One 23 yr olds quest for a Speed Triple

[scottzilla]

So I sold the Speed Triple to a 23 yr old kid from Wilkes-Barre, PA and he ended up with quite a story to tell. I broke a few of my own rules along the way.
The kid contacts me 15 minutes after placing my ad on craigslist...he has to have this bike.  Been looking for months and can't seem to find one.  By Friday morning he has Toby Hanna Credit Union calling to convince me the check he will present to me is real (RULE VIOLATION #1  : NEVER TAKE ANYTING BUT U.S. CASH.)
He has check in hand and will pick up the bike Saturday around lunch time.
Seems like a nice kid, I call the bank and they confirm it is really a check.  I call a friend in the NYPD who promises to call the FBI if I get scammed.  OK, let's do this.
I prepare bike by instaling battery and starting it up.  I gaze at it's beauty and procede to make felonius love to the misses.
Saturday rolls around and I get teh first text at 9AM on the dot  "We're on the way".  OK, cool.  They are calling for some serious weather; high winds with a coastal flood watch, rolling in from the west (Right acroos PA).  Hope this kid hurries.
About 1:30 I get a call that he's in the middle of NJ.  OK, maybe he drives a bit slow.
At exactly 2:26PM he is at the Holland Tunnel.  Those with local knowledge just spit their coffee out, the rest of you should grab a map and take a look.  His GPS is sending him across lower Manhatten, and not even the nice part (Mind you: Not the worst, but not exactly nice).  So he crawls along SoHo, through Chinatown and on to the Bowery where the glorious Williamsburg Bridge awaits.  I try to help him figure out the BQE but he says he will handle.

(Curser bouncing around, starting another post to finish up.)

[scottzilla]

At 3:26PM he texts me he's in Ridgewood, Queens.  His GPS is sending him on a straight line to Eastern LI while not accounting for any highways that may actually be faster.
Keep in mind, he's been on the road since 9am.
I get him to the Van Wyck and get him to the LIE at 3:56pm, 7 hours after trip began.  
I tell him to turn off gps and I give him directions to my house.
At 5PM he rolls in to my driveway and 3 PA trail riders hop out of a GMC SUV.

"Let me grab my helmet" he says as a light rain starts falling.  (RULE VIOLATION #2: NEVER LET THEM RIDE THE BIKE).  Off he goes... returning safely a few minutes later.
OK, Done deal.  The certified check is made out to him and I, he signs, I sign.  Title is transferred, we're good to go.
Now it really starts raining.  He puts on so many layers of clothing...i've never seen anything like this.

I don't want to post a pic of his face but you get the idea.  Love the Walmart rainsuit.  His two buds grab a bag of chips for dinner and off they go.  So long Speed Triple.
[img][/img]  


Part 3 coming up.

[Rincewind]

   

I hope he didn't bin it.  

[919]

Part 3 coming up.

Suspense.....    

[scottzilla]

15 minutes later, I get a call that the right rear wheel of their truck is siezed up.  "Can we come back?  We can't fix this in a gas station parking lot".
RULE VIOLATION #3... Well, I don't have a hard and fast rule for dealing with total strangers that seem to have bad judgement.
So they roll back in to the driveway now in a pouring rain.  They do not have any tools, no jack, etc. so I take one of them to the local parts store and leave the other two in my garage.  AH, THIS IS RULE #3!  NEVER LEAVE PEOPLE YOU DON'T KNOW ALONE AT YOUR HOUSE WITH YOUR WIFE AND TWO KIDS).  It's ok though; my wife was born in the Bronx and before I even left she was on teh phone with her sister, shotgun in lap, knives place in stragetic locations, etc.  At least one of those fuclers were losing their nuts should they choose to make a bad decision.
The kid buys a new Jack, rotor, caliper, brake fluid, etc and we head home.  The auto parts moran gave him the wrong pads so he pulled the old pads out (These had split in to 3 pcs) and reinstalled the wheel with no brakes.  "That will be fine until we get home".
Finally, at around 9PM the guys roll out of my driveway again in a driving rain.  I give the kid my best pep talk and even offered to let them store teh bike in my garage and head out in the morning.  Nope, the kid is riding home.

That night it sounded like my house was being ripped apart; the wind and rain were biblical.


next part coming soon.      

[radlefty]

dang, this is quickly becoming "one of the greatest stories ever told". Don't leave us hanging too long.

[2wTraveler]

Tell me he didn't wreck it.  

[scottzilla]

I text the kid at 9am Sunday and mention it's sunny.  No reply.
I text him again at 10:30am.  No reply.
I'm a bit worried for him, thinking he's in a Bronx hospital and the bike fell off the GWB or something.
Fortunately, at 2pm he texts me and says he got home at 3AM.  He got stuck on the GWB for 2 hours.  TWO HOURS to cross a damn bridge.  I blame NJ.
"I owe you one, would have never made it home had you not helped us out".  Yes, I rock.
He had never been outside of Wilkes-Barre.

Monday arrives and off I go to the ATM to deposit the check.
10AM arrives and I get the call from the teller, "Scott-we can't deposit your check".  That's awesome, put the manager on the phone. (REMEMBER RULE #1)

"Sorry but the other guy has to sign the check in our presence".
Not possible.
"Well, there's nothing we can do"
Yes, there is.  The other guy will not be signing the check again.  He will not be coming back to LI ever again.  There has to be another option.  Can I get him to fax a copy of his license??
"NO, the other party has to be present"
Well, that's not happening.
"Sir-are you going to continue talking  over me?"










Boom.









OK, so they agree after my outburst to accept a copy of his drivers license.
I text him again and he says the local bank has his license on file, they will fax to my bank.  He even texts me a photo of his license and thanks me again.
20 minutes later the bank calls to tell me they will deposit the check in my account.
I told him to send me the incorrect brake pads, i'll return and send him a check.

So what did Scott learn?
Test rides still scare me.
It feels good to sell a bike to a kid that really wants it.
DON'T TAKE A CHECK!

Thinking back on all of my years riding, I think an overnight ride in the pouring rain with a 2 hour traffic stop on the GWB is about as bad as it can get.  So if you see a punk riding a white Speed Triple with PA plates cut him some slack-he's the real deal.

Best part for me is the text I received from my wife when she found out the situation had been taken care of:
"Glad it's done. let's make sure it clears and buy yourself a new bike".
 


 

[Cablebandit]

Best part for me is the text I received from my wife when she found out the situation had been taken care of:
"Glad it's done. let's make sure it clears and buy yourself a new bike".
 


 

Everyone loves a happy ending.  

[JSharp]

Great story and the wife is definitely a keeper.  

You paid forward some on that transaction.

[MadOzodi]

Awesome story...I hope I never go through anything like that myself, LOL!

[st2sam]

WHOA!
Thanks for sharing a great story adventure, you almost didn't even have to leave your driveway for.
I'm starting to think your not such a bad guy after all.  

[919]

   well done sir.

[jfurf]

He had never been outside of Wilkes-Barre.

Did you sell your bike to Charlie?  

[mugwump58]

With any luck 30 years from now there will be a new post  under manufactures, Triumph about, " I remember the time when....".

[three west]

heh, sold a truck recently and had the same deal with the check, luckily it was the bank that I have gone to every day for the last 10 years, so they know I'm legit and cashed it anyways

[Mastros2]

Wow!  Crazy kid!!! Doesn't he know UHaul rents trailers?!?!?  

Glad everything worked out well.  Scott, you are a damn good storyteller!  Haha!

[Orson]

Now it really starts raining.  He puts on so many layers of clothing...i've never seen anything like this.

reminds me of my bike lust as a kid  

my parents never let me have a bike so, by the time I turned 18, I had about 6 years of pent up bike lust inside of me  

As the years go by, the lust has perhaps diminished a bit but this thread helped fan the embers  

[SVTNate]

Hopefully the last part of the story won't be when the check is returned due to being fraudulent.  I worked at a major bank for years, and now I'm a criminal defense attorney.  My work experience would preclude me from ever taking a check unless it's from a bank where I can go and cash the check prior to signing over title.  Dang... that's some real trust in a stranger right there.

Why did you sell the Speedie?

[Redbandit14]

Great Story