ninjaneer
Well-Known Member
So I Left my Max in the garage on this ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS DAY.
"What? C'mon nin, what are you thinking?! You always take your bike out whenever the sun shines--even if there's a 40% chance of the wet stuff". I know, right? But I needed the cage to pick up some parts for Fire-Medic. So my story goes like this:
Rewind to December '11. An old college buddy, of whom I get together for a ride every now and then, posted on my FB wall a link to the site of a builder called "Bare Bone Rides" who built a blacked-out '88 Max. I pulled up the site and was impressed with their kickass "rat" build. I hit the "Like" button and moved on FB-stalking my friends' friends. It was not until today that I understand the significance of his post.
Fast forward to this morning. I ditched work to drive 15 minutes into town to collect Fire-Medic's parts, thinking that I'd be back in the office before anyone even knew I was gone. The guy introduced himself as "Frog" and proceeded to stage the parts that he had sold to Fire-Medic. Frog had a Suzuki bobber parked outside of his workshop/garage, and inside, next to his Honda standard, was his wicked-looking VMax.
and from there, what I had thought would have been a routine 15-minute pickup evolved into a 1-hour, good 'ol suthan', tree-shaded front lawn, shit-shootin' session--the likes of which I recall having back in my youthful days of stomping around bayou country. He asked me to help put his Max on the centerstand and I told him about the 2x4 technique I adopted.
We shot the breeze a little more, exchanging ideas and remedies and sky-diving tales. I finished teaching Frog my "2x4 center stand" lesson, telling him that although it should be simple according to the folks here on the forum and that even a scrawny guy like me should be able to deploy the centerstand, the "2x4" technique was the only way I was ever able to succeed. He asked about the forum and after attempting to sell it to him, I told him to think about joining. Frog jotted down the URL and segued into saying that the local "retro/hot rod/your-basic-old-school-muscle-enthusiast" shop who built his Max, had featured it on their website.
Turns out I was sitting on the "Black Ops" Vmax that my college buddy had told me about back in December AND the parts that Fire-Medic was collecting were the pieces that were removed to make room for the customizations. What a small world! He told me about what he had done and how he wanted it done on a small budget. I now know how I am going to address the front profile of my Max thanks to Frog! hehehehe :rofl_200::rofl_200:
Here's a link to Bare Bone Ride's builds. The "Black Ops" pics and vids are towards the center of the page. http://www.barebonerides.com/the-bikes.html
"What? C'mon nin, what are you thinking?! You always take your bike out whenever the sun shines--even if there's a 40% chance of the wet stuff". I know, right? But I needed the cage to pick up some parts for Fire-Medic. So my story goes like this:
Rewind to December '11. An old college buddy, of whom I get together for a ride every now and then, posted on my FB wall a link to the site of a builder called "Bare Bone Rides" who built a blacked-out '88 Max. I pulled up the site and was impressed with their kickass "rat" build. I hit the "Like" button and moved on FB-stalking my friends' friends. It was not until today that I understand the significance of his post.
Fast forward to this morning. I ditched work to drive 15 minutes into town to collect Fire-Medic's parts, thinking that I'd be back in the office before anyone even knew I was gone. The guy introduced himself as "Frog" and proceeded to stage the parts that he had sold to Fire-Medic. Frog had a Suzuki bobber parked outside of his workshop/garage, and inside, next to his Honda standard, was his wicked-looking VMax.
"What do you ride?" he asked.
"VMax", I said.
He looked at me with a smile ... "VMax", I said.
and from there, what I had thought would have been a routine 15-minute pickup evolved into a 1-hour, good 'ol suthan', tree-shaded front lawn, shit-shootin' session--the likes of which I recall having back in my youthful days of stomping around bayou country. He asked me to help put his Max on the centerstand and I told him about the 2x4 technique I adopted.
"Show me," he said.
So I threw a leg over, feeling a little awkward because I was decked out in my office attire, and fumbled around with the shift lever because of my "elf shoes" (as they have been coined by my office mates). As soon as I settled into the seat, Frog says "Go ahead, fire it up". Of course I obliged. I pushed in the starter button and immediately melted as I was engulfed in raw, throaty snarls. A couple of revs livened up its presence and stamped a smirk across my grill. He and I both looked at each other with "high-fiving" grins. The proud owner stepped back and watched me starting to daydream.
"Wanna take it for a spin?" Frog asks.
"Really?"
"Yep."
You don't have to ask me twice--especially since I wouldn't be on two wheels today otherwise. After some good V-Boost pulls up to third, I returned with that "smile". You know that smile. The Monkey Grin. "Really?"
"Yep."
We shot the breeze a little more, exchanging ideas and remedies and sky-diving tales. I finished teaching Frog my "2x4 center stand" lesson, telling him that although it should be simple according to the folks here on the forum and that even a scrawny guy like me should be able to deploy the centerstand, the "2x4" technique was the only way I was ever able to succeed. He asked about the forum and after attempting to sell it to him, I told him to think about joining. Frog jotted down the URL and segued into saying that the local "retro/hot rod/your-basic-old-school-muscle-enthusiast" shop who built his Max, had featured it on their website.
"The shop is called Bare Bone Rides" he says.
Frog's subsequent recital of the web address faded into the background as the light bulb above my head shone brighter than a nighttime Shuttle launch.
Turns out I was sitting on the "Black Ops" Vmax that my college buddy had told me about back in December AND the parts that Fire-Medic was collecting were the pieces that were removed to make room for the customizations. What a small world! He told me about what he had done and how he wanted it done on a small budget. I now know how I am going to address the front profile of my Max thanks to Frog! hehehehe :rofl_200::rofl_200:
Here's a link to Bare Bone Ride's builds. The "Black Ops" pics and vids are towards the center of the page. http://www.barebonerides.com/the-bikes.html
unk::clapping:
