My first bike was a motor scooter, Japanese "Silver Pigeon" (made by Mitsubishi, I think) sold at Firestone, around 1963. Rode it from Ft. Mc Clellan, Alabama to Detroit, 3&1/2 days, 30mph (downhill with strong following wind), & eight gallons of gas. The following summer, I started to ride it back to Alabama, but got stuck south of Toledo Ohio, just wouldn't run. My mother came down, picked me & the scooter up, and drove back to Detroit. She knew I was really disappointed, so she took me to Sears, & put an Allstate Compact Scooter on her charge. It came in a box, assembly required, and had a gear shift. Put it together, and headed out after figuring out the shifting, and putting about 80 miles of the required break in 300. Camped out my first night in Pymatuning State Park, Pa, & headed for Harrisburg the next day. Rain gear was an army poncho, made some guys on real bikes laugh real hard. Got to Harrisburg, felt really lousy, and ended up in the hospital with a ruptured appendix. Mom came down & picked me & the scooter up, & drove back to Detroit (reoccuring theme here?) . A couple of years later, I had a chance to go to Alaska for a couple of weeks, so I shipped the scooter up, and putted around the Matanuska Valley. A couple more years, & I came to Boston to go to school, & shipped the scooter here, what a great way to not get stuck in traffic. It was so light & low, I could ride it on the snow with my feet for outriggers. Bought a BMW R26 in the early 70's, & sold the scooter to a friend for $100. Saw a bad accident, & quit riding a couple of years after that, lost my nerve, wasn't fun any more. Fast forward to 1990, where a friend at work was selling a '74 CB750K4 for $300. Figured if I was still scared, I could sell it for what I paid. Took a couple of years, but got comfortable & happy on a bike again. Three years ago, I bought a Valkyrie, and had it triked up six months later. How could I not buy another Honda, when I was riding an almost 30 year old bike with 96+k that takes the curves at 80+, solid as a rock. Thanks for all your help & input on keeping Barney running. The trike is great, and it's always a challenge to see just how fast I can take the twisties, but nothing is like carving a clean turn while leaning,
Karen
