NATCHEZ — Leslie Davis has had a bad experience riding a motorcycle before, but that hasn’t deterred his road warrior dreams.

When The Dart found Davis on Lynn Street in Vidalia Friday afternoon, the self-professed gearhead had a motorcycle parked right outside his front door.

The newly acquired bike was a 1982 Harley-Davidson Sportster 1000, a deal Davis said he couldn’t resist when a friend put it up for sale.

“It’s an ’82, and that is what made me want it,” he said. “It was the same year I was born.”

But when Davis showed up at home, his wife Davilyn’s first reaction wasn’t necessarily one of support.

That was because a couple of years ago Davis had a motorcycle wreck when a cable hanging low over a street yanked him from the seat at 30 miles per hour, breaking several bones. He hasn’t had a motorcycle since then.

“When I pulled it up, she said, ‘What is that in the driveway?’ and I said, ‘It’s a motorcycle,’” Davis said.  “I told her I was just going to work on it and she was OK with it, but then I said, ‘But when I’m done with it, it is mine.’ She told me, ‘OK, you don’t call me when you wreck it.’”

Over the last couple of weeks, however, that initial reaction has softened, and Davis said he and his wife take the motorcycle with them when they travel to places such as the Gulf Coast.

But before he takes it on the road, Davis said he plans to take the motorcycle and turn it into a custom show chopper, rewrapping the seats, adding 12-inches to the front end, changing out the clutch kit and fabricating fenders — among other things — at a buddy’s shop. It’ll take probably six months, he said.

But for Davis, the work he’ll put in is almost as fun as the rides he’ll be able to take.

“I have always been into old race cars, always been into choppers and sports bikes, and so was my dad,” he said. “It’s in my blood.”