DeadXL
Member
Hello everyone!
As I mentioned in my intro thread, there was a small chance of this happening... well, I locked down the deal on Friday, and she should be coming home with me later this week. Anyhow, here's the start of the saga on my new-to-me '03 Pitbull.
This one was unfortunately part of an estate, and I was contacted by friends of mine who were helping the family sort through everything to either distribute among themselves or to sell, as they had finally put the house on the market and sold it within 2 days. The Pitbull had been sitting since at least 2016, and I was tasked with seeing if I could get it running/riding once again and clean her up in order to sell it, as keeping it would be too much of an emotional trial for the family. I'm always up for a bit of a challenge, and the offer of some pocket cash never hurts, so I took on the task. Over the next 2 weekends, I set about changing all of the fluids (the oil filter was previously tightened by some sort of Sasquatch/King Kong crossbreed and put up one hell of a fight), drained all the old gas and did a rebuild/deep clean on the Super G (it was gummed up so badly that you couldn't even see the screwdriver slot on the bottom of the main jet!) added a fresh battery, as well as polished all the paint and miles of neglected aluminum. After all of this, as well as a bit of fiddling (ok, a lot), I did get her to fire up and run really nice. As you all well know, Big Dogs can be a bit tempermental even when in top condition, so getting her running again well again after sitting that long was no easy task! I also took her down the road for a surprisingly uneventful shakedown, and that's when it truly hit me: she and I had formed that unspeakable bond, and I knew this bike couldn't end up with anyone but me.
Just a bit after getting it started and going on the first ride, the truly awesome lady that now owned it stopped by with her granddaughter and asked if I had got it running. I told her that I had indeed, and asked them both if they would like to hear it. As soon as she fired up, they both had the best reaction I could have hoped for- literal tears of joy! This Pitbull was the last remaining prized possession of their family member, and their reaction showed me how special this Big Dog truly was.
The (once again, truly awesome) lady had seen how much work I had put into her, and mentioned to my friends how she would really like it to end up with me, as she saw firsthand the amount of work I put in, as well as the bond it and I had slowly made and could think of no one better she should have a home with. When we met up on Friday to discuss the work so far, as well as the additional things the bike would need in the near future, the conversation shifted to the possibility of me ending up purchasing her, and well... the rest is history!
All of this said, I really wasn't looking to purchase another bike at this time... I need to get my Harley back into running shape, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't somewhat toying with the idea of buying something else to ride this summer while my 'monstrous' XL was torn down again. However, as you all know- you don't look for a Big Dog, your Big Dog finds you. This isn't a summer fling though, I plan on this one being around for a good long time.
Now, what you're all sure to be waiting for: a picture! Well, here she is in the midst of the cleanup, sans seat and air cleaner... also not in my garage lol:
I'll go over all the stuff she truly needs here very soon, as well as some other fun bits, but I will say that tires and compression releases are first on the list. The front tire was replaced in '06, but the rear tire is still dated 2002... that tire's nearly old enough to drink!
As I mentioned in my intro thread, there was a small chance of this happening... well, I locked down the deal on Friday, and she should be coming home with me later this week. Anyhow, here's the start of the saga on my new-to-me '03 Pitbull.
This one was unfortunately part of an estate, and I was contacted by friends of mine who were helping the family sort through everything to either distribute among themselves or to sell, as they had finally put the house on the market and sold it within 2 days. The Pitbull had been sitting since at least 2016, and I was tasked with seeing if I could get it running/riding once again and clean her up in order to sell it, as keeping it would be too much of an emotional trial for the family. I'm always up for a bit of a challenge, and the offer of some pocket cash never hurts, so I took on the task. Over the next 2 weekends, I set about changing all of the fluids (the oil filter was previously tightened by some sort of Sasquatch/King Kong crossbreed and put up one hell of a fight), drained all the old gas and did a rebuild/deep clean on the Super G (it was gummed up so badly that you couldn't even see the screwdriver slot on the bottom of the main jet!) added a fresh battery, as well as polished all the paint and miles of neglected aluminum. After all of this, as well as a bit of fiddling (ok, a lot), I did get her to fire up and run really nice. As you all well know, Big Dogs can be a bit tempermental even when in top condition, so getting her running again well again after sitting that long was no easy task! I also took her down the road for a surprisingly uneventful shakedown, and that's when it truly hit me: she and I had formed that unspeakable bond, and I knew this bike couldn't end up with anyone but me.
Just a bit after getting it started and going on the first ride, the truly awesome lady that now owned it stopped by with her granddaughter and asked if I had got it running. I told her that I had indeed, and asked them both if they would like to hear it. As soon as she fired up, they both had the best reaction I could have hoped for- literal tears of joy! This Pitbull was the last remaining prized possession of their family member, and their reaction showed me how special this Big Dog truly was.
The (once again, truly awesome) lady had seen how much work I had put into her, and mentioned to my friends how she would really like it to end up with me, as she saw firsthand the amount of work I put in, as well as the bond it and I had slowly made and could think of no one better she should have a home with. When we met up on Friday to discuss the work so far, as well as the additional things the bike would need in the near future, the conversation shifted to the possibility of me ending up purchasing her, and well... the rest is history!
All of this said, I really wasn't looking to purchase another bike at this time... I need to get my Harley back into running shape, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't somewhat toying with the idea of buying something else to ride this summer while my 'monstrous' XL was torn down again. However, as you all know- you don't look for a Big Dog, your Big Dog finds you. This isn't a summer fling though, I plan on this one being around for a good long time.
Now, what you're all sure to be waiting for: a picture! Well, here she is in the midst of the cleanup, sans seat and air cleaner... also not in my garage lol:
I'll go over all the stuff she truly needs here very soon, as well as some other fun bits, but I will say that tires and compression releases are first on the list. The front tire was replaced in '06, but the rear tire is still dated 2002... that tire's nearly old enough to drink!