Mark on the borrowed "Deuce" and Teri on the re-assembled "Jade" in Tim's driveway.
Mark on the borrowed "Deuce" and Teri on the re-assembled "Jade" in Tim's driveway.
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In the Summer of 1996, Teri's biker friends, Leslie and Tim, "encouraged" (all right, dared) her to take the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) course and get her motorcycle license. Mark thought that was cool, although he wasn't all that enthusiastic. You see, he'd reached that age in life where he was focusing more on the potential dangers then the possible enjoyment. He agreed to get his license, too, although he was traveling extensively for work and wouldn't be able to attend the course until the following Spring.
Well, Teri passed the course and got her license in October, 1996. However, she didn't do much riding until the next Summer. Being "vertically challenged", it was imperative to find her a bike that was low and light and that didn't have too much power to intimidate her, but which had enough power to be useful as her skills increased. Low in price was a big factor, too!
Mark got a new job the beginning of 1997 which kept him at home (yay!), and he couldn't wait for Spring to come so he could sign up for the MSF course. His enthusiasm was already increasing as he started reading the Biker Mags and learning about the different styles of bikes, etc. Still, he was totally unprepared for how much he'd come to love motorcycling. It was an amazing experience, and his passion grew as his skills increased. Teri now accused him (rightfully) of not being able to carry on a conversation that didn't have something to do with bikes. He passed the course and got his license July 3rd, 1997.
Mark poses on "Jade" looking every bit the "Bad-Ass Biker Dude" he's become :-)
Well, they were now two riders with no bikes. At that time, 2 small miracles occurred: First, Tim (one of the original perpetrators of this whole adventure) volunteered to let Mark have unlimited use of his old bike, a classic '76 Honda CB500T. Now we just needed a bike for Teri. Being an engineer (and there's a reason the word analyst begins with anal), Mark had made a list of potential bikes for Teri, comparing dry weight, seat height, engine size, final drive, etc., and decided that the optimal combination for her was a Suzuki Savage, a 652cc single-cylinder cruiser. He happened to mention that one evening in the kitchen when one of Teri's co-workers happened to be visiting. Crista immediately piped up, "I think we have one of those in the garage that we might be willing to sell". What are the odds? To make a long story short, some cash changed hands and the bike was ours (see photo at top of page).
Of course, it was not quite that simple. "Jade" (as Teri christened her new bike) was not exactly street worthy. I wish we had taken a "before" picture to show you what it looked like: the front fender was removed, as were both side covers. She was sporting "ape-hanger" handlebars and the stock exhaust had been replace with a cheap straight pipe. The sissybar and rear directionals were missing, the air box and filter had been removed and replaced by a simple paper filter, and the fuel tank had more dimples than Shirley Temple; briefly, it was a mess. Fortunately, with the exception of the exhaust, most of the stock parts came with it in a box. It now fell to Mark and Teri, aided by Tim, to restore the bike first to street worthiness (and legality) and later to a thing of beauty.
The completely restored (but slightly muddy) Jade.
Photos of Teri and Mark on vacation in the Berkshires (western MA), October 1998
Mark had been dreaming about a bike of his own. He'd decided on a Honda V65 Sabre, an 1100cc V-4, shaft-drive, 6-speed beauty, something big enough to accommodate his 36-inch inseam, comfortable enough to cruise all day at 80 mph without breaking a sweat, and powerful enough to command the respect of any cruiser and most sport bikes. Trouble is, they were hard to find, having only been produced in '84 and '85, and the ones that were available weren't cheap. Again, a miracle occurred. Mark stumbled upon one being auctioned on eBay with a starting price of $1500 and no reserve. The catch: the bike was 600 miles away in North Carolina! Miraculously, the bike spent the week on eBay without anyone bidding on it. Meanwhile, Mark began negotiations with the owner. He enlisted the aid of a local 'Maggot to examine the bike; the prognosis was that it was a steal and, if Mark didn't buy it, his friend would. More negotiations ensued with the end result that the newly christened "Pegasus" became Mark's in June. You might like to read the story of how Mark and Teri drove to NC to retrieve Pegasus.
Here's the very 1st photo of Pegasus at the Blue Ridge Motorcycle Campground, Cruso, NC.
Pegasus today
Slipstreamer SS-28 Sport fairing, Hondaline case guards, KG backrest and rack, Travelcade seat cover
