OLYMPUS E-P1 PROJECT
... it's all mine ... okay, me'n the credit union, we're on good terms ... brand-new—well, minus eight years and 12,000 miles, that is ... after waiting and waiting and waiting for honda to deliver the motorcycle i'd ordered, only to find out that one month after the promised delivery date they'd added the words "sometime in the future" to the schedule, i decided that i wanted to be on the road ...
... i'd looked at the bmw last fall, but passed on it for several reasons ... rethinking the situation, i decided that i'd been too cautious with my reasoning ... yes, the bmw is "used" ... then again, considering the reputation of bmw when it comes to mechanical realiability, that amount of mileage is actually relatively minor ... and, of course, parts and repairs will be more expensive compared to a honda, absolutely ... but ...
... but, the bike fits me like a glove ... it's almost as if the frame and seat had been custom made for my measurements ... single-cylindar water-cooled, a "one lunger" with 50 hp and incredible mid-range torque ... it'll go over a hundred (don't ask how i know that), but mostly it's designed to cruise long distances on the interstate ... my (amanda's ... !!!) suzuki is a great motorcycle, but 16 hp was it's one serious shortcoming when it came to this kind of riding, and that's something i had to ponder since my "plan" is to go all the way to the pacific ocean on two wheels ...
... luggage, i think i've got that figured ... back rack will have to go ... (anyone interested in a givi locking trunk, i've got a deal for you) ...
... what a day ... !!! ... i was sick to the point of total incapacitation all friday night and saturday morning ... i won't describe it, since the writers' guide warns that that's a sure way to lose readers ... i'm thinking food poisoning, to be honest ... anyhow, liz picked me up at noon and took me down to lewiston ... i could barely think, which wasn't a good situation since the finance guy kept playing all those "oh, you can add this and this and this for only this a month" ... my sweet little girl, she took over and ran interference for me ... "he doesn't need that ... do you dad ... oh ... oh, why that comes to $1,200 over the life of the loan ... oh, my ol' dad can change his own oil" ... at one point he pushed what was probably a tiny bit too much, i thought she was going to come out of her seat and rip off his head ...
... anyhow, here i am ... i now own what is quite possibly the ugliest motorcycle every built, but i don't care because it's going to do exactly what i want ... previous owner's "12,000 miles in eight years," big ha, how much you want to bet that before they start salting the roads again i'll come close to matching that ...
... me, after we got back to waterville ... looking after her dad, all the way from lewiston to waterville liz's car filled my mirror ... parked the bike, went back upstairs and crashed ...
... p.s. ... sharped-eyed readers, yes, you're absolutely correct, those aren't really motorcycle gloves ... forgot mine were out the lake where i keep my motorcycle stored, had to settler for regular cloth mitts ... ah, electrically heated hand-grips, how very nice ...