I just went back in time...Whoa!

Last year I found a Hot Wheels toy for my son that I had as a kid. It had templates that let you draw different Hot Wheels cars or mix and match to make your own. When I opened the box, I was instantly warped back to 1970 in Knoxville TN. It was a really odd sensation. I could hear my Moms voice, see my toy box and feel the cold tile on the floor.

Today it happened again.

This time the date was June 11, 1985. I was at Depot Honda in Hampton NH. My 1000R had arrived so I was there to see it uncrated and HOPEFULLY take it home. I watched as they removed the box and even though there was some plastic covering certain bits, I could still make out the most incredible site I'd ever seen. It was gorgeous! What sparked this time bending journey you ask?

This came in the mail today(haven't seen one before in my travels )...a factory setup manual that came in the crate to help techs to assemble new bikes. I was allowed to look through it while the guys were putting together MY new bike. Having it in my hands today brought me back to the garage. I can hear people's comments as new things were discovered or how it was looking in the various stages of being built. Salesmen to parts guys kept coming in to check on the progress...and leaving with a "you lucky SOB." Even though I couldn't pick it up till the next day, getting to be part of the "birth" was unforgettable.

29 pages covering everything from putting the front wheel on to filling the battery to adjusting the headlight to topping off all fluids.







This was given to the customer.


I asked Lenny, the owner if he would ask the guys not to test drive it so I'd be the first in the saddle. Since I'd bought several bike from him, he agreed. The next day I took her for her inaugural ride.

One year later I was lucky enough to have an '86 manual in my hand to put together a new '86. I was now a salesman there and if a customer needed a bike and the guys in the shop were all busy, I'd get to assemble bikes and test drive them. What a job.

 

Thats awesome.......its great that you got to be the first to ride your baby.....

 

Sweet! Congratz on your time travel.

I love the Nostalgia of it all.

 

Great story, thanks for sharing. I know how it feel when you are the first one to ride :thumb:

 

Best job i ever had was being an assembler for a multi-line dealer. I would assemble the bikes and then had to put 2 to 3 miles on them. That was when i was introduced to the 86 vfr750 rwb of course. I have had the v-4 bug ever since.

 

Kick ass experience, I'd love to get a brand new shiny girl and watch them put her together, sounds like a day well spent for sure. On a side note, as hard as I try I can only hear Keanu Reeves talking when I read the title of this thread, Bill and Teds era Keanu Reeves...........ound:

 

That is awesome. They are really hidden treasures..

 

"This came in the mail today...." And we complain about the SA postal services being slow!! :biggrin:

Just kidding, that's a great story

 

that's awesome!! thanks for sharing!!

 

Love it! eBay find?

 

Yep. I don't normally hunt around for R parts but sometimes check in to see how much more outrageous parts prices are getting when I stumbled on this little gem. It will be cool to have in my son's collection of goodies when he takes over the reins in another 20 years.

 

Speaking of time travel , may 8 th of 1986 I picked up my new vfr 750, I sold it about two years later with about 3000 miles on it due to financial reasons , I am now the fourth owner and final owner as I found my exact bike , matching serial number , taken off my twenty-one day permit , not as great of shape as I had left it but a total of 10 k on the odometer and some minor repairs she's better now than when I first bought her

 

Wow, that's awesome. I'd love to find my '83 Interceptor.

 

Wow what a once in a life time find.....Im sure my 84 with 200,000 miles on it is in some grave yard now...traded in when I bought a FZR 1000 that got stolen three weeks after I bought it.f**king thiefs

 

Love that warning right at the top. It fails to mention that if not done by your friendly dealer you may grow warts or come down with the Black Plague. A few more bucks to the dealer and you walk out safe.

Always wondered if that warning in Honda red would stand up in court if some skilled wrench just took a new bike home in a crate and did the setup? Can't help but notice that dealerships do not offer this on used bikes. Some say they do and we know that whatever is said by a dealer is the truth, So help me , Mrs. Jumbala Rotunda, wife of the former finance minister of Lagos, Nigeria.

 

Good lord, I would openly sob.

 

I've had so many bikes, cars, atvs, snowmobiles, etc that I've lost count. The ~only~ one I regret selling is my 1986 VF-500F, bought her brand new spring 1987 (Hurricane 600s had just hit the showroom- too much money for me and I'd lusted after a VF-500 since 1984). Almost cried the day I sold her off to buy my GSXR race bike, been searching for her ever since- proverbial needle in a haystack. Happy for you, what a treasure!!!

Still got my owners manual with VIN number written inside, every time i come across an '86 for sale, I try to match up the numbers. Maybe one day I'll find her...