I have been riding motorcycles since 1979 and regardless of the laws, I have always worn a helmet when I ride. I started with a used Kawasaki 400 in college (that was all I could afford) but soon graduated to a used Harley Sportster soon after I was married. I kept that bike for about a year before moving up again to a used Harley Low Rider. Once we had kids I knew I wanted to get something bigger so that the kids could ride one at a time with me on some of the poker runs etc that I did with the Harley Owners Group and some of the local dealerships, local fundraisers etc. I ended up selling the Low Rider to make a partial down payment on the house we had bought in Downers Grove, and gave myself three years to save for a used Harley Ultra Glide, the rolling couch as some people call it. The Ultra has a raised seat in the back so when the kids were old enough they could see
When I ride alone, I usually wear a half helmet as I like to hear what is going on around me and don’t want my ears to be covered, but when I ride with the kids, especially when it is cold, I want to be able to communicate easily with them so I wear a full faceless helmet. The Ultra is intercom capable so I just needed to get a set of integrated headphones to put in my helmet and in the kids helmet.
So now the reason for the paint job. I wanted the rider behind me to be able to look at something other than a big white ball if they wanted to so I put a lot of thought into what I would put back there. One night I was having a conversation with a friend about our DVC (Disney Vacation Club) membership, all the times we have visited Disney World and why I enjoy Disney so much. He asked if think about it all the time and I said “It is always kind of in the back of my head”. Boom!! There it was. The perfect idea for my helmet. What could be better than Mickey climbing out of the back of my head, where he always seems to be. Within a week I had the design worked out and the painting done.
Sadly this helmet has been on the shelf for many years as I have gone back to my half helmet since I ride alone most of the time (the kids are big enough for their own bikes now should they choose) and I sold the Ultra to prepare for college tuition. I share a bike now with my younger brother when I get the chance, but have vowed to get another as soon as they are out of college and those bills have been paid.