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- Jan 29, 2001
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I've been around motorcycles all my life. I've raced them, sold them, and worked on them for a living. My first "motorcycle" was a mini-bike. I acquired it at age 8.
It was well used, just a rolling chassis (no motor). I bought it for $15.00. I spent a lot of my free time at a local lawn mower shop doing odd ball jobs. I was able to buy a used 3.5 hp B&S engine for $5.00.
When I got the engine and mounted it in the mini-bike, my whole world changed. All of a sudden my neighborhood grew 100X. I was able to go places that once were thought of as being too far away.
I made a cargo rack for the bike and took extra gas with me when I rode. That and a lunch my mother made for me. More times than not, I'd take off and be gone most of the day. I spent a lot of time around the Spokane river. There were hiking trails all over.
Anyways, my wife and I made a trip to our local Walmart today. Lo and behold, they had some more Coleman mini-bikes on hand. I'd looked at them in the past, but they were usually full price, and I always found a way of talking myself out of buying one.
Today, was different. They only had two left and they were on close-out. $399.00 + tax. I stood there staring at them. I knew that it was now or never. They had one still in the box and one on display. I decided on the one in the box. When I went to the check-out to pay for it, a cashier approached me and asked if I had a Walmart credit card? I said no. She then said that if I applied for one and was accepted, they would take an add'l. 15% off the sale price. It took about two minutes and I had my discount.
They even took it out to my truck and loaded it up for me. I have countless memories of motorcycles and experiences. The vast majority of them being positive. But......the best memory of all, was being 8 yrs. old and buying my own mini-bike and the years of true exhilaration that it provided me. I can't even begin to count the number of cycles I have owned. I've been very fortunate.
That's why when I saw this particular mini-bike, it brought back so many fond memories. I don't need it, I feel a little foolish for buying it, but I've always had a sweet spot in my heart of hearts for mini-bikes. My heart told me that I needed to buy it and go back in time, if only for a few days.
I have a grand-son that just got his driver's license today as a matter-of-fact. He doesn't know anything about it yet, and he's expressed interest in m/c's. I'm thinking he's going to be very happy knowing that I bought it.
This is what I bought:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/40486686?...i-bike&veh=sem
Also seriously thinking about buying one of these:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/GO-KART-TOR...520897?hash=item5af5b7d001:g:RbMAAMXQTT9Ru8dN
It was well used, just a rolling chassis (no motor). I bought it for $15.00. I spent a lot of my free time at a local lawn mower shop doing odd ball jobs. I was able to buy a used 3.5 hp B&S engine for $5.00.
When I got the engine and mounted it in the mini-bike, my whole world changed. All of a sudden my neighborhood grew 100X. I was able to go places that once were thought of as being too far away.
I made a cargo rack for the bike and took extra gas with me when I rode. That and a lunch my mother made for me. More times than not, I'd take off and be gone most of the day. I spent a lot of time around the Spokane river. There were hiking trails all over.
Anyways, my wife and I made a trip to our local Walmart today. Lo and behold, they had some more Coleman mini-bikes on hand. I'd looked at them in the past, but they were usually full price, and I always found a way of talking myself out of buying one.
Today, was different. They only had two left and they were on close-out. $399.00 + tax. I stood there staring at them. I knew that it was now or never. They had one still in the box and one on display. I decided on the one in the box. When I went to the check-out to pay for it, a cashier approached me and asked if I had a Walmart credit card? I said no. She then said that if I applied for one and was accepted, they would take an add'l. 15% off the sale price. It took about two minutes and I had my discount.
They even took it out to my truck and loaded it up for me. I have countless memories of motorcycles and experiences. The vast majority of them being positive. But......the best memory of all, was being 8 yrs. old and buying my own mini-bike and the years of true exhilaration that it provided me. I can't even begin to count the number of cycles I have owned. I've been very fortunate.
That's why when I saw this particular mini-bike, it brought back so many fond memories. I don't need it, I feel a little foolish for buying it, but I've always had a sweet spot in my heart of hearts for mini-bikes. My heart told me that I needed to buy it and go back in time, if only for a few days.
I have a grand-son that just got his driver's license today as a matter-of-fact. He doesn't know anything about it yet, and he's expressed interest in m/c's. I'm thinking he's going to be very happy knowing that I bought it.
This is what I bought:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/40486686?...i-bike&veh=sem
Also seriously thinking about buying one of these:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/GO-KART-TOR...520897?hash=item5af5b7d001:g:RbMAAMXQTT9Ru8dN
