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COYOTE ARCHIVE
Dick Prosapio aka, Coyote is a member of the TMC Advisory Council, ceremonialist, psycho-
therapist (ret.), author, leader of men's experiential workshops, & Co-founder of The Foundation for Common Sense. He lives with his wife and daughter in Stanley, NM
For more info about Dick Prosapio, visit his web-site:
Spirit/ Earth Path
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The Great Motorcycle Chase
by
Dick Prosapio © 2004
I think it's safe to say that every red-blooded American boy, maybe every boy everywhere, at one time or another would like to have a motorcycle.
OK, maybe it's not "safe" to say that, but I said it anyway.
Yeah, I know I left out "girls" but, really now, what percentage of girls wants a motorcycle in comparison to boys? Maybe 10% huh?
I'll give it 20 and we'll leave it at that and I'm stickin' with the original premise. Send complaints to the Editor.
I've never had one, a motorcycle that is, and in fact, I've never even ridden on one. But I have, as far back as I can remember, admired those who have and do. It should follow then that now that I have a chance to get one, 'cause I came into a few bucks as a gift from an old friend, that I would go out and do just that. Especially since he was urging me to do just that.
And that's just what I started out to do, I embarked on my usual, a guys usual, Journey of Discovery. This involves researching and organizing the hunt, discovering all things motorcycle and sorting them into categories. The first level of this is "studly" bikes vs. "family bikes". This is the basic Harley vs. Goldwing sorting, the Harley (type) being the lone-guy-on-a-bike and the Goldwing being the guy-and-his-wife/girlfriend on a bike.
Next is the reliability thing. Old Harleys are famous for leaking oil and needing "touch-ups" by the side of the road. Old Harleys are out for me. Newer Harleys are out because they cost as much as a good small car. Harley "clones" are the next obvious way to go. These are the Japanese bikes and, through search and discovery I narrowed the field to Yamaha and Honda.and a late comer in the quest, a Yamaha-Harley look alike, the Denon, which, I am told by the enthusiastic salesman, ".....is a Korean bike made by the people who set up the Honda engine."
I only know what they tell me in this regard. I didn't consider BMW. A little too rich for my wallet.
Next, I begin checking with them-that-know. The old bikers still doing it and those who stopped for one reason or another. First thing I hear is, "You want a good motorcycle? Get a Harley." But I take this with a large dose of salt because, and this is kind of important, I've never been on anything more gutsy than a two-wheeled, 15 speed, self-propelled bike. I don't think that prepares one to swing a leg over a 1300 cc heavyweight.
So, I checked out an 850 cc.....which still seemed a little large for a first timer. But I don't want some dinky thing either, that would just mean buying and then selling as I became more competent in order to move up the cc ladder. The Denon was 250 cc's and looks very much like the macho Yamaha V Star, that's the 850 mentioned above.
Elizabeth doesn't mind not going on motorcycle rides. But that didn't completely rule out the "family" type bike in my search. I still pictured her riding, comfortably, behind me as we cruised the back roads of America.
I should add here that one of the reasons I've not done this before, besides the discretionary money issue, is that I know how I am, or have been, about the "speed" thing. When I was a pilot my favorite thing to do was to streak across the desert at high speeds at about five to ten feet above the sagebrush. I figured, logically I believe, that I'd be doing the same thing on any motorcycle I'd get, so, to forestall an early death, I avoided the temptation.
But I've mellowed and have no great need-for-speed these days. Now I want to see the territory, be in it AND see it. So, I've slowed down considerably.
Didn't want any more tickets either.
So, I'm out one day, kicking motorcycle tires here and there and pricing all the stuff you have to have to be moderately safe on one, and it occurs to me suddenly, that I really don't want to do the whole "thing" about motorcycling. You know, the "leathers", the helmet, the training, the sweating in hot weather, the bugs in my hair.....it really begins to seem like a major hassle.
It was then that, tucked away on a very small used car lot, I came upon The Miata.
It was love at first sight. Or sitting.
As I sat in it, I remembered that my favorite car of all, of the close to a hundred cars I've owned, was my MG. I had a '68 Corvette for about three months once, and that was fun, but, 1. It really wasn't a sports car, it was a very powerful Chevy. And 2. I couldn't make the payments.
But the MG, ah, that was fun. It was moderately quick and handled like nothing I'd ever driven before. And I owned it. Unfortunately, shortly after I bought it, I had to make a choice of whether to keep working to support it or finish up my undergrad degree and go on to graduate school. The MG had to go after just one month.
Just sitting in the cockpit of the Miata I began to remember all the fun I had driving that MG. Driving it brought it all back in real time. And even better, the 1.8 liter engine, forget "ccs", made that old MG seem like a wind-up toy.
Yep, I think that after thirty-one years of forgetting that driving used to be fun .I'm ready to remember again.......and take Elizabeth along....comfortably.
Maybe I'll get a bike next year, after all, there may be a Steve McQueen crouching inside me awaiting liberation.
Actually, I think it's Paul Newman.
Dick Prosapio ©2004, All Rights Reserved
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