| It's May, 1980. I'm riding a
borrowed Harley (no paperwork and using a license plate from my Kawasaki) with my friend
Scott. We're riding back from the yearly anti-helmet protest rally in Albany
sponsored by ABATE. We stop on the highest ramp flyover from 787 northbound into the Plaza (then called the South Mall) for the view. You can tell it's a posed picture, not a real accident, since the bike is parked perfectly upright on the sidestand with no apparent damage. But I like the composition, Scott with his legs splayed out and his helmet tucked under the front wheel and the gloves on the pavement. It was early afternoon, but there was little traffic. Twenty minutes later, we get stopped by the police (me, for riding without a helmet [dumb], he, no registration [dumb]), get both bikes impounded and have to call Barb for a ride home. After court appearances and lawyers making money, all is forgotten until now, looking at these pictures. |
|
Scott Malossi - 1980 787 Flyover
| In the spring of 1980,
my friend Kenny asks my help selling a bike for a woman friend stuck with the payments on
an ex's bike, a 2-year old Harley. I retrieve the bike where it was left in a gas
station and agree to sell it if I can ride it around and get $100 for my efforts (and the
cost of any fix ups). It's a low mileage bike but a bit neglected (there were squirrel
nuts in the large exhaust pipe). It needs a new air cleaner and after a flame-throwing back-fire when I first try to start it up, it runs just fine. Now I have a running Harley that is just asking for daily rides while it's up for sale. I cruise around for fun on this bike and find it to be clunky, crude and requiring lots of lever effort to stop. The handling is marginal and the ground clearance minimal when compared to my Kawasaki KZ1000 MKII from nearly the same year. The performance and braking are weak. But, it's always a fun ride. I did sell it by May 31, just before taking a vacation and got $3,850 for it to get the owner out of debt. |
|
With the plate from the KZ1000 |
For sale, May 1980 |
Carol D |
Carol D |
