I think I smell a rat....

[Incubus]

I finish rebuilding my 1987 Shadow VT1100 two years ago. Since then, the Shadow has been my everyday ride. I've put about 20,000 miles on it, and it really served me well when gas prices hit $4 a gallon and I was commuting 60 miles round trip a day. It saved me a fortune on fuel and, riding a bike, I got great parking in congested downtown Austin. Pretty much any striped off area would do, and sidewalks worked in a pinch. I never got a ticket.

When I finished that bike I let my college boy son take my 1975 Honda CB750 off to school so he would have reliable transportation. It had been my everyday ride. I drove it for four years and logged about 20,000 miles. It was my first big bike project and I spent way too much putting it back on the road. I bought only new parts, rather than used or aftermarket. It runs really well to this day. My son traded up from his earlier ride - my first project in 25 years, a 1978 Honda CB400T Hawk II. I sold that bike to a UT student and still see it buzzing around town occasionally.

Well, since I got Incubus, my latest XS11, my son has been telling me how much he likes the Shadow. I told him that was good because he should learn to appreciate things at a distance. You know, like museum-quality art. Learn to admire that which you will never own. But Incubus is running really, really well, and my son knows it. I let him take it out for a ride last weekend and he was impressed.

So today, when I was sitting in the doctor's office waiting for my annual physical, I get a call. It's my son. It's raining (a truly blessed event in Austin recently). The Honda, he said, will no longer run in the rain! It stops dead and won't start again! He doesn't know how he is going to be able to continue doing the eight miles commute between his apartment and campus! Oh my God, he said, what if he fails out of school! What if he ends up washing dishes in a greasy spoon restaurant and is never able to buy his wonderful parents a retirement home on Kauai?!?! (My son inherited the Drama Queen gene from his mom.)

Say, he said, you still using that Shadow?

This is real curious to me because, like I said, that CB750 was my every day ride for four years. I got caught in the rain a number of times. It never stopped dead.

Hmmmm.....

I wonder if I will ever really see a retirement home on Kauai....

Patrick

[fredintoon]

Problem solved

- - - - The Honda, he said, will no longer run in the rain! It stops dead and won't start again! He doesn't know how he is going to be able to continue doing the eight miles commute between his apartment and campus! Oh my God, he said, what if he fails out of school! What if he ends up washing dishes in a greasy spoon restaurant and is never able to buy his wonderful parents a retirement home on Kauai?!?! (My son inherited the Drama Queen gene from his mom.)
Say, he said, you still using that Shadow?
This is real curious to me because, like I said, that CB750 was my every day ride for four years. I got caught in the rain a number of times. It never stopped dead.
Hmmmm.....
I wonder if I will ever really see a retirement home on Kauai....
Patrick

Hi Patrick,
sure you will. At least, your spirit will if it accompanies your jar of ashes there. A dutiful son will do that for his dear departed dad, right?
But yeah, even as far away as Saskatoon there's a whiff of rat coming from your post.
Tell your boy that he needs more exercise to stay healthy and suggest that for a mere eight mile commute he should buy a bicycle.
But wait! You are a loving father and by no means a cheapskate, say that you will buy him one. Used, of course. $100 tops.

[cueball]

Yep

Full agreement with Fred. After an effort like that $100 would be maximum spend. Enlighten him how much a sweatwheel will enhance his cardiovacular health, lessen carbon impact on the planet and the amount of time he will have to ponder on the folly of his failed attempt to get the VT. If he performs really well you might mention nominating him for an academy award, that may get a good reaction.

[Crazcnuk]

Tell him part of being a responsible adult is fixing your ride(s)!

You won't even CONSIDER letting him USE the shadow, until he shows he can maintain the one he has!

Don't we all remember that speech?

[madmax-im]

When I was in college all I ever did was ride a bicycle...20 miles per day just to school and back...it was my sole means of transportation..I even went to the grocery store with it...and i rode it all year round...OFC this was in Tucson,AZ though.On top of that I bought and paid for the bike myself...Kids these days. sheese

[Crazcnuk]

I rode my shadow 1100, first to tech school, then to University, year round weather permitting, in Edmonton, Alberta.

By weather permitting, I mean minimal ice/snow on the roads...

[Montreux_Blue]

..I even went to the grocery store with it...

I still ride my bicycle to the store if I only have to pickup a couple things, why waste gas.

[Incubus]

Crap.

The aroma of rat is being suffused with another foul smell. Methinks there is a conspiracy afoot.

I recounted my conversation with my son with SWMBO when she wandered in from "work" today. Noiw, bear in mind this is a woman who swears this is not her favorite son. Loves them both equally, she said, including the one who has never asked for ONE motorcycle, much less an endless series of them.

It seems she, like my college son, is under the impression that any motorcycle the son gets his hands on from my stable comes not only free, but with a lifetime parts and labor warranty. She thinks I ought to "lend" him the Shadow until "I" fix the Honda.

It could get ugly around here....

Patrick

[latexeses]

We're with you Succubus. Stand tough. Remember support in just a post away.

By the time I was old enough to drive I could do most anything needed to keep the 65 running.

You think SWMBO got a call?

[Crazcnuk]

I rebuilt the engine in my '71 Pontiac LeMans SW when I was 16.

My parents went away on vacation, the garage was empty....

[Incubus]

I've got a '78 Peugeot 103 out in the shed. I think I know what his next ride is going to be. Let's see how he handles 49ccs of pure unbridled power.

Like my usualy performance on every green when I'm foolish enough to go golfing.

Putt, putt, putt...

[barberad]

The aroma of rat is being suffused with another foul smell. Methinks there is a conspiracy afoot.


It could get ugly around here....

Patrick

I am in the process of getting my son ready for college. I also just learned the term EFC (expected family contribution). As if 18 years of food, board, clothing, game boys, playstations, X-box's and enough soccer gear to outfit an entire team wasn't enough. I say make the boy earn it.
But there is also the term "You can mess with the momma bear, just don't mess with the cubs!"

Yea, good luck with that.
Dan

[XSokieSPECIAL]

The aroma of rat is being suffused with another foul smell. Methinks there is a conspiracy afoot.

I recounted my conversation with my son with SWMBO when she wandered in from "work" today. Noiw, bear in mind this is a woman who swears this is not her favorite son. Loves them both equally, she said, including the one who has never asked for ONE motorcycle, much less an endless series of them.

It seems she, like my college son, is under the impression that any motorcycle the son gets his hands on from my stable comes not only free, but with a lifetime parts and labor warranty. She thinks I ought to "lend" him the Shadow until "I" fix the Honda.

It could get ugly around here....

Patrick

Patrick,

I am not here to tell you how to raise your so. I am merely offering my thoughts as an EXTREMELY experienced father. My opinion.

I have 8 children ranging in ages from 9 to 29 years. I'm not sure but I think that pretty much makes me a "kid guru".

Over the years I have learned that the ones who were made to basically take care of themselves and solve their own problems were the ones that achieved the most.

A challenge is a good thing. Having the support and backup, when it is REALLY needed, is also. Not just giving in every time there is a problem that could be overcome with a little perseverance is a healthy thing.

TOUGH LOVE.

You should not have to give up what you have worked for, and worked on to make your life as you want it because someone else doesn't have it, but wants it.

I don't really want to bring politics into it but just as an example, this is exactly what our current administration appears to be doing. (If you are a Democrat I do apologize)

If you don't have it, but you want it, then someone should give it to you.

Ok, I'm getting off topic now. I hope I've made my point.

If you want him to have it, let him earn it. School is an extremely worthy endevor but it is fruitless to tear down anothers shelter to build your own.

Again, just my opinion.

Greg

[wa407mpp]

Because the plugs location on single cam 750 Honda's they are notorious for getting rain in the plug boots in a hard rain, tell him to buy a tube of silicone sealer and coat the boots and plugs where they join and to forget about the shadow.

[Incubus]

Don't worry about that "expected family contribution" stuff, Dan. Because of some volunteer work I do I am actually a certified FAFSA preparer. That's not a real number. It's like grading on a curve. It's a number universities use to compare when they decide how to dole out financially-based student aid, not an actual amount you have to come up with.

You should have seen our EFC number when my eldest started college. I almost wet my pants trying to figure out how I was going to come up with the money. That's when I first got involved with FAFSA, just trying to educate myself.

And I cannot disagree with a anything anyone has said. I am more than just a little annoyed SWMBO would even consider her position. In almost every thing else she backs me when I demand my sons stand on their own two feet. I think it may be that now that the youngest is a senior she is starting to get worried that soon they won't need her (or me) anymore.

I think she is overreacting and using my stuff to do it.

Patrick