| Author | Message | ||
     Koz5150 |
This is what I dropped into today's mail. Given some time to reflect on all this, here is what I wanted him to know. Dear Erik, I just wanted to express my sincere thanks to you for my 2002 M2. It has brought me joy, laughs, a little pain, some education, and friendship over the past 7 years that I have owned it. I feel I have a lot in common with you since I was raised in a Wisconsin family by a Dad who is an entrepreneur himself (on his third shot at 62 years old!). I also play guitar, have a love for Queensryche since the 80’s, and ride a Buell just like you! Anyway, I know things have been tough for you and I wanted to let you know how much happiness you have brought to my life. Here is my Buell story. In April of 2001 I bought a 1984 Honda Nighthawk SC700, it had that cool naked look that was appealing to me. In May I earned my license through the Rider’s Edge program at Hal’s HD on a Blast. Being 6’3” that bike didn’t fit me to well. I had to sit on the passenger part of the seat and when I accidentally dropped it once, it just fell in between my legs. I grabbed the handlebar and picked it up, lesson learned! Since I started riding I had been eyeing up the M2 model. It looked so good, had a great sound, and there was nothing else that even came close to being that cool in my mind. As an amateur mechanic I loved the fact that it had a carburetor since I had dreams of owning it forever and working on it myself. As an American gearhead, the tubers always have reminded me of the muscle cars of the late 60’s with that great sound and tough looking stance. On an August evening ride to lakefront in Milwaukee I parked next to a Volcano Grey and Orange M2. As my wife got off the back of my Honda she commented on how she thought that bike looked great. I bought my M2 the very next week, drove to Iowa (Wilwert’s HD) to get that exact model with PM rims. Summer of 2003 after reading Badweb all winter long I attended the 20th homecoming. How cool was it that I got to tour the birthplace of my bike, but then go on a ride with the creator to his barn and see some real cool history. The place reminded me of my childhood thinking about working side by side in the basement of our house building wood furniture with my Dad. That weekend I entered myself in Battletrax at Uke’s even though I had no clue what I was doing. It was so much fun and I learned so much. The other thing I remember is attending the dinner you spoke at. I brought a Blue and White pit crew shirt that you signed for me. Do you know how cool that is??? That was like getting to shake Henry Ford or Carrol Shelby’s hand as you drive off in one of their cars! I have never wanted to hang a signed anything in my house, but that shirt is one of two I have stored away and will proudly display in my house when I build my rec. room (the other is from my rock band I played in). Summer of 2004, June, I did my first trackday at Blackhawk farms. It has to rank and one of the most fun days of my life. It was the day after my birthday and my wife paid $50 to have a guy follow me on the track and record a video. I love watching that even if I wasn’t good enough to drag the pegs… at least not that year. In 2005 I went back and made some real progress. I was dragging the pegs and really riding with a lot of confidence, until the fifth session of the day when I went off the track at 80+ mph trying to avoid another rider. The bike must have flipped a few times on the grass, I couldn’t tell, I just kept sliding. I crushed the tail section, the front cowl, bent the handlebars, and the rear tire bounced all the way up and left a skid mark on the frame. Oh yeah, I needed 11 stitches to patch up the gash in my leg. Within 1 month, my leg was healed up and so was my M2. I did all the work myself and spent less then $300 putting it back together. What a solid bike to be able to come back from that wreck for such little money and still ride like the day I bought it. Throughout the time that I have owned my bike I have taken a few fun rides, most of which are around WI with my Dad. He rides a 2001 Sportster and upgraded the engine with Thunderstorm Heads and X1 cams after one ride on my bike lead to a second gear surprise wheelie. Anyway we have attended the 100th HD Anniversary, Five Slimey Crud Runs (you should see all the Buellers there!), the S&S 50th, and numerous daytrip rides to Door County, around Aplleton where I live now, Northern WI backroads, the Kettle Moraine area, and even out to Iowa. I have also had the pleasure of meeting a lot of great Buellers along the way, many of which you know. Dana in Racine, Steve Mackay in Waukesha, Dennis Fenrick in Green Bay, Court, Dave Stueve in Iowa (I even put the big Buell sticker on his car!)… the list goes on. Most of what I have written above would not have happened on any other bike. So thanks. Thanks for building bikes, thanks for improving the motorcycle world, and most of all thanks being Erik. I, like many many others, look forward to seeing you again soon and finding out what new things you have brought into this world to make peoples lives a little better. And know that my M2 will be with me for many great years, and may even end up in my daughter’s garage one day! |
