I was a wild eyed motorcycle riding new believer when I left Jersey for New
Mexico at age 21. And forced with answering a bunch of questions, most I didn’t
know the answer to. “Do they speak Spanish there? Do the speak English?”
“Will your money be good there? Do you need a passport? Are you moving out of
the United States?” And my favorite, “why would you want to leave New Jersey?”
All I knew was I was moving west, and couldn’t wait to go. And God rewarded me
with a great job selling motorcycles at Motorsport, where David was one of the
owners. Before computers, before ECM’s and ECU’s, there was David. He was an
interesting man, and the go to guy for anyone who had a problem with his
motorcycle. With the altitudes varying from 3200’ to over 12,000’, he had come
up with specs for each bike at each altitude. Where a computer makes the
adjustments today, we had David. He had built a dyno, no one outside of racing
had heard of one, and had come up with all the jetting and correct plug heat
ranges for each altitude. When we sold a bike, we could tune it before delivery
to where it was going, for maximum performance. No one else could or did. He
could also read spark plugs, and was always in demand in everyone’s pit. He
even was a field rep for Champion, rest assured if David said it, it was true.
And a whole world dealing with altitude, low humidity, desert and mountains
became my new home.
So when we moved to Durango, altitude 6512’, from Albuquerque, altitude
5500’, I was ready. And as an assistant service manager at the Ford store, we
pretuned each car changing jets, carb settings, and plugs. A few minutes made a
big difference, and the mechanics, they weren’t techs yet, made lots of money on
doing PDI adjustments. And also doing the same adjustments on tourist’ cars who
had trouble making it over the passes. Easy money, good money, and you could
immediately tell the difference. A foreign concept back then, all handled by
computer today, the computer makes cars and bikes self tuning. Back then it
took the likes of David and others, who took the time to figure things out, and
then apply it. His hard work and efforts made him and the bikes we sold unique,
sadly he is gone and the computer has taken over. The main difference being you
could bench race with David, not a computer. And along with his knowledge and
stories we lost more than we ever expected.
Many great minds argue over which came first, the chicken or the egg? I
have heard viable arguments on each side, but in the end truth wins out. It
always will. When in doubt, go to someone who knows, in this case God. Go to
Genesis, the in the beginning book, and see quite clearly God created the
animals. The chicken came first, created by God. Then the eggs....you may
argue with scripture, but you will only join the list of those who tried and
were wrong. Wouldn’t it be easier to follow God, and be smart? Or argue and be
wrong? We had David and his research and findings available, he shared them
freely, but do we follow the word of God so easily? Maybe the questions I was
asked when leaving the Garden State were easy compared to the ones we ask God.
And sometimes as foolish. Ifwe have trouble getting past Genesis and believing
in a creator, it makes the rest more difficult. From the beginning it takes
faith to please God, all the way to the end.
The funny thing about the dyno is the numbers don’t lie. They are the
proof of what is going on at the time. We weren’t there in the beginning, only
God was, so it is his story to tell. And he shares it openly with all who will
listen, and many who won’t. When we sinned and were separated from him, he sent
Jesus to be the way back. Simple, free, and easy-believe and repent, yet
religion makes it complicated. Yet the same God who created the chicken first,
sent his son to die, because he loved us first. No one set out to find God one
day, the spirit was calling. Who was there at the beginning, and who after
hovering over the earth, gave it form. Gave it life. And didn’t stop there, or
with the chicken. He continues today to give life and eternal life to those
that believe. When a car has a problem we can hook it up to a scanner and see
the facts and make adjustments. Back then we had David. But before him and
still we have God. Who can fine tune your life, maintain it in any situation,
and show love. We have come a long way from carbs to fuel injection. The old
guys who would struggle with a carb all day getting it dialed in, never trusted
fuel injection. Are we much different when it comes to things of the
spirit?
Today will be an in the beginning day for many, who find Jesus for the
first time. When all else failed, he didn’t. He knows where you live, how many
cylinders you are running on, and can fine tune your life. if you let him. It
takes trust, and yet despite the evidence being there, we struggle defying him.
If only we had the faith of those who trusted David’s findings, how much better
our lives would be. And we would have the answers we need, when we need
them.
And to those who wonder about New Mexico, we did speak English, and
Spanish, and some even Navajo. The dollar was used there and bought much more
than it ever did in Jersey, this is New Mexico, of eh United States of America.
The new makes all the difference. No passports needed. And if you wonder why I
ever left New Jersey, maybe the old Harley answer of “if you ask you would never
understand” is the best answer. Let the New in your relationship with God make
all the difference in your life. We were created in God’s image, and he created
all the animals for our pleasure, Even having them parade before Adam to be
named. He called a chicken a chicken, he dealt with the things in front of
him. The truth. The chicken came first, but before it and other creation,
there was God. And still is God, and always will be God. Don’t be
chicken....now you know the truth. As for eggs, I’ll have mine sunny side up,
bacon crisp, with home fries. You see, the eggs came later, as did the bacon.
All from creatures created by God. Just for you.
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com