November 6, 2005

• A Year Ago On WhenWordsCollide:

  
  

  PHOTO CAPTURES FROM VHS TAPE

  
  

  

  
  

  Part of footage of the 1966 Cadillac Sedan de Ville. In 1989 I bought this beautiful sky blue 1966 Caddy for $1500.00. It was not the car I really wanted. That would be an early 70s Eldorado, but I was impressed with the fact that this car didn't have any scratches or dings, the headliner was perfect, and I didn't think I would have to spend a lot refurbishing it. Sadly, my motorcycle, which I was using as full time transportation at the time, blew a head gasket, and I ended up using the Caddy as my primary transportation. Not a good idea as the car was then 23 years old. 

  
  

  

  
  

  After investing nearly $2000.00 for rebuilding and replacing the engine, drivetrain, radiator, and exhaust system, I resold it in 1995 for $1200.00 because my then girlfriend Pat didn't like it "taking up space" in the garage. I sold my bike because of Pat too, whose brother had died in a cycle accident. While I had the Caddy, even though it spent a lot of time in the shop, I really loved to drive it.  This car had the capability of turning heads, even though it was the sedan, and not the coupe. Every weekend one could find me in the driveway, washing the incredible 22 foot long land boat. The electrics still worked, and I hope the guy who bought it took as much care with it as I did. I sure wish I had this car back. (This is from the November 7th entry.)

  
  

  MIKERIDER 1986-1991

  
  

  

  
  

  The itch to ride. Only two spinning wheels between you and the road. If the wheels stop, so do you, in no uncertain terms. You might stop forever. I didn't. I went down a few times, and once I ended up about 25 yards from the bike, but I'm a survivor. I got the itch in 1985. I'd been driving for about 15 years, and cars were getting too expensive. The Suzuki Savage was cheep. At under 2 grand new, it was the only new vehicle I was going to be able to afford, after living without a car (this is Los Angeles, for heaven's sake) for almost five years.

  
  

  

  
  

  First I bought a used Honda Elite scooter, to get used to being able to handle a two wheeled vehicle in traffic. The Elite was a neat thing to own in 1985 by the way. They had a cool flip up headlight and Lou Reed was the spokesman on the television commercials, which were prominently placed in shows like SNL.

  
  

  

  
  

   I still had the Elite about six months later when I rode out of the local Honda dealership with my newly prepped Savage. You know, I really like my 99 Eclipse Spyder. It's the "newest" pre-owned vehicle I've ever had, but driving it away from Huntington Beach Mitsubishi in 2000 pales in comparison to riding my new bike out of the showroom floor and into the street for the first time. I can still remember as if it were yesterday feeling the vibration of the single 650cc cylinder as it pumped up and down, and hearing the loud throttle of the exhaust when I gave it some gas.  

  
  

  

  
  

  The images here, excepting the Elite and the brochure illustration at the bottom of the post, are captures from VHS tape from some of my MikeVideo projects. I only wore the cap for the "takes" used in the video. Normally, I wore a leather jacket and a full facial helmet. Riders of "cruiser bikes" like the Savage usually didn't wear helmets back then, but I began to wear a full face helmet after I took down the Elite on an oil slick and busted my chin open.

  
  

  

  
  

  I had the bike for about five years. It was basically "killed" when it blew a head gasket in 1991. A friend of mine offered to do the work for me for a lot less than I would have paid at a repair shop, so I let him tear her apart and install the gasket. He didn't do that good a job, and the gasket blew again while riding it home after he finished, and I later sold it for $500.00 just to get some quick cash. My girlfriend Pat liked the idea of my getting rid of the bike because her brother died in a motorcycle accident. Since it still needed a head gasket at the time, I was glad to sell it. But in it's prime, this was a head turning ride. Everyone always assumed it was a Harley, which is ridiculous. As you can see from the photos of me on the bike, (I'm 5'6" 170#) it's smaller than a Sportster. But it was large enough to ride comfortably on the freeway, yet nimble enough in traffic. I have the itch to ride again, and the cost of a new car is astronomical (not even to mention the cost of gasoline) these days. When you're driving, you're "in" a vehicle. There's a whole different feeling to just hopping on a bike and tearing down the road. 180 degree view. The wind whipping against your leathers. It's been a long time physically, but it seems like only yesterday.

  
  

  .LS 650 Savage 1986
  Overall Length: 2 180 mm (85.8 in) Overall Width: 680 mm (26.8 in)
  Overall Height: 1 065 mm (41.9 in) Seat Height: 660 mm (26.0 in)
  Ground Clearance: 135 mm (5.3 in) Wheelbase: 1 480 mm (58.3 in) Dry weight: 155 kg (341 lbs)
  Engine type: Air-cooled 652 cc SOHC 1-cylinder, 4 valves, TSCC. 31 hp (23 kW)/ 5.400 rpm, 50 Nm (5,1 kg-m)/ 3.000 rpm.

  
  

  

  
  

  This is from the November 11th entry. 4 of the 10 comments on this entry were from bloggers to which  I still subscribe.  STAY TUNED: As soon as I get home from work on Sunday, November 6th, 2005, I will construct the first Internet Island topic post. We have 35 members as of 10:57 p.m. I stayed up playing records (the vinyl kind) with my roommate Joel. Something we have not done in years. I still have to go into work at 6am tomorrow, but I am not sleepy right now, so am posting an interesting series of entires concerning my transportation through the years from a year ago. Since I last updated, these are the sites who have joined my blogring. I cannot tell you how pleased I am. I even had two people wonder why I invited them to join the blogring and I shall have to send them personal email telling them that I believe everyone is special and interesting, and I want us all to get to know how special and interesting we really are through participation in the blogring. The members below have joined since my last update in the entry below this one. I will "see" everyone when I get home form work tomorrow. Then you will "see" what kind of group to which I have invited you.

  
  

  

  
  

  

  
  

  35 MEMBERS: As of 11:05 pm pst 11/5/05

  
  

  Ladyblue1, RH32, lionne, my_bloody_haven, Shahrazad1973, sar_Bear9, boogley, DarkPrince1979, helenapastafina, Dragonwithinme, The_Queen_Of_Swords, hippichikk

  • 2:03 am
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