| Author | Message | ||
     Tootal |
As Clint Eastwood said, "a man's got to know his limitations!" Some folks have to hit rock bottom before they figure it out, hopefully before it kills them. I worked with a guy who was a heavy drinker. During his vacation he just sat at home and drank. He ran out of beer one day and realized he had just drank two cases of beer and he still wasn't drunk! His light came on as he realized he had a problem and he never drank again. I'm glad you figured it out 40 years ago as I probably would not have met you. And that would just be sad. Happy 40th John and may you have many more to come. | ||
| Daddio |
Congrats on the 40, Crusty, and, nice shovel Low Rider! | ||
| Ourdee |
Congrats on another sober day. Have you fingered it out yet that you are loved? | ||
| 86129squids |
Wow, and congrats also, Crusty. Keep on keepin' on. Every time I see that pic, I wonder at the color... sometimes, not often, I miss my old '77 Shovel. It was purple metalflake, but was more trouble than fun. And, as RD said... I believe you've fingered it out. Glad to know you, my friend. | ||
| Crusty |
Looking Forward I’m feeling pretty good. On Tuesday, I accomplished a lot. I made a few trips out on my bike. I stayed busy from late morning to dinner time. I was pretty useless on Wednesday, but not as bad as I thought I would be and yesterday, I felt almost back to normal. I’m planning to ride up to Indianapolis and go out for lunch with RD this coming week. I’m about 95% sure I can do it; but as RD pointed out, if I get up there and the ride kicks my butt, he and Tracy have a spare room and I could stay there overnight. That makes for a nice safety net. I hope not to use it, but it sure is nice to know it’s there. If that works out OK, then I’d like to maybe get a Meet&Eat planned for someplace in the middle of the state. There are lots of good places to eat, here in the Cincinnati area; but this is the southwest corner of the state and that makes for a really long ride for folks up north or east, and I doubt they’d want to ride that far. Places near Columbus are pretty much central and close to the same distances for everybody. I’d like to get folks together at George’s Family Restaurant up in Dayton. I think it would be a good location for a M&E, but Dayton is on the west side of the state and it would be a very long ride for some. I think that Joe had mentioned a BBQ joint that was somewhat close to Columbus. That might be a good M&E destination. I have been known to enjoy good BBQ. I guess I should talk to Joe, if things go well this week. Looking farther ahead, I think that the next time there’s a Buell event at TWoS, I’m going to do a day trip to both the Cherohala Skyway and Deal’s Gap. That’s such a beautiful part of the country and there are so many sweet roads. When I went to the XL Meet & Greet in Stecoah, Joe, Brian and I went on a fairly lengthy ride and wound up at the Wheels Through Time Museum in Maggie Valley, which is a fascinating place. ALL the bikes in the museum run. I saw one employee start a 1924 Henderson 4 with one kick. He told me that Dale Walksler (RIP) used to love to do burnouts with the 1936 Crocker and he pointed out the streaks on the floor. That, in itself would make a worthwhile destination. We also rode through Smoky Mountain National Park at 15 MPH in heavy traffic. That wasn’t so much fun. Still; I think a bit more travel would be a good thing. It has become a routine to ride over Wolf Pen Gap, then over to the Richard B. Russell, then over Blood Mountain. Those are all great roads, but doing the same ride all the time gets stale. Somebody could make up maps to the Cherohala and the Dragon and let everybody travel at their own pace. With the wide assortment of riders who attend, that would allow everybody to ride in their own comfort zone. The slower riders wouldn’t feel pressured into riding over their heads and the faster riders wouldn’t feel held back; it would be an Everybody Wins kind of situation. Hmmm; I think I just volunteered to make up maps… Eh; why not? I think everybody would have fun and we would have lots to talk about while scarfing ribs and Peanut Butter Pie at Jim’s for lunch the next day. Well; those are the thoughts bouncing around my skull this foggy morning. And it is foggy; I can’t see beyond the third house down from here. I hope the 10 day forecast is accurate (Yeah; right!). It’s predicting sunny with temps between the mid 70s and low 80s for the next week. Oh Joy; that means it’ll probably snow with temps hitting record lows; but I still can hope. Later. | ||
| 86129squids |
I like your way of thinking, with the maps and stuff. There is a place where they HQ'ed in North Georgia to write and test out DIY/"proto-prepper" stuff, I'll have to remember what it was. They wrote a very significant series of books... I had posted here on BW a long time ago about wanting to ride there. Not too far from TWoS, but certainly a day trip. Maybe Mike would know. Oh, and I actually got to meet Dale Walksler!! Watched him fire up that Henderson, do a proper laying of rubber, with a copious amount of white smoke!!! What a day. Then I bought a big coffee mug that his girlfriend had made, with OLD HD internal parts pressed into the clay... still in my cupboard to this day! What a dude. Glad you're getting back to being Extra Crunchy, old Crusticle!!!  Ride on, brother. Going next week for Pfizer #3, with my lady.  | ||
| Crusty |
The Test Ride Today, I finally did a longish ride. I rode up to Indianapolis to visit with RD and go to lunch.I checked out the changes he’s made to the Himalayan. He’s put as much effort into that Royal Enfield as I put into transforming the 16 Roadster into a Gentleman’s Express. It’s showing the Love, though; it’s looking pretty nice. We went to King’s Ribs and got (what else?) Ribs. We each got a 1/2 rack. I also got some of their baked beans. I ate too much, but the ribs were good. Not quite Jim’s, but very tasty, nevertheless. I got a mix of their sweet mild sauce with their hot sauce. It was a great combo. The beans were very good. Better than most. The two places I can think of that beat them are Velvet Smoke and Redbones in Somerville, Massachusetts. Still; the ribs are worth eating. RD didn’t want me thinking that Indy is only good for Mexican food. I didn’t think that at all before today and I still don’t. There are good ribs available. However; El Corcel still sits at the top of my personal list of restaurants in that City. After we ate, RD took me down Gasoline Alley. I always thought it was just the pit road at the Speedway; it turns out that, while it’s close to the Speedway, it’s an actual road with lots of businesses that cater to all kinds of automotive performance modifications. Want a Hot Rod 57 Chevy body on a modern chassis with cutting edge suspension? I saw the shop that specializes in that sort of thing. Some of the shops are purely race shops. One builds chassis for Sprint Cars. If you even have a slight interest in such endeavors, you’ll find the road fascinating. I did. Now; I had a plan for how I was going to do this trip. My plan was to take I-74 up to Indy, but take secondary roads back to Cheviot. There was so much road construction on I-74 on the way up, that the idea of riding back roads home really looked like a better choice. I modified my route home, however. US Rt. 31 was an endless series of traffic lights and strip malls until I was almost in Edinburgh. it took me over an hour to go 35 miles. So I I jumped onto IN Rt 254 and took that east until it ended at IN Rt 9. I took 9 south to IN Rt. 46 East and took that most of the way back. It was getting close to sunset, so I decided to jump on I-74 for the last few miles home. I got off I-74 at North Bend Rd. and ducked into Sam’s Club and gassed up before heading for the house. I was surprised at the gas prices in Indiana. Usually, they’re a bit cheaper than around Cincinnati. Today, they were running about .10 more per gallon of regular. The difference that really shocked me is the price of premium. The stations I checked out wanted .80 more for Premium over Regular. I paid $4.03/Gal. when I filled up. All I can say is Let’s Go Brandon! RD gave me a Biker Rubber Duck. He wants to check our what I’m typing, so I’m going to let him be the first reader of this Snippet  In any event, today's ride was a tremendous success. I rode up to Indy on the Interstate, ate way too much, then rode home on secondary roads. I'm tired, but I'm not worn out. My body is finally almost completely recovered. To quote Curley, "I'm a successful Cork!" | ||
| 86129squids |
Outstanding Snippet!! By gosh, hopefully we'll be riding together this coming Spring, after the frost crust disappears!! SO glad to hear you're doing good, John. Looking forward to a round or three of frisbee!!  | ||
| 1313 |
That duck is AWESOME! | ||
| Crusty |
Wet & Grey It’s raining. It’s a good day to kick back and read a book or watch a movie or do anything that’s done indoors. I can’t tell if I’m having any reaction to the Covid vaccine that I got yesterday. That means probably not. Actually, there is one reaction - my arm is a little bit sore around the injection point. Otherwise, no. I was out running errands with David yesterday. I got a can of white Rustoleum rubber spray. The Store was out of spray cans of Flex Seal, though they did have the brush on cans. There were other brands of the same kind of stuff, but I know of Rustoleum. I’ve used their paint in the past with good results. I’m spraying the cracks in the fiberglass panels of the garage door. I bought new rollers for the door on fleaBay, and the USPS says they’ll be delivered on Saturday. Once I have enough rubber on the cracks and replace the rollers, then I’ll be able to put some insulation on the door panels. That’s my major project for the time being. I’m stalling on the windshield project. I’m going to have to cut the mounting brackets and I have a real resistance to doing that. I’m not sure why. Most of the changes I’ve made to the bike have required a willingness to modify parts. Joe did the front fender and saddlebag mounting brackets, but I had to modify several other parts, as well, like modifying the front brake lines and risers and the wiring harness to the tail light and turn signals, installing the shorter footpeg clevis, etc. I had no fear about making those changes, but fitting a viable windshield has me at bay. I’m also stalling on changing the tires; although, to be fair, they’re not quite down to the wear bars. The way prices are skyrocketing, I really should get every last mile out of the tires on the bike. I wonder how high the prices will be next spring? I was looking at Rib Eye Steaks the other day and they’re up to $21.00/pound. A couple of years ago, when 12 packs of Pepsi were on sale, they were 4 for $10.00. Now, they’re 3 for $13.00. I won’t even go into the price of gasoline. I’m holding off on bringing the Mustache Bar parts to the powder coater for a couple of reasons. As I mentioned previously, I think it would be better if I include the brackets for the windshield, so it doesn’t cost me as much as two separate orders would, plus, I’ve overspent, this month and don’t have enough cash on hand. That’s also why I didn’t buy the insulation for the garage door. Well; there’s always next month. There’s a thread on the XL Forum, Roads I’d Like To Ride. One of the photos there is of a road through a number of Saguaro Cacti. I would love to find out where that road is so I can ride it when I go to Californica next year to get my Motoport suit. My poor bike needs a bath. She’s so pretty when she’s clean that it bothers me when she isn’t. I guess I should hit the quarter car wash this weekend, once the rain quits. Well; that’s all I can think of to write about, today. | ||
| Zacks |
Don't know if it's the road you're looking at John, but there's plenty of Saguaro on 17 north out of Phoenix. And 89A between Cottonwood to Jerome and Prescott, then 89 down to Wickenburg needs to be seen. And there's pie in Prescott :-) | ||
| Crusty |
Here's the picture:  | ||
| Ceejay |
I know it’s not Oklahoma but pic reminds of the Steve Earle (and probably others) song - roads like that are good teachers. | ||
| Ceejay |
Cool pic! | ||
| Zacks |
Certainly looks like it could be 74 out by Surprise. Not that I'm an expert. | ||
| Crusty |
It’s An Adventure! … Or somethin’. By Friday morning, I was pretty excited. I was heading out that afternoon to Cambridge, Ohio to spend the night at the Quality Inn. Saturday morning, I was going to ride up to Joe’s house in Canton and he was going to fabricate brackets so I could mount my windshield to the Express. I rode up to Cambridge and it was brisk, but the electric jacket kept me warm enough, though I was thinking that I should have worn my thermal pants under my riding pants. I really need to replace those pants; they’re worn out and even have holes in places, but they’re all I have that fits, anymore. A friend from the XL Forum had sent me a complete suit (pants and jacket), but they’re size 3X and even Omar the Tent Maker would tell me they’re too big. Anyhow, I made it to the motel, called Joe and I told him I’d be at his house at 8:00 on Saturday morning. I was a little concerned because the temperature was supposed to be down to 24º F (-4.4º C) by sunrise, and I told Joe that I might have to stop and warm up and might be late. In the morning, I brought the saddlebags out to the bike and spent a few minutes cleaning the 1/8” of frost off the seat. But the bike wouldn’t start. It just cranked very slowly. So I went back to my room and called Joe and told him that I was going to wait until the weather warmed up a bit, then I’d try starting the bike again. Joe said he’d come down from Canton with jumper cables and a spare battery and we could get the bike started. So he did. We went to the Denny’s next to the motel and had breakfast, then we got the bike started. While we were getting things ready to put the jumper cables on, Joe noticed that one of the battery bolts was loose. I tightened it and we put the cables on and let the truck charge the battery for a couple of minutes. After a short spell of charging, the bike fired up. I rode up to Canton with Joe following me in case I had any more problems. We arrived at his house around 10:30 and Joe started planning how he was going to do the job. Lisa (Joe’s wife) was out and she called and asked if I would like a cup of coffee from Drunkin’s to help me warm up, which really went down well. Joe worked on the brackets and I mostly stood around getting in the way and watching him. It really is a treat to watch someone who is good at what he does doing it well. By 5:00, the Gentleman’s Express had a functional and detachable windshield. For the record, it’s the same style windshield that I had on the Roadster. It worked really well on the ’05, so it should work well on a ’16 Roadster. The ride home proved it does. Anyhow, I left Joe’s a bit after 5:00. Got gas at the Speedway station nearby and headed towards Cincinnati. I was concerned that it was going to get cold. The temp was in the 50s, when I left Joe’s, but it was going to drop as the sun went down. It did. I pretty much pushed through, stopping only for gas and a couple of bathroom breaks and I was home by 9:30. I took a hot shower as soon as I was home, unpacked my bags and I was asleep by 10:30. It was an Interesting day. | ||
| 86129squids |
Thanks for sharing, Crusted One. I'm hoping to get a good ride in tomorrow, out to Knoxvegas and back. Pretty much local, but dang fun nonetheless. Nothing like your rides, but hey. | ||
| Crusty |
Staying Busy Last Saturday, I was in Joe’s garage watching him make brackets to put a windshield on the Gentleman’s Express. Joe did his usual superb job and the windshield worked perfectly. It’s 235 miles from Joe’s house to home, so I got to give it a thorough test. However; on that ride home, one of the lifters for my front cylinder started getting loud. Very loud. So I decided to buy the parts and gaskets and change both tappets out. I couldn’t tell if it was the exhaust or intake that was bad, so I figured I’d change them both. I had a lifter go bad on my Buell M2, back in 2001 and it only took a couple of hours to change it out. I figured it would be more of the same. Silly me. When H-D decided to let the bean counters make the rules on the rubber mount Sportsters, there were a few changes that saved at least $0.50 per engine (Besides the $5.00 saved by leaving out the trap door for the transmission). One of those changes was to the pushrod tubes. When I started on the job, I discovered that it wasn’t going to be quite so easy as I thought. I was going to have to pull the head. That meant the exhaust, the Induction Module (Fuel Injection) and intake manifold and a few other bits and pieces. That meant that I had to go back to the dealership and get a head gasket. I didn’t work on it yesterday after I got home. Yesterday was David’s day off and he drove me over to Cin City H-D (I still think that’s a stupid name) and I got the parts I needed. Then, David went by a supermarket so I could stock up on essential food items, in case it took me a long while to get the bike back up and running. And for lunch, we went over to Aglamesis Bros. for ice cream. I talked about getting my Birthday Sundae from there back in September. I never did. So I got it yesterday. It tasted as good as I remembered. And I really liked the waitress. She had a great attitude. Anyhow; by the time David dropped me off, I was in the midst of a Food Coma and I decided that if I waited until this morning, I probably would do a better job. I got everything back together and didn’t even have any extra parts laying around. Of course, it started raining around noon and I didn’t take the bike out, but it started up and ran and sounded good. The rain is supposed to stop tonight, and tomorrow’s supposed to be partly cloudy with a high temp of 55 F (12.7 C), so I’ll hit the quarter car wash and gunk the bike to get all the oily bits clean. Tonight; I’m exhausted. I really envy people who have a Handy lift. I was up and down possibly a hundred times today. My legs and butt are sore and it feels like the muscles have turned into silly putty. But the lifters have been changed and the bike is back together. I think I did it right. I sure as hell gave it my best shot. | ||
| Crusty |
A Rant About Bean Counting I just went online and found old style pushrod tubes that will fit my bike. I’m still pissed off that it took so much work to change out the tappets. Because some bean counter decided that it would be cheaper to build a Sportster engine with one piece pushrod tubes, I had to put in a whole lot of extra labor to do the job. It also offends my sense of rightness in design; the same way that eliminating the trap door so that the transmission is accessible without having to rip down the entire engine. In the spirit of holy avarice, they’re killing many of the aspects of why so many people like Harley - Davidsons. Now; when sales are falling off because of their excessive greed, they’re scrambling. Karma sucks; doesn’t it? Fortunately, there’s a huge aftermarket and while most of the merchandise is for show, there are also a ton of products that make the bike more reliable and easier to maintain. Unfortunately, nobody makes a set of cases for rubber mount Sportsters that have a trap door gearbox. However; there are adjustable pushrods and old style pushrod tubes and there are lots of tappets. I think that if another tappet takes a dump, I’ll buy a set of S&S lifters and some old style pushrod tubes and a set of adjustable pushrods. It’ll cost me a bit, but my bike will be better and more reliable; the way it should be right from the factory. I’m not looking for more horsepower; I’m looking for more reliability and ease of maintenance. Back in 2003, when the MoFoCo picked Elton John for their Headliner act, I knew that management had forgotten why people bought their bikes. No offense to Elton John, but he is not the embodiment of the Spirit of Harley - Davidson. Hell; Steppenwolf would have been a better choice and would have cost a sh*tload less. The areas where the accountants overruled the engineers just drives the point home. And they’ve lost their way in a few other areas as well. Just look at the 2016 - up Roadsters. First they put better suspension and brakes on the bike, then they design it so that the people who would appreciate such items would hate riding one. Then they can’t understand why the bike isn’t selling. That’s what happens when you put Form before Function. I bought my 16 from Freedom Road Cycles in Wichita, Kansas and rode it home from there in mid - April. I couldn’t believe how painful that ride was. I was ordering parts online before I even got home. My original plan was to wait until fall before I started making modifications. That went out the window before I made it to St. Louis. Well; I changed out the lifters and didn’t make any changes from stock. If another lifter dies, I’ll spend the money and make the improvements. The Gentleman’s Express already looks like the bike the MoFoCo should have built; I’ll make it as reliable and easy to maintain as a Harley - Davidson should be. | ||
| Tootal |
As soon as you said you were in Joe's garage I immediately went to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlIe5mBqIB4 | ||
| Crusty |
Perplexing Problems My bike is ill and I’m not sure what the problem is. It started tapping on the way home from Canton. I figured it was a bad tappet (lifter) and I thought it was coming from the front cylinder. So I changed out both of the lifters, which turned out to be a royal PITA job. When I was done, I started the bike and it was quiet; the tapping was gone. When I took the bike out the next day, the noise returned when the bike warmed up. My problem is that I can’t determine what’s causing it. Rather than continuing to throw parts at the engine, I went to an independent shop yesterday and had them listen to it. The noise was evident, but the source is not. Even three people who work on Harleys for a living, using an electronic mechanic’s stethoscope, were unable to positively identify the source of the ticking/knocking. While I feel a bit better about my abilities as a mechanic,it still doesn’t help me solve my problem. So; after talking with the shop owner, I’ve decided to change out the lifters for the rear cylinder. There are reasons for this decision; the noise was a little louder toward the back of the engine when they listened with the scope, and I still feel it’s a lifter noise. I’m also going to spend a bit extra and change out the pushrod tubes for a set of old style tubes. That way, if I ever have to go back and change out another lifter, I won’t have to take the head off. It’ll be a bit more work to do that now, but it will save time in the future if I ever need to do it again. And it’s the way the bike should have come from the factory. I want to make the Gentleman’s Express the Best Sportster it can be in spite of the bean counters. One thing that was recommended was to install a set of Rocker Lockers. I hadn’t heard of these before, but they make sense. If you’re mechanical and also haven’t heard of them, go to: https://www.dkcustomproducts.com/sportster-rocker- lockers-reduce-top-end-ticking-noise-dk-rl-spt.htm They may be snake oil, but I think they won’t hurt anything and just might help. So in a little while, I’ll head over to Cin City H-D and buy some gaskets and lifters. My pushrod tubes should be in this afternoon. I don’t know how long it’ll be to get the Rocker Lockers, but they’ll be going in towards the end of the job, so I’m not too worried. I WILL get the Express running right. It’s looking really good, now I want it to be running really good. (Message edited by Crusty on November 17, 2021) | ||
| Crusty |
The Hour of The Wolf I’m wide awake and my head is racing. My bike is still making ugly noises, but I now have an idea of what the problem is. Yesterday, I called Guido at the shop and had a detailed conversation with him. When I first told him about the noise, he said lifters. I told him that I’d changed all four and he said, “You’re f**ked”. (Dondi told me that he really is a good friend if he’s willing to talk like that to me.) As I described when it was loudest and when it quieted down, he said it’s piston slap; I was describing classic symptoms. That makes the most sense to me. If it was a rod bearing, it would be pretty constant. So I looked up parts on Ronnie’s parts finder and saw that the MoFoCo offers piston and cylinder assemblies. So I guess I’ll be changing out both front and rear pistons and cylinders. I figure that if I change out just the front, it’ll turn out to be the rear that was bad and vice versa. And if it’s only one that’s bad, and I guess right, then the other piston will start making noise in short order and I’ll have to rip the bike down again. The thing that’s preying on my mind this morning is why did the piston fail? The pistons should be good for at least 100,000 miles. My fear is that I’ll do the top end and the problem will resurface a few thousand miles down the road. Was it just a fluke or is there some underlying problem that caused the failure? If there is something that needs to be addressed, can I do it in my tiny 3/4 car garage, or will I have to find a shop that can fix it right? And how much will it cost? Well; I’ll give it a bit more thought; I want the Express to carry me to the Arctic Ocean and back without trouble. This has been my dream bike and I want it to be right. Well; it’s after three AM. I think I’ll put some Strauss on the Wave and let the Blue Danube carry me off to hopefully peaceful dreams. | ||
| Tootal |
John, my Uly has had piston slap since it was new! My front plug is always a little oily compared to the rear. One of these days I'm going to fix it but at over 50,000 miles it still runs great! Yours could be worse but I'd check compression and keep an eye on the oil level. Now if it's so loud it drives you crazy then do what you have to do. Instead of buying new cylinders and pistons you might just take them to a good shop and have them bored/honed oversize and put in new pistons. Keep an eye on piston weight. Try and get them close to the stock weight so you don't throw your balance off. A good shop will hone them in torque plates and do a better job than just buying HD parts. | ||
| Crusty |
Excitement! My life isn’t boring; that’s a good thing. Every time it starts to get “Routine”, something happens to spark things up. Sometimes, I’m the cause; but most times it’s just the way my life is. To be fair; not all the exciting things are good things. Some of them have been pretty rough, but there have been many positive things that have happened, as well. You can’t have the one without the other. Two days from this moment, I’ll be on a plane heading for Boston. I cut a deal with the shop. I’d say that I cut a deal with Guido; but his two kids, Sandra and Guy were also involved. I’m getting a 2006 XL 1200C. I’m flying into Logan Airport, taking subways and a bus to the shop, then I’ll be riding back to Cheviot. It’s going to be a cold ride home; but I’m bringing my electric jacket liner and my thermal undies. I plan to take a couple of days, so it shouldn’t be too bad. My feeling is that if Dave Barr could ride a Sportster across Siberia in the winter, then I can ride from Boston to Cincinnati in December. I informed Sandra of my itinerary, and she said that they would be getting pizza from the Bridge Cafe for lunch. I’m going to the land of Great Pizza once again, and I intend on eating my fill. I also plan to get a box of Kayem Natural Casing Franks and carry them back, as well. Since the temps are going to be on the cold side, they’ll last just fine. Not only is my life not boring, but I’m extremely fortunate in having the friends that I do. I've already had one friend offer to give me a set of mid- controls for the bike, as well as a pair of stock mufflers, if the bike is too loud for me. I don’t like loud pipes on long rides. They ruin my ability to hear. Another friend has offered to drive out to Cheviot with a trailer and haul me and the Express to his house, where we can tear down the Express and send the crank to Dark Horse Crankworks and get the crankshaft rebuilt with all first class components, and balanced and trued and welded the way it should come from the factory. The crank is a good design, it’s the bean counters who are saving a few cents here and there that are causing the problems, in my very strong opinion. I bet the parts that failed were made only with the most mediocre Chineseium components available. Their mindset is something like, “The average owner only puts a couple of thousand miles on the bike a year, so if the cranks fail at 20,000 miles, then that’s ten years from now and the warranty will have expired long ago. And we get to save $0.67 cents, Net! Besides; it’s only a starter bike; what they really want is a Big Twin Ultra!” Other friends that I have do things like put me up whenever I’m in Massachusetts, or who’ll drive 100 miles just to give me a ride home from the hospital, or pay for my camping when I go to Georgia, or gave me a motorcycle when I was recovering from having my ankle crushed, or sent me a laptop without warning, or make brackets for my motorcycles, or… I could go on a lot longer. I’m extremely fortunate to have such people in my life. I really do have a Blessed life. And I’m getting another motorcycle! | ||
| Zac4mac |
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| 86129squids |
Whutt!? More Crunchy Awesome sauce? As Kool Aid dude says, Oh Yeahh!! I'd wondered about the last Snippet. God bless Guido and his/your fandamily there. Be sure to keep your laptop charged, brother! There be more good prose from a pro, no doubt. Safe travels, Crusty.  | ||
| 86129squids |
Hey... if you need some good classical, check out Branford Marsalis' "Romances for Saxophone", or some Brahms. I've always liked some Debussy too. I'm generally into jazz, but... I need to listen to more classical. Bela Fleck's "Tales From The Acoustic Planet" is an all-time fave. Chick Corea's Akoustic Band is even more so. Saw them live back in the 80's, then here at UTK in the 90's. Heck, I've probably told you about at least one of those... I'll help wherever I can. Z time. | ||
| Crusty |
What a Day! My alarm went off yesterday at 3:00 AM. I got up and was ready when my brother arrived at 3:30 to take me to the airport. My flight was departing at 6:00 AM and I had to check my bag and go through the Gestapo clearance before I could get to the departure gate. I found out at the airport that my flight wasn’t the direct flight that United claimed. It flew first to Dulles in Washington, then to Boston. Once I arrived at Logan Airport, I took the T (Airport Shuttle and Subway trains) to Malden Center and Guido picked me up. There was a bit of confusion about where he was supposed to pick me up. And when he finally found me, we “discussed” it. He explained that he didn’t know the streets around the T station and he’d never picked up anyone there. I gave him grief and he told me to go F**k myself. I was back! We went back to the shop and I checked out my new bike. It was on a lift and Guy was giving it a final servicing before I took possession. I went back to the lunch area with Guido and we had coffee and shot the sh*t. Jimmy came in the back door a while later, and as soon as he saw me, he flipped me the bird. I was at home. I hung out and installed the wiring for my electric jacket liner while Guy finished up prepping the bike. It had been set up for storage and he was going over everything so that I should have no problems for a while with it. They got Pizza and Calamari for lunch. I’m allergic to seafood, so I was forced to eat only some magnificent pizza. It was heavenly. After I ate, I put on my winter riding gear and rode to Hudson and got used to the new bike. It’s about 35 miles from the shop to Ernie & Candy’s house and I rode city streets, a bit of divided highway and some back roads. That was varied enough to give me a good feel for the bike. It’s a 2006 XL1200C. It has forward controls, which I don’t really care for, bars that I plan to change soon, the stock seat which will be changed as soon as I get home, loud mufflers and an air cleaner that I’ll also change, a 21” front spoke wheel that I think will get changed for a 19” cast piece and it has lots of chrome. It’s in excellent shape and looks almost new. It’s been well cared for and doesn’t quite have 15,000 miles on the odometer (14,904 at the shop). In some ways, it reminds me of my ’78 Superglide. It’s painted in a shade of blue that’s OK, but only OK. It has way too much chrome for my tastes. The plus side of that is that chrome is easy to care for. The negative is that I don’t like Shiny. The biggest plus is that it’s running well. A running Custom with too much chrome is a better ride than a beautiful Gentleman’s Express with a bad crank. Anyhow; I arrived at Ernie’s and after showing off my new ride, had a very small dinner with him and Candy and my cousin Billy. I couldn’t eat much because I was still stuffed with pizza. After we ate, I was talking with Ernie and was nodding as we spoke, so I went to my room and was asleep very early. Today, Kathryn’s coming by to check out the Custom; then she, Ernie and myself are going down to Providence, RI to the Caserta Pizzaria to get some different, but equally magnificent Pizza. The Adventure Continues! | ||
| 86129squids |
Fantastic Snippet. Given that the Gentleman's Express has been retired... what might the new steed's name be? | ||
| Ourdee |
 Gentleman's express will be re-named, "Six Million Dollar Bike", we can rebuild it. |
