Back in either Junior High or High School, somewhere along the line, either in print or in person, I saw something that changed me forever. It was a Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail Classic. Now this wasn't the first Harley I had ever seen. My dad's sister and her family have been Harley riders since long before I was born. But there was just something magic about that Heritage Softail I saw that fateful day. It screamed out "You Need Me" to me, and I was hooked. I knew someday I would have one.
Why did that particular model just do it for me? Well, I'm a very nostalgic or sentimental kind of guy for many things. The type of guns I prefer, type of guitars I prefer, type of cars (or trucks I prefer), and the type of motorcycles I like. The Heritage Softail Classic was designed by Harley to harken back to the stylings of their bikes in the 1930's, and it does a beautiful job of that. Of course I didn't know this at the time I fell in love with that bike, but I just knew I loved that old school look.
So, I had been saying "someday I'll get one..." ever since that day long ago. But, at around $20,000 out the door, I just could never justify the cost of such a "toy". Well, even today, I still can't quite justify that price tag, even though I can now afford the payments on it, so I made a compromise. I bought a Harley Sportster model, which is about 1/2 the cost of the bigger Harleys. It is a smaller bike, but not really a lot smaller, and at least I can honestly say I now ride a Harley.
Incidentally, back in around 1998, I decided to invest a little amount of money in the stock market. I took $1000 and decided to buy a few shares in several companies that I strongly believe in. Not with the intention of watching their value rise and then selling the shares, but rather because I wanted to be able to say I owned a [small] piece of company XYZ. One of those companies was, naturally, Harley-Davidson. I bought $200 worth of their stock. Not a lot, but again, I was not in it for the investment potential. Of all 4 companies that I bought stock in that day, all the others except Harley have remained very close to the price I paid for them. Back in either 1999 or 2000, Harley stock actually split 2-for-1 and since then the price has risen to even slightly above what I originally paid, so I have actually slightly more than doubled my investment in Harley-Daivdson.
I'm the sort of person who names their vehicles. If you've seen my truck page, you have already met Godzilla. So, what to name my new baby....??? After much brilliant and oh so creative thought, I named him Hogzilla. He is sort of close in color to hig bigger brother...
Hogzilla is a shiny, brand new 2004 Sportster 1200 Custom in blue & black. If you've seen my truck page, you
know that I just can't leave well enough alone. And of course there is the unwritten law that says
"Thou shalt not leave thy Harley in stock form"... so, what have I done to Hogzilla?
Stage 1 carburator kit
Screamin' Eagle pipes and mufflers
chrome brake/clutch handles
braided stainless steel clutch/throttle/front brake lines
chrome front master cylinder cover
chrome battery and oil tank covers
chrome o-ring style foot pegs
long stem "Live to Ride, Ride to Live" mirrors
chrome ignition switch housing
chrome diamond-plate style hand grips
Mustang brand wide Vintage Touring seat
chrome sissy bar and luggage rack
throw over leather saddle bags
leather fork tool bag
Ok, so where are the pictures of my proud new baby you ask? Here they are....
Last modified: Sun May 30 20:49 PDT 2004
tom@tomgolden.org