PART 5 THE FINAL CHAPTER

2011

While I started emailing this guy back I also was emailing my “pie in the sky”…a guy who had a Harley Fat boy which in the back of my mind has always been the ultimate motorcycle for me, I mean come on Arnold rode it in the TERMINATOR and it just looks great, well he had some hard times and needed to sell but he had a son who wanted to get into riding and was looking for a smaller bike, not really a Honda but he was interested in talking to me.  Really I think his son was hoping for a Harley Sportster to start out on but his dad was hoping for something a bit smaller and not so fast for him.

I had been emailing him but we were still pretty far apart of the trade value on my Honda and the value of his fat boy which needed some work.  Also the Harley owner was in Sacramento and Suzuki owner was in Rohnert Park.

So I called the Rohnert Park guy and we talked a couple times and finally met in person, when I saw the Suzuki I knew it was going to be my next bike.  He told me the story of how he got it from a friend who put pretty much all the add ons you can put on from highway bars to gel seat, new saddlebags, better platforms and back rest rack, almost all the same things I had added to the Shadow over the years, like so many others after all this his friend decided to buy a Harley so he sold this bike to his friend probable at a good price.  But he was a small guy and he was not comfortable riding such a tall powerful bike, so that is why he was looking for a smaller bike.

Well I took it for a test ride (it started raining) and really liked the way I sat on it and how comfortable it was to ride.  We worked out some details and I said I would get back to him the next day, well it all worked out and the next day I traded my 1998 Honda Shadow for a 2002 Suzuki intruder, well trade plus some cash.  I took it over to my parent’s house and started cleaning it up a little but really I was anxious to get out and ride.

As nice as it was I still had some ideas about how to make it mine and add my little touch to it.

The first thing I did was buy bigger highway bars and highway pegs the bars it had were too small for the size of the bike.

The second thing I did was get some a sweet little clock and temperature set for the handlebars which were something I had wanted on my shadow but never got.

The third thing I got was chrome side covers, the grey ones it had on it were ok but HEY more chrome is better.

The fourth thing was an amazingly loud air horn, I gotta be heard right?  Funny thing I think my Dad ended up getting the same air horn for his truck.

The big thing I wanted to do it get hard saddlebags that locked, and since it had saddlebags on it I knew I could sell them and hook up the hard bags.  So I listed them on craigslist and they sold pretty quickly, I found the hard bags I liked at a little company in SF I emailed them because they had pictures on the website of white ones but they didn’t have them for sale.  They said those were painted just to show they could be painted as an example, well I asked can I buy those?  They still had them in the shop so they sold them to me ½ of because they were the older model…sweet.

The next time we went down to Newport my dad and I rented a Harley and cruised down to San Diego, the handlebars were up a little higher and I really liked the way it rode and the look it gave the bike, so when I got home I started looking into changing out the handlebars and adding some attitude to my bike.

Well I got the bars and a few other little things I wanted to add like LED light bulbs and black grips and bar end weights. I found a guy who worked on motorcycles to do the work at a really good rate only issue was the timing, I was called up for Army training around the same time I got all these parts for my motorcycle, I dropped it off in November and found out he had to order some custom cables because of the length it would add with the new handlebars.  It all worked out unfortunately I did not get a chance to ride it before I left and he had to drop it off to my house.  But I look forward to riding it when I get home and continuing to make it mine.

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Some ideas I have

1. Smaller sportier seat maybe with some custom white leather
2. I have thought about painting it to match my Dad’s truck so when we go to shows we can have a nice little set up.
3. I have to get a new clock and temperature set because of the bigger bars

Well 4000 words later that is my story of how I went from a little

$300 80cc Honda scooter

to a

$4500 1500cc Suzuki intruder

We moved from the great town of Reno back to Sonoma County in June.  With that move my 1998 Honda Shadow tagged along.  I was still tinkering with some aftermarket parts adding little touches here and there. I found a great website where they sold handlebar clocks and temperature gauges which was a good thing to have.  I also added some chrome parts to shine it up a little.  I ended up having to fix the radiator because it had a little leak but other than that I didn’t have any problems with it.

Fun Thing, my parents have a neighbor across the street that has a custom show bike and when Street Vibrations came around he was taking his bike on a trailer to Reno and asked if I wanted him to take mine in his trailer, it was really great to have my bike up there and Even though it isn’t anything special I enjoyed riding around during the event.

It was after this event I knew it was time to figure out how to get a bigger bike, so the search began…..

I had three different things I was looking for in my next bike

1)      Larger engine

2)      Some extra mods like highway bars and windshield would be nice

3)      A well maintained bike

4)      Kind of a bonus I did not want a black bike, weird I know but all I ever saw was black bikes and I wanted something a little more unique.  I know my Dad has a thing against white cars and all but I really wanted a white bike.  I liked the look and I liked the contrast with white and chrome (Which I knew I would add)

With limited funds I knew I would have to either sell my Shadow and save a little money for a new bike, or find someone that wanted to do a partial trade for a bigger bike.  I took it to the shop and had the oil changed and a safety inspection done getting it ready to sell.

I started researching what kind of bike I wanted and I narrowed my choices down to four different bikes;

The Honda VT1100 is a motorcycle engine used in numerous bikes in the Honda product line since its debut in 1985. Measuring 1098 cc, the engine is a 52 degree twin-cylinder with liquid cooling. It provides around 50 horsepower depending on application and tuning.

I thought this might be still to small of a bike and in a couple years I would be on the hunt again, then I looked at the Honda Valkyrie ONE OF THE GUYS AT THE CHURCH IN Sparks had one and I always liked how the engine was larger and  more of a small block type enginve rather then a v twin, I also liked how it was a highway cruiser but it was still pretty fast and had a good sound to it.

The Honda Valkyrie is a motorcycle that was manufactured by Honda, from model years 1997 to 2003. It was designated GL1500C in the US market and F6C in other markets. The Valkyrie engine is a 1,520 cubic centimetres (93 cu in) liquid cooled, horizontally-opposed flat-six engine transplanted from Honda’s Goldwing model. This was unusual since most “cruiser” style motorcycles were based on a V-twin engine design similar to the engine of a Harley-Davidson.

The third bike I was looking at was the Suzuki intruder, it was the same size engine as the Valkyrie but a little lighter and more importantly it was a bit more in my price range.

The original Suzuki VL 1500 Intruder LC featured a low 26.7-inch seat height and an underseat 3.5-gallon fuel tank, contributing to a lower center of gravity, enhancing stability and low speed handling. Its new^[1] engine is designed to produce a claimed 67 hp at a low 4,800 rpm and 114 Nm at 2,300 rpm.^[1] In 2002, its front single disc brake was upgraded to dual discs and the bike received a 0.6-gallon larger, 4.1-gallon fuel tank.^[3] In 2004, the bike received four-way emergency flasher / high beam passing switch, multi-reflector turn signals, hydraulic valve lash adjusters, hydraulic clutch and a back-torque limiter.^[1]

The motorcycle’s name combines V referring to its v-twin engine configuration, L referring to its long frame,^[4] 1500 referring to the approximate metric displacement of the engine and the LC standing for Legendary Classic.

I was still a little hopeful I would find a Harley out there that I could get on some how some way.  Well I looked for a good while without any luck. I had my Shadow on the car lot for a couple weekends but it was a hard time to sell a motorcycle and most of the ones I was finding online needed some work or the owners were trying to get to much money for them.  But you know how Craigslist is some days it’s hot some days it’s cold but it usually is faithful.

As I was browsing the Craigslist app on my trusty iphone one day I found a guy who had just listed a Suzuki intruder 1500 low miles white (Which is the color I was looking for) a couple mods like new comfy seat backrest for passenger and windshield, one other thing that caught my eye was that he said the bike was to big for him and he wanted a smaller bike to ride around……I had a smaller bike!!!!!!!

Part 3

So I swallowed my pride and confessed this to him, he didn’t laugh at me or anything he just showed me what to do and explained how all the brakes and clutch worked and everything to look for while riding, we got on and off we went, we went down the road a little ways and it felt great, I will never forget the feeling of giving that little shadow gas and off I went it was great I had found a new happy place sitting on that bike that I knew would be there for awhile.

Well ended up I stopped working at the dealership went to Cali for something and came back ready to get on my new bike and ride.  I went to a job fair and met a really nice guy who liked my resume and wanted me to come work for him and help grow his business and spruce up his moral among his employees. So I started a new job as operations manager for a non emergency medical transport company pretty close to my house.

I rode my bike as often as I could and slowly got more and more comfortable on it.  I even found a Christian motorcycle club to ride with a couple times which was fun.  I wasn’t the only one on a Honda either so that was a good chance for me to talk to others about bikes and things like that.

Only had one sketchy time, I knew we were moving so I listed the truck I was driving and sold it really quickly…..to quick so I had to ride my motorcycle everywhere I wanted to go including work, well when I was riding in the rain across the Tacoma Narrows bridge (which is all metal grate) it got a little swishy and I hit a big puddle at end of bridge, but it turned out ok I didn’t go down or hit anything just woke me up a bit, that night I took a company vehicle home and left bike in garage.  Shortly after that I took a new job in Sparks Nevada and off we went to a sunnier warmer climate.

I was excited to get to Reno because there were so many motorcycle riders it was great, the sun was always shinning and I was able to ride so much more then when we were in Washington.  We moved in August and I was pleased to find out that in September there was a motorcycle show and event called Street Vibrations, loads of fun that was…..another good story…..

While in Reno I added floorboards for the driver to the front and to the back for the passenger.  My Dad and I had rented a Harley and both of use discovered how much more comfortable the floorboards were then the pegs.  I added a bigger highway bar, which allowed me to stretch out a bit more on the highway pegs.

The next year when Street Vibrations came around I attended more of the events and got some cool patches for my sweet leather vest, it was a great little hobby.  Jaden enjoyed riding with me sometimes and Shanna even went for a couple rides.

I knew that I would soon outgrow this bike.  It was a 750cc and had some pep to it but I wasn’t a small guy and I knew a day was coming I would want some power and some highway cruising ability this one wouldn’t provide me.

        I likes how this bike looked but i would hate to be the one to clean and polish it after every

Part 2

2009

Interesting story about the buyer I found for the Honda 250cc scooter, he called me the next day after I had posted the ad for the scooter and he wanted me to hold it for him because he lived in PORTLAND….lol, of course one of the great Craigslist rules is

CRAIGSLIST RULE #2 NEVER HOLD ITEMS FOR PEOPLE,

So he came that weekend and picked it up paying me my asking price, SWEET…I was excited to get on the hunt for a motorcycle.  I researched for a bit and narrowed down my search to the Honda Shadow 750cc or the Suzuki Boulevard 800cc.  Both got good reviews and both seemed to be around my price range.  During this same time is when I joined the Army reserves and received a nice little bonus.  Also during this time I had been laid off my job and was looking for a new one, so my funds were tight but I knew that the great land of Craigslist had my bike out there.

I was driving an old jeep at the time so I would need to rent a trailer whenever I found my next ride. I had recently started working at a car dealership, (good story there also, almost a reality show) one of the managers was a motorcycle guy but not a crazy Harley guy like some, so we talked about bikes and I told him about my scooter history and all this and he wished me luck on my search and he said when I found one he would help me clean it up or do anything it might need.

So….the day came….a Saturday I found my next motorcycle…..it was a 1998 (Year I graduated High School) Honda Shadow low miles good condition at the right price, all day I emailed back and forth with the owner with questions, he said it had been sitting for a couple years and might need the engine cleaned out and the tires replaced, so I knew it would be some work but it was a great great deal.  The biggest issue was it was in Seattle, actually it was located North of Seattle and I had to work the next day at the dealership, but really I had made arrangements with my boss to come into work in the afternoon after church….yes I know ditching Church to go see a motorcycle isn’t good but it was such a good deal.

But I got up super early went to the local U-Haul and rented a motorcycle trailer and headed north.  Oddly enough this was one of those fluke days in Washington when the weather doesn’t know what it wants to do and it started snowing on me, I got up to the guys house and knew I had very little time before I had to head back down to go to work.  I looked the bike over it was what I was looking for I couldn’t start it because of the issues but I took a gamble on it and worked my magic and got him to lower the price well below what he was asking, “You can have cash in your pocket or you can have a motorcycle you can’t ride taking up space in your carport.”  I loaded it up and headed to work, when I got there I couldn’t hold in my excitement and I told my manager what I got and he shared my excitement and we walked out to the parking lot and looked over the bike.  He told me I could bring it over to his house after work and we could work on it the next day.  So I dropped it off that night and had a list of supplies to get for us to work on cleaning it up and getting it ready for the road.  The next day we worked on it and shined it up he looked at the tires and thought they looked good no cracks so I didn’t need new ones, then he looked in gas tank and put some fuel stabilizer in and WABAM it started right up, I must have jumped in the air with excitement, we did a little happy dance and called it a night.

The next day I registered it got the tags and insurance and headed back to his place to find out what was next, I got there and it was all cleaned up and looked amazing.  He had worked on it well into the night in order for us to be able to ride.  I got on the bike and came to a quick realization; I had never ridden a motorcycle before…….

Here I am on my Sunday routine.  First I go to church, then I go to Starbucks maybe have a vanilla cream, then I go to movies at 2:30 if it is a good movie then I go back to Starbucks hang outside with whoever is there and smoke a nice afternoon cigar, then back to room to clean do laundry and get ready for another exciting week

So recently I have had a different outlook on being here, I have tried to create some kind of very predictable routine.  I found that without this I wonder and maybe my time is spent looking at pretty fire trucks instead of on something that might be more useful, don’t get me wrong I like fire trucks but I also like getting things done and looking back on my day and week and saying “Wow I did stuff.”   So I have had my routine in place for two weeks and with small changes here and there it has worked, of course when I started this I knew it would change from week to week sometimes so I still am flexible but I try to stick with it so I accomplish things I want to accomplish aside from my normal work duties I work on things like schoolwork, talking to family, and writing.  Every Thursday night I get together with a group of guys at the Starbucks over on other side of base, it is a great time to talk and here from soldiers in different areas and with different jobs then my own.  I also hang out with the other chaplain assistants sometimes as well but I enjoy hearing others experiences and takes on things going on in the world.  Just a thought

Well after a couple months (Almost Three) here we are finally starting to feel like we are in the desert.  Funny story about desert one of my teachers recognized I had issues with spelling (Still do) and told me a little secret about desert and dessert, she said “you always want seconds of Dessert right?  Well just remember that dessert has two s’s”  Smart lady.

Back to hotness, it is getting warmer and  I am not sure if I should be worried when I am relieved it is only 102 out and not 115, I am sure by the time I leave this wonderful place my body will be all kinds of messed up when I return to America. Speaking of that, I find myself making a bunch of lists about things I want to do when I get back projects and places I want to go with my girls, and stuff I want to get….then I usually come back to them and prioritize them and cross stuff out and add stuff and move stuff around to top of list.  

This is not something I do when I am at home so much I am not sure if it is because I have so much time here to think or if it is that at home my priorities are different and should be realigned every once in awhile.  Just a thought

Over the years I have seen the Military adopt different marriage classes to help soldiers.  Some have been weekend retreats, some just studies.  The Love and respect seminar has been by far the best material, with practical application and relative teaching.  Our soldiers have had the opportunity to attend these teaching weekly for five weeks.

From the Love and respect website http://loveandrespect.com/

“What is Love and Respect? The founders believe love best motivates a woman and respect most powerfully motivates a man. Research reveals that during marital conflict a husband most often reacts when feeling disrespected and a wife reacts when feeling unloved.  We asked 7,000 people this question: when you are in a conflict with your spouse or significant other, do you feel unloved or disrespected?  83% of the men said “disrespected.”  72% of the women said, “Unloved.”  Though we all need love and respect equally, the felt need differs during conflict, and this difference is as different as pink is from blue!”

I know that many soldiers like me have talked to their spouses about reading the book together in order to strengthen their own marriages.  I also have heard the excitement from what the soldiers have learned and been able to incorporate into their marriages even from so far away.  Be encouraged our soldiers will come home excited to reunite with family members and continue to grow closer to their spouses in new and exciting ways.

SPC NALYWAIKO

420^th MCB Chaplain Assistant

So late late we arrived here at Camp Arifjan and were walked over to our housing. Inside we saw what was pretty much a large metal building with windows only on each side, of course I was set in the middle with one other guy.  I was not concerned because it was one of the guys I had gotten to know over the last couple months and I knew we would get along for the most part anyway.  We settled in made our beds and went to sleep.  The next morning briefings and a tour by the Chaplain and Assistant we would be replacing.

We saw the wonderful defac (dining facility) and our Chaplain’s office.  We were given a schedule of the events that would take place over the next few weeks as they were getting ready to leave out and go home.  They gave us some warnings and things to look out for and pretty much dumped a whole bunch of info on us about what ministry and life would be like here at the Camp.  They drove us around the base and took us to key places like where to wash the car and where to gas it up as well as our higher headquarters if we ever needed to go there.  We saw the Zone 1 Chapel and were given the run down on what went on there.  My Chaplain was set to take over the worship there for the 1100 service.

On the first Sunday we were here we went around and saw some of the services, it was interesting because the zone 1 “Chapel Next” service was calm and very systematic mostly older people attended and some generals and higher ranking  personnel.  Zone 6 Chapel service was loud energetic and a bit more laid back with the majority of the people attending being in their 20’s and 30’s……I knew which one I would fit into.  So we saw those and heard about the different Bible studies that were offered, met about 50 chaplains and assistants in the process.

The last week the other team was here we took control of the daily happenings.  We got to travel around the country up to the boarder where all the excitement happened when troop left one area and came to another in December, it was like showing up to a party of concert late.  You could tell something happened but you missed it and all that was left was a couple things that showed you something had happened.  We went around a couple times seeing where all our other units were working and how to navigate in a country with very little street signs and people driving about 100mph, something I was looking forward to when we did our trips.

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