We rode the rest of the night putting mile after mile between us and the town of Oakley. The longer I was on the Raider the more I remembered its particulars; in particular the particulars surrounding its six foot wheelbase and extended rake. When I say extended rake I mean extended relative to the rake of the Suzuki M109 and Larry’s Victory Vegas 8-Ball. Larry’s 8-Ball with its lighter weight and shorter wheelbase was definitely more at home through tight corners while the Raider had the edge in comfort and with those big high speed sweepers. And the M109…well the M109, like the Yamaha Road Warrior with its R1 front end, was one of the elite that would always command a place for all round handling and brute power. To compare them was expected; however to expect one bike to be like the other would be like expecting different restaurants to have the same menu.
It was sunrise when we stopped, “Do you think that lawman a.k.a. the shape shifter will be there if we returned during the daytime?”
Larry walked to the side of the road, “Hard to say. My guess is, if its umbilical cord holds together, it’s retreated into some sort of lair to heal…some sort of dark place.”
“You mean like below that saloon…maybe down in the basement? Its umbilical cord led back into the saloon.”
“I mean like,” laughed Larry, “I’m not going out of my way to find out; I mean like unless we have no other choice we’re not riding back through that place.”
