Oklahoma Veteran Receives 'New' Vintage Bike

An Oklahoma soldier deployed to Afghanistan last year with some unfinished business, but a local motorcycle shop finished it in a big way.

U.S. Army Specialist Keith Stump deployed to Afghanistan a last year, and had to leave behind his prized motorcycle.  That was bad enough, but Stump didn't get to ride it much before he left because of mechanical problems. 

When he left, Stump's father-in-law Larry Schwab took it upon himself to fix the bike.  He contacted Pros 4 Vets, a veteran's advocacy organization.  Established in 2010, Pros 4 Vets helps assists U.S. veterans in a variety of ways.  The organization had worked with Darwin Motorcycles before, and shop owner Dar Holdsworth agreed to take a look at Stump's old bike.

"I thought we would be changing oil, changing fluids, and tightening the chain," Holdsworth said.  "The bike that he had, let's just say that it ended up at the scrap yard."  

"When they came out and they were lookin' at it, and the kids were sittin' on it, parts were fallin' off," laughed Stump's father-in-law.

Specialist Stump though, has fond memories of his first motorcycle.

"It was a nice bike, I enjoyed it," said Stump.  "Me and that thing went through a lot of times together."

Stump probably won't miss the old bike for too long.  Darwin Motorcycles gave him a "new" old motorcycle Monday to replace his old one.  Holdsworth and his crew recycled and customized a 1979 Kawasaki KZ 1000 for Stump.

Holdsworth is a veteran himself.  But he couldn't quite come up with an explanation of why he did it.

"The people who've done things for me along the way, it's really meant something to me," said Holdsworth.  "We can't give bikes to everybody, but if we can just give back in our own way, that's how we can do it here."