the Chino look with the cool of Johnny

 In the beginning there were bicycles, and man saw it was good.  But then he added a motor, and things got better.  Soon bigger and more powerful motors were built and we all went faster.  But for almost 80 years the styling stayed the same, as it was all about the motor part of the motorcycle.  Willie G. he of Davidson fame built the first “ factory custom” for 1971, and then the race was on.  Kawasaki followed soon after, with the Z-1 LTD adding power to styling, and soon every manufacturer had a factory built custom.  From ideas that started in our garages, to going into limited production when our friends wanted one just like it, we all want to individualize our rides, to make them more personal.  Remember the first Gold Wing, a bare bones bike, and soon the after market had it filled with bags, fairings, and radios.  Custom seats, and today the catalogs are inches thick.  But soon the factories wised up, why let the aftermarket build what we can do in house, and soon the things we customized with became standard equipment.  And one by one, the small guys either got bought up, dried up, or went riding.  The factories had the engineering, marketing, and could warranty the accessories, and you could finance them along with the bike’s purchase price.  Nothing fits like factory parts, and soon all manufacturers joined in, raking in profits, giving us what we wanted, no longer custom, now assembly line mandated.

Cars and trucks are the same, look at radios that are now sound systems, better from the factory than most after market stuff back then, cheaper and built in, and warranteed.  Same with wheels, phones, and on trucks, rear bumpers.  Which my friend Milton had a part in, no pun intended.  Back in the seventies, when Japanese trucks invented the small truck market, they were bare bones.  And came with no rear bumpers, no aftermarket even existed for them yet.  But Milt went to work for a company who built them, and was so successful that Nissan, then Datsun, took them over, and started making them available from the factory, pushing Fay out of the way, and Milton, who had put them on the map searching for other work.  They could do it better, cheaper, and in house had more control over them, read that as more profit, and soon all truck manufacturers went that way.  My friend Milt was there, and the stories he can tell....

But back to bikes, I have endured the chopper, café racer, track bike, and the cycle is coming about again.  But with a new twist, bobbers.  Where choppers were unrideable, overpriced, and ill handling, and as café racers were fast, uncomfortable, overpriced, but did handle, bobbers are the newest craze.  And this week Triumph joined the ranks, with their Bonneville Bobber.  Few know or will recall that we didn’t chop Harleys 40 years ago, it was Triumphs. And now Triumph is going head to head with any Sportster model Harley can offer, but adds power, brakes, handling, and looks.  So you can be an individual not looking like every other Harley rider with loud pipes and shiny leather.  Yeah we can tell who you posers are, and now Triumph is in the Bobber business.  At first a factory bobber put me off, but where Harley adds weight, Triumph reduces it by removing heavy, non-essential pounds via styling and has hit it.  I can’t wait to get a press bike to ride....then I will give you a full report, but with the new 1200cc HT engine, high toque, it should fly.  And the sound...I can’t wait for the first set of loud pipes that save lives bike to challenge me.  If the looks don’t get it, the performance will.  You started it Willie G., the Brits just made it better.  Think of it as The Wild One custom updated, the Chino look with the Johnny cool.

We all like to get gifts, and many of like to give them too.  Paul talks about the gifts of the spirit, and much has been said, written, taught, trying to apply them to Christians.  But we always look at it from having the gift, rather than God giving us the gift.  When I was miraculously healed with open heart surgery, I was given the gift of healing.  When taken in graciously, was shown the gift of hospitality.  When I participate in an organized run, I get the gift of organization.  All gifts come from God, who loves to bless his kids.  So let him.  But after explaining the gifts and how they are to be desired, he goes on in the next chapter to tell about fruit.  Love, joy, and peace, and the others.  Fruit that is produced in us via the holy spirit, fruit we cannot produce on our own.  It is spirit driven, hence the name of the spirit, and only when we receive the forgiveness through Jesus do we get them.  And when talking of love, he doesn’t mean love for man or erotic love, but agape, God’s love, a love that is the will to uphold and cherish another person.  Like Jesus did for us, and does everyday.  It is a decision to work for the other person’s best interests, showing concern, care, and thoughtfulness.  And then the fruits start to appear, supernaturally, as God’s love is so different than any other love man can provide.  When we love him first, then we can love our neighbor as ourself.  With no reservation, unconditionally.  And no man can love another, or forgive another if he is not loved first, and forgives and loves himself.  Unlike the choppers, café racers, and bobbers, God’s factory work will never be duplicated, and cannot be improved upon.  All the parts fit, they function together, and are backed up by his lifetime warranty. 

And it is not difficult, God made the gospel simple and easy for guys like me.  Trust Jesus, let him take away your sin and guilt, be saved and be loved.  Then repeat it with others.  Not in competition, but in your daily walk or ride.

All Milt got is great memories and a fat paycheck.  But when the paycheck ended, and the memories went on, he found all he needed in Jesus.  Today he sports the Jesus cool with his Chino look, and lives the life and bears the fruit.  All in love because of his relationship with Jesus Christ.  This year it is bobbers, last year it was choppers.  Our love for style will change but our love for God should not, his for us doesn’t.  Check him out today, find all that you were looking for and more, from the creator.  He uses factory parts, and who better to fix you when you break than he who created you?  From bumpers to bags to radios to fairings, things change.  Jesus never did, and never does.  And is much cooler than Johnny ever was.  He was the original rebel, standing up to the laws and prejudice of it.  But doing it in love.  Jesus rides, adventure bikes, choppers, bobbers, and café racers.  You never know who is behind the Arai at the light, so show him love.  He may not be as cool as you, and Jesus is the coolest.  I’m going riding....

love with compassion,

Mike

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