Chapter 14 Fast and Furious (2/2)
Li Du knew this person. His name was Stephen Chandler. He was a salesman and mechanic for the store. Also, he was one of Hannah's high school friends and was clearly attracted to her.
It was because of this relation that Hans felt that it was safe to ask Steven to assemble the bike. In America, labor was very expensive. Normally assembling such a bike would cost at least a few hundred dollars in a Harley factory, and probably even more in the dealership. But Stephen was kind enough and offered to do it for free.
When they came to the service department of the dealership, the silver beast presented itself.
The first impression that the Harley Street Glide gave Li Du could only be described as severe. Now that the monster was fully assembled, that description should be upgraded to tyrant. Everything about the motorcycle was over-sized, whether it referred to the tires, the headlights, the frame, or the huge sound of the engine.
”This beauty is equipped with a Screamin-Eagle Twin-Cooled Twin-Cam 110 Engine with a peak torque of 115 lb-ft. Together with its aluminum alloy rims, specially designed CVO and Airflow accessories, the Daymaker LED headlights, the windshield deflectors, and the Boombox radio, this monster is sure to fulfill all of your needs for speed and excitement!” Stephen explained all of this in a very exaggerated manner.
Li Du had never really studied motorcycles, so he wasn't able to appreciate the bike from this kind of introduction. Instead, he went directly to the topic he was most interested in: ”How much will this sell for?”
As a result of Hannah's presence, Stephen was especially kind with his estimate. ”A new model will cost around twenty thousand. But since this is second-hand, it will be a little less than that. But I bet no less than twelve thousand.”
”Only twelve thousand?” Hans asked. ”I thought that it would have been at least fifteen thousand.”
Stephen smiled as he shook his head. ”No Big Fox, you know that I wouldn't lie to you guys. If you also consider that the previous owner customized it, then this price will seem quite generous.
”Look here, there should be a CVO logo that appears when you shine light onto it, but it has been changed to MG, which is honestly meaningless to anyone other than its original owner.
”The radio should have 5.25-inch speakers, but it has been changed to 7.5-inch ones. When you ride this, you are not trying to host a concert, so what's the use of such a change?
”Also here, to reinforce and stabilize the front, Harley made the front fork 49 millimeters thick, but the owner reduced it to 35; this might make it more ascetic, but also much more dangerous.”
”Alright, let me try out this bad boy,” Hannah interrupted.
Hans asserted, ”Let Li go first. Thanks to him, we got this bike. So he should be the first to try it out.”
Although Li Du wasn't too interested, he didn't want to be viewed as pretentious, so he didn't decline Hans's offer. However, he soon ran into a problem. This bike wasn't like his father's Jialing 125 back home; Li Du wasn't able to find the ignition.
”It's here, under this panel. You should first insert the keys, then start the engine with this touchscreen,” Stephen explained patiently.
Thankfully, after getting it started, the rest if the controls were like any other motorcycle.
Li Du let go of the breaks and stepped down on the gas. With a loud boom! the beast began to soar down the street.
The place that they picked to test the motorcycle was on the outskirts of town. Flagstaff was a relatively small town, and there weren't many cars out at the moment, so the street was very quiet, allowing him to enjoy the ride.
Accompanied by the roar of the engine, the trees that lined the street flew by quickly. Li Du felt his blood boiling as he immersed himself in the excitement of the acceleration and speed.
Suddenly, the sound of other engines approached Li Du. Two other heavy duty motorcycles appeared behind him. One of them swerved onto his path, cutting him off.
The speed of the motorcycle was truly astounding, and in a flash, the rear of the bike was right in front of Li Du; if couldn't slow down in time, he would crash into it. Li Du was suddenly facing a moment of extreme peril!