Subject: RE: How did you come by your Loop and why?
Author: Charlie Mullendore
Date: Nov 30, 2003, 9:04 AM
Post ID: 1715363398
Great thread Ian!
In October '96 two things happened that changed my life forever. First,
my now ex-wife left and then the company I worked for announced that my
entire division was scheduled to be outsourced by the following April.
At that time the only bike that survived the marriage was my '86 Morini
K2 that didn't run due to a bad alternator stator. A buddy loaned me his
Sears Allstate 175 "Twingle" so I'd have something to ride on the rare
occasions "her highness" would allow me to. In April '97 my employment
was terminated and the severance package was quite generous. I planned
to hire on with CSX Transportation and was scheduled to start training
in August. What to do for the next several months?
One day while looking through the MGNOC News, I read an ad for a '69
Ambassador and realized that the bike was one a friend owned and I had
admired for years. With cash burning a hole in my pocket and feeling the
need for a big bike again, the deal was quickly done. The ride home
confirmed the wisdom of the purchase. The next several months I put
5,000 miles on it riding around the area and to southern WV, VA and into
Russell, Kentucky once looking at locations CSX offered me a job at. It
was a great summer - one of the best I'd had up until that point.
Reality set in again in August and for the nine months I worked for CSX
the bike was used very little. This was partly the reason I left them
and got a "normal" job once again. Since then I've put over 30,000
wonderful miles on the Ambo.
I've had lots of other bikes before Loops, but none compare in terms of
character, ease of repair and maintence and overall satisfaction of
ownership. They're not just a motorcycle for me - they're a integral
part of my life now.
The old '69 led to the purchase of a second from Mike Skaggs and
introduced me to the greatest group of motorcyclist I've ever known. All
of this would not have happened without the ex leaving - a BIG thank you
to her! Though it didn't seem like it at the time, '97 was a very good
year for me! Cheers,
Charlie
'69 Ambo
(2) '71 Ambos
'72 Ambo ("Freebie")
'73 V7 Sport
Ian Adkins wrote:
Hey All, OK...too cold to ride here in North GA...so I decided to spend a little time reflecting on my passion...Loops. I was wondering if some of you would like to offer a short anecdote as to how and when you became aware of Loops and your first aquisition. Here is mine: "...Back in the early 90's, while living in Wichita,KS, I began a search for an old bike to restore. Having never heard of Loops I accompanied a friend to a small bike shop (Ronco). He was going to look at a Norton and I thought I also might pick something up along british blood lines. When I entered the shop...there among basket cases, parts bikes and old beaters...was a newly restored Eldorado. It was love at first sight. From that experience I acquired my first two Ambos (one basket case that was to be used as parts...now a fully restored Ambo) and my passion for Loops had begun..." Not sure where I want to go with this but I have thought about compiling the anecdotes into an article. Heck...maybe a documentary on Loops and their keeper's passions??? Thanks for all inputs in advance...Ian |