But then things progressed and I was eventually granted entry into his shop. I saw a motorcycle lift much like the ones on the Discovery Channel show American Chopper, with a dissassembled chopper sitting on it. (NOOOOO dissassemble! Noooo! Name THAT 80's awful movie...)
When I asked about it, he said it was his project he'd been working on.
"Wow," I thought to myself. A project like that takes some real know-how. Steve must've been a real mechanically inclined person to take on something so complicated.
And I was right, he's a very mechanically inclined person. He has rewired entire semi trucks on his own and completely rebuilt complex machines of which I can't even begin to think of the complexities.
But what he didn't tell me is how long that chopper bike had been sitting DISSASSEMBLED. (No dissassemble Stephanie! Go ahead, name that terrible movie)
He took it apart in 2002, because he wanted to change it to a single seat instead of one made for two people. He never had a rider with him so he decided to get rid of the queen seat and put a little one on it. He also got inspired by Paul Jr. and Paul Sr. on American Chopper and he wanted to make the gas tank look like a coffin. And that's where the effort ceased.
So, for the past several years I've been urging him to put aside all his other projects so the Chopper could get finished.
The final push was my discovery of a great picture of the Chopper, in the early days. When Steve first got it, in the 90's. He had a mullet, a beard, and a bad attitude. I remember those days, and I remember his red Chopper. And his bad attitude.
Upon discovering that picture, I taped it up on the bathroom mirror and vowed to help him, one hour at a time, to get that poor bike put back together.
And then a miracle happened...
Over a period of 45 days we periodically went out to the shop and tinkered on the bike....
I polished all the chrome that had been somewhat damaged by the swamp cooler out there.....
Steve rewired stuff, assembled stuff, bought some new parts....
Last night we took the bike off the lift, pushed it past all the other half-finished projects.....
And took it for a ride.
The end.
