One morning one of the guys walked up to me and said something profound that sparked my thoughts and begin changing my way of thinking. What He said was; “With as much as you smoke, if you gave up cigarettes you could afford a Harley”
At the time I felt stunned. I sat for awhile and considered the words and began entertaining the idea thinking quite literally.
It was as if it had opened my eyes and gave me hope to what was unthinkable at the time.
I had heard of so many others who claimed they could never afford a Harley. So how was it that all of these guys owned their bikes outright? None of them had loans or had borrowed money to pay for theirs. That just wasn’t done. Although one of the guys had his brothers’ bike willed to him upon his death. Some had just outright bit the bullet saved up and or had owned them for so long that they had been paid for, for quite some time.
So the thought of quitting smoking started my wheels turning. How would that be possible? Is that something that could help me with really quitting a bad habit and making it a positive thing in the process?
At the time I was a chain smoker. I would light up one right after the other. I was going through at least two packs every day and sometimes more, every single day.
The habit I knew was bad for me and I wanted to be healthier but this could now be more of a motivator for me and a reason to stay focused if it were true.
So I got out a pen and paper and literally started doing the math. At the time packs of cigarettes were $ 1.65 a pack and by multiplying the packs by 2 since I was smoking at least that, and then by days of the week and then by the month and then the months of the year…. It became a time thing.
It was along about this time another one of the guys I knew that lived close to me had a 84 Super Glide Harley that he was willing to sell for 4500.
I didn’t have the money at the time but wanted to take a look and get an idea of what I was at least looking at.
He had taken the bike apart and had repainted it a most grotesque shade of what I referred to as Dickhead red
There would be no way in hell that I would want to be seen on a motorcycle especially a Harley that was that color
But the benefit of seeing this gave me the incentive that perhaps I could find perhaps a older model for maybe the same or nearly the same amount of money. Giving me a target and or an amount of money to gather up.
I was serious about wanting to make this a positive thing.” If I quit smoking could I use the money I save and really buy a Harley?“
How serious was I and was this thought it was a foolish question. Thinking I would never give up smoking anyway.
I marked the amounts of money from my figures on a desktop calendar and started filling a cigar box that I kept under my bed with the money each week that I would then mark down making sure I was contributing in accordance with my figures.
This went on for many weeks, months in fact. Until one day I got the cigar box out to straighten out the bills and to cross check with my figures and I was short.
Yes someone had helped themselves into my cookie jar so to speak.
Oh I was pissed I felt violated. I had worked hard and had been tempted on smoking so many times and the thought of saving this money and buying a motorcycle was going to be a long uphill battle and it was now going to take me even longer.
I had to retaliate but how? Well I took immediate action. Years before I had benefited from having help with a loan on my first financed auto that I would use to get back and forth to my job.
Through the ACU (the Automotive Credit Union) I could transfer funds from my check and make the deposit into a separate account. A Harley Fund so to speak was a savings account that was created. With that every bit of volunteer overtime could also be contributed and so when the whistle blew when 8 hours was over I considered it to be Harley fund time. What it meant to me was now The time that I was working as the time I was making money to buy my Harley.
It wasn’t long before I started finding other ways to raise even more money. By going to work on night shift I could get 5 % shift premium and decided to do that.
It was along this time that while working those long hours and saving my money that I met a guy I will call rusty.
He was a former Harley owner and a pretty cool guy.
For what I remember he had a very large collection of EasyRider and other biker magazines, like Iron Horse and Super Cycle. I studied as I read each of these magazines from cover to cover and knew more at that time about Harleys then most people ever learn in their lives. The more I knew the better. A triple head lighted big twin. With both front and rear disc brakes that was within my budget of about 4500.
Just for fun I started checking want ads under motorcycles to get a feel of what was being sold and for how much. I took my truck and went with the guys to a blessing of the bikes in early 91 in Dupo IL at a place called Fallen Springs. I also went to a motorcycle swap meet to have a look for myself at what I was getting myself into. Perhaps I would have to piece together my own bike
That’s when I found it. The bike I was looking for right there.
1976 Liberty FLH Electra Glide 1200 One family owned 29,000miles 4500. And then the number.
My heart raced. I knew in my mind that this was the one. I had to find out more about it and couldn’t wait to call about it immediately. But to no avail. I kept the paper and tore the ad out and put it in my wallet.
When I got through I found out that I was the only person who had called about the bike. I wouldn’t be able to take a look at it until perhaps Monday. It was Friday or so when I first called.
Alright I thought, I will at least get to look at it. Even though I didn’t have all the money for it yet but I had to go see it. Somehow there was going to be away.
Sure enough I started calling early Monday but without getting through. I kept up the calls not letting go of the dream. I virtually had the phone number memorized by the end of the day and finally got through several days later.
it was clear that by then things had changed. Skip the owner of the bike had taken the bike out for that one last ride, going to see some old friends of his over the week end. What happened wasn’t exactly clear but he had wrecked the bike by running it into a telephone pole.
I heard by the sound in his voice and his demeanor that he was changing his mind about selling the bike.
Remembering that with every Harley there has to be a story or a history that goes along with it. During the telephone conversation I reached out to him and asked, for him to tell me about the bike anyway. Give me story on this Harley
Skip opened up and told me that the Liberty had been like a member of the family. Skips brother had originally bought the Harley new and had even ridden it to Sturgis one year. Plus while Skip had worked at Wideman Harley Davidson, he had rebuilt the bikes upper end. Replacing his brothers solid lifters with hydraulic and touched up the valves.
Skip was convinced that the ‘76 had a reasonably fresh motor.
I remember him referring to the Harley as a putter, which struck me a little odd at first until he explained what he meant. A putter was nothing like a golfer would use .
A putter was a term for a motorcycle that would be used to travel on back roads and highways that could…putt at or about 50 to 55mph constantly.
It made sense to me as I continued to listen. I think it was right about then on the phone and decided he would let me look at the bike then, and perhaps we could work out some sort of deal.
I was elated but wanted to talk to someone about the situation. The only person I knew anything about Harleys was a guy that was dating a sister in law of mine at the time, who owned a old Shovelhead upper Pan Head lower.
