I have always wanted a dirtbike since I was a kid, I would buy Dirtbike and Motocross Action with my allowance I think my first isue was in 78', my folks couldn't afford to get me one, much less afford to maintain it. However I did get to ride a few of my friends bikes growing up and the birtbike bug has been eating at me since I can remember. I put it on hold in my 20's so I could be a rockstar, and in 98' got to ride again since I was 15. That was all she wrote, I was determined to get a bike. I talked to my wife about it, and told her that I had been saving money for a few months to get one. She had mixed feeling about it and never gave me a solid NO, until I told her I found a couple in my price range and I was going to look at them. The result was her telling me that i could sleep outside with it if I brought one home.
She came home from work that evening to see the bike on a stand in the living room.
LMAO!!!
She hit the moon.
I explained to her that I drained the gas and needed to do some work on it before I could ride it, fluid change, and what not. And we didn't have a garge, so that evening after dinner she watched tv while i worked on the bike. Complaining everytime she'd get up to got into the kitchen that my piece of sh*t was in the way and stinking up the house.
Next day, Saturday, I took the bike outside and rode it around the property we lived on at the time. After seeing how happy it made me, she said I could sleep inside but the bike had to stay outside
. Well it did take up most of the living room.
fast forward 8 years and 50 lbs.
It was time time get a new bike, I couldn't find springs for my weight for the bike and honestly, couldn't justify spending any more money on the 17 year old machine.
I brought it to her attention that I was going to buy a new bike with my share of the Tax return, she must have thought I meant a "new to me bike". But what I meant was a brand new, never started, off the showroom floor 2007 kx250r, and some essential mods for harescramble and enduro racing.
She came home from work that evening to see the bike on a stand in the living room.
With two big boxes of parts.
"How much did you spend on that? It looks brand new." she exclaimed
"today or how much will I HAVE spent on it by the time I pay it off?"
She hit the moon, again.
She watched TV while I took my brand new bike apart and regreased and anti siezed every bolt, bearing, and cable, changed all the fluids, flushed the brakelines, took off a brand new set of Bridgestones and replaced them w/ Dunlops, cut the ends off my bars and throttle tube, installed new grips, handguards, frame guards, radiator braces, oversized tank, flywheel weight, and torque spacer.
She couldn't understand why I would completly dissasemble a brand new bike, and why I needed to put all that other stuff on it. why didn't you just buy a bike that comes with all that stuff.
I explained, that they don't use enough grease when they assemble them, and if I don't do this now I will have to replace all of this stuff before I ever pay it off.
The guards were to protect vital and expensive components from damage, and all this was to protect my investment, which I still hadn't told her. She finally asked how much the bike was, "$6200."
How much was all this other stuff, "$1000"
She hit the moon.
Fast forward 4 years and $15,000 invested in that bike.
She has a 2007 rm85 (armed to the teeth).
My daughter has a 2005 kx100
my oldest boy has a 1999kx125
and the youngest boy a 1999 kx60.
we all ride now.