With our winter weather returning to normal, 60-70 degrees with sun and no
rain, I have been out and about visiting motorcycle stores. From Harley to
Honda, Triumph to Yamaha, add in MV Augusta and Moto Guzzi, I may have covered
them all. Led by the low price come on ads, I have ridden to many in a 100 mile
radius, and each place wants to be my friend, and sell me a bike. But just how
deep will they go on that price to be a friend.....In California all bikes must
have a price tag hanging on them, explaining the price, without tax and license,
and this thing called fees. Years ago whatever the retail was, you might get a
helmet thrown in, but that was the price. Today the game is played differently,
as freight and set up are added. Usually bumping the price $1000, another
profit center, as the cost is sometimes half of that, with a rebate for the set
up. But popular today, after the lead in pricing, is ADM, added dealer margin,
which varies from dealer to dealer. On one bike at different stores, the ADM
was from $1299 to $2795! Imagine going the grocery store and at checkout being
told you owe another 10-15%, for grocery profit. Yet I watch as buyers pay it,
taking a 2020 Kawasaki z900rs I was looking at from $11,199, plus $1000 freight
and set up, plus $2795, before taxes you now pay $14,990 for a bike, an increase
of $3791 or 33% above retail! I have taken many vacations for less....
But yet some stores advertise a discount, and when adding in ADM arrive
back at the original retail price, plus tax with no fees. Do they think we are
that stupid, or do they know we are? Add in bump books at the parts counter,
$250 services that are mostly an oil change, and motorcycling has changed, and
keeping those who want to enter it because they have the call and desire to ride
out of it. Or on a lesser ride, used ride, or taking the bus! You may meet the
nicest people on a Honda, just not at the dealer when it comes to buying time.
Of course this is only my side of the story as a buyer....and you can go
elsewhere, as I do, so how do you know if you are getting a good deal? Based on
my operating advice, where a good deal benefits all involved, the more you want
something the more you are willing to pay to have it. I have been told that no
one really needs a motorcycle, never heard a rider say that though. So check
around when buying.....it can be the start of a long and happy relationship.
There is a passion for those of us who ride motorcycles, just as there is a
passion for those of us who love Jesus. It goes way beyond words, if you can
describe either one you probably don’t understand it. With one key to both, it
takes participation on our part. And with God, he has already provided his part
via Jesus Christ. He sent Jesus so we can have a one on one personal
relationship, where we can read the Bible ourselves, pray ourselves, and spend
time with him alone. You don’t have to be in a group or crowd, he is that
personal. Scripture tells us we now see in a mirror darkly, but some day we
will see him face to face, just as God wants it. We may make sport of Moses,
who after 40 years never entered into the promised land, but yet in Exodus we
find where God spoke to him face to face. Not through a pastor or through an
email, but face to face, one on one. That’s the kind of relationship I want,
where it is just me and God talking. And listening. Today many settle for a
religious activity once a week, and think that is all there is, or all they
want. A challenge of a personal God scares them, as they are lost in their
sin, knowing about Jesus, accepting forgiveness, but never entertaining his
grace. God wants more from our relationship, do we? Moses eventually would
leave the tent where they met, but Joshua his assistant stayed behind, desiring
more, not wanting it to end. Do we?
Jesus calls us friends, for he reveals all that he knows about the father
to us. Do you consider Jesus your friend? Did you have to negotiate with him
for salvation as you do when buying a new bike? Although the gift of salvation
is free, do you think you can get more things? Maybe it is as simple as a
question I was asked at Christmas time, “do you celebrate his birthday more than
his birth?” Is it him or the holiday, the bike or the ride? Stop and consider
your answer....one makes it personal, the other religion. A hint, no bike, no
ride. No Jesus, no holiday. Hope that helps. Do you call Christmas or Jesus
your friend? Has the cost of the ride gone up and the pleasure gone down? Has
the cost of the relationship gone up, and the one on one gone down? Has a added
religious margin been added to the personal one Jesus offers?
Our lives are an advertisement for the gospel, what do they tell others
abut Jesus? Is he a complainer, is he only in a church setting, is he
religious? Is there an admission fee, does the preacher care more about what
you know than about how much Jesus cares? You may be on a ride you don’t want
to be on, it may be trade in time, religion for Jesus. The spirit calls, what
will your answer be? Do we really want all of Jesus or just pick and choose,
based on what we want or think we can afford? What part of a personal
relationship with Jesus don’t you want? As a rider, the thrill of the wind in
my face is rewarding, exhilerating. Stirs the senses. So why accept less from
Jesus, when he offers all that and more? Are you paying fees and ADM in your
relationship with him, missing out on the full joy of knowing him? Has he
become stale to the point you don’t even care to ride anymore with him? It
happens, and he welcomes us back, open arms,not clenched fists. And the ride
can be even better than before. Is the price of admission keeping you from the
ride of your life, do you know that on earth as it is in heaven starts the
moment you accept him, and let his spirit guide you? Lots of dealers out to get
your hard earned money, same with your soul. Church or Jesus, which one are you
devoted to? Your answer may shock you.....Jesus wants to be your friend, he
offers heaven and all that goes with it, with a special time just for the two of
you. Long before Facebook, Jesus offered to friend him. Moses knew it, Joshua
didn’t want it to end. Maybe it is a good reminder of while Moses was away with
God, what his people were up to. Away from God, building a golden cow.
Rebellious and unfriendly. In a willful sin, further separating themselves from
God, a religion formed,that still exists today. Let nothing get between you and
Jesus, when the added ADM or religion enters, go elsewhere and ride. For God so
loved the world.....he gave. Jesus and motorcycles, ain’t nothing better! When
both are personal....so why are the ads to ride more exciting than the ones for
church?
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.logspot.com