Bought a Bike!

The perfect bike didn’t come from a Harley Davidson dealer, or from New Jersey, or from Tennessee, where I found three of the exact same bikes for sale. The perfect bike, a 2016 Teal and White Harley Davidson Heritage Classic came from Ellsworth, Maine, just 25 miles from my home!

It’s funny how things happen. My husband, Charlie, suggested I stop by the barber shop where he gets his hair cut. He told me that the owner, Stacy Warren, might have a connection at the Harley dealership, where on of the teal and white bikes was located. So, I stopped in one day with my one-pager, my flyer promoting TEAL on WHEELS. Stacy gave me the name of a salesman at the dealership, but she claimed she didn’t have any real pull there and didn’t think she could help me get a bike for cheap, or to rent, or lease. I was looking for all options, but the dealership only wanted to make a sale.

About a week later, Stacy shared a Facebook post showing a teal and white bike located just outside of Ellsworth in Hancock, Maine. It was sitting in front of M/T Toybox Custom, a custom motorcycle shop, and it was for sale. The next day, in the pouring rain, I stopped at the business, hoping the bike would not be sitting by the road, but would be warm and dry inside the shop. I pulled in and no sign of the bike outside. I entered the building and asked about the bike. Mike Linscott, the owner, invited me into the garage to see the bike, a 2016 teal and white Heritage Classic. Just what I was looking for. But then it got better, it only had 1,526 miles on it. Mike explained that he had one the 1,000 mile servicing on the bike, that it had synthetic oil in it, and that it had been garage kept.

There I was standing face-to-face with the bike I wanted…the bike I needed to make TEAL on WHEELS a reality! Mike made a phone call to the owner of the bike and asked him if he could meet me the following day at 8am. And so was the beginning of what I believe will be a life-long friendship. Promptly at 8am the next morning I arrived with Charlie to meet Mike Springer, who owned the bike with his wife, Sidney. Instantly I liked this guy! He was one of those people that right away you knew he was a good person. I believe our paths were meant to cross. We talked a little bit about the bike and I asked if I could take it for a test ride. The bike had very little gas in it and Mike offered me his credit card to stop and fill up the tank. I declined the offer, not wanting to ride the bike all the way into town.

Charlie chatted with Mike while I was out for a quick spin on the bike. I returned after a few minutes, not wanting to run out of gas. The bike ran well, shifted great. The only issue was the handlebars. I would have to change out the lower handlebars and put the stock bars back on the bike. But that was minor. I offered Mike $500 less than his asking price and he accepted my offer. So now, the biggest hurdle, getting the perfect bike, was overcome.

As we drove away that day, I felt such a sense of satisfaction. I had secured the perfect bike!