ride. As I am off on Mondays. Monday came and went. I did not go.
Working the early shift on Tuesday I decide to go to the shop and check it out when off. Rushing home to put on my sharp clothes I hustle to Sarasota where the bike is located. On the trip down thinking I have not been to Sarasota in five years. I take that back. I went to the credit union and model railroad shop there three years ago.Ten miles away. I guess I really get around. Wandering around looking for the place I ask a policeman where the shop is located.
Finding the shop I hop out thinking someone is going to pouce on me and try to put the the big dollar ride on me. After all I have this official credit approval certificate with me you know. Sauntering about for about thirty minutes no one even talked to me. I guess goofy looking old nerds in Goodwill clothes are not the best prospects. In another ten minutes I go to the parts counter and ask if it is OK to sit on the bikes. They said yes and not to knock any of them over. I am thinking this is an omen.
So I find the examples of the ones narrowed down in my research. Looking them all over with great detail. Sitting on them. Not knocking them over. The one that I thought I really wanted was really tall. Almost massive as it was the dual sport (on and off road). The manufacturer does not produce this model in high volume as it is expensive and not a big seller. No special rates or incentives on it. You either buy it or you don't.
Moving on to the next one on the list. It is the Honda Rebel. Honda started selling this bike in 1984 as an 85 when I was selling Honda motorcycle. It has great rating as for what it is. A good commuter. And very reliable. It just seemed so tiny even for a diminutive person like me. It was something I wouldn't be caught dead riding when I was 18 and probably not now.
OK, now behind door number three! A left over CBR250R (kind of like the Interceptor I sold and wanted thirty years ago). This was a 2012 that was knocked over by some goofy looking old nerd in Goodwill clothes sometime during it's stay at the dealership. It looked cool and felt really nice. With a dent in the tank and a cracked fairing and all. Something that I have always managed to do anyway. As I can never seem to have anything perfect.
I am an hour into this by now. I walk back inside and am looking at all this stuff. Helmets for $400. This and that. I find a lady behind the parts counter. At this juncture no one has said a word to me. I ask her if someone can give me some figures on a bike. She looked at me and said "Hey Dave this goofy looking nerd in Goodwill clothes would like a price on a motorcycle." He said alright I will be with you in a few minutes. When he got to me I told him I had sent an email requesting a quote on that motorcycle. He said their internet has been down all day and jumped at the chance to dump me off on the internet guy.
"Hey Steve, this goofy looking nerd in Goodwill clothes sent you an email about that bike we have been trying to dump for almost three years." Joyfully he scampered off to leave me with the other guy. The other guy was pretty nice. I did not even require him to get out of his chair. I tried to impress him with my motorcycle prowess and the fact I have been riding motorcycles since 1970. I also gave him the credit ap and certificate of approval printed from the email from Honda. He looked at this and said he had never seen one of these before and proceeded to give me a decent deal on the bike.
I am going to have to send you "upstairs" to talk to the lady in the finance department. OK I said. He pointed out the door and said go through those doors and up the stairs. Going through those doors and up the stairs getting to the top this lady looks at me like a deer in the headlights. She says "hello". I say " Steve sent me upstairs to talk to someone about financin'." Responding " I am not the finance person. She has gone home for the day. I am the insurance person." I already have insurance I say".
So I show her the bill of sale he printed. The credit ap of which she said I need to fill out again and the approval certificate. She also told me she had never seen one of these. Calling Honda Motor Credit after showing her the reference number Honda told her I was in fact approved on a more expensive bike. But being on a three year old bike that some goofy looking old nerd in Goodwill clothes knocked over they would double check the loan and approve it at a special low rate that they were giving on current model year rides of the street variety. I thanked her and went back downstairs.
Leaving I stopped by Steve's office and told him I will make a decision soon with which from the get go I told them I was not going to make a decision today. Gleefully he told me goodbye thinking what a way to end the day being jacked off by some goofy looking old nerd in Goodwill clothes.
On the way home from this successful mission I am noticing all the motorcycles. After spending a month flipping out over having to buy a new laptop computer for $400 with the impending demise of Windows XP I am seriously considering hooking up for 5 years on a motorcycle I do not need.
If I had to commute some distance this may be a viable alternative as gas is now $4 a gallon. As I ride a bicycle to work and the car gets 30 plus miles per gallon this may not make sense. But look how this will change my life for the better. Every three years I could ride it to the credit union and model railroad store in Sarasota.
I spent the rest of the evening watching testimonials of the model on YOUTUBE. Waking up at four in the morning lamenting this dilemma I have created. Going through my budget confirming that I should be sleeping at the Y without even an automobile. Although the combined payments did not even come to what I spend on cigarettes every month. Not alone beer.
Proving that when a problem doesn't find you I can create my own. Even with this wonderful new motorcycle the fact would remain that I would still be a goofy looking nerd in Goodwill clothes. Just with another payment or two with insurance that I would regret and not be able to afford.
So I am hammering the Honda website at the bikes that might fit into my budget. As if any would. Narrowing it down to three. Now looking at the reviews of all three. Many different sources on the web. Spending hours looking them all over. The bad and good. Owner reviews. Checking it out hard. After being turned down for financing for years I can buy now man. I am a citizen again.
All day Saturday and Sunday I am pretty pumped up about this. Monday morning I am going to get up shower and shave and trot right down to that bike shop and get my new ride. As I am off on Mondays. Monday came and went. I did not go.
Working the early shift on Tuesday I decide to go to the shop and check it out when off. Rushing home to put on my sharp clothes I hustle to Sarasota where the bike is located. On the trip down thinking I have not been to Sarasota in five years. I take that back. I went to the credit union and model railroad shop there three years ago.Ten miles away. I guess I really get around. Wandering around looking for the place I ask a policeman where the shop is located.
Finding the shop I hop out thinking someone is going to pouce on me and try to put the the big dollar ride on me. After all I have this official credit approval certificate with me you know. Sauntering about for about thirty minutes no one even talked to me. I guess goofy looking old nerds in Goodwill clothes are not the best prospects. In another ten minutes I go to the parts counter and ask if it is OK to sit on the bikes. They said yes and not to knock any of them over. I am thinking this is an omen.
So I find the examples of the ones narrowed down in my research. Looking them all over with great detail. Sitting on them. Not knocking them over. The one that I thought I really wanted was really tall. Almost massive as it was the dual sport (on and off road). The manufacturer does not produce this model in high volume as it is expensive and not a big seller. No special rates or incentives on it. You either buy it or you don't.
Moving on to the next one on the list. It is the Honda Rebel. Honda started selling this bike in 1984 as an 85 when I was selling Honda motorcycle. It has great rating as for what it is. A good commuter. And very reliable. It just seemed so tiny even for a diminutive person like me. It was something I wouldn't be caught dead riding when I was 18 and probably not now.
OK, now behind door number three! A left over CBR250R (kind of like the Interceptor I sold and wanted thirty years ago). This was a 2012 that was knocked over by some goofy looking old nerd in Goodwill clothes sometime during it's stay at the dealership. It looked cool and felt really nice. With a dent in the tank and a cracked fairing and all. Something that I have always managed to do anyway. As I can never seem to have anything perfect.
I am an hour into this by now. I walk back inside and am looking at all this stuff. Helmets for $400. This and that. I find a lady behind the parts counter. At this juncture no one has said a word to me. I ask her if someone can give me some figures on a bike. She looked at me and said "Hey Dave this goofy looking nerd in Goodwill clothes would like a price on a motorcycle." He said alright I will be with you in a few minutes. When he got to me I told him I had sent an email requesting a quote on that motorcycle. He said their internet has been down all day and jumped at the chance to dump me off on the internet guy.
"Hey Steve, this goofy looking nerd in Goodwill clothes sent you an email about that bike we have been trying to dump for almost three years." Joyfully he scampered off to leave me with the other guy. The other guy was pretty nice. I did not even require him to get out of his chair. I tried to impress him with my motorcycle prowess and the fact I have been riding motorcycles since 1970. I also gave him the credit ap and certificate of approval printed from the email from Honda. He looked at this and said he had never seen one of these before and proceeded to give me a decent deal on the bike.
I am going to have to send you "upstairs" to talk to the lady in the finance department. OK I said. He pointed out the door and said go through those doors and up the stairs. Going through those doors and up the stairs getting to the top this lady looks at me like a deer in the headlights. She says "hello". I say " Steve sent me upstairs to talk to someone about financin'." Responding " I am not the finance person. She has gone home for the day. I am the insurance person." I already have insurance I say".
So I show her the bill of sale he printed. The credit ap of which she said I need to fill out again and the approval certificate. She also told me she had never seen one of these. Calling Honda Motor Credit after showing her the reference number Honda told her I was in fact approved on a more expensive bike. But being on a three year old bike that some goofy looking old nerd in Goodwill clothes knocked over they would double check the loan and approve it at a special low rate that they were giving on current model year rides of the street variety. I thanked her and went back downstairs.
Leaving I stopped by Steve's office and told him I will make a decision soon with which from the get go I told them I was not going to make a decision today. Gleefully he told me goodbye thinking what a way to end the day being jacked off by some goofy looking old nerd in Goodwill clothes.
On the way home from this successful mission I am noticing all the motorcycles. After spending a month flipping out over having to buy a new laptop computer for $400 with the impending demise of Windows XP I am seriously considering hooking up for 5 years on a motorcycle I do not need.
If I had to commute some distance this may be a viable alternative as gas is now $4 a gallon. As I ride a bicycle to work and the car gets 30 plus miles per gallon this may not make sense. But look how this will change my life for the better. Every three years I could ride it to the credit union and model railroad store in Sarasota.
I spent the rest of the evening watching testimonials of the model on YOUTUBE. Waking up at four in the morning lamenting this dilemma I have created. Going through my budget confirming that I should be sleeping at the Y without even an automobile. Although the combined payments did not even come to what I spend on cigarettes every month. Not alone beer.
Proving that when a problem doesn't find you I can create my own. Even with this wonderful new motorcycle the fact would remain that I would still be a goofy looking nerd in Goodwill clothes. Just with another payment or two with insurance that I would regret and not be able to afford.
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