Softail Log – 1000 miles (at last)
Closing in on 1000 Miles
It has been a long (at least in my mind) drawn out journey from 50 miles to 1000 miles. I am very pleased to report that my Harley-Davidson SofTail (FLSTN) has done well – so far. As you probably surmise, I am still a bit aprehensive about the ability of the H-D to fill the shoes of the Honda. Whether the reader likes it or not, the comparison stands. I realize that the motorcycle is not a Honda, but for the coin, it needs to be better. I have managed to personalize the scoot to a small extent, in the way I am planning. I have put together a spreadsheet with (so far) the Harley-Davidson goodies that I would like to adorn the bike with. Again, I am pleased to report that the first thousand has been extremely fun, pleasing, and rewarding. After one thousand miles I have gotten used to and come to appreciate the riding position including the pseudo “sit up and beg” of the handlebars.
I started Friday’s ride going into work. After work I motored up to Medina for 
the appointment to do the 1000 mile service. On the way, just north of Orrville on State route 57 the scoot rolled over 900 miles. I pulled off of the road to a side street and snapped a couple of shots. I wonder what goes through the mind of some of the on-lookers as I photograph the motorcycle as it progresses to the magic 1000 mile mark. The trip was pretty uneventful, I am starting to be much more careful about my attention while I am on the road.
Got up to the dealership with 919 miles, close enough I guess. The service department wanted me to leave the bike over night, I was not expecting this. When I set up the appointment the day before the gentleman I spoke with assurred me that the work could be done while I wait, after conveying this to the man in charge, they agreed to get the bike in. I looked around the parts and accessories as well as the motor clothes trying to decide what I would get the next day during the double points saturday. The dealership is offering a reward system, based on how much you spend, I am trying to take advantage of it. After a while, I went over to Buffallo Wild wings for a small dinner. The motorcycle wound up being done early, it also ended up being cheaper than they quoted, considerably cheaper. After taking care of business, I was talking with Ron (the man who sold me the scoot), giving Kudos to the service department. I am the type of person that likes my stuff to remain in excellent shape, so any time that any body touches my scoot it makes me nervous. I am pleased that the service department at Century Harley-Davidson seems to understand this. Other than being very pawed up by greasy hands the scoot does not seem to have any further damage. The service man put an extra 5 miles on the scoot, these are the first miles put on the bike with a butt other than mine in the seat. Probably won’t be the last, I will let my friend Tom ride it.
Ron explained that the motorcycle would show considerably less mechanical noise than it did before. The break-in oil that Harley-Davidson puts in the engine, primary, and transmission is very thin. They put Bel-Ray in the transmission and Harley-Davidson Dino oil in the engine and Primary. Just an aside, seems the primary and engine could share oil, wonder why they do not.
The trip home was uneventful, I decided to take the highway home to give the scoot some high speed time. Very comfortable trip, I am really enjoying the ride.
Getting Closer
Saturday morning the motorcycle got the paw prints washed off of it. I am starting to develop a procedure with the air blaster, but it is still in its early stages. I need to figure out how to prevent pushing the water from one side of the bike to the other. Other than that I feel that the procedure is developing and will soon be worthy of documenting.
1000 miles at last
Bike clean I headed out, headed up the usual trip to Medina for the final trip to 1000 miles. Taking the usual route, up SR83, to SR585 to SR57 to River Styx, where just south of the train bridge on River Styx, the Odometer read 1000 miles. Pulled off the road into a subdivision, up a hill, and with the train bridge soaring high in the background I snapped off the 1000 mile shots. The trip up to Medina from that point was pretty uneventful. I purchased some chrome hardware for the air cleaner, the primary cover and the cam cover, along with a set of swing arm pivot bolt covers (pics). I put one of the swing arm covers on in the dealership, the other will need the bolt moved slightly to be installed. I did not bring a big enough allen wrench for the air cleaner, so it will have to wait.
This marks the end of my documenting the individual miles, I intended to document the first 1000 miles of the bike. I will document the interesting rides and any other events of interest with the motorcycle from this point on. I still have many other things to write about, for example I have not documented the milestones for the Goldwing, nor the trip to North Carolina, so I would like to free up some time for that. I would also like to write some stuff about my family, and life. I cannot do that spending all my time writing about the bike.
I am beginning to trust the bike more and more. I certainly hope the bike does not ruin that trust, it is a nice bike. I truly enjoy riding it.