The late seventies were not a good time for the automobile industry.
Interest rates of over 20% slowed sales, on cars that were slower due to
emission laws manufacturers were trying to deal with. And so we saw many badge
engineered cars, designed in the seventies and unleashed on the public a few
years later. It looked like the seventies would never end, and the eighties
would just continue the onslaught. Remember the Citation/Skylark/Phoenix/Omega
mistake by GM? Cars so poorly designed you couldn’t reach a spark plug without
taking out the engine. Or so poorly made they had to be fixed before they could
be sold. Yet they sold in the millions, but where are they today? Were they
the spark we needed to recycle? Just the opposite was going on in the
motorcycle world, as bikes were going faster quicker, and Honda even made a 6
cylinder, no not a Gold Wing, that was to come. But a true inline 6, transverse
and wide. Heavy and quick, fast and pricey. That never sold in great numbers,
Honda often built bikes just because they were Honda and you weren’t, to show
off their engineering. Eventually they had to scrap the idea as too much for
the market, and as warehouses had filled up with lesser unsold motorcycles.
Remember 24-30% motorcycle loans? If you could get one? But another Honda
motorcycle, born in the early seventies was maturing into an icon, and about to
be the design all other touring bikes would copy.
Honda surprised the touring world in 1975 with the Gold Wing. 4 cylinder
flat opposed motor, shaft drive, and no fairing, bags, radio, or plush animals.
It was a motorcycle, and a fast one at the time, running in the 12’s, it was
fast and smooth. My friend Geno bought one of the first ones, converting from
BMW, which we both thought he would never do. And immediately rode form Jersey
to Albuquerque with his cousin on the back to see me. With just a duffle bag ad
tank bag for both, enough for their 3 weeks on the road. But the seed was
planted, and Craig Vetter soon built Windjammers to fit, bags were engineered
aftermarket, sissy bars with plush animals followed, and finally the factory
took over for what the aftermarket had started. And today, in its 41st year,
the only way you can buy a Gold Wing is with a 6 cylinder, full fairing, bags
and trunk, rear seat with arm rests, sound system with CD player, cruise
control, an on board air compressor, and optional air bags. If you hadn’t known
I was talking motorcycle, you may have thought Honda was building a Buick For
with the exception of two additional wheels, has all the features of my
neighbors Buick, and costs almost as much. How far have we strayed from the
basic two wheeled premise to this? Add a trailer hitch, and you can cruise
comfortably with your home behind you. I can only imagine if Buick built a
motorcycle, or do they need to, as Honda already builds Buicks? Let those who
ride decide...
But I have many friends who ride them, as well as Harleys, Victorys, and
other big bagger touring bikes. I rode an new Indian Chief, powerful, but it
handled like a wheelbarrow in gravel. Heavy. Do we really need another half
ton motorcycle? Especially when after 7300 miles in 26 days on an adventure
bike, we were just as comfortable, rested from not wrestling with a half ton
car/bike, and it handled, got great mileage, was smooth, and quick. And at less
than half the price? Is it possible maybe I am onto something here? And no, we
didn’t take a plush animal with us...everything we needed, nothing we didn’t,
including the complications and the weight. No radio, but I will admit I liked
the cruise control. Which only works up to 100mph...oh well...
And so over the years have tried to make my life simpler, like the bikes I
prefer to ride. We are down to four motorcycles, from nine. And other life
considerations are being dealt with. It seems downsizing is a good thing, and
as there are fewer people we want to impress, we get by with fewer things. How
many overbought their homes, now the kids are gone, do you really need a 3000
square foot home for two? Our Costco bills are way down, we no longer need to
buy in bulk, and we are trying to lose some of our bulk. I like to think we
live smarter, it only took a lifetime to get there. And I like my gospel
simpler too. A few years back I sat through church services that had to fill
the hour. And got bored, and my mind wandered, thinking about riding. And I
began to question, “why can Billy Graham speak for 20 minutes and the altars are
full, when after an hour in church so many rush to the door to leave?” What
does Billy know they don’t? Maybe his message is so simple we can get it. And
free so I can afford it. It gives me the chance to know Jesus, to avoid hell,
and to become a Christian. Is it possible we all have the attention span of a 5
year old when it comes to the gospel? Or has church been turned into a Gold
Wing event? I attend a church with over 90 ministry opportunities, yet so many
are looking for somewhere to serve. Are there too many items on the menu? Been
out to eat lately, you cannot get a hamburger any more unless you order one
without cheese, giving a new meaning to do you want cheese on it? Have we
gotten so sophisticated and grand we have missed the simplicity of the gospel?
How many know John 3.16, but are stymied with 1John 3.16? Which tells us, “by
this we know his love, for as he loved us, we ought to lay down our lives for
the brethren.” Have we missed the point of the gospel? Did Jesus ever set out
to build a Buick for religion? Are we locked inside our Buick, protected,
comforted, isolated, and separated from the holy spirit that led us to Christ?
Is your comfort zone found in the things of the world, or in the holy spirit?
What are you comfortable in? Has the world built a church and we don’t know
it? Or have we adapted so much, that we need overheads, comfy seats, programs,
processes, procedures, and meetings to tell us what the spirit is already
showing us? Is your life filled with useless accessories, or do you simply want
a hamburger with no cheese? Do you want a Honda that isn’t a Buick? Or a Buick
that isn’t a Honda? What are you seeking from God? Think about it...
Jesus came to save. It makes him the savior. He came to comfort via his
spirit. He came to heal, to lead, to forgive. To be your friend, to counsel,
to protect. All in one easy to accept package. Which can be shared in less
than 5 minutes! Do we love as he asks us to, or are we stuck in the rough still
learning all we can hoping to get closer to God? Or do our actions truly
represent what we believe, and hope no one is looking? Have you picked up your
cross and followed, or is it locked in your saddle bags, somewhere? But I do
have a Jesus sticker...
Jesus showed love many ways, we can too. He listened, he ate with others,
he walked with them. He studied, he visited, he became friends with them. And
still does today. Lay down a few minutes today, and listen to someone who is
hurting. Maybe just lonely, overwhelmed with life. Who bought a motorcycle and
got a Buick. Who sought love and got religion. Who are looking, but not
finding. Who know the scriptures, but don’t know the gospel. Who go to church,
but aren’t saved. Lay down a few minutes for others, and soon it becomes a
habit. Think about it, spreading the gospel by listening? Isn’t that how we
started, how we heard it, by listening? To what the spirit had to say? They
will know of the love of Jesus by our love for them. And it works both
ways....
Riding behind a windshield blocks the wind, the spirit is rushing wind.
Has Honda really built a Buick and we don’t know it? Love in deed and truth,
put miles behind your words. And you don’t have to take out a loan to afford
it....you bought the ad, did you get the right product? And you wonder why GM
went bankrupt.
love with compassion,
Mike