2000 BMW R1150 GS
Under Construction

The seller lied to me, and I had no way to get in there and prove otherwise. That's the trap of buying a used motorcycle on a clock. A bike deserves a slow walk-around, a long sit, a good think. I gave it none of those, and I paid for it three ways: too much at purchase, too little in my estimate, and far more than expected to bring it back to excellent working order.

And still. We took a 26-year-old motorcycle and put it back on the road in great condition, looking better than the day it left the factory, with a lot more years ahead of it than behind.

It came to me with 64,000 miles, a stretch of outdoor storage somewhere in its past, and barely a thousand miles ridden in the last six years. Everything on it was bad. Everything. And that's the real lesson this bike taught me, because neglect leaves fingerprints just as surely as care does. Attention to detail, love for a machine, the commitment to keep something running well: these are not chores. They are part of the beauty of living a full life. Care, in every corner of life, produces goodness. This machine had received none, and it showed in every single area.