“I wanted a bike that looked old school, but I wanted to keep it simple and leave it pretty much as it was—otherwise I would have had a custom bike built,” Sam said. He did make some changes, adding fishtail pipes and apes, changing out the forward controls and chroming a bit here and there. So far, he’s logged 10,000 miles on it in about two years.
“I’ve ridden it to Dallas, Eureka Springs, Arkansas, Oklahoma City and up into Kansas,” he said. Tomorrow, I’m taking off for a couple of days, just to clear my head. I don’t know where I’m going—east, west, north or south—whichever direction I decide to go.”
In fact, this is why Sam bought the bike in the first place. “It’s my form of relaxation,” he said. “I don’t have a backseat on the bike, because I just like to get out and ride by myself. Riding really does clear my head and helps me chill. When you own a business, you have a lot of stress. Some people go drinking or gambling—I go riding.” Don’t get him wrong—Sam enjoys the company of other riders, just not on his bike. He said that the model who posed for these photos is probably one of the first women who ever sat on it. “I don’t even let my daughter sit on it, and she’s thirteen—and she rides,” he said.
Another reason he says he’s a loner when it comes to riding is this: “I don’t want to be responsible for somebody else’s life. If something happens to me, I can deal with it. If something happened to someone who was riding with me—I’d never forgive myself.“
Sam says he wanted a bike that looked old school, but wanted to keep it pretty much as it was, “otherwise I would have had a custom built. Everyone has their own personality in their bike, and this one is mine,” he stated. Still, as much as he loves Helen, Sam’s already considering selling her and buying an upgrade.
“You know how it is,” he laughed. “You get your bike paid for, and you start looking for the next great bike.”