Impulsive

Okay. I was cruising Craigslist on Thursday and found someone posting a 2001 SV naked for $1500! complete with a complete 1997 GSX-R front end! The catch was that the spark plug pulled right out of the rear head, threads and all. Heck, I can change a head on that bike and the part would only cost me $50 on Fleabay! The bike also came with a Corbin seat (plus the OEM seat), a Vapor Trail Tech gauge, Givi windscreen, Throttlemeister cruise control bar-ends, frame sliders, rear spools, a brand new Dunlop Sportmax rear tire and Delkevic shorty exhaust, to name a few things.

After emailing the seller, he got back to me late that night. I plugged him for pictures and an honest evaluation of the bike and he was happy to oblige. The seller had dropped the bike off at a local shop to have a heli-coil job done to the cylinder, just to get it operational again. But if the work was done, the price would go up. I told him that I would prefer to get the bike in its current state and I would do the work myself. He agreed to call the shop and halt the work, so that I could see the bike. We exchanged cell phone numbers and we were all set up for the next day.

Friday morning came and there were decisions to be made. The bike was a good 55 miles away. Should I just go out on expedition first to do a viewing? If I liked it, I would have to make a second trip with a rented trailer, since I don’t own a pickup truck (or know anyone else who owns one). Or do I just presume that I’ll like the bike and head out with a trailer, so I don’t have to waste time and gas going out twice? I made a hasty decision believing that this was a deal too good to pass up! I could probably pick the bike apart, selling off the pieces, and still make more money that I spent. I quickly went to the U-Haul website and made reservations for a trailer at my nearby location. But I still didn’t have a ball for my trailer hitch! and I needed to find tie-down straps! And I had to drop my wife off at the Hertz rental, since some a-hole just took her car out of commission the day before! The time was 10:00am and I had to meet the seller by noon. STRESS!!

I skipped the shower and my second cup of coffee (against my better judgment), threw some sloppy clothes on, grabbed my stuff, grabbed my wife and out the door we went. I dropped my wife off first, then I headed to Walmart for a ball and a wrench (since I forgot the wrench). U-Haul was actually quite stellar and had me set up in no time. A little gas and I hit the road!

I was only fifteen minutes late! The seller, Brett, was very cool. He rolled the bike out of the shop and gave me the low down. On top of all the stuff I mentioned above, the bike just got a new 525 chain, clutch cable and battery. Everything went smooth. I agreed to buy it, so he helped me to strap that puppy in and we ran off to the bank. Afterward, he took a short drive to his place, where he had the title. (I’m pretty sure that he was keeping the title and bike separate, just in case I tried to jack him, just like I didn’t show up with cash in hand, in case he pulled a piece on me.) We filled out the paperwork and it was a done deal!

I rushed home, since i had to have the trailer back to U-Haul by 4p, or they were going to charge me an extra $150 for being late. But first, I need FOOD! It was 2:30 and all I’ve had so far was one cup of coffee and three toasted baguette slices with peanut butter on them! A quick Taco Bell fly-by did the trick. I got home to discover that my straps didn’t do a very good job of keeping the bike upright. Maybe it was the speed bumps…who knows? Lifting 375 lbs. off its side with Taco Bell in my stomach was NO EASY feat, but I got it done. The late charge was huge motivator! I managed to scratch the trailer floor and break off the shifter pedal, but no biggie- I’ll have an extra, as soon as my Woodcraft setup arrives.

So that was my Friday! I made a rash decision and ran with it! With a little stress, I managed to get out to Lodi to grab that bike, and I got the trailer back in time! I’m still checking the bike over, figuring out which parts I’m going to pick off of the bike and how I’m going to assemble a desirable working SV650. I’ve got all Winter to deal with it.