In 1989, I saw my first one of these in a showroom in Stroudsburg PA and fell in love. Unfortunately, I had just graduated from college and could not afford it. About a year and a half later I was in that same area of the Poconos and decided to swing by the dealership and see if by some chance it was still there. I had a few $$$ put away and might have been able to do it. I pulled up and to my dismay, the dealership was locked-up as they had gone out of business. DAMNIT! Oh well, life goes on.
Fast forward 10 years and I’m working as a parts and service manager at a Kawasaki/Suzuki/BMW/Ducati dealership. Lots of toys to look at, play with, ride and buy. I was having a good time until one fateful day. A Lockhart-Philips catalog came in the mail and during a bit of a break I sat and thumbed through it to see their new offerings. I turned a page and there was a picture of a GB! Those thoughts of 10 years ago were now back in my head and I knew this time I needed to have one. Since we weren’t a Honda dealership, the chances of one just so happening to ride in was pretty slim, so I called an old friend who worked at the Honda dealership across town. I asked him if he has ever seen one in for service or knew a customer who rode one. He was going to think about it and get back to me after after talking to the parts and service guys. A few days later, I get a call back with a name and phone number.
Late one Saturday afternoon after work, I decide to call the number and see what happens. Jim answered the phone and we had a nice conversation for quite some time. I found out that he also rode a BMW R100RT but that the GB was never going anywhere. I asked him that if he was ever out riding up this way, swing by the dealership with it as I would love to see it.
A week later on a Saturday, just before we were closing a gentleman comes into the dealership and goes to the owners office. I hear him ask, “who is Dan and where can I find him?”. This makes me a bit nervous sitting at my desk. What did I do? Who did I piss-off this time? Whose daughter did I say something inappropriate to? Whose bike did service screw-up? I had 20 seconds to get ready for whatever was about to come my way.......... The gentleman walked over and asked if I were Dan. Yes, I’m Dan, can I help you? He introduced himself as a Jim Collier and I immediately asked if he had the GB with him. He did and we walked out the side door to see it. There it was right in front of me!!! I was in love, but when I began to ask the question, he cut me off and said “NO”. We shook hands and I invited him to the dealership any time. If I couldn’t buy the bike, maybe we could gain a customer.
Over the following months, I see Jim several times. Each time, I begin to ask about the GB and he laughs, cuts me off and says “NO”. We always get a laugh about it, but you never know if you don’t ask.
Fast forward a few months and I get paged to a call about an hour after we closed. The woman on the phone introduced herself as Jim’s fiancée and informs me that Jim had passed away. After the shock wears off, I offer my condole and ask if there is anything that I can do. She informs me that she had been able to sell all of his other bikes, riding gear and motorcycle related items, but she still had one bike to get rid of. I assumed it would be the BMW, but she said that she still had the GB. She actually called the AMA Museum and wanted to donate it in Jim’s name, but they declined. So, she told me that the only person Jim ever talked about when discussing the GB was this guy named Dan at a dealership he visited. She didn’t know which dealership, so she made a few calls until she found me. I did not to want to come right out and ask if it were for sale, but offered to drive to their house and take a look at the bike and whatever was left.
One evening after work, I jump in my truck and drive to meet her. We exchange a hug and she takes me to the basement of the house, not the garage. This one lived in the house! I take the sheet off the bike and there it is sitting right in front of me, a 1-owner, totally stock low-mileage GB. The only motorcycle that I’ve lusted over and never been able to own. I ask her what she wanted to do with it and to my surprise, she said that she needed to sell it. Without hesitation or even asking how much she wanted for it, I said that I would take it. She smiled and told me that the way Jim talked about this “Dan person”, that I was meant to own this bike. We again exchanged a hug and I told her I would be back tomorrow with a trailer. I left and drove home in total disbelief. I thought that it might go this way, but it could have easily been that she wanted it “tuned-up” or drained of its fluids so it could be stored. Luck was on my side for once. I also realized while driving home that we never discussed price! Didn’t matter, just having the opportunity to buy one was worth it. My 10+ year dream of owning a GB was coming true. The next day I hit the bank, hitched up the trailer and drove there after work. After arriving and exchanging another hug, she began laughing and told me that after I left she realized that we never discussed price. I told her that it was difficult for both of us that night and that we would arrive at a price that was acceptable to both of us or I would take it to our dealership, clean it up, put it on the showroom floor and sell it for her for what she wanted. After hearing that, she smiled and told me that the bike was mine and we would surely come to an agreement on a fair price. We did and I rolled the bike onto the trailer. I rolled MY BIKE onto the trailer!!! Unbelievable!
Sorry to bore you with the story, but there was a story behind this particular bike. I’ve owned 47 motorcycles/atv’s over the years, but this is the only one I’ve kept. I hate to sell it, but it’s been sitting basically unridden for many years. I’m not a collector and this bike deserves a better life than sitting in my basement. It needs to be ridden and shown off. It will be sad to see it go, but hopefully the next buyer will have a similar story and has always wanted one of these bikes. We shall see.
Thanks for reading.
