Getting Colder – 2007
Here we are in the middle of September in North East Ohio, the days are getting shorter, the weather is getting cooler. Today is supposed to only get to 59°, a might nippy but it is supposed to warm up. Football season has begun and the Browns are looking awful. I have been on the Goldwing a lot lately driving her back and forth to work. I pick up my 9 year old son from school, and he seems to have a problem with the Harley-Davidson. It does not have a sissy bar and he does not want to ride on it. Seems that when I pick him up from school, he has a full bag of books and the Goldwing has no problem with it. It does seem that he is much more proud when Dad picks him up on the motorcycle than when I pick him up with cloe (my car).
I do love that bike for exactly what it is. An excellent and very luxurious touring motorcycle, perfectly suited to eat the miles and get there in comfort and feeling good. I cannot even imagine riding the Shadow-Aero to North Carolina with no place to store anything, a motor that is really shakey (no balancing or other such smoothing technology, nor a windshield. The Softail has managed to strike a nice balance between the two, offering the windshield (yes I know I could put one on the Shadow, and did – it was aweful) relatively smooth ride, but mostly for me, the motorcycle element. I was looking at the Goldwing yesterday thinking how much like a two wheeled car the thing looked.
Morning Rides
Most mornings, because of my son, I have ridden the Goldwing to work, the experience outside the bike, is essentially the same. I ride East in the morning along US 30, some of the most amazing sun rises in this area, are seen as you ride up the hill toward the Apple Creek Rd. overpass. Just as the sun is starting to peak over the horizon. The weather is cool and crisp, this really helps to cut down on the amount of coffee needed in the morning. The colors, however, are rich and vibrant as the sun paints the sky and clouds in a way that man has yet to come close to duplicating.
As I continue to travel past the Apple Creek Rd. overpass, the highway turns south around a field on the right. Most mornings the field is covered with a layer of fog that is very unique from morning to morning. Sometimes smooth and creamy sometimes more rough edged like a cloud, sometimes completely obscuring the field, othertime in patches. Tried to get some photos yesterday of a particularly beautiful moment of the sunrise but could not do it safely.
February 8th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
Love the blog! I bought an ‘08 Softail Deluxe 105th Anniversary … it’s my first big bike. I just love it. First thing I did was put on the windshield and bags (being a chick, you need bags). The next really important thing I did was lower it … being 5′3″, it was a hard bike to muscle around on tip toes. I did a 2″ front end lower and a 1 3/4″ lower in the back end … it rides like an old rigid with only a 1/2″ suspension left. When the road is torn up, everyone I ride with knows to stay back a bit, because I’ll avoid the potholes at an attempt to save my kidneys. Next I put on some crash bars so I have something to stretch my legs out on. I added Rinehart slip on’s and did a stage I upgrade…. I had Ventura Harley do the re-map of the chip. I contemplated doing a Power Commander but this bike isn’t one that you want too fast. It’s a cruiser, not a racer. Although, not many can get up & go as fast. I recently lowered the handle bars, and still am comtemplating doing beach bars instead, I’ve yet to find a way to keep it comforatable on long rides. At last, I’ve just turned 2500 miles, it’s low, it’s loud and it’s fast. Heads turn, and when it’s parked, people ponder. I’ve mastered the twisties up Hwy 33 Ojai to Frazier Park and really enjoy my favorite ride from Santa Barbara – Lake Casitas – Ojai – Santa Paula – Ventura. Still haven’t found a name yet, but me and my girlfriends lovingly refer to it as “my man” – lol Sounds like you love your Deluxe like i love mine …. so keep the rubberside down and happy riding!