My bro Rod B. has been having a major problem with his scoot for years (it is a 2006 Road King Classic), the problem has been getting worse in recent times.

Rod and Baby

Let me see If I can get you up to speed;

The King is a beauty it is a very nice blue, and because of that blue Rod calls her “Baby”. Rod bought Baby brand new from Adventure Harley-Davidson in New Philadelphia Ohio. Since he got the scoot it has not really run right, the motor has (when warm) coughed at random on take off sometimes stalling without warning. Apparently Adventure adjusted the throttle cable and called it “fixed”. Obviously this did not fix it, so the next step, Adventure talked him into purchasing a “fueler” for his bike at a high price tag. Now understand Rod has done very little to the engine of this bike. It is all stock except for a set of screaming eagle slip ons. There is no reason for this bike to be running the way it did. Well, as with all things related to a crappy Harley-Davidson dealership like Adventure (wait till I recount my problems with them), they dawdled and dawdled until the bike went out of warranty.

Rod has pretty much dealt with this until lately.

We went to Daytona Bike week 2010 and that is when the real problems started. First, Baby was getting rotten gas mileage, I figured this was due to the hard driving (people in Florida drive fast). Then, the “Check Engine” light came on.

Well, we had talked to a fellow at 2 Wheeled Pony (Mike), who suggested we contact the folks at Hales Harley-Davidson in Mansfield Ohio. Rod and I getting screwed by so many Harley-Davidson dealerships were naturally skeptical. Unfortunately, things with Hales did not get off on a good start. Phone calls were not returned and a general feeling of dread. Mike had told us that the guy at Hales that does the Dyno is a magician. Yea Yea

Rod is a salesman for a major power equipment company, they had a show in Dayton, while down there Rod found a fellow sporting a “Hales” t-shirt. He talked with the guy and found he lives in the Dayton area and still traveled clear to Mansfield to do business with Hales. This really spoke to Rod.

So yesterday while I was washing Pearl, Rod showed up in Big Red (his old Dodge Pickup) pulling the trailer with Baby in the back. Off we went to Mansfield, bit of a trip out US-30 but we got there. Had to wait for a bit to be waited on but they are a tad under staffed, also it was toward the end of the day. We talked to the fellow behind the counter, seemed pretty descent so we unloaded Baby and handed her over. We knew full well that Baby was either going to take one for the team or be better than before.

They were moving stuff in so Baby wound up just inside the door, they were nice enough to let Rod leave the trailer while Baby was getting worked on. On the way back to Wooster I could not help but worry about Baby, I was nervous as hell and it isn’t even my bike! That was April 5th

Update April 6th. I have been waiting all day for word from Rod. Finally I got a text. Rod telling me that he wants me to call and he seemed happy. I could not wait, a little more prodding and I find out that they took the stupid fueler off. The Dyno guy sniffed the exhaust and apparently Baby was running at 11:1 air fuel ratio. Apparently the ideal is 13.8:1 the guy got Baby to 13.5:1 and was still trying for more.  I may just take Pearl to them for some work.

Pearl runs good

Update  April 7th. Got a text from Rod “Baby is ready”. Got home after work and Rod was already waiting. On the way to Mansfield we talked about how Hale’s has managed to keep him in the loop and how they are telling him what they are trying to accomplish on the dyno. I am impressed. Still, the proof is in the pudding right? Got to Hale’s, rolled into the service area and the big guy went to the service department and rolled Baby out. Now, I would have straddled Baby, but the big guy had no problem walking this bike out. He rolled her out to the parking lot and commented to Rod how nice of a bike Baby was. Then he turned on the switch and hit the kill and with a smile at Rod turned the engine over. Baby lit up with a rumble that I have not heard from her, wow did she sound good. Rod had a huge smile on his face as his hand found the throttle and gave it a decisive twist, Baby lit up and rumbled with authority. I could tell things were better. Rod took my sun glasses and threw a leg over the scoot. I do not think I have ever seen Rod ride without a helmet, but he set the bike upright and kicked up the jiffy stand. Pulling in the clutch he kicked it into gear and with a twist of the throttle he was off. She did sound good. Pausing briefly at the road he was gone.

A short while later he came up the other side of the dealership with hair all mussed up and a smile even bigger than before. I was busy talking to the fellows about what they did and what exactly a tuner (the H-D tuner). Rod came in, handed me my sunglasses and said “take her”. I jumped on the bike fired it up and was off. I have to admit the bike was a LOT more responsive, third gear and a twist of the throttle, the bike jumped like never before, more like the way pearl is, very nice. I did notice the decel pop and took note, other than that, wow Baby was a new bike.

I went back to Hale’s and decided to start talking to them about Pearl. I was so anxious to get some answers about my bike that I forgot to turn the switch off on Baby  (I will be paying for that). I got the same iPhone recording of the noise that Pearl makes from time to time out that Century H-D passed off as me trying to scam them (what a bunch of morons). The big guy listened to the recording and asked if I “recorded this on the primary side because it sounded like a compensator going bad” I said “Nope, on the right hand side” and showed him on a bike in the service bay exactly where I was holding the phone. He called the guy over to the desk that worked on Baby to listen. They both commented that the bike should not be making that noise.

Needless to say, and to make a long story short, I made an appointment for 4/20 and I feel very good about this. On the way home I texted the wife to ask if we could put pearl up on the dyno at the same time.  This will be yet another post.  I told Rod in the truck that Hale’s has gone a great distance to calm my skepticism, enough that I am willing to trust my bike to these guys. I am excited about the future with this dealership.

I will chronicle how Pearl does with Hale’s in another post.

I guess I don’t get it…

From L to R Rod, Baby, and Pearl

I realize I am just a customer that spent upwards of 20k for my motorcycle (twice) and have spent another 10k on the Sportster for the wife.

I guess I don’t get it…

I have spent literally thousands of dollars on stuff to make my beloved Pearl mine and more money than I care to admit on clothes.

I guess I don’t get it…

Maybe an open letter to the customer service department – no – to the owner of my favorite dealership: Century Harley-Davidson. Why do I have so many problems with your service department? I have had more problems getting these people to take care of my bike than I did with Honda dealerships. Apparently it is not just me either, my bro Rod B. has a beautiful 2006 Road King Classic, he calls her Baby. He has had problems with two different dealerships now. Bought his baby at Adventure Harley-Davidson in New Philidelphia Ohio. The bike has never been right. Took it to Freedom Harley-Davidson in Canton Ohio. They made it worse than before. It is much better now that he and I have taken matters into our own hands.

I digress, back to the problems I am having. Pearl has an occassional problem with an aweful noise on warm startup. The noise happens at random times, I accept that this makes diagnosis troublesome. However, last year I had the bike at Century And it started making the noise. I immediately got the service manager. He listened to the bike and heard the noise it was making (sounds for anything like a hydraulic lifter having problems) and declared that they needed to take a look at it. I made an appointment, and brought the bike in hoping that this matter would finally be fixed. Several days later I called, they said “there is nothing wrong with the bike”! Needless to say I was very disappointed. Then on October first of last year the bike started making the noise again! This time I recorded the noise with my iPhone, and emailed it to the dealership I thought I finally had this licked, I got evidence of the bike making the noise.

Fast forward to today, I went to the dealership to discuss finally getting the problem fixed. I talked to the same fellow I dealt with last year. He basically told me that the recording I made on the iPhone is not good enough to prove there is something wrong. Apparently they decided to spend time with another iPhone to discredit my recording. They actually (alledgedly) got another iPhone and was able to make the same recording on other bikes. What the hell are they thinking? Where is customer service. I don’t understand this. So basically the service manager spent a lot of time working to discredit my iPhone recording.

I am trying my best to get this fixed before the bike goes out of warranty which is this year. As I see it, the motor company does not pay the dealership as well as I do for repairs, but this is a huge risk on their part. In my world customer service is number one.

In another post I will tell you about the 10K service at Adventure! oh my was that a disaster!

I guess I don’t get it…

I’m not the only one either.

H-D on the Horn cover of Pearl

While I am not an economy and business expert, I do like to learn as much as I can about all things related to business and economy, after all they affect us more directly than most of us realize. I have studied the history of several of the most interesting businesses in recent history including Chrysler, Allis-Chalmers and International Harvester as well as Harley-Davidson. I watch certain stock tickers on my phone and on the computer one of those stocks is (of course) Harley-Davidson stock (NYSE:HOG). My iPhone and computer use Yahoo finance to supply the information, among the information is related articles as well as stock status.

Last year about this time HOG stock was down to over 8 per share, this is down considerably from some of the “norms” that Harley-Davidson has experienced. I really wished that I would have take $100 and purchase a pile. Coulda woulda shoulda… still thinking I will.

One of the articles that was most intriguing was the article about somebody interested in buying Harley-Davidson. Not sure who these people are that they are suggesting are interested in buying H-D, I am going to look into them. I am wondering exactly what all this means to H-D. Could Harley-Davidson be going private? Is this even a realistic event?

Harley-Davidson has enjoyed some pretty good success in recent years, at least since the take back from AMF in 1984 (if you get a chance, at least study the history of Harley-Davidson during the AMF years (the Shovelhead era). The series of events that lead up to AMF and the series of events that lead to the final move to divorce themselves from AMF is some exciting reading.

Sunday October 21st, 75 degrees here in North East Ohio. What an amazing day, fall is in full swing, the trees are absolutely exploding with Color. Decided late in the week after seeing the forecast for the weekend that Sunday was ride day. Right after Sunday Morning on CBS was over I started hearing the bikes running beautiful State Route 83, which is less than a quarter mile from the house. That served to get the blood boiling… time to go.

Thought it would be great to take my son on a ride. He is a bit scared of the Harley, for two reasons:

1. a) He got yelled at for allowing his shoe to get too close to the hot pipe (was hard to get that stuff off).
2. b) He is used to riding on the Goldwing which is a lot more enclosed

He seemed excited today though, set him up with my grandpa’s leather which was too big, a helmet, sunglasses, and a smile. We had to get the bike out of the basement, the whole process of getting going seemed to take forever. The Harley was a bit low on fuel so I thought it would be a good idea to stop by the gas station first. Originally I intended to do a Medina trip, but all the scoots heading south caused a change of mind. At the fuel station, filled up and stopped to chat for a moment with a few people on scoots fueling up for the day. One was riding a V65 Magna (Honda), having one I want to get rid of, thought I might try to sell it, they didn’t seem interested so I did not push the issue. Wished them a safe ride and headed out.

Heading south on SR83 I explained to my son that if he needed anything from the house or changed his mind about riding, this was his last chance. He seemed set in his decision to ride today. Joy!

The official Harley-Davidson chronometer integrated in the speedo indicated 11:14 when we passed the turn off to our house, we were off. Heading toward Millersburg I could see the kind of day that we were in for, it was warming up with only scattered clouds. The trees were off the hook with color, just insane color. South of Millersburg is where things start getting awesome on SR83. The twisting, the hills, the color, the vistas, creating a brain full of stimulation that added to the excitement of being on the bike. Got into Coshocton, and noticed that the Harley was getting ready to roll 3000 miles, not much further. Continued on SR16 out of Coshocton, toward SR60 heading toward Dresden.

Once in Dresden, I saw a road heading up a hill off to the left, told the Son “time for a detour”. It was first gear all the way to the top, yes it was that steep, turns out the Inn at Dresden is up there, do not know much about the place, but incredible scenery. Note to self, look into the Inn at Dresden. After snapping some shots, we headed back down. It was first gear and pretty hard on the brakes, but we did it. Headed back out to the road toward Zanesville, getting hungry, and 12 miles to 3000.

Just outside of Zanesville the Harley turned 3000 miles, we pulled off into an industrial park access road for a few shots. Hard to believe that since July 17th I have put 2950 miles on this bike, take away 10 miles that were put on by service techs at Century Harley-Davidson. This means I have put 2940 miles on it at that point. On to Zanesville and eat.

In Z-town (Zanesville) we surveyed the lay of the land in the northern part of the city. Originally I had in mind Panera’s, but the son and I agreed that it was time for some Italian. Turned out to be a darn good idea, there is an Italian restaurant called Adornetto’s. Great food and filling if you are there and in the mood for some good Italian grub, check it out. I had the Ravioli and the Son had the Spaghetti and Meatballs.

After lunch was done we headed back. On the way down my Son noticed a tractor show just north of Dresden. So we stopped to check it out, this was a very good (albeit small) local show. They had a lot of cool farm and construction (industrial) equipment working and on display. We enjoyed it thoroughly.

Heading back out, I thought it would be a nice idea to try a different route back. SR60 heads north, and is an amazing ride, I would say better than SR83. You do not want to go too fast because of the scenery and the twisties. This road is hairier than 83.

Just south of a small Ohio town called Warsaw, a large group of motorcyclists appeared in the rear view mirror. In Warsaw they pulled into a parking lot to stop for a break, this sounded like a good idea, besides I like to chat. Imagine my surprise to find out that a couple of the members were the same folks I chatted with at the gas station that morning. I did not think this was that small of a state!

Two motorcycle accidents to report. Sadly a Harley and a cager seemed to collide on 60 then after we turned onto US62 toward Millersburg a crotch rocket was laying on its side on the other side of a guard rail. I hope both incidents ended up without injury, but they both looked kind of bad. One day I think I will need to write a post about my take on motorcycle safety and my take on motorcycles and safety.

The trip wound up as we continued on US62 to SR83 just south of Millersburg and north to the house. U2 created the song It’s a beautiful day for a day like this, just spectacular.

Rode with a fellow last weekend out to Youngstown Ohio (more on that later). He was riding a Dyna of ‘05 vintage I believe, nice bike, no windshield. He did complain about the wind when we got to Y-town.

This got me thinking about windshields, My Goldwing has a windshield of course and is incredibly easy to ride.  My Shadow-Aero does not have a windshield,  I have not rode it in some time but I do remember when riding that at less than the double nickels no real problems. Anything better than 60 MPH and things start getting a bit more difficult. This fact was compounded by the handlebars on that machine, big wide beach bars, all you are is a sail, with your arms holding you against the wind.

When I bought the Softail I rode it home and the first few days without a windshield. Interestingly enough it was the first ride to Medina with the wife that prompted the windshield purchase. She could not believe how much wind you get with nothing in front of you (duh!).  I told her a windshield would make things much better. We got to Medina and purchased a windshield, with the help of Ron our salesman and the handy set of tools from his bike we installed it in the parking lot. It was easy to install the docking hardware, installing  the shield itself is a little more trouble, this has since been remedied by using a silicone spray on the rubber docking hardware and wearing in the pieces. The trip to Akron after installing the shield was much more pleasant for her.  I really do not feel I need a windshield… or so I thought.

When the bike is getting washed the windshield generally comes off.  One of the technicians at Century Harley-Davidson told us the best way to get the bugs off of the windshield is to put a towel over it and soak the towel. This moistens the bodies and other carnage, makes them easier to remove. I took the bike for a ride to see if I can diagnose a pulling problem, make sure it wasn’t caused by the windshield. I could not believe what a wimp that I have become.  I really like having the windshield, I believe that it has made the first 2750 miles much more pleasant. I believe if I was just running into town and the windshield was not on the bike for some reason, I would not bother putting it on. However anything above the double nickels for extended periods of time, I am going with the windshield.

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.

Restless and ready for adventure, four suburban bikers (Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence, William H. Macy and John Travolta) leave the safety of their subdivision and embark on the open road. But complications ensue when they cross paths with an intimidating band of New Mexico bikers known as the Del Fuegos. Jill Hennessy, Marisa Tomei and Ray Liotta also star in this leather-clad comedy from screenwriter Brad Copeland.
thanks Netflix

This is a movie that just about everybody can enjoy.

Without a doubt one of the funniest movies I have seen in a long time.

Four life long friends, who take up motorcycling, decide to go on a road trip to the west coast. They start off in Cincinnatti, and head west. Along the way they run into many of the worst catastrophes that one could run into on the road. Through it all they manage to get through the problems and maintain their friendship. The worst of their problems is the Del Fuegos, headed by Jack (Ray Liota), who is a one percenter. When the Del Fuegos mess with the Wild Hogs and scare them out of one of the groups bikes, he finds himself at war, 50 bikers against 4 RUBS (Rich Urban Bikers).

Some Cameo’s from the Paul Teutul Sr. and Paul Teutul Jr. of OCC (Orange County Chopper fame), who are a bit out of sorts for their typical personalities. This only serves to make their appearance that much funnier. Peter Fonda shows up as well to save the day.

This movie will appeal to bikers and non-bikers alike. It will appeal to those of us that like stupid comedy and those that do not. Highly Recommended

It isn’t that often that I have a weekend full of riding, but this was one of them. I am talking about Saturday and Sunday the 23^rd and 24^th of June.

Saturday’s event happened to be in Loudonville, Ohio the Thunder in Paradise. The event spanned the entire day from 8:00 am till Dusk, Motorcycles were celebrated in Loudonville.

Loudonville is a small town in Holmes County Ohio, where a lot of folks go to relax in the middle of Mohican country. Beautiful rolling hills give motorcyclists some perfect roads and fabulous vistas. The area has plenty to do with some of the best river related activities (Canoes, Kayaks and Tubes to start with) as well as plenty of camping throughout the area. We discovered the area soon after moving to Ohio, we quickly put our camper in a seasonal campsite in nearby Long Lake Campground. Having the camper at long lake turns out to be a very convenient thing, only minutes from home and Loudonville.

I did not arrive until around 10:00 am as I left the camper right after breakfast. Taking my Shadow-Aero into town I arrived about 15 minutes later. The event staff block off the main streets during events like this. The staff directed bikes onto the main street, overall the event was pretty well organized for a first year. Lots of bikes had already arrived and parked in the streets of the town by the time I arrived. Vendors were set up in the park, the food wagons ready to roll, and most importantly the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall for Ohio was being assembled in the center of town.

By the time noon rolled around the streets were really filling up with motorcycles most of the makes were represented including a Moto Guzi trike. As always every conceivable Harley was there including some very nice Pan heads and a few Knuckles. There were some particularly nice BMW’s (old and new) as well as some Indians present at the event.

There was even a group of Aero riders that came in (one from as far away as Indiana), I had talked with one of the members some time ago in Wooster. He flagged me over and we talked about the bike.

Had lunch at the broken rocks cafe, I am not a fan of the food that comes out of those wagons. Most of the time I walked around, admiring the bikes of all makes and years. Occasionally stop to chat with some of the onlookers or owners.

The Bike has been stuck in stasis for a couple of years. When I lived in Michigan I put it away for the winter one year according to the instructions. This included fuel stabilizer and draining the carbs.

Since then the bike has not run right. I believe strongly that the idle jet is plugged up because it is popping at closed or slightly cracked throttle when coasting, or going down hill.

I bought a can of sea-foam mixed it into the fuel tank. I started out conservatively at 1.6oz per Gallon. I shook the bike vigorously and ran it idling the best I could get it to idle for about 10 to 15 minutes. I then shut it off for the night. The next day fired it up and it seemed to be running better, but it is difficult to tell. I rode it for a while around the neighborhood. Again, seems to be getting better. Now it is good and warmed up, sure is good to ride it again. Rode it on and off for the next few days, short mostly. In the mean time emailed the sea-foam people to get some descent advice about their product. Didn’t necessarily like the tone of the email rather condescending, either way, they assured me that the product could be mixed at 2oz to 1 gallon very safely. Finally, went camping took it down to the camper despite the threat of rain, still nice to ride. Emptied the tank the best I dared, poured the rest of the can in and topped her off with the premium petrol from the local station. Seemed to be popping less, perhaps it is getting better. Got it home after the weekend (just beat the rain). Right now I am in California, so the Shadow-Aero is sitting at home in the basement hopefully getting better.