(see story below)
Ever since our first rally together Bear had said he wanted a V8 Chopper. He could hear a V8 coming from miles away. He would say "It's the only thing that could come close to sounding as good as a Harley Davidson".
Several months after his accident, Bear and I rode with Kim and Brian down to Atlanta Boss Hoss, Bear said "Just to look around..." Yeh, RIGHT! He sat on a few bikes, played around with the weight and the feel, while I went wandering around the shop.
Back in the corner I noticed a trike body under a blanket. The back trunk lid was sticking out from under the blanket and I could see what looked like a Native American mural on the lid. Barry came over and offered to uncover it for me. I was totally blown away by this awesome bike.
I was a little concerned about Bear being able to ride a two wheel bike again, because of the damage to his wrists and foot. Shifting gears and working the clutch were going to be a real challenge.
Barry said he built the trike and had the custom paint job done a couple years before and although everyone seemed to like it, no one offered to buy it. It was like it had been sitting in his shop just waiting for us to come along.
Bear had not even entertained the thought of riding a "trike". He called them "Geezer Cruizers". But one look at this trike and he was hooked. Of course, Bear also indicated that if he had to ride a trike, it had to have a BIG block.
Nine months later (and several sleepless nights) the "Indian Trike" was complete.