First NEW bike!

[Lucasind]

....I enjoyed reading that story ! Just think, if your headlight had never gone bad, you would not have gone to the dealer that day..... and found your XII.....Tony

[trikebldr]

I really like the way this thread has progressed, and even morphed a bit to show some before and after pics as well as life histories of bike purchases! Kinda puts one's own life into perspective.
Today, on FaceBook I saw the two pics, taken 60 years apart of a man and his wife on THE SAME BIKE! Reminded me of the two pics Lucasind posted of him and Pam taken MANY years apart! Too bad you don't still have that old Yamaha, though, Tony!
My first wife's grandmother was pictured sitting on an Indian Scout motorcycle in the 30's. In 1983 she still lived in the same house in Pampa, Texas where the picture was taken. We were there for a couple of days to "stage" for our month-long tour of Texas. As soon as I had the bike/sidecar rig off the trailer we set it up in the yard as close as possible to where the old Indian had been sitting, and we got her out there on my bike, sitting side-saddle, though, to take another pic, over 50 years later! Again, not the same bike, but everything else was the same, even the flowers in the background. Those two pics are now on display in the Pampa City history museum! I don't have digital copies of either,, but if I do convert them I will post.
I just love old before/after pictures!

[trikebldr]

The picture of the old guy and his wife (NO, not you and Pam, Tony!) on their bike 60 years apart reminded me of what COULD be considered my first "new" bike. It was an Army Harley 45. Dad and I bought two of them at a government auction on McCelland AF base warehouses. These huge warehouses were stuffed full of old WWII equipment and they were clearing them out. These two bikes were still in their air-drop crates, covered in cosmoline and still had the old oil and fuel in the cans, ready to be poured into the bike. Of course, all of the rubber, leather and anything not metal was rotten, and I can tell you that 20 year old gas doesn't smell very good! We spent a year restoring those two bikes and finally had them running.
I was not very good at operating that suicide shift/clutch system and many times stalled it from forgetting to put it in neutral. Still, a lot of fun to ride, and it sure turned heads at school.
Sorry, I never got any pics of those two bikes. We paid just $75/each for them back in 1967. I believe they sold about 40 of them, plus about 150 Jeeps also still in their air-drop crates!
The old couple in the pics I posted earlier are riding one a lot like mine.

[Lucasind]

WOW ! there Trike ....I really enjoyed reading about YOUR " walk down memory lane" !
A 1940 something H-D ,well preserved after being sprayed with cosmoline for
a measly $75.00 bucks ! I really miss those days....when you could get something "OLD"
...before it was considered "nostalgic" ....or "antique" ! I used to by old JAP bikes from the 60's and 70's for peanuts !
Shows on TV...like American Pickers is driving the price on "old stuff" that we used to be able to buy "for a song" ...thru the roof !
You and your DAD attending that ware house sale that day, is certainly a fond memory in your life ,that won't ever be forgotten !
I know that $75.00 bucks back in 67' was hard to come by....but it's to bad ya could not have bought them ALL and sat on them till NOW....when they might bring as much as
$20,000 . per unit ! ( I know about "hind sight,being 20/20 )........Tony

[cushman eagle]

Hey,trikebldr,I will give you TEN times as much as you paid for the WLR45,what a deal that is! I think I could teach myself to ride it. I think one would be fun to have ,but not for what they are bringing,besides Peg thinks the Cushman is almost one too many bikes.