Charlie Klinger of PA and FL

Charlie Klinger, age 79, died this week. A US Marine who served in Korea and six years overall, he was a patriot, a great family man, devoted to his wife Marlene, and his son, "Butch."

I met Charlie when we both worked for the county government in the Ft. Lauderdale FL area. We did inspections and plans review. He was honest, fair, and ethical. He was also a multiple VMax owner, and loved fast bikes and was a gun collector. Charlie always carried a wad of cash to make spur of the moment purchases, if he thought he could make $ off it. Usually he could.

Here are some pics of Charlie and his family, and at Homestead, a NASCAR track, w/his vMax , and one belonging to his brother in law. Another pic w/his son, Butch, at the Marine Memorial. The last one is I would guess from the mid 1960's of the family.

Charlie was enthusiastic w/the throttle, and he was taken by cancer too-soon. Godspeed, Charlie, see you where the roads never end, and Vmaxes never lose the #3 big end rod bearing.

Sorry for the loss RIP Charlie

RIP Charlie !!

Charlie's brother in law told a great story at the funeral Mass. They were out for a Sunday morning ride on their VMaxes in south FL, headed thru farm country south of Lake Okeechobee. They were riding along the deserted two-lane roads at speeds rarely below 100 mph. They got to Clewiston on the south side of the lake, had breakfast, and were then on their way back to the Ft. Lauderdale area. US 27 which begins in Miami by Biscayne Bay (the Atlantic Ocean is on the other side of the barrier islands which form Biscayne Bay) heads north thru rural FL farmland, it skirts Lake Okeechobee, and heads up the center of the state to GA, and eventually it winds up in MI east of Traverse City.

So as they found themselves behind a farm produce truck leaving Clewiston, doing 55 mph, Charlie couldn't take it anymore. He pulled out and wound it out around the truck, and his brother in law said to himself, "here we go," and he downshifted a couple of gears, and tore off in pursuit of his brother in law, who by now was gapping him pretty-good, and the farm truck was far behind.

His brother in law knew that Charlie wasn't likely to slow right down, and sure enough, he kept it wound to the stop. So they were by themselves and covering a lot of ground in a hurry, He looked down at his speedo, and the needle was sweeping past 135 mph, and climbing.

Ahead of him, he saw Charlie decided he had gotten far enough ahead of the farm truck, and he backed off the throttle. His brother in law caught him, and was also going a more reasonable rate.

His brother in law saw the blue lights in his rear view mirror, and pulled alongside Charlie, and jerked his thumb backwards to alert him to the pursuit, still a good ways back. Charlie nodded, and they both slowed to a stop and pulled well-off the swale of US 27. The FHP (FL Highway Patrol) trooper stopped his car back from the two bikes. As he emerged from the pursuit vehicle, Charlie's brother saw that he looked like George Forman in his prime, but half a foot taller. As he strode up to the two, ticket book in his hand, they removed their full-face helmets. The trooper seemed to do a bit of a double-take, and as he approached them he said, "do you know how long I've been following you, trying to catch up? Do you have any idea what I clocked you at?"

Charlie's brother in law meekly replied, "no, sir!" The trooper saw the two grey-haired guys standing in front of him, and just shook his head.

"I clocked you at.... 75 in a 55!" And then the two speedsters had an inkling that this may not turn out to be a day where their bikes were impounded, where they were thrown into a FHP cruiser, and transported to a holding cell.

The trooper asked them where they had been, where they were headed, and when all was said and done, they got speeding tickets for "14 mph over," which meant they dodged the confiscation/impoundment of their bikes, and a trip to the hoosegow. They did the traffic school, avoiding the license points, and lived to ride another day, which meant plenty of VBoost time between them.

Charlie had at least a couple of VMaxes that I know of, and a lot of other bikes either at the same time, or before and after. He liked the Vmax the best, and his brother in law still rides his own, and will remember the Sunday morning they tested the patience of the FHP trooper, and lived free to tell the tale.

Ride on Charlie. No more short range Vmax gas tanks for you !