TOPIC:

Trent, my 9 year old son, and I attended his first bike show. he took his 1972 Suzuki TS185 Sierra that he has spent the past two months working on. The show was at the Fall Festival and he had told all his friends about his bike. The thing turned out gorgeous. I'm very proud of his work and determination....

Well,as it usually goes he didn't win. He lost to a little 49cc chopper purchased at Pep Boys. I'm pissed. I tried to explain to him why, but you could see him holding back the tears from the disappointment.

As a parent, I try to show to my kids that hard work pays off. This is one of those times that I was proven wrong..... It always works out this way for him. The bike is great and he learned a lot. He learned what many of us already know. It's not what you know. It's WHO you know....
Here are the pics from the show.....





The piece of landfill filler that beat him.... i'm not blaming the kid. he is a product of his environment..


Oh and my two children posing on the restored Suzuki.


BTW, the Eddie Lawson won Best Foreign Motorcycle.. However, I dropped the award back off at registration with a note why they can keep it.

Richard Z.

Post edited by: N0NB, at: 2007/09/09 21:06

My heart is broken for your boy.

But to be honest, he learned a bigger and better lesson by not winning the "prize" than if he had won it. But he cannot understand that now, and may not for years. But I garun-damn-tee you he'll be a better man for it.

It's all that stupid little pieces of adversity and disappointment - and how I handled it and grew from it - that made me what I am today.

Everyone who has been following the progress is proud of him. And you.

Things don't go the way we think they should most of the time, just one of lifes lessons. The susy looks fantastic.
Have Trent take another look at the picture with him and his sister, those smiles are worth more than any trophy or award...
Enjoy riding the bike that YOU built Trent.
Ride safe

Trent:

You're beginning to learn things that will stay with you all your life. I promise you will probably forget algebra before you're 30, but there is a deep, deep satisfaction in enjoying the work of your own hands.

Most of us around here don't have deep pockets, but you'll also notice we mostly are a satisfied bunch and enjoy life and our families. And alot of that has to do with knowing you can't buy joy or happiness... you have to build it one piece at a time.

We all are very proud to see you and your dad working so hard together. Just think of all you wouldn't have gottento do with him otherwise. And this is no consolation... You really have won the grand prize. Love your family above all else, and treasure what you have together, because even life turns into only memories, either good or bad, so try all you can to make them good.

Tell your boy congratulations from the KZ Rider clan on all his hard work. That bikes looks brandy new!! Can I borrow him for a few days .. i got $2000 in parts i need to put on and since the newborn got here last month I haven't been able to get to putting them on. Your kid does good work. I would hire him.

He put together one sweet ride and got to spend quality time with dad along the way. He has nothing to be ashamed of and everything to be proud of. Plus, life isn't about winning tropys with your bike ... it's about who can do smokier burnouts ... who can ride the longest wheelie .. and when it comes down to it .. who can smoke who in a race! I bet the suzuki would smack that Pep Boys special so hard Manny Mo and Jack would feel it.

Trent is a Winner in my book.
Trent, you should be extremely proud of your accomplishment, you are headed for great things in the future. Many people today are given things that they haven't had to work for, and they tend to take these things for granted. You obviously put a lot of work into your bike project, and you now have a connection to this bike that goes far beyond just owning it. It is part of you, and you are part of the bike.
Probably the best part of this project is that you were able to spend quality time with your father... In the coming years, you may have good times or bad. But I can assure you, this time spent together with your dad on your project will always be a fond memory.
Congratulations on being a winner -- I would have voted for your bike.
Grant.

the choppers always win, just like the g-man.

he did a damn fine job on restoring that bike, just be careful cause when he gets up in his teens your back yard will be filled with bikes.

Man that 's a shame. The great job he did restoting that bike should have won over a bike just bought and entered the way it is. Heck anyone can have one of those cheesy choppers but Trent is the only one that has that beautiful restored TS185. The judges really didn't know what they were doing if the gave 1st to a bought ride. Tell Trent to keep his head high, he and all of know he should have won and the judges had the heads up their a&$. I'm really bummed out to see this, I'know he got ripped off on this one.
Mark

All you can say is next time. The Suzuki shold have won over the mini bike. Who were the judges? Soccer moms or weekend harley posers I bet. Just looking at the pics you have up.

Please tell your son I think his bike looks GREAT and I would give it my vote for KZRider Bike of the Month (even though it's not a KZ)! The judges may have given the award to that silly Pep-Boys Toy (PBT) because they were looking for just that, a toy or little kiddie scooter. Your son's bike looks like, and is, a REAL motorcycle! It looks right at home next to the Guzzi and ELR, both of which look beautiful. By contrast, that PBT looks rather silly in a motorcycle show and would be more at home at Toys R Us. Tell your son to keep up the good work and not worry about the award. After all, he already has a really cool award for his work - that Suzuki (plus a pretty fine Dad for spending the time with him on the project!). The other kid is stuck with the kiddie toy that no motorcyclist would ever respect. Ed

You know, the older I get, the stranger so many of the things we do, and our society and culture promote, seem so ridiculous.

Our obsession with breasts, for example. I LOVE 'em! But, have you ever really sat down and thought about why they're there? Makes no sense.

OK, sorry for digressing.

Here's the thing. 20 years from now; 30 years from now; 40-50 years from now, your son is going to think back on the hours spent out in that garage with you working on that bike, and they are going to be the best memories of his life. Long after you are gone from this world, he will think back on those times, and you will live on in his memories, bringing him joy and comfort. Remembering those times, he will do the same with his children, continuing the cycle of parenting. As someone whose father never did anything like that with him, I can tell you I would give anything to have memories like that of my childhood.

My friend, there are several life lessons here, but, I think you may be the one losing them in translation. Winning some contest is irrelevant; spending great time with your dad is priceless. Your son does not know that yet, but, if you really stop and think about it, you do, and you can use this to teach him that.

The old Nissan commercials said "Life's a journey; enjoy the ride". It's not about winning a 4.00 trophy and making all the other kids whose parents value them only when they win cry, it's about cementing the bond with your son and treasuring the time you spend together.

There's a quote from a guy named Charles Swindoll that has made a huge difference in my life. He says you have no control over fate, and especially over what other people will do or think, that the only thing in this world you have any control over is you; specifically, how you look at the world. Attitude is a choice, and life is 10% what happens, and 90% what you choose to do about what happens.

Of all the lesson you can teach your son, I believe this one will best prepare him to go out into the world and live a happy life. I spent the first 45 years of my life believing I only had value when I won, that not winning made me a loser, etc. I'll spend the rest of my life working at unlearning that.

Don't let a bunch of morons who are so stupid they'd vote for a store-bought bike be the barometers of your son's self-worth. Teach him to compet, and to compete hard, but, at the end of the day, the win comes from his assessment of his efforts, not someone else's.

UNBELIEVABLE...tell your son to keep his head up and be proud of what he has accomplished. He should take pride in know that he actually did something with his hands..like someone said in an earlier post...ANYONE can go to a store and buy a TOY..which is what the other bike is. Way to go Trent!!....keep on turning wrenches!!