Bonneville America Forums Forums General Motorcycle Forums Other Bikes My Sporty Story

I love sportsters, all of them. I have always wanted one and have been singing their praises in little company among my buds for years. Not too many people get it. Heck wit em. I use the word "brother" often. I have two by birth and many others by the connection that this life of cycling produces. Brother Kevin is one such production. He always kinda smiled when I talked about his sporty and was sure to mention that if he ever sold it I would get first crack which meant little to me because I could never just drop that money down knowing how sketchy work gets for me. Last week he offered it up. The deal was something like this. "Bro, I love ya and want you to have the bike. Pay me what you can, when you can. I am dropping it off at your house thursday night." Wow. Talk about restoring your faith in humanity. I just didn't think people did things like this anymore. Needless to say, she will undergo some "changes" but here ****** is, pre unbolting of the stuff that don't make it stop or go.

I don't get the fascination but good for you anyway. What ever makes ya happy is a net positive to the world so Rock on Rockstar.

People are good, we just hear so much of the bad stuff every day I think we forget the good ones. Congrats on your new addition. Have fun turning her into what you want.

How cool is that! Congrats on the new ride, and a great family!

Nice looking ride. My stable only has 2 and that's a lie because the other bike belongs to my wife. Some day I'll have more than one (bike, not wife). Maybe if I had a stable I'd add a Harley, but it's a couple bikes down the list right now.
My best riding buddy is a Harley guy. I love the guy but I gotta be in front of his noisy assed bike, though. Back in the 70s I thought they were pretty cool. You had to be a good hand with a wrench just to keep 'em on the road. As time passed, the quality slowly began to improve and the CPAs and lawyers (no offense intended to anyone, I think FBI agents are mostly lawyers and CPAs) started buying them. Then they started making more and more of them. Now they are, what, 60% of the bikes on the road. It's not like Honda with a gazillion different engine and frame combinations. They are all V-twins. If you're not a Harley guy and don't see the nuances ("it's not a panhead, it's a shovelhead"), like me, they pretty much look the same except for paint and accessories. And that's OK. While the quality of the product has come a long, long way and they make some fine motorcycles anymore, most of the ones I could afford are still paint shakers. My TBA is easily my favorite bike ever. If I was handed $20,000 that I could only spend on a bike it wouldn't be a v-twin (and I rode a v-twin for the 12 years prior to my TBA). Maybe one of those BMW spaceships. One of the things that first grabbed my attention was that the Triumphs look different. It was the look that got me to take the test ride. I guess it's like hip-hop music is to me, as well. They all look (or sound) more or less the same. That is a beautiful bike you have there, though. The Sporty's handle real nice, as I recall.
Reminds of a line that I read in a magazine article years ago, "and then the rugged individualist went out and bought a Harley...like all the other rugged individualists."
BTW you have a quality friend, there.

Sports and Kings are the only HDs I recognize or like. Performance aside, they look like what motorcycles should look like, as Triumphs retros do. That said, reguardless of marquis, a scoot is a scoot is a scoot. Congrats on your "new" Sporty and your luck of having a good friend.

Harley or Honda , Triumph or Ducati ... I have a leaning towards traditonal or retro styling.
That Harley looks good , wire wheels , aircooled twin , not too much plastic and enclosed fairings.
Oil cooler a good thing when it warms up out there on the highway.

This is not a story about a bike, but rather... a friend. Darrin, what you have there is a token of the greatness humans are capable of. What a gift (the person and the bike). Great story... thanks for posting this!

Well said, Keith.

awesome story! Great friend and great experience. Ill bet you hang onto that bike for a long time.

SO if I may....what is it about Sportsters that draws you to them like that?

"if we have to explain ,ya wouldnt understand".sportsters fekin rule.

In my case, I've had a soft spot in my heart for Sportsters since 1969(when I was 17 years old), and when this old TV show was first broadcast....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnPIOH8bCfk

(...btw Darrin, good story about a good friend!)

What a great story about a true friend and yet another bike I'd like to add to my stable...thanks for sharing.

That is awesome! I think the bike is beautiful. I would put a gunfighter seat on it and leave everything else the same, because that's the way HE had it. I would forever refer to it as Kevin's bike. My identical twin brother's name was Kevin. My Speedmaster was his bike. He always said he wanted to chop it, so I did, but it will always be "Kevin's Bike", and everybody will always know exactly what that means.
My brother Kevin was awesome too!

Nice story and good lookin sporty.

It definetely don't smell like rice.