"What's wrong with the bars you've got?"

Yesterday I got caught flagrante delicto by the spousal unit. I just wasn’t quick enough putting the catalogue away when she came into the room. Not the Victoria’s Secret catalogue – that I could probably have explained away – but this was much, much worse. It was the new Harley-Davidson Accessories Catalogue and she instinctively knew (or at least hoped) I wasn’t shopping for sweet nothings for her.

“What are you looking at?”
“Um, Harley catalogue?” Asked like a question, thinking I might be able to get away with something here.
“You’re not buying more parts are you?”
“Well I was thinking about putting drag bars on the ...” Didn’t even get to finish the sentence.
“What’s wrong with the bars you’ve got?”

Now the answer to that last question is, in all honestly, nothing. The stock bars are perfectly fine except.... well, these other ones look nicer, and for me, that’s a perfectly good and understandable reason to get them. For her, that’s a stupid reason.

And I didn’t even get to the new seat, quick detach saddle bags, forward controls, and paint job also on the wish list.

Truth be told, I’m not much of a customizer, never have been. But at this time of the year when the snow is on the ground, night starts at 4 pm, and there’s no riding for at least 3 more months, I get my fix by reading every biker magazine I can find, fantasizing about the new models (thank god she didn’t find me with that 2009 H-D price list), and dreaming about what I could do to the ride I have to make it a bit different, a bit unique. Few of those dreams ever see the light of day because once I get riding again I realise how much I like my bike just the way it is.

But in the meantime, it’s going to be a long winter....