Editor’s Note: I’m always looking for ways to share more motorcycles with you, and the best way to do that is to have more people contributing. So with that in mind, I’d like to introduce you to Jeff Pamer! You may have already noticed his name on a few posts over the last couple of weeks, such as:
1980 Honda CB750K Custom
1982 Yamaha Seca Turbo
Street Tracker Custom – 2017 Indian Scout Sixty
2000 Suzuki SV650
Restored – 1941 Harley Davidson FL Knucklehead
2007 Honda VFR800 Anniversary Edition
Hopefully you’ve been enjoying what he’s been sharing, and you’ll continue to do so with his future finds! I asked Jeff to introduce himself so you could learn more about him – come say hi!
Hello Bike-urious community!
I’m so excited to be sharing my enthusiasm of motorcycles with like-minded people. I have been obsessed with motorcycles for a long time. From most of the origin stories I hear of people and their relationships with bikes, I think mine is a bit different: it was a long slow burn. It started with cars, in fact, that was my first word! I remember noticing motorcycles at a young age, and my parents’ friends who had them were heroes to me. As I got older, the nagging interest didn’t subside. Bikes stayed on my bedroom walls, in my writing at school, and even in my art projects. But that is where things stayed as life kept going and being annoyingly distracting.
At 28, my life was kind of crap: marriage ending, career kind of stalled out. A coworker arrived to work one day on a Yamaha YZ250. I was surprised that he rode and started to ask him about it. He casually asked if I’d like to try riding it after work. My shift felt like it took forever, but finally, for the first time in my life, I threw my leg over a bike. He gave me a quick rundown, I could drive stick, so clutch theory wasn’t a problem. I took it slow, first try got into second gear. I was a natural, I mean, I wasn’t good, but I took to it right away. We did this for the next week. Every day after work I would ride, getting better and better, hooked for life.
The next week, I found myself at a motorcycle dealer. I was standing in front of a 2009 Triumph Bonneville T-100. Cream and Forest Green, with an Arrow 2 into 1 exhaust. I had no money, I was making no money, I was going through a divorce, which means I had less than no money. I emptied my account, $500.00, and put it down on the bike. I got a terrible loan, it was reckless and stupid. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I commuted, I toured, I rode it constantly. It never let me down. I have never felt like I took to anything the way I did riding. I had a deep understanding of the bike and how to make it do what I wanted. Motorcycles were my thing, officially.
The second chapter of this story is the day a bought a bike off my friend, Michael for $300. It didn’t run and hadn’t in at least a decade. I’m restoring the 81 Honda CB750K, very slowly and learning as I go. This, like riding, I’m taking to, and really enjoy. I ride an 86 Yamaha YX600 Radian, which also needs a fair amount of mechanical attention.
The third chapter is the one I’m starting now, with all of you. I want to share my enthusiasm with as many people as I can reach. I want to inspire people to go get a bike and let it into their lives. I hope that through Bike-urious, some of you will find your own version of my 2009 Triumph Bonneville, and the rest just enjoy my well-researched writing about what we all love.
Motorcycles: it was a slow burn, we took our time, and now, we’re bonded for life. I love riding, the culture, the community, and the amazing times that comes along with all of it.
Thank you for having me along.
Are you interested in contributing yourself? Drop me a line at abhi AT bike-urious.com!