Bike for Tristan
I've been helping two friends, Nick and Tristan with bike shopping for the last few weeks. Nick doesn't have his license yet, so he's not looking as hard, but Tristan got his license last year, so he's been really looking for a bike now that the weather will start getting nice. Since I've been home a lot, I've had a lot of time to keep my eye on Craigslist. Two weeks ago, Tristan and I found a really nice bike in Centrailia, but due to a retarted misunderstanding, it had already been spoken for when we got there.
A couple days later, we found a Triumph Bonneville advertized for $700. It turned out that an old guy's daughter had put it up for sale without researching what the bike's value was. So he was really looking at getting around $1200 to $1500 for it. It was probably worth it, and had a lot of potential, but the amount of time and money to get it on the road was too much for Tristan.
So when I got home today, I found an ad on Criagslist for a Yamaha XS750 Triple, with a picture of a nearly perfect bike, for only $400. It was posted at 4:15, and I was calling at 6:00, usually more than enough time for something that looks that good to sell. It was in Bellignham, with a clear title, and he said he'd deliver. Really too good to be true. So I called, he still had it, it really was $400, and it really did look that good. Really too good to be true.
Now Tristan it a bit hard to get ahold of when you really need to. He has a cell phone, but it doesn't really do much. It's a Sweedish prepaid phone that he can't make calls with, and can only text certian people with. So I sent a bunch of emails to him, called his sister, emailed his sister, texted his sister, and finally got a call from him and agreed to meet in Seattle.
As soon as my dad got home, I left to pick up Tristan and head to Bellingham. We got there at 9pm, and the bike was perfect. Really. Only one really small scratch on the tank that can eaisly be polished out, a tiny dent on a fender, and a small scratch near the seat trim. For a bike that's almost 30 years old. The owner is a college kid from a very well off family, who can afford to buy a new bike and sell his old one for next to nothing. He knew it was nice, and I think he just wanted to see the person that it went to to make sure they'd take care of it. He kept saying "don't drop it, take care of it". Really really crazy.
So Tristan and I are going to do a bit of work on it on Friday to get it back on the road. It really wont need much. Until then, here are some pictures right after we got it home. It's going to live at my house until Tristan trusts himself enough to ride it.
Nick, you're next!
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| Tristan's Bike |
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