Yeh, I kinda scratched my head at that mileage figure too.
Sorry we ran you broke.
If you had waited a little longer, you'd have also been paying an elevated hotel room tax as well. It's not getting any better. Believe it or not, tourist numbers are down and a lot of folks are losing their jobs. You guys are our main source of income so the powers that be are going to try and get as much out of y'all as they can. A tip. Never eat in the hotels or anywhere in the "resort" area. Kinda like Disneyland. Walk a mile outside the "resort" boundary and there's a nice Hometown Buffet for cheap eats. 
Yeah, the guy may be going after a niche market that this small state can't support. If he wants to make a go, he'd have to build more utilitarian bikes in the lower price range. Then too, he could simply be a heavy hobbyist who's just trying to pay for the habit. Heey, I bet the guy is a lurker on this forum or the other one. Although his bike looks great, it does look like others I've seen in the forums. Especially the use of that particular gas tank. Hmm. 
How about a pic of your Point Beach so far, or if you have already posted one can you direct me to it? I'd love to see what you've done.Yeh, I kinda scratched my head at that mileage figure too.
From the perspective of someone already building his own motorized bike, the $800 is out of my reach. It's the reason why most of us choose to build our own, eh?
So far, my Point Beach project has cost me $230. That's for the DAX kit, bike, chrome springer and bent seat stem. Another $150 in accoutrements and paint job will net me a nice looking retro at half the price.
I do hope there are still the few, out here, who would spend that kind of money. I'd like to see someone succeed in building these types of bikes for use in the islands, but times are looking grim. Lotta folks losing jobs out here and this place is small.
Sorry fellas. I know there's a pic somewhere in another thread, but I haven't done anything beyond that. Just the springer, bent stem on a red PB. Nothing more. I've been wanting to jump on it this past couple weeks cause the daughter is on summer break, but the wife and I came down with what might be that dreaded swine flu. Then again, there's that other strain that's also going around that supposed to have stronger symptoms. Judging from what we've been hearing, we may have the latter. I took my shots and the only bugs going around in this area is what we heard. Going on a week and still can't shake the congestion, low grade fever and fatigue.
No disputes here. The way things are going, home is always paradise.
. The residence were basically hippy types, but really friendly and helpful. Got our water going for us and told us where the best place was to go salmon fishing. We had clams wherever there was sand, oysters where there were rocks, tons of crab when the tide went out and of course the salmon. We stayed on that island for a week. The pleasure, unfortunately, was tempered a bit by our experience in the city which I won't elaborate on as it's a long story. All I'll say is that we never gave BC a thought when it came time for other vacations. Just figured no sense being where we're not wanted.
Thanx for the info--we rented a car and travelled Oahu and Hawaii islands---i felt sad to see wealthy outsiders with most of the money and natives delegated to putting on Hawaiin shows and tour guides--next time ill order a bike kit from spookey tooth assemble it there and stay 2 months go camping!!!Sorry we ran you broke.
There are only a handful of us in the islands so I'm not surprised you didn't see as many as you'd hoped. There are a number of reasons why there aren't more of us. Way too much to elaborate on. I tried and it ran several paragraphs. I erased them.
I won't contest you on what or where paradise is. It's all relative.
Paradise? Home. We live here. Our family is here. Most of us learned to make do with what we have. We even manage to find a few extra bucks to get into hobbies such as motorized bikes. It'll get worse. Most of our children move to the mainland for education or job opportunities and return only for a short vacation. Even with a good job, they can't save enough to move back and if they could, they couldn't find a job that can sustain a high mortgage.
From where I live, the beach or a mountain hiking trail is no longer than a 15minute drive. Same for large parks with bike/running paths with large fields for kite flying. Since I live just outside a military base, I get to meet people from all over the country. Most are very nice. Then there's the few who can't handle finding themselves a "minority" overnight. Me, I'm colorblind. They all look the same to me.
In our area, fruit trees abound in backyards and we all share or trade fruit when the crops come in. Mango, tangerines, Kona orange, lilikoi, papaya, lichee, etc. Even fisherman drive up here from the coast to peddle their fresh catch at bargain prices. Kona crab, fresh ahi or aku, mahimahi, etc. I even ride my ebike up to the local egg farm once every 2 weeks to buy our flat of XL eggs. The seller always says, "Thank you uncle and enjoy your fresh eggs." I even ride my ebike over to the weekly open market to buy fresh, locally grown veggies and some Filipino baked treats for the wife and daughter, always trying to jocky into a good position among the little old Japanese, Filipino and Chinese ladies to get the best quality produce. These old ladies show no mercy.
Summer is Bon season. A time during which the Japanese hold festivals to honor their dead ancestors. Every Buddhist church on the island holds a Bon Dance on almost every weekend during the summer. Lots of dancing, Japanese food, crafts and fun. Being Japanese is not required.
Like they say, when in Rome. You gotta get out on your own to see what Hawai'i is really about. Staying in Waikiki or taking tours isn't going to cut it. Maybe next time? Rent a car and get a B&B in Kailua or wherever. Ask your hosts what's happening with the locals. There's always something going on that a visitor would find interesting and you'll be spending way less money or, you can at least see where your money is going.
Oh, don't get me started at how wealthy outsiders have "ruined" certain island communities and how their influence literally pushed out local residents and long time mom and pop businesses only to be replaced with mainland franchises in fast food chains and cheap products. I could go on and on.
Well sir, whichever flu we picked up is like any other flu except that the symptoms are a tad more severe. Still nothing a little ibuprofen and OTC stuff can't handle. What us older folks have to watch for is the onset of secondary infections. Seems I'm also suffering from either bronchitis or a mild case of walking pneumonia, if there's such a thing, possibly a sinus infection as well.
I found my springer at a local bike shop that's been around going on close to 75 years. They're primarily a Schwinn dealer and has been from the beginning, whenever Schwinn came about.
For me, these guys also have all the other little goodies I'm going to need to spiffy up my ride, so my source for these parts is local.
