My friend Ted is perhaps the wheelie king since the departure of Doug
Demokos. He will wheelie anything, and once wheelied 17 miles while his friends
rode on two wheels on the freeway. So whenever I would take a new press bike
down to him, he would immediately wheelie it and give his opinion. He was a fan
also of going fast while doing a wheelie, and when I took down the new
Thruxton, he was like a kid on Christmas day. He had plans to buy one, as GM of
a multiline dealership he had already placed his order, and now was his first
ride on one. So while business stopped, we all went out in the parking lot to
watch Ted. Only to find he couldn’t wheelie the bike! He came back to me,
complaining there must be something the matter with this bike, this had never happened
to him before. Quickly I reached over, pushed the i-button, turned off the
traction control, and said, “now try.” And off he went, and the front end went
up, and he made several passes running through the gears, claiming to hit 60
once front wheel in the air. Ted had been dong what he was trained to do, but
so was the bike. When the bike thought it was losing traction, it cut power to
drive wheel, and the bike came to a halt, until it reset itself. Problem
solved, ego restored, and wheelies performed, all with one click of a switch.
But you had to know which switch...
Stuck on a hill in pea sized gravel on two wheels is no place to be, yet
this is where I was. Add in the crowded parking lot, the 100 degree weather,
and riding uphill, I was stuck. Every time I would try to spin the tire to get
out of the gravel, the bike, a Tiger 800, would bog down, a light would flash,
and I would sit for a moment. A victim once again of the traction control, and
with no easy switch to push, you had to scroll through and hope to find it, so
it was off/on, power/no power, which took minutes to go the 15 feet to
pavement. I looked like a rookie, but again, the bike was doing what it was
told to do, turned off I wonder why I would ever took it back on, but it is
built into the engine mapping, remedied with next years model. So for now I avoid
gravel on my adventure bike. Giving a new meaning to adventure.
Mickey called and said he need miles on a buy back. The Explorer was
perfect, but the owner claimed at wide open throttle it would lose power, then
regain it again. I immediately knew the problem, so did Mick, and I could
duplicate it at ease. But I kept the bike for 500 miles just to satisfy
Triumph. Again traction control, when accelerating it would put so much power
to he ground, 137 hp, the rear wheel would slip enough the rider couldn’t tell,
but the bike did, so cut power. Symptom identified, but problem not solved. You
see, Triumph had given him a new replacement bike that would do the same thing.
It was doing as programmed, the nut behind the handlebar needed to be
reprogrammed too.
Just as a motorcycle can let you down and condemn you, so can our own
hearts. Ever buy something based on emotion and wished you hadn’t? Ever meet
the one, the girl of your dreams, only to find she was the one of your
nightmares? That is our heart condemning us, which is why we need to be careful
in our decision making process. I have told my sons for years never make a
decision on a high or low emotion, only to be proven right when they failed.
Forgiven, they start over, hopefully not forgetting. And this can strike at any
time. We can be in the midst of a spiritual high, thinking all is right with us
and God, and fall prey to our conscience reminding us of what we once were, and
telling us God will not forgive you, you are a loser, so quit. Three lies coming
to get us down, with one solution. Remember who we belong to, standing in the
presence of God not by our own power, but by the power of the holy spirit,
given to us when we come to Jesus. We are not righteous in ourselves, we are
righteous in him and because of him. We are accepted and forgiven by God, for
there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. But how do we silence the
doubt in our hearts? “I believe, help with my unbelief,” a man said to Jesus.
It works for us too.
We are told by John “do not love in words or tongue, but in actions and
in truth.” Jesus is the truth, and when we are in his spirit, we have access to
what we need to act in his love, and we will be reassured we are in him, the
truth. His love. Here he is referring to a specific act, telling us in other
words “return good for evil.” Pray for those who persecute you. For it is easy
to pray for those we like, but the enemies, like we once were, need the truth
too. Do not wait until you are confronted, ask God to allow you to show love
first, for what we sew, we will reap. The Golden Rule in action. And John knew,
Jesus had nicknamed him and his brother James “the sons of thunder,” as they
wanted to blow up the government and take over. The same John we now know as
the beloved. If he can change that heart, if he can now write do not let your
heart be troubled, imagine how Jesus can change your heart?
And I know of what I write, as when my aorta exploded and a plastic one
installed, my heart was changed, both physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
I should be dead, as my aorta had exploded, but God used it to show his love
and mercy to me, to testify of his greatness. Dead, but alive, ask any doctor.
I am a miracle. But even while in rehab, I wanted to serve others, to minister,
and even while out of the hospital for a few days, God was using me, sharing
with Bam, a 1%er in Albuquerque, afraid of a heart procedure he was to have.
Leaving the Harley store, I heard from across the store “God bless you Mike,”
and he had. A changed heart, and one being changed. Who was blessed more? And
the blessings continue today....
Lonely, call on someone and listen to them. Then share as God gives you
the words. Hurting, visit someone hurting more, they are out there, no matter
your situation. Scared for your life, remember the one who is life, and gave
his. By actions and attitudes, or as St. Francis of Assisi once said, “preach
the word daily, and if necessary use words.” I couldn’t have said it better.
Come to life by showing love and life to others. Give and you will receive.
It’s a simple as pulling a wheelie....with the traction control off. Treat the
cause, not the symptom, and see Godly results. It wasn’t Ted that wouldn’t
wheelie, it was the bike. Let not your bike, or your heart be troubled, for as
a Harley riding friend tells me, 95% of the Harleys sold are still on the road.
The other 5% made it home. And no, I still cannot wheelie, something about two
wheels moving the soul...... The parable of the wheelie, Jesus and motorcycles,
it just don’t get any better!
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com