Wednesday, March 25th
I talked to Johnny Lightning through out the day and everything was going well until he started claiming that a lot of people were calling him about this bike....Oh boy! Here we go with this shit. Is Johnny Lightning trying to flake out on me?
Well the answer was yes and no....I really had to get in there and explain that a deal is a deal and eventually we worked out a new deal but man I was sweating bullets for a minute there. So the deal had been re-worked so I was now back on track...I thought anyways.
Initially I planned on driving there with my boy Eric and he would ride the motorcycle back. Being that it's a mid 60's bike and just in case something were to happen...we would be screwed. So I took a shot at walking over to my ex boss's house who happens to live directly across the street from and who I also hadn't spoken to in close 9 months but that in it's self is another crazy story.
To my surprise Ryan and Matt were home. After some long over due catching up with them I explained that I came over to see them but also to borrow their F-150. As usual, they didn't give a shit and even gave me $10 for gas!?
Now it's on! I call up Eric and tell him about the truck and ask if he can swing by my dad's to pick up some straps to hold the bike down. About an hour later he shows up and we head for Avoca.
Finally!! We get there and start finalizing the deal. Johnny Lightning insisted that Eric ride the bike but repeatedly told him..."Don't wreck this bike, fucker" Even after Eric took off on the bike Johnny Lightning kept asking me if I was sure Eric knew how to ride it!
He is Big and his name is Dave...
Johnny Lightning had to call his friend Big Dave to bring over his ramps so we could load the bike into the back over the truck. Shortly after his arrival the Superhawk was ready to go back to Omaha.
After some brain storming with Eric on the drive back, we came up with a good solution for getting bike out of the truck. We had 4 people when loading and you could consider it 5 if you consider the fact that Big Dave was 2 of me. Anyways, now is was just left up to me and Eric to unload it. Using the plywood that I use as I work table and the slight raised lip of my drive way. We were able to back the bike off of the truck without the plywood ramp moving.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Luck or Fate
Tuesday, March 24th
I returned to school from my spring break week and I am now sitting in class avoiding my work for the day. Really I am just bored out of my mind. I randomly decide to get on craigslist and look at what motorcycles have been posted under every damn city in the Nebraska section. Shortly before 2pm I am in the Omaha/Council Bluffs section and see listing for 1965 CB77 305 Superhawk for $900 in Avoca, Iowa. At this point I am no longer bored...consider my mind blown. The fact that I stumbled upon this fairly rare bike is leaving me questioning its authenticity and condition.
Shortly after viewing that listing I called the listed number about it. A very strange, interesting guy named Johnny Lightning answered the phone. We began talking about the usual, what's the condition, history, problems with the motorcycle...all in all I was left a bit confused but even more interested in seeing this thing in person.
As soon as I got out of class, I drove to Avoca. Which is only about an hour away from Omaha...but I had no idea that I would be returning there on Wednesday and Thursday. I finally arrive and walk down gravel alley that lead to muddy driveway and ended at a very messy, cluttered garage. That's when I met the man, the myth and have course the Avoca legend...Mr. Johnny Lightning!
Now I am able to finally lay eyes on this motorcycle...to my surprise it's an actual Superhawk! The only reason I say that is because there are so many confusing frame and engine models that can get mixed up and a number of 60's Honda's tanks and parts can look similar to one another.
Johnny Lightning really wants to make this deal happen right now. The only problem is I didn't have any money, because I couldn't get to the bank, because I didn't expect to find a fucking Superhawk on craigslist today! I explain to him I will buy this thing tomorrow and just need to figure out how to get the damn thing back to Omaha on the cheap.
I returned to school from my spring break week and I am now sitting in class avoiding my work for the day. Really I am just bored out of my mind. I randomly decide to get on craigslist and look at what motorcycles have been posted under every damn city in the Nebraska section. Shortly before 2pm I am in the Omaha/Council Bluffs section and see listing for 1965 CB77 305 Superhawk for $900 in Avoca, Iowa. At this point I am no longer bored...consider my mind blown. The fact that I stumbled upon this fairly rare bike is leaving me questioning its authenticity and condition.
Shortly after viewing that listing I called the listed number about it. A very strange, interesting guy named Johnny Lightning answered the phone. We began talking about the usual, what's the condition, history, problems with the motorcycle...all in all I was left a bit confused but even more interested in seeing this thing in person.
As soon as I got out of class, I drove to Avoca. Which is only about an hour away from Omaha...but I had no idea that I would be returning there on Wednesday and Thursday. I finally arrive and walk down gravel alley that lead to muddy driveway and ended at a very messy, cluttered garage. That's when I met the man, the myth and have course the Avoca legend...Mr. Johnny Lightning!
Now I am able to finally lay eyes on this motorcycle...to my surprise it's an actual Superhawk! The only reason I say that is because there are so many confusing frame and engine models that can get mixed up and a number of 60's Honda's tanks and parts can look similar to one another.
Johnny Lightning really wants to make this deal happen right now. The only problem is I didn't have any money, because I couldn't get to the bank, because I didn't expect to find a fucking Superhawk on craigslist today! I explain to him I will buy this thing tomorrow and just need to figure out how to get the damn thing back to Omaha on the cheap.
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