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Don't worry...not today. This was 20 years ago but I can't sleep and I thought I'd tell you guys a story about a really bad day I had once...
So, I'm young. I'm poor. Due to fighting with my Mother, I'm living in my van on the streets of Hollywood (lived in there for 2 years).
I've got a real thing for bikes though...and a job. It's kind of funny, at one point I was homeless in my van but had 3 bikes (3 80's Katanas) parked in front of me...move the van...move the bikes.
Anyway it had been a few years since the GSXR had come out, and I had been jealous long enough. I had to have one at any cost, so I sold my (now collectable) Katanas and put every dime I had in the world together so that I could buy the only one I could come close to affording.
The one I could afford was a 89 1100 that had been flipped over backwards and had a broken clutch lever. Yep, guy was selling as is. I barely had enough money for it and struck a deal for about $100 less than he was asking. This was important because the $100 I saved would be the last $100 I had in the world. Another guy was an hour behind me to buy it if I didn't get it right then (or so I believed). I begged him to hold it until the next morning.
So, I take a bus out to this guy's location which is about 70miles from me. I went early in the morning.
Now I've bought the bike and it's rush hour traffic in LA... gridlock in most places. I took a major street all the way back to my house but with no clutch lever, I had to find neutral and stop, then PUSH the bike, jump on, and pop it in first. Every Single Light was red on the way home. N-JUMP OFF-PUSH-JUMP ON-1ST (repeat 200 times at least). I was a young kid back then, but I was absolutely exhausted by the time I got home several hours later.
So now I'm home and I call Suzuki about getting a clutch lever. It's Saturday afternoon and they are closed Sunday. They have the part, but I'll have to get there within 2 hours to have them put it on.
This is now almost afternoon rush hour...another 40 miles... N-JUMP OFF-PUSH-JUMP ON- 1ST (repeat about another 100 times). I get to the Suzuki dealer about 20min before they close, but they agree to put it on and bleed the master. I'm running on nothing but the excitement of being able to ride this bike with a clutch lever, but even at that I'm starting to pass out in the waiting room.
Ok, bike's done! I get on this dream of mine and ride it home breaking most speed limits on the way. YEEEHAAAAA !!! Only took like a 1/2 hour to get home to my van!
So I park the bike in front of the van. My knees are shaking. I haven't eaten anything and I only have about $10 left even if I had enough energy to get food...which I didn't.
I crawl in the van and pass out.
I wake up about an hour later. Sun has just gone down. Feeling like I just had the worst dream....
So, I'm young. I'm poor. Due to fighting with my Mother, I'm living in my van on the streets of Hollywood (lived in there for 2 years).
I've got a real thing for bikes though...and a job. It's kind of funny, at one point I was homeless in my van but had 3 bikes (3 80's Katanas) parked in front of me...move the van...move the bikes.
Anyway it had been a few years since the GSXR had come out, and I had been jealous long enough. I had to have one at any cost, so I sold my (now collectable) Katanas and put every dime I had in the world together so that I could buy the only one I could come close to affording.
The one I could afford was a 89 1100 that had been flipped over backwards and had a broken clutch lever. Yep, guy was selling as is. I barely had enough money for it and struck a deal for about $100 less than he was asking. This was important because the $100 I saved would be the last $100 I had in the world. Another guy was an hour behind me to buy it if I didn't get it right then (or so I believed). I begged him to hold it until the next morning.
So, I take a bus out to this guy's location which is about 70miles from me. I went early in the morning.
Now I've bought the bike and it's rush hour traffic in LA... gridlock in most places. I took a major street all the way back to my house but with no clutch lever, I had to find neutral and stop, then PUSH the bike, jump on, and pop it in first. Every Single Light was red on the way home. N-JUMP OFF-PUSH-JUMP ON-1ST (repeat 200 times at least). I was a young kid back then, but I was absolutely exhausted by the time I got home several hours later.
So now I'm home and I call Suzuki about getting a clutch lever. It's Saturday afternoon and they are closed Sunday. They have the part, but I'll have to get there within 2 hours to have them put it on.
This is now almost afternoon rush hour...another 40 miles... N-JUMP OFF-PUSH-JUMP ON- 1ST (repeat about another 100 times). I get to the Suzuki dealer about 20min before they close, but they agree to put it on and bleed the master. I'm running on nothing but the excitement of being able to ride this bike with a clutch lever, but even at that I'm starting to pass out in the waiting room.
Ok, bike's done! I get on this dream of mine and ride it home breaking most speed limits on the way. YEEEHAAAAA !!! Only took like a 1/2 hour to get home to my van!
So I park the bike in front of the van. My knees are shaking. I haven't eaten anything and I only have about $10 left even if I had enough energy to get food...which I didn't.
I crawl in the van and pass out.
I wake up about an hour later. Sun has just gone down. Feeling like I just had the worst dream....
