Hour after hour, day after day, multiplied thousands of motorcyclists zip up and down the roads in our country, some at breakneck speeds, without ever questioning the mechanical capabilities of the machine between their legs. Truly the faith of the average motorcycle rider is to be highly respected. Having built and rebuilt a few scooters myself over the years, I’ve seen the hundreds of intricate parts that make up the puzzle of the average motorcycle. All of the parts from the tiniest bearing, bushing or circlip, to the tank, forks, swingarm and everything in between, must perform in flawless concert to make the bike carry our carcasses from point A to point B. If a critical one of those parts decides to give up the ghost, the whole thing either sputters, stops, blows up or flies apart Sometimes the truth is just plain ugly, ain't it? However, most of us just climb on, crank it up and blast down the interstate three feet from an 18 wheel behemoth without ever giving a second thought. That, brothers, is faith in action! If the rider's attention was continually centered on what could possibly go wrong, then all the great benefits of riding would be wiped out. Getting on bike would become a masochistic exercise in terror that no one in his right mind would want. But we, because we have biker faith, ride joyously and terror free trusting in and relying on our faithful scooters to take us through all of life's great poker runs.
Shiny Side Up Michael Abadie p30-1