Day 2
As we were eating breakfast, Liz notices an ad for the H-D dealer in Boerne, Javelina Harley-Davidson. "I've got to have one of their t-shirts," she proclaimed, "that should be a cool one!"
And just like that, my weeks of planning this journey changed.
We finished our Rooty Tooty Fresh with No Fruity and multiple cups of java, then headed south on TX-16 towards Bandera. About 11 miles south of Kerrville, the road turns to biker heaven. "This is the place," I exclaimed, "This is where we need to put Thunder Road!"
Seems the storms from last night stalled just west of Bandera and by the time we turned east for our final leg of the run to Boerne, the storms came rolling in. It was a race to the dealership...we won. The reward for our victory was a covered parking space on the side of the building.
Now, I must confess, I have the occasional drifting eye...and the 2009 Ultra Classic has caught my attention for some time. It would be for Liz's comfort, not mine, of course - her having a bad back and all. Truth be told, I've had my eye on a 2007 and 2008 as well, ever since H-D started introducing upgrades to the touring models. My '99 Road King Classic has been my steady for 8 years, so I'd been breaking it to her gently. Besides, I didn't want to piss her off while on the road, you know.
So we walk in the door of Javelina H-D and there she was - long sleek lines, all the chrome right where it ought to be. New suspension and wide rear tire, "This baby's got back!", I thought to myself. While Momma was distracted making her t-shirt selection, I strike up a conversation with John Wheeler, salesperson extraordinaire. John first acts hard-to-get, reading the paper while I walk the bike and we go through some idle chit-chat. Noticing my drooling, he begins to sneak-in some features and benefits of the new touring line. "In fact, I just bought a new Road Glide just for the ABS feature," he says.
"Wow," I think to myself, "I can make Liz comfortable and ensure her safety too."
Then Liz walks up behind me and asks, "Is that the one you've been wanting?"
"Yes," I reply.
“Well, if THAT’S the one, why don’t you go ahead and buy it? Your burthday is coming up and that's what I wanted to get you!” she says aloud in the practically empty store. My cover is blown. John's ears immediately perk-up as he awaits my response – the sales manager puts his doughnut down and began reaching for the phone to call Detailing and Prep.
"No, we need to rent one for a weekend first, so that we get the real feel for it before buying. We have to make sure it is comfortable for your back.” I reply, ever the concerned and caring husband.
John, ever the professional, listens in the background a while longer, then politely interrupts and says, “Excuse me, sir, do you realize that your chance of getting struck by lightning last night was better than the chance of a wife TELLING her husband to buy a Harley?” The man was starting to make some sense!
He then tries to ‘force’ me to take a demo ride, but I had him there. "No, I want to have it for a couple of days, a 10-mile demo ride just isn't enough. She has a bad back, you see. Besides, we're traveling by bike and I'm sure I can't get enough on the trade to make it worthwhile." I'm cheap that way, I was planning to buy used and list mine FSBO. "Checkmate," I thought to myself. By this time, the sales manager is just shaking his head in disbelief. "Idiot!" you can hear him say behind his now closed door.
"Well let me take a look at your bike and at least give you a price on the Ultra, we really want to move these before the 2010's come out," John says with every bit of respect he can muster. To make an already long story short, his trade-in offer sucked, but the no-trade, out-the-door price was impressive...and below MSRP too, an uncommon occurrence within the hallowed walls of an H-D dealership.
We head-off to lunch and an afternoon ride to mull it over. I think better when I ride...
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