Then about a year ago him and Stella where in some sort of accident. (What I heard a car pulled in-front of him.) It caused little to no damage to the bike, but really did some damage to him. At that point, he decided to sell the bike to Jim Anderson of Complete Cycles.

 

Jim sort of put the bike on the showroom floor hoping that his friend, the previous owner, just might start riding again. So a year goes by and enter me. Jim and I know each other through Brad Orchard and church. Jim kept making mention that his new motorcycle dealership needed a website. Periodically he would ask if I knew of anyone. Periodically I would joke I could do it for the right bike.

 

Nothing ever really came of our talks, other than just some half hearted joking and friendship building. Then in January of 2007 I was itching for another bike. (I had sold my Triumph in July  prior to the birth of our daughter, realizing that I needed transportation to tote her with me while my wife worked during the day. I purchased our VW Bus, Gordo, and was somewhat content with not owning a motorcycle.)  In just needing to get out of the house. Beatrice, my daughter, and I took a trip to see Jim at his shop. As I walked in Jim immediatly indicated he needed to find a “cheap” website builder, as this was our running joke. In knowing and understanding the financial responsibilty of opening a shop I wanted to help my friend as much as possible. So I took the leap and told Jim that I would build his “cheap” site and we could work out the details.

 

From the begining I was praying that I could get the W650. Just looking at the lines of the bike, the height of the seat relative to the controls, the clean paint. It just all screamed to me of a cafe racer. This sweet humble bike had a personality screaming to come alive and live. Yet it sat in the corner of the shop watching as people came and went. Looking out on a world of familiarity it once knew.

 

So off and running I went. Within about 2 weeks I had Jim’s site built.                                     During the entire build process Jim would always joke, “Now how much is this going to cost me?” I would always reply, “Just don’t sell that W650!” Finally the day comes. I have the website up and running, we are submitted to the major search engines, and I am ready to negotiate. Now because friends are friends I won’t detail our negotiations, but you can pretty much surmise the final outcome!

 

So that is our story of how I met Stella. Now this adventure is just beginning! I have many a great plans and ideas for what lies ahead. I mean it can’t just stop there! Read my blog to keep up-to-date on our latest adventures. You can stay current with our ministry and the different modifications we are making.

 

Before you leave, I would like to take a moment and thank Jim for doing what he did. Jim is one of the most honest and upright people I know. He is a hard working God/Jesus chasing man who only wants to do what is right. In a world that is full of do it easy kind of people, Jim sticks out as one who  does it God’s way. Jim, thank you for working a deal out so I can have Stella. I promise you will be proud of what I do to her.

What is a W650?

 

For those who don’t know, the  W650 was a motorcycle built by Kawasaki and imported into America between 200 and 2001.  It was fashioned after a late 1960’s Triumph Bonneville, clear down to the kick-start and 1” handlebars.

Due to the lack of Americans creativity and true indvididualism Kawasaki ceased importing to the US in 2001. The motorcycle was wildly popular in many other motorcycle scenes and remained in production in many other markets until 2006, most notably Japan.

 

Maintaining the traditions and old school charm of an era gone, the W650 is an air-cooled parallel twin with wired wheels, fork gators, and a banana seat. It is not an overly powerful motorcycle, by today’s sport bike standards, putting out around 50 hp at 7000 rpms and 41.3ftlbs of torque at 5500 rpms. It comes standard with 1” diameter handlebars, single front disc brake with four pistons, five speed transmission, rear drum brake, four gallon gas tank, electric ignition, and kickstart. As in the old school design the front tire, 100/90x19, is slightly larger than the rear tire,  130/80x18. Colors varied depending on year and location, but in the US the Galaxy Silver/Luminous Polaris Blue or Luminous Vintage Red/Pearl Ivory were your choices.

My W650, named Stella, started life with a one armed owner. (Yes you read that correctly.) He took all of her controls and had them placed on the left side handlebar, having to roll forward for the throttle and shaving the front brake lever down so he could reach the clutch. I will be honest the previous owner treated her very well. He replaced the factory mufflers with after market Dunstall style revers megaphones. Replaced the seat with an after market banana seat with ribbing. There were very little scratchs and wear to the tank and covers. He did do a “home” job on the rear fender, which is known for searing due to the weight and flex of the taillight and turn signals. All in all he really  took care of this bike.