LIKE IT IS

Wrecked Harley not worthy of bidding war

— Sometime between 10:30 a.m. and noon Thursday, the much-talked-about Harley Davidson was taken down from the Copart Internet website.

If you missed it, Copart, a publicly traded Internet company, had what appeared to be former Arkansas football coach Bobby Petrino’s 2007 Harley up for auction.

OK, it just didn’t appear to be the same motorcycle that Petrino wrecked April 1. It was the same motorcycle.

The company neither confirmed nor denied it, but apparently it was Petrino’s motorcycle. And Copart took it down from its commercial website after news of it being up for auction caused so much attention.

The customized Razorbacks paint job, the words “Hawg Wild” and damage to the front end pretty much left no doubt that it was the motorcycle Petrino owned, ran off the road and set into motion the biggest train wreck in Razorbacks football coaching history.

The fact that it was removed from auction 20 days early pretty much confirms it was Petrino’s motorcycle. When last seen, the highest bid for the Harley was $5,600.

If someone bought it to restore and ride, then someone has more dollars than sense.

The cash value was $16,000.

The repair cost estimate was $18,481.

Copart had that right at the top of the details. It couldn’t be missed.

For entertainment purposes, it is not a good buy.

It might work, temporarily, if someone wants it put on display and attract customers to something like a sports cafe.

It would be difficult to imagine real Hogs fans wanting a constant reminder of Avalanche April, when Petrino went from highest penthouse in the state, where he was the highest-paid employee in the history of the state, to the outhouse.

At this point, no one knows the collateral damage that awaits the football program.

Things have calmed down under Athletic Director Jeff Long’s calm, cool and collected leadership, but the fact that Arkansas now has an interim head coach still reverberates and questions remain how this will affect the 2013 recruiting class.

As Forrest City Joe, an astute observer of all things Razorbacks, said on Shawn and Wally, one bad recruiting class in the SEC can set you back three or four years and the Razorbacks can’t afford that.

All of that will be settled in time.

As for now, the motorcycle going up on a national Internet site just brought up the memory of hurt and deceit one more time.

You can’t blame the company, because that’s what those people do for a living.

Most likely the Harley, which was towed to Petrino’s house after the accident instead of being impounded, was totaled by the insurance company.

Generally that means the frame is bent.

To recover part of what it had to pay Petrino. the insurance company sent the wreck to Copart, which put it on its website.

For parts, it might have been a bargain. The engine, with just 1,032 miles (slightly more than 200 miles per year), is valuable.

The bike also has saddlebags and lots of chrome, including dual exhaust pipes, not to mention the custompainted fenders and gas tank, although the front fender is damaged and needs more than a little waxing and buffing.

There is another possibility: Maybe someone wanted to buy it and get it off the Internet and out of sight once and for all.

There are enough reminders of the painful saga, and it was painful for everyone from Petrino to Long to the staff to the team and to the Razorbacks Nation.

Whatever happened to it, happy trails.

Sports, Pages 21 on 05/11/2012

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