Memory Does Not Serve Me
The last time I decided to throw some words down everything was completely different. I had just concluded my third successful year of teaching and was trying to begin the summer of riding that I had dreamed of. The Labor Day breakdown was a painful way to begin the summer of riding. We had to be towed home to the tune of $300 for what we would come to find out was a $40 part. Perhaps what hurt the most was losing two full weeks of ride time waiting for the part to come in and the installation to occur. Needless to say, the summer began on a sour note.
Financially, we never recovered from this breakdown. After putting tires, brakes and other service related money into the bike, this additional breakdown put our plans on hold for a solid month. Indeed, our travel plans were practically killed before they could even begin. Although very upsetting at first, I have come to realize that one cannot have it all and really, shit happens. I've had a tumultuous relationship with motorcycles since I was in high school and it appears that this will be no different. I love to ride, but it seems it will never be easy for me to do so.
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| A Harley in it's natural habitat. |
When I look back at it, I am glad that no one was hurt.
Seasons fly by, when you're having fun!
My goal for the summer was to ride as much as possible. A goal that was squashed by not only proven unreliability but severe lack of funding as well. We decided to scale back our plans for the summer and try and fit in more short term rides.
At first I was very upset. It seemed like we didn't ride much at all, but upon closer inspection, we covered tons of miles. A trip to the Bob Evan homestead in "middle of nowhere Ohio", a ride out to the deepest cave in the state, numerous trips to Pennsylvania to visit friends, a regrettable nine hour round trip ride to Serpent Mound, a trip to the fireworks factory, a ride through New York to Niagara falls and surviving Toronto traffic on a twenty lane expressway are just some of the highlights. This is not to mention the numerous local rides around some of a my favorite parkways and hidden roads and a covered bridge tour.
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| The reason we all love riding, A beautiful two lane country road. |
Really, I don't know what I was so upset about.
Customization Comes to an End
Since the summer became so adversarial in nature we decided to hold off on any and all upgrades and accessories for the bike. The last change I made to the appearance of the bike, the fishtail exhaust tips, has been it. I'm not sure if I would call the bike "done" at this point, but with major life changes I don't really feel like spending money to make it so. Even so, I still receive tons of compliments while riding around town. It is difficult to not be braggadocios but when I stop at red lights and gas stations, people stop and compliment the bike. Really, I have made the bike my own in a very visually appealing way. Needless to say the wife and I are very proud of this achievement. As I tell people, 'it better look good, we spent a lot of money on it!'.
However, I would not be a Harley owned if I did not discuss things I would like to do in the future in regards to customization. I have explored the idea of a true dual conversion kit that would eliminate the need for actual true duals. I found a kit by a company named FullSac (Yes, that is a real name) that makes a two piece set which turns the factory exhaust into dual pipes for a fraction of the price. Not the most attractive piece but a much cheaper solution for the look I want.
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| Customization ended when we realized black exhaust tips didn't do anything for us. |
I have also looked into eliminating the crossover bar that links the two front passing lamps and turn signals together. For a awhile this chrome piece has been bothering me as it contrasts the wrong way on the black nacelle. I have found numerous conversion kits on Ebay that I will one day be motivated to buy. Perhaps this winter I will discover some extra money lying around.
Routine Maintenance
A common flaw on the road king models, or so I found out, was the rear crossover exhaust pipe. The angle and stress this pipe is under has been known to cause numerous headaches for owners in the past and it is no different in my case. If you browse back through the archives you will see a blog and even video in which I had to replace the saddlebag support bracket. Back when I fixed this problem, I thought I had corrected all the damage. It turns out that I did not. I have come to realize all the damage that was caused by this bracket failure. Essentially, it ripped the rubber mount on the muffler, loosen the clamps on the exhaust in two places, broke the rear exhaust mounting tab on the starter and caused the head bolts in the exhaust to loosen and fall out.
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| Assume the position. Own a Harley? You'll be doing this a lot. |
It took about three weeks for me to realize I was riding with a exhaust flange rattling off the rear cylinder. Indeed, on closer inspection there was a huge exhaust leak that was demolishing performance and, if I had not noticed, could have wreaked major havoc on the head itself. Needless to say I am lucky to have caught and fixed this issues.
Engineering or Lack Thereof
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| Did I mention this is common? |
But Harleys are terrible.
Really. They are awful. I won't be the first to say it nor the last, but they are just not well built bikes. There are so many questionable design choices, so many intentionally bad ideas and missteps in design that I cannot believe it has survived. I can't understand how the brand has garnered such a rabid and defensive fanbase when any mechanic knows good and well that it is not a well designed motor.
What irks me is that all of the problems I have recently had are the result of poor design. Why did the exhaust support bracket break? Because it didn't need to be there in the first place. Why are the saddlebags supported with such a weak piece of steel? Because it's cheaper. Why would a piece exposed to heat, pressure and gasoline be made of plastic? Because they can and I'll buy it. How, after 62 years, has harley not figured out proper suspension on touring bikes to the point it seems like the bike has a rigid frame? Because they don't have to.
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| Between the two bikes are 43 years and only a 12 cubic inch gain in motor size. Unbelievable. |
Harley sells some hot garbage..and I love it. I understand how they endure despite most of them spending hours on flatbeds. I suppose the biggest problem is they charge premium prices for such a terrible product. Essentially Harley is making Taco Bell tacos and charging Chipotle burrito prices...but I digress. This is a rant for another blog.
Major Life Changes
Soon my life will change drastically and for that I am grateful. I hope to move back into this blog and hopefully provide some insights once again from some random guy with a bike on the internet.
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| Until next time! |
