[MVista]

Not the world's biggest secret, the "Pullman" did appear in my registry a few weeks ago and I had mentioned it to several people.

The story starts with Andrew's post on here http://www.mvagusta.net/forum/showthread.php?t=48286 dated the 7th of September which just happened to be my birthday (obviously an omen & post #3 on the thread now looks very prophetic). My wife had left for France & Italy the following day, so I was left to my own devices.

Interestingly, I had thought about adding to my collection having reached my goal of 1,2,3 & 4 cylinder MVs. I did note that I did not have a 2 stroke MV and this was the opportunity to address that and consequently a worthwhile addition.

The final morning of the auction, I woke at 3.45am our time, without an alarm set, in fact I wasn't even sure I would bid. I thought as fate had woken me I'd wander and look into the auction - the price had moved little & there wasn't a reserve - more interestingly there was only 5 minutes left to run. With 10 seconds to go, I made a bid, which I didn't think would be successful - I thought for sure an auto bid would top me. As it ticked to Zero the numbers didn't alter - I thought exactly this: "Fuck, I own this thing! I haven't even discussed it with my wife & we NEVER make major purchases without consultation, Fuck, Fuck & Fuck some-more!" So I then emailed my wife, her reply was (surprisingly) a polite enquiry as whether I was going to keep it?

I had contemplated knocking out the fire place and housing in my Billiards/Bar room (Yes we have a pool room - for fans of "The Castle"), But thought this NOT a good time to announce this plan to my wife.

When I contacted the seller, I am surprised to learn that it was Gary Kohs - the gentleman who sold the entire MV collection recently at the Mecum auction in Monterey. This is one of his personal collection bikes, that he kept at home as rolling art. Gary was an amazing gentleman to deal with and went over & above to make sure that everything was perfect with his lovely partner Laura handling much of the details like getting all the precious original documents to me & much much more. This only added to the overall experience.

The original photo that I saw:



Gary packing it with great care which proved vital later:



Email from my freight company with photo of good old American know how on the docks - they thought putting an frame with an engine on top of a motorcycle box for a sea trip to Australia was a good idea



The first thing I see upon collection at Port Botany Sydney, so I am fearing the worst & I have to sign a liability release:



Trip home was agony as there was no way to see inside the box until it was properly opened - if I opened at the port I could not transport it home:



Unpacked the box - Gary's meticulous work paid off - just look at how close it came to disaster! - Not a mark on the bike:



A quick introduction to the to the Shrine Bikes - this one is not living in there:




Earlier in this thread I mentioned that this bike was going to be housed in the Billiards room - my lovely wife in the 6 weeks since her return has had the news broken to her & with her uncanny ability to never fail to surprise, was quite sanguine at the prospect even upbeat! Of course, getting this green light is like giving me carte blanche - the proverbial inch for a mile

This is where the "Madness" part of the thread title kicks in - there was a fire place that had to go - so patch ceiling and of course re-tile roof - a task expertly untaken last tuesday by MVista jnr & yours truly.

Before & After (no hole in ceiling or roof - lol)


But that's not where the madness ends - to facilitate easy entry & exit from the house (so that the bike can be ridden regularly as they all are) requires some construction work to the front - nothing major, just new walls - concrete, footings, drainage & complete overhaul of entry steps, gates etc : Construction work has commenced:



Now back to the that bike that I thought was a good deal because it was inexpensive at the original price THANKS ANDREW!!!

So let this be a cautionary tale to those find 'those' inexpensive bikes to purchase

2012 has been an amazing year - I finally acquired my ultimate dream bike (America) AND achieved my (what I fully expected to have remained an unfulfilled) ambition of housing bikes in the house - I say 'bikes' because letting one in opens the floodgates

As with all these posts - I will finish by thanking my beautiful wife for without her love, passion for life, encouragement & support (read tolerance) many of the greatest things in my life with my children at the forefront would never have materialised.

Thanks for reading.



Ps. The Pullman rides great (scary top speed of 75kph I think - it has no speedo, I guees they figured if you barely cracked 70kph you wouldn't need one ) - I took it in to be road registered (historic) and is as of now legally rideable

A public BIG thank you to Gary & Laura wonderful, charming, honest people to deal with.

[Ian SAVS]

Rob you really are the real deal man.
What an awesome story. From the post, to the am bid and win, to delivery, I bet you got little sleep. Your wife is a keeeeeeper buddy, don't ever let her go! It looks amazing inside the billiards room, and the custom driveway is the mark of a true fanatic. I just be over here fantasizing. Congratulations.

[Sarge]

Congrats Rob, thats is such a cool bike.

[Greny]

Very nice one Rob, I had the change to buy a very nice one about a year ago but didn,t , still regret it.
Have fun with it

[John M]

Rob

I look forward to seeing all your bikes (and you) next Saturday

John

[silentservice703]

Rob, you and Lou are excellent! The relationship sounds very much like Cindy and me. You have a great collection. When are the handicap ramps going in so we can visit?

[haupti]

Rob this is stunning again. You do had an amazing Year so far and I fear this is hard to top. Congratulations once more to this new addition, to Your loving wife and family. I just wonder all the time where the western economies are in financial trouble that You guys down under seam to just don't need to count the pennies. However I'm really happy for You.

[oepie]

Hm, I think I'll have to spend more time on here cos last time I checked you had 3 MVs

Way to go, Robbie!

[JDS]

.
Rob.. What can I say.. You live and breath MV..

I raise an internet drink to your passion.

PS: You have a Billiards/Bar room.. WTF ! ... We haven't even got a chess set..


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[rents]

Mate you rock