It was a great bike. At least until my good friend took it out for a ride the second day I had it. He put it into a curve a bit to hard, dragged the "megaphone" pipes, and wound up doing a bump and grind slide. The bike did a nice end over, or so he said, and wound up in a sugar cane field. He was no worse for the wear. A bit of road rash and a small cut or two. The bike, well, it got beat up pretty good. Needless to say, I spent the next 2 weeks or there about, getting it back in shape, so I could ship it to California.

The ol scoot just never ran right after that. I think the intake got bent or something. It would idle fast at one stop, and nearly die at the next. I made the trip from California to Alabama, and left it with a relative while I went on to Turkey. The agreement was that the relative was going to keep an eye on it, and help with the payments and such. Needless to say, it did not work out that way.  The finance company got the bike back, and I wound up paying off the difference. So ending my first ownership.

Then came all the other fun things that we humans get involved in. I married, had a couple of kids. Got divorced, remarried, etc, etc. All the while, I had an itch to get another bike. Was still "Harley" fixated, and had the "if I can't own a Harley, just won't have a bike", tude. Needless to say, looking back at that now, I regret it. Could have been riding something. But, we live, we screw up, we learn. Without going into a year by year detail, I'll skip ahead to June, 2000. My 47th year upon this earth.

Like I said, the itch was still there. It had just been dampened a good bit by "adult responsibilities." Until this past June. I decided to stop in at one of the Honda dealers in the area. Just killing time, and dreaming a bit. That was when I first met the Valkyrie. It was lust, or, love at first site. After checking with the finance side of it, I decided not to buy that day. It was a 2000 Tourer, and the payments looked a bit out of reach. But, the fire had been rekindled.

A week or so later, I stopped in at another dealer, and met the woman of my dreams. A 98 Valk Tourer. Black. Pretty. Still new.  One of the many 98's that had not found a home. This was the last the dealer had. I had already filled out a credit ap that I had picked up from the first dealer. Honda was offering the 0 down and 9% financing with approved credit. I figured, what the heck. 15 minutes later, they said that I was approved.

I picked the bike up the following week. I had one of the folks there drive it to the house for me. Needless to say, after 25 years, I was a bit shaky about hitting the interstate on a new bike. Again, that adult thing kicked in. A bit more reserved than I was 25 years ago. A tad more cautious.

To cut to the chase, I've had "The Lady In Black" for almost 6 months now. I still have under 4000 miles on her, due to the crazy job I have. I trailer the bike to job sites and ride it back and forth to work. Still don't have any long runs under my belt. But, soon.  Very soon.

Now, I'm going broke buying goodies for Her. Baker Air Wings. Driver back rest. And others. Waiting for a set of chaps to come in now.

Was it worth the wait?? Yes. Do I regret not getting another bike sooner? Sometimes. But, I do know that the Valk is about all the bike I will ever need. It's different. It's powerful. It's not a "copy" of something else. And, if I could get women to look at me the way many men look the Valk, hubba hubba. Major ego trip. But, I am content to let "The Lady" get the attention. As long as I get to dance with her. If you know what I mean.

Life is for the living. If you let it pass by, you can't get it back. So, now I am enjoying the fruits of my labor. I'm enjoying the Valk.

I'm enjoying the people I meet. Yes, it was worth the wait.

Ride safe.

Richard M.