A new rider rediscovering her roots

[cliffrod]

More musings than anything, but thought somewhere might relate & enjoy-

I mentioned recently that our daughter has decided to get her motorcycle license.  She grew up completely immersed in the motorcycle world, to the point that being at the motorcycle shop was no different than being at school or going to the same grocery store. The shop was her playground where she was the princess and my best friend/shop owner’s grandson (1 yr younger) was the prince.  Both of them were in the shop before they could walk and they grew up together there & here when we weren’t at the shop. 

Much of what we did with our events was indexed to have free whatever for the two of them.  One year we did a big vintage bike display at the fair in exchange for free all-pass credential for them when they were maybe 7 & 8 yrs old.  They rode every ride, played games, fair food like they were VIPs  She knew the whole crowd at the shop, from drunks & felons to lawyers & CMA members.  But it was just our normal life for her.  It wasn’t “special.”  Her friends at school & church didn’t have similar deep motorcycle scene connections.  As she got older and delved into school, it became less of her life.  She wasn’t anti-bike, just btdt and moving on.  It was all just normal life for her.

A week ago, while in Milwaukee working this summer, she went to the House of Harley to get a tshirt for her birthday to go with the bargain 92 FLSTC we found over the summer.  We had been looking at bikes all summer both here and there, especially for Mid 90’s Ducatis and whatever else seemed to be priced well.  I have several bikes to share with her but she wanted her own.  This softail won the contest.  so I suggested she get a real HD tshirt in Milwaukee while she was there.  While there talking bikes and sharing pics, she was thrilled to be offered 2x+ as much as this bike cost by someone at the dealership.  She understood that how we do bikes and now she’s doing the same, even if it isn’t for sale right now.  When she went inside, apparently it was a much bigger thrill.

As she looked at the various displays, she realized she recognized many items being displayed.  Engines, paint schemes on gas tanks, memorabilia on the wall, bikes, etc etc.  She said it looked just like the shop, just bigger.  Then she went back to “the vault” where there were bikes parked with used engines and parts on the shelves.  She said “it smelled just like the shop!”  So she started telling her friends with her all about growing up at the shop, being around bikes, all the characters who came and went.  She said it was a really great day and quite an epiphany to remember so much that she never really thought about doing when she was younger.  When we told her that (for example) not many little girls get to pose on an XR750, an XR1000 and an XR1200 for different christmas cards, she said she never really thought about it before. She was just having fun being a kid at the shop.

She said she never realized how many people were into bikes like this (at that House of Harley museum, dealership).  We never did the HD culture or biker scene.  We just did bikes, so she did them with us.   She hadn’t ever stepped back and really looked at the world like that.

She flew home 2 days ago and will be back at college in a week for her last semester.  She got home, gave her cat a hug, went next door to see her grandmother and then went straight to see her bike.   It’s not on the road yet, but she’s really excited about the whole situation.  We never expected her to be interested or this excited about it.    Recollecting all of it and what we did for so many years makes it even better.

You never know which seeds will grow…. Keep planting.

[Tkelly]

Sell the HD get a Guzzi.

[SIR REAL ED]

Very cool Cliffrod.  Sounds like you were the kind of father we all wanted....

[cliffrod]

Sell the HD get a Guzzi.

She doesn’t particularly care about having a Harley.  This specific bike is about buying in cheap to build equity and trading up if & when she wants, like she has watched us do.  We might be able to flip to buy something like that $3500 Lemans in VT, but that’s not going to happen right now.

FWIW, My first tagged street bike was/is my V7 Sport.  I still have it plus a few more guzzis.  They’re hers if she wants them.  She doesn’t right now.  I sold my 95 900SS a decade ago, so it was not available for her.

I also have a couple of Harleys.  that’s mostly what we worked on at the shop, even though another mechanic, my friend the owner and I all owned Guzzis while she was growing up there.  Cheap and readily available Evo parts are a better option for her at this point.  Btdt. 

if you have a great deal on a Guzzi that fits our schedule and her budget, let me know.

[bronzestar1]

"...You never know which seeds will grow…. Keep planting."

I've been riding for 40+ years, there's always been a motorcycle around while my two daughters were growing up.  The oldest has shown no interest at all, but the youngest got her mc license a couple of years ago.  She doesn't have her own bike yet, so she borrowed a 2018 Triumph Street Twin 900 I used to have and rode it all around the neighborhood.  It was a great bike for her to keep practicing on, ergonomics were perfect, easy to handle, not too much power, etc.  I sold that bike, but she'll be taking over the payments on a '24 Triumph Scrambler 400X as her first bike.  She's excited about the Scrambler, and having one she can call her own.

Youngest on the back of my EV:




On the Street Twin 900:




Her soon-to-be Scrambler 400X:



     

[Tom]

Eventually motorcyclists will find that a Moto Guzzi makes more sense than other brands and mainly because of the perfect match for usable HP on the street.

[wirespokes]

Cool story! Thanks for sharing. 

[cliffrod]

Eventually motorcyclists will find that a Moto Guzzi makes more sense than other brands and mainly because of the perfect match for usable HP on the street.

I have a strong suspicion that the end result of this adventure will not be fewer Guzzis in the family.  She continues to learn about mechanical work and likes the idea of building her own simple Loop bitsa/bobber when she settles down in one place.  I’ve got enough parts to do a couple of them.  She wants to get started but right now college that’s 2 states away, graduation and what follows related things are more pressing. 

[Tom]

She'll love the Loop.  My youngest got his license but right now is not interested in riding. He still likes the Eldo w/chair however. 

[cliffrod]

I’ve got pics of a couple of bobbers from the internet and another couple of Loop specials from here.  She likes the basic quality of them and it seems pretty likely that she’ll add do one at some point.

As far as the selling Harleys to buy Guzzis, I’ve btdt too.   Many years ago, the profit from selling a group of HD VL and WL parts funded the purchase of multiple bikes including my V7 Sport.  More recently, a 1990 FLHTC was purchased for $3500, ridden a few years with no $$ beyond basic maintenance and then easily sold for $3500 to buy my CX100 for $2900 3 yrs ago.  Similarly, the incomplete V700 that I’m using for my Record project came with a couple of Harleys in a clean out and I was the first person called.

[Perazzimx14]

Sell the HD get a Guzzi.

Why push his brand on her? She's and adult she should pick and choose what shes likes.

Guzzi's like any other bike are not special or magical like all motorcycles they are nothing more than a collection of inanimate parts. It's the people around the motorcycle that are the character and soul not the pile of parts.

[Tkelly]

Somebody wants to pay twice what she paid for the HD,Guzzis are way cooler and magical.

[cliffrod]

Her bike, her rules.   She likes this bike.  She can also spend a little on it to make it hers, ride it, sell it later and not lose money (if not make money) to buy whatever else she wants.   

We’ve modeled the behavior- buying cheap to enjoy, keep or sell to fund something else including sell a HD, buy a Guzzi- for her entire life.  Then I let her make her own decisions because she’s an adult, just like I was at her age.  No games, no pressure, and she didn’t ask for my permission or my approval. 


Edit- I just mentioned your “buy a Guzzi” discontent comment and asked her if she wanted to respond.  She said she doesn’t care what anyone thinks about her bike & went back to what she’s doing…

[pressureangle]

Edit- I just mentioned your “buy a Guzzi” discontent comment and asked her if she wanted to respond.  She said she doesn’t care what anyone thinks about her bike & went back to what she’s doing…

"...especially your old fart online friends, Dad." lol

I have a daughter too

[Oca Grassa]

I’ve always owned a bike in my adult life. I raised 2 boys around bikes. Neither has shown more than a passing interest in riding. They both love bikes….just not riding one.

They both rode as passengers when they were younger so it isn’t fear I don’t think. More that they understand the risks and neither wants to make a commitment to become a good rider.

I’ve always told them that if they can’t concentrate 100% on riding while they’re on a bike then I’d prefer they don’t ride. Seeing my best friend and riding buddy get killed on his way home from work when they were still young might have reinforced that.


That my youngest when he was maybe 2 on my wife’s EX500.

[n3303j]

<SNIP>
Guzzi's like any other bike are not special or magical like all motorcycles they are nothing more than a collection of inanimate parts. It's the people around the motorcycle that are the character and soul not the pile of parts.

Oh! Bite your tongue! Obviously you have yet to be seduced by a bike.

[Perazzimx14]

Oh! Bite your tongue! Obviously you have yet to be seduced by a bike.

Eh I had 50+ bikes since 2008 mostly italian and German with a handful of Asian and two American thrown into the mix anywheres from 1972 - 2024 and have come to the realization that none are one off or any more special than the next. I also don't get sentimental or attached inanimate objects and have no problem buying or selling on a whim. I've had what I thought were "forever bikes" and they have long been sold. I don't even tell myself the forever bike lie anymore as I know what's in the garage today will likely have changed in a day, week or month. For the last few months my Buell Uly has been my bike of choice and I've really been enjoying it and like it as much as any other bike I;ve had. If someone walked into the garage with $2800 cash in hand, I'd go grab the title and the bike would be theirs to do with what they wanted.

I really get a kick out of folks that have to sell bikes to good homes where they know they will be taken care of., like it matters. Once i have cash in hand I could care less if the new owner Jimi Hendrix'ed the bike with a bottle of Ronsonol lighter fluid and Zippo.

[cliffrod]

Eh I had 50+ bikes since 2008 mostly italian and German with a handful of Asian and two American thrown into the mix anywheres from 1972 - 2024 and have come to the realization that none are one off or any more special than the next. I also don't get sentimental or attached inanimate objects and have no problem buying or selling on a whim. I've had what I thought were "forever bikes" and they have long been sold. I don't even tell myself the forever bike lie anymore as I know what's in the garage today will likely have changed in a day, week or month. For the last few months my Buell Uly has been my bike of choice and I've really been enjoying it and like it as much as any other bike I;ve had. If someone walked into the garage with $2800 cash in hand, I'd go grab the title and the bike would be theirs to do with what they wanted.

I really get a kick out of folks that have to sell bikes to good homes where they know they will be taken care of., like it matters. Once i have cash in hand I could care less if the new owner Jimi Hendrix'ed the bike with a bottle of Ronsonol lighter fluid and Zippo.

Yup.  Every thing I have (including bikes) is just another bank account.  If it’s needed, it gets cashed in to pay the bills or pay for a different adventure.  And once it’s gone, it’s none of my business what they do with it just like what I do with it after I buy is none of their business.  That’s reality.   

I like some machines better than others.   So they’re more likely to be kept longer because they please or suit me better and I have no need to sell them.  But never say never. 

[Oca Grassa]

There are bikes I never grow to love, nor form any sort of attachment to. Cars are different to me…in that I could care less about them. I don’t really get attached to any of them. Sure a scant few conjur memories of events that took place in them….and I’m sad when those have to go but I don’t dwell on that.

Certain bikes for me are keepers. I’ll put them in my living room as art when I can no longer ride them. Any of my Ducatis represent an era and are iconic to them. I look at them as art as much as motorcycles.

They are bikes that I won’t sell. Just something about those bikes that keep my attention….even if to just walk out in my garage and admire them over a dram of Scotch.

Other bikes, like the Yamaha YZF600R or BMW R1150GS….nothing about them made me feel the same way. They didn’t leave a lingering impression nor a tinge of regret when they moved on.

I have plenty of riding buddies who sold on their Tamburini era Ducatis. All of them regret it too. Yeah, they have newer and faster bikes…but they still miss the iconic ones that once occupied their garages. Sentimental? Maybe. Nostalgic? Absolutely. Either way, I buy the bikes I like and keep them.