"Califbill" wrote in message
...

"Mr. Luddite" wrote:

Traded the SuperHawk for a Honda 350 when I received orders to
Puerto
Rico. We rented a house off base and within a month a guy walked
up our
driveway one day, looking at the Honda 350. He spoke Spanish of
course,
and I couldn't completely understand him. But then he pulled a wad
of
bills out of his pocket, peeled off $600 of them and offered them to
me
while pointing at the bike. I gave him the keys and waved goodbye.

Your story of selling the bike reminds me of
selling my dune buggy. Was in the driveway one day and guy stops and
asks
if it is for sale. Said how much did he offer. I decided it was for
sale.

--------------------------------

Shortly before receiving orders to Puerto Rico I had purchased (and
financed) my first "new" car. 1972 Ford Pinto. :-)
The Navy paid to ship it to Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico restricted cars
brought to the island and to qualify it had to be less than a few
years old to be allowed, so I had to have a relatively new car.

After we settled down I found out that *all* cars .... new and old ...
had a severe import tax placed on them for Puerto Rican customers.
The purpose of the tax was to limit the number of cars coming in
because they had a serious problem with what to do with all the old,
discarded ones.

Within a few weeks I received a cash offer from another Puerto Rican
for the Pinto for a couple of hundred more than I had paid for it back
in IL.
I figured if I sold it, I could pay off the loan, saving all the
interest as well.

There was a wealth of used cars for sale on the Navy base, left by
people who had been transferred out. One of the warrant officers had
set up a little "side" business, buying the cars from the people
getting transferred .... or just acquiring them after they left. He
really did everyone a great service because we could get some wheels
cheap. The problem was getting them registered, but he had that
covered also. He had a friend in the Alabama Motor Vehicle Registry
who, for a $25 fee, would send you plates and a registration made out
in your name but to some fictitious address.
It was kinda funny because half the base came from Alabama, according
to their car registrations.

So, I accepted the offer for the Pinto and bought a beat up old VW
Beatle and a really cool, early 60s Bentley. Bought both for a
couple of hundred and used them for the next 2 years while stationed
there.