I had 40,000 miles on my CVO Glide and as I could not fit the gear driven cams due to a 0.006" run out which would take a bottom end rebuild to get within the 0.003" runout gear driven cam tollerance I decided to look at a new bike solution. The CVO Glide is a fantastic piece of kit but perhaps not for a high mileage rider like me. There have been many engine related issues with the new 110" Motors and I felt all the bling you get with a CVO was always lost in hyper depreciation.

It is with this background that whilst on a charity ride with Graham Nichol we found ourselves at West Coast Harley-Davidson and what is more it was on their 2009 launch weekend. Graham had got us to West Coast as the evening before his rear brake pads had parted from their backing plate and deposited themselves in a Car Park in Oban. He bought a complete new brake pad set and got to work outside in the street to replace them all, so meanwhile I looked around the dealership and guess what they had an '08 105th Anniversary Glide on special offer because the new bikes were in stock; so not being a shy type I asked for a deal of my '06 CVO Glide (fully rebuilt withing factory specification chain driven cams), Don, the dealer Principle, made me an offer I could accept so the deal was done. Graham was gobsmacked at my news.

The next week me and Jono rode up to West coast on the CVO and rode back on the Anniversary Glide. I was scheduled to go to Lake Garda on Sunday 21st September but had agreed to look after the Harley demo fleet on the Saturday of our Chapter Heart'n'Soul Rally. Of course one of the fleet was the new '09 Glide but having had my '08 Glide for a couple of days it appeared disloyal to my new bike to have a go on it, after all I may like it. All day the Glide riders told me how good it was and from my position as the back rider that bigger rear wheel, different tour pak supports all looked very appealing. But I resisited and that night packed up my new bike for Lake Garda.

It was all going well 'till exactly one week from picking her up in Glasgow, her 1,000 mile first service in Switzerland an errant shepherd drove his flock across the Timmelsjoch Pass road and I had no where to go or any distance to stop and we T-Boned one of the sheep which proved to be the last ride of my 105th.

	The White Cliffs of Dover and la Belle FRance becons		La Belle France in all her glory
	Ouch!		Not so bad from this side
	Could have been worse of course.		Ignominious end to my dream.