All of us who ride need a winter car, just good enough to trudge through
the snow when the roads get icy. Nothing fancy, read expensive, maybe something
you wouldn’t park in front of your house, but you may in front of someone you
don’t care for. Living in New Mexico we got very little snow, but lots of cold,
and to ride 2 miles to work wasn’t worth the effort, plus what sadist would
leave his bike out all day in it? So a second car, used was found, exceeding
the $500 budget by $200. It was a 1968 Mercury Monterrey 4 door sedan, aka The
Cruiser. Great shape except third gear slept in some mornings, the trunk held
my son’s four wheeler, Mafia rated at 8 bodies. But the guy who sold it to me,
also had a letter to go with it from the Ford Motor Company. It seems the
original owner was impressed with the performance of the 390 cubic inches, and
when he went to do a tune up, the engine number didn’t match Ford’s records. As
though it didn’t exist. So he wrote to Ford, was it stolen, numbers changed,
what’s up? And Ford wrote back, it was an experimental engine, super high
performance, that had been an engineering mule, and was to be destroyed. But
some wise employee commandeered it and it ended up in the assembly line built
Merc. Verified by the letter from Ford, and used to order parts by the previous
owners. No wonder the sucker ran, and only drank hi-test. Just a touch of the
pedal burned rubber, sadly the car was sold when we moved west 30 years ago, the
letter with it. Either an elaborate scam, or this sucker was what the letter
said it was. FAST! And unique.
When visiting Baxter Cycle in Marne, Iowa, they allowed us to visit the
back room, where the collectible bikes are kept. Really a museum, but with
bikes for sale, there sat a BSA Hurricane, the bike Craig Vetter designed for
Triumph, with the three upswept pipes, and custom body. When I commented I had
never seen a BSA Hurricane, they all smiled, they had built it. No such thing
as a BSA Hurricane. They were all and only Triumphs. And it was a lot of work,
as the BSA Rocket Three motor and Triumph Trident motors were different enough
to do some custom work to install it. The paint work was incredible, and it was
for sale for $27,500. A bike that technically didn’t exist, just like the Merc
motor. But while watching Mecum’s Las Vegas Motorcycle Auction last weekend, I
saw that Hurricane, the BSA Hurricane sell for $25,000. Someone now has the
bragging right to it, time to build another.
When my 1981 KZ750 developed a head gasket leak on a trip west, I took it
to Kawasaki under warranty. When they took the valve cover off, there was
Japanese writing on the inside, which an old Japanese tech translated. This was
an early motor, built for testing, and somehow ended up in my bike. Before I
could even confront Kawasaki, they fixed the motor for free, and as a courtesy
gave me another two years and unlimited miles warranty. That is confidence in
their product. When I sold it 30,000 miles later it was still running
fast....Another vehicle that on paper didn’t exist, yet it was there for all to
see.
After Jesus was crucified he was seen by over 500 people. Even by two of
his disciples who didn’t recognize him. He was dead, and although his tomb was
found empty, the fact of resurrection hadn’t sunk in. But when he disappeared
after walking with them, they then recognized who had been their walking
partner, and commented “no wonder our hearts were burning inside.” The holy
spirit was revealing himself to them, now they believed, but would the others?
We face similar rejection today when we share Jesus with others. But the one
thing that cannot be refuted is our testimony. We were there and saw it with
our own eyes. We witnessed what the spirit did through Jesus in our lives. And
while some churches and religions will give you a certificate of salvation, you
know in your heart. And no one can deter you from the truth. You see a witness
can only tell of what he sees or knows, and we know Jesus, resurrected. We may
not have ever seen him, maybe not hear a voice, but the spirit directs us to
him, and provides us evidence that he is with us. Like the Mercury motor, we
may be out of place, but we are saved. We are truly a one off, individually
hand built by a master craftsman, God himself, and he stands behind us with an
extended warranty for eternity. Parts and labor. Believing is seeing, that is
faith. That is the spirit.
Yet it is easier to believe the truth of the Mercury with the phantom
motor, and the writing on the valve cover than the words of the Bible.
Misplaced faith, if only we were as straight forward with God. But we can be,
he is with us, and appears when you need him, even on the side of the road.
Just a short walk with Jesus and they remembered his words, he gave evidence to
them. Just as he does us. it is there, the spirit provides it, are we paying
attention? Are we truly bred by the spirit, or are we still a hybrid in
process, we believe, but we don’t believe God? You can make anything fit, think
of the lies you hear everyday that sound true. But it takes the truth to be set
free. There is no Mercury built on an assembly line with that motor. Yet I
owned one. No BSA Hurricane ever produced, yet one was made of two bikes. And
my KZ750 was a test mule, ridden hard then sold at retail as new. All designed
and built by man. Yet we doubt God can change us? I saw the writing on the
inside of the valve cover, God writes his word on our hearts. And what is on
our hearts comes from the mouth. What has he written on your heart?
Each one of us is uniquely made in the image of the master craftsman, God
himself. Is reunited by Jesus to him, and led by his spirit. The trinity, so
complex yet so simple it cannot be explained. But is evident in the lives of
each believer. A paper trail left behind called the Bible to verify, just like
a paper trail helped identify what didn’t exist from the assembly line. We ride
by faith more than we walk by it, you we never know who you will meet along the
road. Or what they will be riding. But we know who sent him....and that makes
all the difference. Proving that only Chevy made El Caminos, or didn’t
they?
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com