| Author | Message | ||
     Crusty |
A Ride? Tomorrow, I’m going for a ride. I have no idea where I’m going, but the weather is supposed to be nice and I have a need to feel miles rolling under me. I normally like to do a “Ride to Eat; Eat to Ride” but there are no restaurants where I can sit down and eat at. I’ll probably just get a gut bomb somewhere and sit on the grass around the parking lot or on the edge of the sidewalk. Maybe I’ll go look for an open Steak and Shake. All the ones around here are closed. The new bike needs to get out and stretch its legs and I want to enjoy the nice weather. I’m thinking that Blue Highways would be my best bet. I guess I’ll ponder various routes until something clicks. I’m leaning towards west for a direction, but that’s easily changeable. I’ll look at Google maps; but I’ll bring some old fashioned paper maps with me, in case I feel like doing something different along the way. I just had a memory jump out. Back in 2015, when I was living on the road, I watched the Corn plants grow from just a few inches tall on Memorial Day weekend to full size as the summer progressed to being cut down in the fall. That was pretty neat. I also thought about a nice campground I stayed at on the banks of the Wabash River. I thought about going there and pitching my tent, but it’s supposed to rain tomorrow night and Sunday and I don’t want to camp in the rain. And until I get the new license plate bracket, I don’t want to ride the new bike in the rain. Oh well… Well; I think I’ll look at a map and see what looks interesting. | ||
| Crusty |
Flooded Roads and a Subway Yesterday, I HAD to go for a ride. My mind was in that place where I would have gone out even if there was a law against it. Originally, I had picked the town of Jackson as a destination; but after looking at the weather forecast, I decided to try for a destination that was a bit closer. I didn’t want to get caught by rain on the 16. I was also trying to pick a destination that had someplace where I could get lunch. I was hoping to find a Steak & Shake, but most the the locations in Ohio have closed. After thinking about it a bit, I started looking at Maysville, Kentucky, which is right on the Ohio River. I planned to take State Route 8 which pretty much hugs the banks of the river; it’s both very scenic and very twisty. I looked online and saw that there was a Subway location in Ripley, Ohio which was across the river from Maysville and that became my destination. I would follow the river on the Kentucky side and return on the Ohio side on US Rt. 52. To keep the ride “Pure” I would avoid all the Interstates. It was strictly a blue and gray highway ride. Things went well for the first 15 minutes or so, Then I got lost in Newport, Ky. I got back on course and got lost in Ft. Thomas, Ky. Looked at my map, backtracked and got lost again in Ft. Thomas. Eventually, I was on Rt.8 and cruising beside the River. I kept coming across sections where water was running over the pavement, so I kept a watch on my speed. After a while, there was a barricade across the road saying Road Closed with a Detour sign pointing to a side road. I took that for a couple of miles and first had to ride through about 100 yards of water flooding the roadway; then, bit farther along there was a barricade across the road saying Road Flooded. So I turned around and backtracked for several miles. I eventually came to a side road before I was back in Ft. Thomas, and I took it to State Rt. 9 which also goes toward Maysville. It’s a straighter road and not as scenic, but it wasn’t flooded. There are signs on Route 9 designating it as the AA Highway. I chuckled about that. A straight road called the AA Highway. One sign I particularly liked said, STAY ALERT ON THE AA HIGHWAY. I was regretting not having brought the camera. I got to Maysville, eventually and headed for the Simon Kenton Bridge (Rt. 68) and there was a big lit sign in downtown Maysville that read Bridge Closed. So once more, I backtracked a bit, but only for a couple of miles. The US Rt. 62 bridge was open and I crossed the river on it. I found the Subway and got my Chicken Teriyaki sandwich and ate it and drank a bottle of Gatorade while sitting on a parking lot bumper in front of the bike. I got to admire all the road phlegm covering the engine and front frame downtubes and again wondered at what kind of meatheads the MoFoCo has working in their (lack of) engineering department. It’s pretty obvious to me that you no longer have to be a motorcycle rider to work there any more. There are a sh*tload of RV and Trailer campgrounds along the river and many of them were flooded out. I came upon areas where Campers were parked along the dry side of the road and I could see the flooded out campground. There was one campground where the campground itself was an island surrounded by water. The record breaking rains we had this week sure messed things up for quite a few folks. Eventually, I made it back home, beating the rain. I decided to change the oil in both bikes and got the old oil drained in the 16 while it was still hot. I had one quart of Formula+ on hand, which went in the primary; but I needed to run to the H-D chickatorium and get another, plus a few quarts of Syn 3. (Cincinnati H-D has a new owner. They changed the name to Cin City H-D and replaced all the experienced staff with cute little chickies who know nothing about parts.) I bought the oil and headed for home, but I got caught by a Thunderstorm. And I got completely soaked within two minutes.That stopped me from changing the oil in the 05. I had figured that I’d get the oil drained out of the 16 and have it ready so that all I had to do was add oil when I got back. At the same time, the 05 would have its oil warmed up and ready to be dumped. So when I got back, I could get the second oil change accomplished. But my jeans were clinging to my legs and water was dripping off the bike, so I just filled the oil tank of the 16 and ran it for a minute to make sure everything was copacetic, them went upstairs to put on some dry clothes. Today, I’ll take the 05 out and get the oil warmed up, then change it, then I’ll wash both bikes. The temperature is just about ideal and the sky is sunny. And I have two very beautiful Roadsters in my garage. Life is Good. | ||
| Tootal |
Just curious Crusty, hows does the 16 run compared to the 05 as far as rideability and power? Transmission any smoother? | ||
| Crusty |
Power feels about the same, but the engine feels smoother. The transmission is much better on the 16. It shifts better and more solidly (for lack of a better word) Overall; the bike feels much better. Of course, the 16 has less than 4,000 miles on it, while the 05 has 110,000. The engine in the 05 has at least 54,000 miles on it, but the 16 just feels much tighter than the 05 ever did. I really like the 16 quite a bit. Once I get it changed around, I think I'll like it even more. | ||
| Tootal |
Good to hear. Since you just rode them back to back I thought I'd ask. | ||
| 04buell |
Kinda missing the snippets. What ya up to John? (Carol) | ||
| Crusty |
Right now, I have a Migraine and I'm keeping a low profile. I've been writing Snippets, but I only put the ones involving motorcycles on the forum. the rest go out in e-mails. I will probably write one tomorrow. If you want to be on the mailing list, just let me know. | ||
| Zane |
John, How many of us are on your mailing list? | ||
| Crusty |
Zane; right now, I have 26 people on the list. I'm about to head downstairs to make more changes to the 16. I'll take some more pictures and put them up with my next Snippet. | ||
| Crusty |
Moving Right Along Work on the 16 is coming along. It’s not happening as fast as I would like, but that’s because I have a severe case of Muhfunzalo. Since God won’t just give me a winning Lottery ticket, I have to scratch by to the best of my ability. That’s OK; if I did hit the Lottery big, I’d probably just use the money to mess up my life and the lives of everybody around me - all through the best of intentions. I think my subconscious is aware of that; that’s why I seldom buy Lottery tickets. Anyhow, I think I’ve spent close to $500.00 just in getting the handlebars set up right. But that part is finally done.I put the black handlebars on this morning and they look good. It’s funny; I was searching all over looking for the right bars and couldn’t find them anywhere at any price; then they appeared on fleaBay as bars with blems. The blem looked to be under the grip, so for $18.00, I took a chance. When the bars arrived, I couldn’t find a flaw anywhere, so I found the right bars for a pittance. I had ordered the rear fender extension/license plate bracket and associated parts, and they came in the other day. It was as aggravating to get everything installed as doing the handlebars was, but it’s on, the License Plate light works and I think it’ll go a long way toward keeping the road phlegm off my back. It’s a temporary measure until I can afford to buy the paint for a full rear fender, gas tank, front fender, etc.,but it looks a lot better to my eye than that idiotic Bobbed piece of crap the bike came with. I hope the stylists who came up with that spend Eternity riding on similar styled bikes through six inches of pig waste. And purely for personal style tastes, the 16 is wearing a black headlight ring and a black gas cap. I think she’s really looking more gorgeous with each modification. She’s definitely feeling much better. Style is important, but it comes after function. It’s possible to make a bike that looks good and works well. When she’s done, the Gentleman’s Express will be proof of that. The 16 is now registered in Ohio. I had to pay the Sales Tax, as well as title, registration and a few other fees, but she’s now wearing an Ohio license plate. She even got a pretty neat plate number FHL 16. That was purely coincidence. The 16 has plate # 16. It took my brother to point it out. I was showing him the bike last night and he noticed it. It never dawned on me. So; the new Roadster is coming along. It still needs a whole lot of money thrown at it, but it’s almost at the point where I can travel on it. I’m seriously thinking about taking it to Missouri this week for the Meet & Greet. I could just take the Sundowner seat off the 05 and use that. I can get away without the saddlebags and sissy bar for now. I have a 12 x 18” bag that will hold my clothes and other gear that I could strap to the rear seat…. I’ll think about it some more, but I’m definitely leaning towards that. Anyhow; here’s some photos of the bike: Here's a shot of the headlight ring and the handlebars. The 05 is in the background They make a beautiful couple; don't you think?  This is showing off the bars and gas cap:  Greg made me some spacers for my risers. They're beautiful, but my crappy point&shoot won't take a good picture of them.  And finally, here's the tailpiece and license plate:  (Message edited by Crusty on June 05, 2020) | ||
| Pwnzor |
Well, if you were a fan of the Port Huron Prowlers, then the plate would really have some significance. They won the 2016 Federal Hockey League championship | ||
| Ourdee |
FHL players get between 200 and 400 dollars a week. | ||
| Crusty |
Do they get free medical and dental insurance too? | ||
| Pwnzor |
Honestly, I'd never even heard of the FHL until I googled "FHL 16" and found that little tidbit. If I'd been asked before having done so, I'd have guessed that FHL is actually the model code for "Sportster" and that Crusty had splurged on a vanity plate for the new Roadster. | ||
| Crusty |
If I were to get a vanity plate for the 16, it would read X PRESS. But I'm too cheap to waste money for that. | ||
| Ourdee |
You would have made a good reporter. | ||
| Crusty |
No. I'm too honest. Plus; I have real issues with a**hole authority figures, like Editors-in-Chief who are pushing their agendas. | ||
| Tootal |
FLH would have been a dresser. So maybe FHL is little dresser?  | ||
| Crusty |
In the old days, the F stood for 74 Cubic Inches (the U was for 80 C.I., E was 61 C.I.,W was 45 C.I. and X was 55 C.I., later 61 C.I.; just as the early K models were 45 C.I., then the KH and KHK were 55 C.I.), so the F qualifies. The H was for High Compression engines as opposed to lower compression engines, which burned lower octane gas and made less power. Compared to those older Big Twin engines, my bike is an H. In the Sportster line, the H stood for Highway, so that tracks as well. When it's done, the Gentleman's Express will be a mile eating Sport Tourer, so I guess FHL 16 is kind of appropriate. I swear that the plate assignment was strictly random coincidence, but I'm not complaining about the letters and numbers that I got. I made no connection with the plate until David pointed the 16 on the plate out. | ||
| Buellish |
When people would ask me what the FLH stood for on my Electra Glide,I would tell them F@=kin' Long Haul.  | ||
| Crusty |
Company’s Coming! Tomorrow, my garage is going to be filled with Sportsters! Paul, Brian, Mike and Greg will be rolling in; most likely during a thunderstorm. I just checked the weather and there’re supposed to be scattered thunderstorms from 10:00 AM through 8:00 PM with varying probabilities ranging from 30% to 80%. Well; if they arrive soaked, I have towels ready for the shower, and the washer and dryer are standing by. I also should have a decent meal ready. The pulled chicken is in the crock pot and it should be done shortly. It’ll sit for a day so that the flavors will meld happily and I’ll heat it back up just before dinner. I’m also going to fix roasted potato wedges to go along with the sandwiches. Now, I just need to think about desserts. I’m thinking something simple like maybe Klondike bars. I have plenty of coffee, Pepsi, Gatorade and bottled water and nobody has indicated that they want or need anything different to drink, so I think that’s all covered. Yesterday, I went a bit nuts and cleaned most of the house. It started at 6:00 AM when I took my morning shower. Before I even dried off, I grabbed a cleaning sponge and a can of Comet and scrubbed down the shower. After I had my morning coffee, I did the rest of the bathroom, then threw the rugs in the washer while I mopped the floor. Since I had the mop out, I did the kitchen floor, then cleaned the stove top and counter. Last night, I started the chicken. I mixed the seasoning, ketchup and brown sugar with water and put it in the crock pot with approximately four pounds of Chicken breast and turn it on low. In another half hour or so, I’ll attack the chunks of chicken with two forks and pull it apart. Then it’ll go back into the pot to slowly cook for a short time more. Then it’ll sit until tomorrow. I’m pretty sure everybody will like it. I’m about 50% sure that I’m going to take the 16 to Cuba. I can put the seat from the 05 on it, and I’ve got my stuff in a fairly large gym bag that I can strap down to the passenger seat. It’s not a good setup for serious traveling, but it should work for a weekend ride. It would make more sense to take the 05. It has the hard bags and the bigger gas tank, the sissy bar & backrest and I know it’s a damned good traveling machine. That’s the 50% that’s saying to wait until I get the 16 set up a little better. I have to hit the supermarket in a little while and I’ll be taking the 05, since it has the bags. The 16 is pulling at my heart, but the 05 is just as beautiful. The bags will probably be the deciding factor. That gym bag isn’t nearly as nice as hard bags. I guess I’m still pretty torn. When I started this paragraph, I was 95% sure I was going to take the 16. After writing things down, I’m now leaning towards the 05. Once I get some bags on the 16, I’ll feel better about traveling on it. I’ll be getting some soft bag brackets this coming month, then she’ll be ready enough. I think I just made my decision. So; it’s time to attack the chicken with the forks, then I’ll head for the supermarket and get the rolls, dessert, ketchup and some munchies. I don’t have company often, so it’s a fun thing when I do. | ||
| Tootal |
Always a good time at Chez Crusty! | ||
| Cupcake_mike |
I can feel your excitement jumping off the page. See ya on friday! | ||
| Ourdee |
Makes me almost want a sporty so I can come to the party. Crusty is quite the host! | ||
| Crusty |
Buells are welcome, too; you know. | ||
| Ourdee |
I know. | ||
| Crusty |
Rest Stop I’m in a McDonald’s in Ferdinand, Indiana eating a Strawberries & Cream Pie and drinking a senior coffee. I’m about 2 ½ hours from home, according to Google and I think I’m going to head there so I can sleep in my own bed tonight. I crossed both the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers on US Route 60 just above their confluence and I made it to the Nicky Hayden statue in Owensboro, Kentucky. I was going to get a room in Owensboro, but I still have a bit of energy left. If I don’t lollygag, I should be home before dark. Besides, I need to curb my spending. Well; I guess I’d better get back on the Roadster. Hopefully, I’ll write a nice long Snippet tomorrow. | ||
| Crusty |
The Midwest Meet & Greet I’ve been saying that this is going to be a low profile summer with only a couple of trips. This past weekend was the first. It started on Wednesday when Paul, Brian, Greg and Mike rolled in to Chez Crusty. While the weather forecasts had been predicting heavy rains, they encountered only one light shower. We were just able to fit their bikes in the garage, along with my two, and they came upstairs and relaxed. I had made pulled chicken in the crock pot for dinner which everybody seemed to enjoy. I also had made some roasted potato wedges, which I like, but I’m not sure if everybody else did. We all sat around and talked about motorcycles for a while, then everybody got some sleep. We were on the road at 7:00 AM the next morning and the weather couldn’t have been better. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the temperatures were in the 60s, gradually warming up to the 80s. We took US Rt. 50 to Bedford, IN and linked up with Jerry, then stayed on US 50 almost to Saint Louis, then took a few Interstates to Cuba. When we got to the Cuba Inn, Jim and Joe had everything pretty much set up. Chairs, pop up awnings and tables. Joe had his smoker going and we wound up having a wonderful meal of Venison steak stuffed with peppers and roast pork and some of the biggest baked potatoes I’ve ever seen. They must have weighed two pounds apiece! I especially liked the pork, but it was all good. Really good! Friday morning, Jim led us all out on a ride of local backroads. There was very little traffic and they took us across some very beautiful country. I found myself wondering if I could live there and how I’d go about it. Green, hilly and not much population. And the roads were good. No tar snakes, just smooth pavement. It’s a bike rider’s paradise. I can understand the attraction of the Ozarks; it flat gorgeous! Saturday, just as we were finishing breakfast, I started getting a Migraine, so while the rest of the group was out enjoying more roads, I spent the day in my room with the curtains drawn and the lights off. By dinnertime, my headache had eased and we all went to Missouri Hick BBQ. The place was as packed as social distancing would allow, but the food was well worth the price. They had five different sauces, and I liked all of them with maybe their Spicy Sweet coming out on top. I had a 1/2 rack of ribs with baked beans as a side. I don’t think they were better than Jim’s in Blairsville, Georgia, but they were almost as good. Trust me; they are well worth eating. The price was the big surprise; my meal with a bottomless drink and tax only cost me $14.00. Like I said, well worth the stop. After that, we all went back to the Cuba Inn and we helped Joe break down the awnings and load things up, then we all hit the rack. Sunday morning, I was the last to leave the motel by only a couple of minutes and we all went our way towards home. I went off on my own; I had a couple of Bucket List items that I wanted to check off, so I set off on the long way home. I rode over more of those Ozark back roads to US highways 67, then 60. In 1979, I wad been tramping with Chuck and David Kaelin and we had gone over the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers on two bridges and had been in three stated in less than two miles. When I tried to duplicate that in 2015, I was unable to, because the bridge over the Mississippi was closed for repairs. Yesterday, I did it. I crossed the Mississippi River from Missouri to Illinois, was in Illinois for only a few hundred yards, then I rode over the Ohio River into Kentucky. There were dozens of barges tied off or being shuffled around on the Ohio, and one Tow Boat with a full Tow. It brought back some memories of when I worked as a deck hand on the Richard C. Young. I continued through Kentucky to Owensboro. Along the way, I put on my rain gear and I rode through some heavy rain. So much for that 0% probability of precipitation. But once I got through the rain, the sun came out and everything dried pretty quickly. I got to Owensboro and found the statue of Nicky Hayden. It looks like he did and it’s in a very nice location. A fitting tribute to a World Champion motorcycle racer. I had originally planned to get a room in Owensboro, but it was early enough that I wasn’t tired, so I continued on into Indiana. I stopped at a Golden Starches and got a Senior coffee and a Strawberries & Cream pie and looked at Google maps. I realized that I could be home before sunset if I jumped on the Interstate, so that’s what I did. I got home before sunset, got mostly unpacked, ran some laundry and drank two bottles of Gatorade, then hit the rack for some well earned sleep. This morning, I’m stiff & sore, but I feel pretty good. I spent the weekend with good people on a good motorcycle doing what I love. (Well; except for the Migraine - it sucked) I think today is going to be a low profile day. Maybe I’ll wash the bike; it needs it after being covered with road phlegm from the rain. Here are the pictures I took of the Statue:    | ||
| Crusty |
At The Crack Of Dawn I woke up early, this morning. So at 6:15, I’m showered and wide awake and watching the sky getting lighter. I used to love early mornings this time of year when I lived in Massachusetts, because it would be light at 5:00 AM. Here, it doesn’t get light as early, but the sun doesn’t set until well after 9:00 PM; which means it doesn’t get really dark until 9:30. It’s the same amount of daylight; it just starts and ends an hour or so later here. Anyhow; I was thinking about the Meet & Greet that I just went to. And I’ve come away with a couple of thoughts. I guess the color of choice for a Sportster is black. There were other colors there; Old Boy’s bike was blue & silver, Shanneba’s bike was a burnt orange and Larry May’s magnificent 77 XLT was blue and Long Island Mike’s bike is a very dark grey, but my Roadster (the 05), Sportster Paul’s, BKB’s and Bow Only’s were all black That’s 50% of the Sportsters. I’m not counting Cupcake Mike’s or Sprink’s Buells or Stairman’s big twin. In my case, when I bought the Roadster, it was black. When I got the Custom tank, Vern painted it black for me. Since he did the paint and bodywork as a favor, I wasn’t about to ask him to paint the tank and fenders a different color. Also; I like black. But I like other colors, as well. When I built the 79 to ship to Australia, I had Derek paint it Bonzai Blue. That turned out so well that I wouldn’t even put a Harley decal on it because it would mar the beauty of the paint. The 16 is red and it’s really pretty, but I want to have it painted Soul Red. Hopefully, that will happen this fall. Speaking of bodywork and paint, I bought a used front fender from an XR 1200 on fleaBay. Once it arrives, I hope that Joe will be able to modify it so it’ll fit on the 16. He has the skill - I just hope he has the time. That will give me a much better front fender than the band aid sized stock piece; especially if I get a fender extender for it. The other thing I’m thinking was how much I enjoyed the ride home on Sunday. I really enjoyed being with everybody, but I’ve really developed a strong dislike for riding in groups. I’m not criticizing anybody’s riding style, I just prefer to ride my own ride at my own pace. There were a couple of times I would have liked stopping, or picking up the pace, or even slowing down, but couldn’t because it would mess up everybody else. This tendency has been growing in me for a while; I keep thinking that it’s just a phase I’m going through, and I’ll get back to enjoying riding in groups again, but it seems that just the opposite is happening. It’s kind of like living alone. The longer I do it, the more I like it. The good news is that I won’t be doing many group rides for a while. I may get over it. Well; I’ve been working on this Snippet for almost three hours. There were a couple of long interruptions; but still, I think I should wrap it up. My lawn mower is beckoning… | ||
| Ourdee |
I too have mower duty later. I too like riding alone. I have to run the FIL to radiation and back this morning. Then I have bought a new recliner and have to go pick it up with the trailer. I cut my yard in the last few days and today is the MIL's yard's turn. Tracey wants the kitchen and dining room ceilings painted today and a new hallway light hung. I had a lot of tomato plants die this year. Lucky for me my neighbor started too many and I have a full row again. He lost his crop twice to frost. Crusty, I need to call you when I get free. |
