Motorcycle school

Cliff and I have been riding Honda Gold Wings for over two years now. We've had plenty of fun, taken along lots of picnics, visited relatives, and gone to Branson on the bike. We're talking about going to Colorado on the motorcycle this summer.

We haven't had any close calls, really.

But in a few days we're going to attend the Rolling Wheels Training Center, taking the Experienced Rider course.

Cliff has always said that his worst fear is not so much wrecking and getting hurt, but that of hurting me. He wants to be as safe as he possibly can be. He freely admits that, at age sixty-three, his reflexes aren't what they used to be.

He wants us to be as safe as we possibly can be. So for $130, the two of us will spend five to six hours at school. Motorcycle school. I wonder if I should pack a lunch and take an apple for the teacher?

Our used motorcycle

That's Cliff's Gold Wing, without the seat on it. There's been a slight problem with our bike. Cliff would go out to start it up and the battery would be dead. Something, he said, was sucking juice when the motorcycle was off.

He traced it down to the tape player, which we have never used. It seemed to be in a permanent "eject" mode. Yes, it was trying to eject a nonexistent tape. All the time. Whether the Honda was running or not.

Cliff took the wiring out and looked at it, figuring he'd just disconnect the tape player. Not possible, he decided. He called a Honda dealer and found out they would have to diagnose the problem ($70 per hour labor cost) and then they'd send it off to be fixed ($70). He pointed out that he'd already diagnosed the problem, but that wasn't acceptable to them. They have to do it.

He dragged his heels at this, even with me pointing out to him that we spend $80 every six weeks in summer keeping shoes on my horse; so what's the big deal about $140 or so spent on the motorcycle?

Yes, we did recently take it in for a different repair. That's what happens when you opt for a ten-year-old bike rather than a $18,000 brand new one. Some things need to be fixed from time to time.

If it weren't for the fact we use the microphones in the helmets a lot, carrying on long conversations as we ride, Cliff said he'd leave the whole panel out. The clock doesn't work anyhow, and we don't use the radio or tape player. But we really enjoy our conversations!

He seems now to have resigned himself to paying to have the thing fixed.


Figuring the battery has been run down so much lately, and it's the one that was on the bike when we bought it, he bought a new one today. Tomorrow we'll see the electric panel off to the doctor.

And Cliff has four days off, so who knows where we'll end up?