"PIGS ON HOGS"
by
TEDDY BEAR
| After a long hard Saturday night of visiting with my good friend Jack Daniels, the phone rang early Sunday morning. RIIIING, " Mumph?" Hey Bear!" the voice on the other end said. "Snortle humph?" I replied. "Hey man, shake a leg, there's a poker run up north near Albany, you in? " Uuugh, whatdahelltimeisit?" I really was in no shape after about 2 good hours of passed out bliss to take a ride 50+ mile ride up to Albany, NY. Just to ride another 100 miles on a poker run I didn't know anything about, then another 50+ miles back to my den. But the birds were chirping and it was a sunny morning so I figured what the hell. A good 200 mile run would help to clear the cobwebs from my brain. |
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| I was kinda out of it when Lou called and I didn't have the presence of mind to ask any details about the run. I'm usually fairly particular about who I run with. The troops roared up to my garage, the usual meeting spot, and were grinnin ear to ear. "OK losers, what's up?" I asked. "We got a surprise for you today." They informed me. " Damn, not another snaggeled tooth babe you want me to meet, I'm in no mood today." They gunned their engines and said "Daylight's burnin' lets roll" And off we went towards that Emerald City that is N.Y.'s State Capitol. I've got a bit of history in Albany. I've been pulled over there numerous times for various violations of our fair states motor vehicle codes. Everything from doing 120 in a 55 to pissing on the side of the Thruway but for some strange reason I never seemed to get a ticket! We roared into town again making a waving banner out of the 55mph speed limit sign. |
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There was nothing on God's green earth that would have prepared me for what I was to find there. As we pulled into the parking lot of the Eagles Nest, the 5-0 alarm went off in my head. I saw some of the very same faces that I had before seen in the shadow of flashing red lights. These guys sponsoring the charity poker run were COPS!!! They have a club called the Wild Pigs. All either active or retired police officers. I had heard tell of this group of merry misfits but never knowingly ran into them before. I got the evil eye as I plunked my ride down right in the middle of them. "Shit," I thought "They got guns! I better be nice." A few of them recognized me. At first I thought it was from previous roadside encounters but it seems they are all big fans of Bikernet and The Horse Magazine. |
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| One of the younger members, Matt, one of Albany's Finest was starting up a bike that made me do a double take. It looked like a sweet custom softail but there was something about the engine that just didn't jibe. It was a Buell motor and tranny. We took off for the first stop and I pulled along side to get a better look. I was floored. At the stop, I parked next to him and started asking about his ride. He told me that he did it all himself with help from a few friends. Made the extended forward controls so he could use the pipes he chose and hand made the engine mounting brackets, etc. This was a lil piggy with some serious talent. Fortunately, I just filmed up my little travel camera and took a few shots of this magnificent beast he was astride. He apologized for it not being all completely chromed out yet, but said it was just too friggin summertime to be worrying about that stuff. That was what wintertime was for and he was gonna ride the snot out of it till then. |
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| He and his proud father, who goes by the handle Lomoman, were both cops and were in the club together. You could see the pride in papa's eyes as I took shot after shot of his kid's home made chopper. We partied the day and evening away and when I was getting ready to head out, they gave me a pocket full of "get out of jail free" cards and told me to keep in touch. I promised that I would and told them I'd try to keep it under 100 when I roared through their territory. |
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Wild Pig Buell Chopper Techsheet GENERAL |
