Riding along the open road

METRO DETROIT — Glenn Harris was 19 years old when he took his first-ever motorcycle ride on a 1975 Suzuki T500 Titan.

Harris lived in Seattle at the time and “had to learn very quickly how to ride safely in rain and how to spot black ice on the road.”

Harris, 64, is still going full throttle. Over the years, he’s owned 10 different motorcycles, logging approximately 150,000 miles in total.

“The allure of motorcycles is you’re not just a passive observer,” said Harris, who was born in Los Angeles and now resides in Birmingham. “In a car, it’s like you’re looking through a TV screen. Being on a motorcycle, you’re in the show. There’s no cage around you. The sights, the smells, everything is just there.

“You’re closer to the ground than in the car,” said Harris, who has been married to his wife Alexandra since 1990 and has three children, three grandchildren and one grandchild on the way. “You feel like you are part of the environment. It’s magical. It’s a wonderful, wonderful experience.”

One of his favorite models was the 1998 Honda Shadow American Classic Edition he purchased in the summer of 2020 from a couple who lived in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He recently sold the jade pearl green and pearl ivory colored Honda and has nothing but good memories of the bike he called “Beachcomber.”

“I nicknamed it ‘Beachcomber’ because it’s got the color of the sand and the surf. They only made about 400 of these in this color. It’s really rare to see these,” the experienced rider said. “It looked very vintage. In a sea of black bikes, it always stood out.”

Harris purchased the motorcycle for $3,000, although the owner was asking $3,500. But when he saw Harris’ enthusiasm for the ’98 Honda, a deal was made. Harris bought a one-way airplane ticket to Baton Rouge to officially purchase the bike. After having dinner with the couple he bought the bike from, he stayed the night in a hotel and departed for home at 6:30 a.m. the next day.

The mileage when he left Baton Rouge was 15,785; when he returned to Birmingham, it was 17,104. Harris made the most of his 1,319-mile journey through eight states, including Georgia, and was prepared with gloves, a helmet and a rain suit.

“I was going through Alabama, and there was a huge electrical storm,” he said. “I had some interesting weather in Tennessee.”

At one point while still in Tennessee, Harris pulled off the highway and parked his new ride under a freeway overpass.

“It was kind of in a rural area. It was nice to just relax for a little bit,” he said. “Riding in Tennessee was absolutely gorgeous. Same thing for Kentucky. Really, all of it was just beautiful, because you’re riding in the South. It’s so green.”

While en route, Harris stopped about every hour to fill up on gas.

“It’s an opportunity to see things,” he said. “The people you meet at restaurants and gas stations are very friendly.”

One place he visited was the Hellfighters International Christian Ministries in Laurel, Mississippi. Harris, who has served for 26 years as associate rabbi at Congregation Shema Yisrael in Bloomfield Hills, felt very welcome at the Christian Ministries.

“They all came out, made a circle and just prayed for me for a safe ride home,” said Harris, also a member of the Lion of Judah Motorcycle Ministries Michigan Chapter. “They gave me a big hug before I went on my way.”

On the last part of his stretch, Harris rode from Indiana to Michigan on a two-lane road.

“It’s my favorite kind of riding because you’re making progress but you don’t feel like you have to be flying,” he said. “As you’re going from Indiana to Michigan, it’s a wide-open country. You’re looking at farmland. There are no tall buildings. You can see out in front of you for miles.”

It took him three days to get home.

“I was one tired puppy,” he said.

In the three years Harris owned “Beachcomber,” he logged 6,740 miles. He also added on several items including Cobra swept driver floorboards and a Chilhowee tank bra and fender bib.  He had a lot of fun with the ’98 Honda. For two years in a row, he took it to the annual Mackinaw City Motorcycle Rally.

“One of the things I like to do is motorcycle camping,” he said. “I stayed right along the water. I’d look at the sunset along the Straits of Mackinac.”

Harris also received a lot of thumbs-up from people when riding.

“I got so many compliments on it,” he said. “There’s a real camaraderie between bikers.”

The avid rider takes motorcycling very seriously. He enrolls in training classes every two to three years.

Harris recently sold the bike to new friends Mickey and Peggy Benson, of Indiana, who now have matching Honda Shadows of the same jade pearl green and pearl ivory color.

Although Harris sold the Honda, he is still riding. He has a 2006 Yamaha Stratoliner motorcycle. He also has a 2001 Ford Mustang convertible.

“The Yamaha is a bigger bike. I couldn’t keep both so I had to let one go. It was so hard because I loved that bike,” said Harris, who keeps in touch with Peggy Benson on Facebook, which gives him a chance to stay tuned to what he calls “The Ongoing Saga of Beachcomber.”