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.

Yes it happened! Yesterday, on the west end of Norwalk Ohio, my scoot the Softail Deluxe turned 2000 miles.  I was traveling along US20 from Monroeville Ohio east toward SR18 heading toward Medina.  Had to stop and at least snap a picture of the odometer.  I did this on the side of a split four lane road, not necessarily the smartest thing, surprisingly, somebody stopped to make sure everything was OK!

What has happened since the 1000 mile mark? Happily not much, and just as happily, a  lot, nothing really bad, and everything really good.  The Softail (which unfortunately remains unnamed) has used or leaked no oil, has not given me any trouble at all.  I still wonder about all the noises that the bike makes.  Under moderately hard acceleration there is a rapid metallic tinking coming from the engine.  That primary noise is constant and  still not something I am 100% used to. The other noises like the rocker arms etc, are starting to become expected.

Among the things I still wonder about are the transmission, steering and engine temperature.

The transmission is extremely clunky all the time, at times it is very clunky and other times it is considerably smoother.  Seems some of the clunkiness is partially due to temperature, obviously the oil has a LOT to do with it, the Bel-Ray that the dealer put in at 1000 miles makes a considerable difference. One thing that I am trying to determine is how my habits affect the clunkiness.  I have a bad habit of using the clutch too much.  I tend to pull the clutch in anytime I use the brakes, this causes a lot of coasting without the engine contributing.  I am working on changing that habit to allow the brakes and engine to do some braking, by leaving the clutch engaged until the engine speed gets closer to idle.  This is a bit tough because the scoot has no tachometer.

The steering is something I just noticed in the last few days, when I let go of the handlebars the bike starts drifting quickly to the left.  I know that bikes are imperfect, but I am considering talking to the dealer about this one, it shouldn’t do that. I used to align automobiles in a past life, this has caused me to be hyper sensitive about this type of thing on anything that I drive.

Every article that I have ever read about the TC96 engine (including the TC96B that is in my Softail) is that it runs very hot.  This is due to the increased horsepower that the motor develops, because of the increased piston speed that is attributed to the increased stroke of the piston (4 - 3/8 inch from 4 inch) and the increasingly lean mixture the engine is forced to deal with thanks to emissions.  I have recently purchased a dipstick for the oil tank that includes a thermometer. During a ride yesterday that included a lot of group riding the thermometer managed to get to 250° Fahrenheit. I have been told that this thermometer can be off by quite a bit, I think that I need to determine just how far off the thermometer is, and determine just how much the motor can handle.  I am used to water cooled machines that generally do not need to be worried about.

New goodies for the Softail have not been very plentiful, but then it doesn’t need much.  Besides the thermometer dipstick, I recently picked up the visor rings for the Headlight, spotlights and turn signals (front and rear).  Most of them were very easy to install, all except the spotlights, but I will write a  post for that.

I do enjoy the bike considerably, I have grown attached to the machine, and the lifestyle.  I am glad (so far) that I made the purchase.

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.

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.

A bit of a catch up

Been a bit of a span between now and the last posting. Haven’t been able to do a lot of riding due to personal obligations and the weather. It has been extremely muggy in North East Ohio until this week. All of a sudden the weather is amazing, absolutely beautiful. The rides have been kept to short putts into town for assorted this and thats. Did stop by the auto parts store recently and picked up a tube of LocTite Blue. The instructions for most of the stuff that I have put on the bike have called for the use of LocTite Blue, I imagine because Harley-Davidson Motorcycles are know to be shakey bikes.

I recently read an article in one of my old motorcycle magazines about the 2000 Fatboy. The article was talking about the new (at that time) TC88, which is an ancestor to the engine in the Softail. In 2000 Harley-Davidson came out with the twin cam to replace the Evolution motor (wiki Harley-Davidson Motors, which was in the 1999 Fatboy tested by the magazine. Because of the vibrations in the solidly mounted Evolution motor the 1999 Fatboy loosened two of its motormounts. In 2000 H-D put out two different motors with the Twin Cam design, the TC88 and the TC88B. The TC88B included a counter-balance to offset the shaking and calm the softail whose motor is still solidly mounted. The TC96 and TC96B are stroked versions, of the TC88 and TC88B motors. As I have mentioned before, the Softail is a very smooth bike, not smooth like my Goldwing but smoother than what I expected in a Harley-Davidson.

When I installed most of the goodies on my bike, I did not have any LocTite blue but since the bike lacks the vibrations, I wasn’t too worried about it. Monday, I applied some LocTite to the Saddlebag fasteners (to the fender support) and to the foot peg bolt. I still need to apply to the front fender mounting hardware that I installed. The way it looks I will easily use up the tube I bought.

Riding to Work

I have started riding the bike into work, since I now have saddlebags to hold my lunch. First time into work was Monday, August 14^th. Nice morning to ride, a bit foggy and a slight chill in the air. I find that a chill in the air makes the ride that much more pleasant, and cuts down on the volume of coffee that it takes to get me going in the morning. After work, I tried to get the plates transferred, but no dice, no title yet. This is something that I have not quite got used to in Ohio is the way they handle titles. Ohio is a title holding state, which means if a lien is on a vehicle, Ohio will give the owner a memorandum, and holds the actual title until the lien is paid. Recently, I found that when a title is transferred to a new owner the signature on the title must be notarized. This all is different from Michigan where I am from. In Michigan the title has the lien holders name on the title, and the signature for transferring the title does not require notarization. I have decided to use the plates off the Aero, because I feel the wing is a great contrast to the Harley-Davidson. On the way home the SofTail turned 800 miles, just before I got to our road on SR 83 (amazing coincidence here). When I got home, I snapped some nice shots. I would really like to do a photo shoot with some nicely posed shots of the motorcycle, professionally.

I did put the Aero’s license plate on the Softail, for the time being it also has the Cobra frame, but this frames chroming is crappy, I do not recommend this to any body. The frames chroming is flaking off of the frame and has been from day one. I intend to get a backing plate for the license plate to add some chrome to the back of the plate, which is quite ugly, and quite exposed.

Filled it with Gas, at the fuel station at the top of Madison hill. It got about 37 miles per gallon. Not bad for mostly city driving, I have also got into the throttle a bit more lately trying to stretch its legs.

Rode into work on Tuesday, quite a bit chillier this morning in North East Ohio, at 52° and foggy. Fired up the Softail this morning, kind of concerned about waking the kids up. Their rooms are right over the garage at the house. I take the bike outside, but in the summer, the windows are open could still wake the kids up.

The ride in was crisp and foggy, lots of dew and moisture in the air, pants got wet looks like I stepped in a deep puddle. Coming up the hill on US30 toward Apple Creek Rd. I was really taken by the sunrise. A spectacular reddish orange ball partially opaqued by the few clouds that were in that part of the sky. The sun was peeking up just above the Apple Creek Rd. overpass. Just that moment a horse and buggy crossed the overpass right in front of the sun. If I had a camera at that moment and time to stop, it would have definitely been an amazing shot. Continuing on US30 I noticed the remnants of the fog as the sun continued to rise on the opposite side of the road, looking like very low hanging wisps of cloud, breathtaking as they hung over the fields and pastures. Looking back toward the sun the partially opaqued potion of the sun was even more evident as the lower half unencumbered by the clouds shown a vivid and bright orange. It is this kind of vista and connection to the world that keeps me on a motorcycle. The words do not exist or are beyond my vocabulary that describe the experience this morning or my recent (still unwritten) trip to North Carolina through the mountains. Hopefully, one day, I will be able to put pen to paper or words on the screen to properly describe these experiences. You cannot fully appreciate the wind, air, cool temperatures, or the scenery that awaits you, until you get on and ride. The cage is way too insulating for the appreciation.

Thinking about a Name

Recently it had occurred to me that I should name the bikes. I have come up with a name for the Goldwing, I will call it Angel, as in Blue Angel in reference to the bikes blue color and its peaceful calm, when riding it as well as its rock solid reliability. A name for the Aero and the Softail still escape me. For the record my cars name is Cloe (cloe-ee) a reference to the model (Acura CL) and the year of the car (03) so in Leet speak CL03 or CLOE.

Day started out a bit foggy, but quickly shaped up.

Going to Medina

Took off with 590 miles on the bike heading for Medina. Took SR83 (seem to do that a lot), ride started off pretty rough, seems an abundance of slow people on the road lately. I have noticed that I seem to be getting a bit reckless lately. I have been taking steps to fix that . I got off SR83 on 585 and continued to SR57 to River Styx. It did not take long on River Styx before the bike turned 600 miles. Stopped and took a shot of the speedometer.

Before I stopped to take a photo I noticed a Motorcycle ahead of the car that was in front of me. The Motorcycle was triked and looked suspiciously like a Sportster. Now, the only triked Sportster that I know of in this area belongs to a great gal named Edna. I have met her several times at the Blessing of the Bikes in Kidron. I believe she attends the Kidron Mennonite church, but not sure. I kind of figured that she was going to participate in the ride leaving from Century Harley-Davidson. Sure enough when I arrived at Century she was there. Didn’t bother her though.

After I turned on SR18 I got stopped at the light to turn onto the road that leads to Century. I got the green arrow for the left turn and proceeded. As I was making my left turn, I noticed a cager (looked like a very old lady) moving into the intersection. It didn’t look like she was planning on stopping, too late, horn blasting, I accelerated as hard as the bike would let me. Fortunately, I escaped that one. Damn her! Still shaking, from this close encounter, I continued to Century.

I really enjoy looking at the bikes that arrive, gives me an opportunity to look over somebody else’s work and get some additional ideas of my own. Because of my unquestionable love of old iron, I especially enjoyed a 1937 Harley-Davidson that was parked there. Several guys were razing the owner about it’s condition and leaking fuel tank etc. I thought it was positively beautiful. On to business, I needed to get the reward points tacked on to my card. I also needed to spend the $50 gift certificate that was mailed to me. I could not decide on what I want next for the bike, but I certainly enjoy the choices, something that I did not get at the Honda dealers. One of the major details that I really have problems with on the bike is the zinc plated hardware that dots the bike. Especially, the handlebar clamps and front fender hardware. Since I seem to have a lot of the major stuff for the bike already (saddlebags and windshield) it is now time to chip away at that nasty hardware. Need to proceed carefully though. Another area that I am having problems with is the pivot bolts and front axle. Haven’t quite decided how to proceed in that area. Anyway picked up the fender hardware and handlebar clamp bolts in chrome. Found out I am at 960 points, they are saying to wait until 1500 before I redeem them. Packed up and started off again.

Going to North Canton

Headed east on SR18 toward Akron, bike is really sweet running since it is over its break-in. Kind of concerned about the abrupt snap into first gear. First gear also has a whine, and fifth gear is rather loud. Got through the construction on SR18 and got on I-77 south, toward North Canton where I will find Freedom Harley-Davidson. Quite a trip, seems it was about 30 miles. Got to North Canton and turned on to Sunset Blvd. The Freedom was quite busy, nice place, a bit smaller than Century H-D. Talked with a fellow that traded in a Goldwing for his 1993 Ultra Classic. Bought a shirt off the clearance rack and checked on some jackets.

Going to Dover

Headed off again toward Canal Fulton, headed down US-21 toward Navarre. Through Navarre to US-250 and back onto I-77, I did not want to remain on I-77 through Canton, too much construction. South on I-77 toward Dover to the the SR-39 East exit and on to Adventure Harley-Davidson. Wow, nice dealership. I liked the layout and the gorgeous women waiting on patrons. It was long after lunch so I indulged on some of the popcorn and watermelon that they were giving out. Got me another shirt from the clearance rack. Stayed for a bit and chatted with some of the other riders, I also enjoyed looking at the bikes. On the way down on I-77 a person in a car was yelling something at me, and pointing toward the bike. I looked around and noticed the right hand saddlebag was open – Oh crap, what did I lose. A quick check of things at the dealer, revealed that nothing was missing (amazing).

Heading back

Off again, found SR39 and started heading west. OHMYGOSH, were there some incredibly slow people on that road. By the time I got to Sugar Creek I knew that I was not going to be able to stay on that road. Stopped in Sugar Creek for some fuel, after a fill up, proceeded toward Berlin. The motorcycle took 2.72 gallons, and had 122 miles on the tank, this means the motorcycle got almost 45 miles per gallon! Wow, not bad, I admit I have been easier on the bike, this was mostly highway style and the bike is through its break-in. I don’t think that the engine and drivetrain is quite loosened up yet, but this is still impressive. One of the interesting things about SR39 is the incredible hills rolling through Holmes County. Another thing about SR39 is the incredible amount of tourist stops along the way, I doubt that I will ever get to them all. In Berlin, I could not take the traffic any more, so I turned on SR62 this is heading east, wrong way, but I know a route that will take me through Mt. Hope. Along the way just north of Berlin, across from the Amish park, the bike turned 700 miles really starting to rack up now. Stopped and took some pictures. Headed off again, through Mt. Hope, looks like the tractor show was happening, and the tractors are heading out, fabulous, more slow traffic. Headed north out of Mt. Hope, and got off on the route through Amish ville. Headed toward Fredericksburg, this countryside is amazing, never get tired of seeing the horse and buggies on the road. Wished there was a bit more advanced notice of them though, seen one too many accidents involving these buggies. In Fredericksburg headed up Fredericksburg road toward the Amish produce on the corner of Fredericksburg Rd. and Messner Rd. where I picked up some corn for dinner. Just fits in the saddlebag, heh, who would have thunk. Then home.

The new hardware

Started out with the handlebar clamps, removed them one at a time, replacing and tightening as I go. Need to get some LocTite blue to seal all this work. The motorcycle does not shake much at all, the engine is called a TC96B, which apparently means that the engine includes counter balancers. I am really surprised at how little this motorcycle vibrates, the Aero shakes more than this thing does. There is just enough shaking and vibration in the motorcycle to let you know it is there, but not too much to make it irritating. The pictures do not do the upgraded hardware justice. It is quite striking how much of a change that this created.

Now for the fender hardware. Again, the pictures do not do this upgrade justice. I am a bit surprised that Harley-Davidson does not use a different system of assembling the bikes. The fender is attached to the bike using a nut and bolt. I would imagine that faster and cheaper, would include a nut that was integrated into the fender metal.

I like the traditionalist approach with this bike, being a person that appreciates the traditional crafts. Seems that things in the past were made to last. I am a antique tractor fanatic also, I own a 1950 Farmall - Cub, that after over 50 years is still running like a champ. Where as it seems that modern manufacturing techniques have a built in obsolesence - sad. One example is cell phones, I consider cell phones disposable. Enough ranting.

The fender hardware was quite easy to change out get rid of the old allen headed bolt, reuse the nut. The most difficult bolt was the left side back bolt on the fork. This bolt is right above the brake caliper. A bit of care, and patience, and done. Again, as noted above, the result is quite striking.

Quick trip to the coffee shop

Really like the new bolts that I put in the handlebar clamps. They really do make a difference, I think this bike will really look nice when I get the work done that I want to do. I am going to take a conservative approach to the chrome, I feel that chrome needs to be carefully applied.

Headed to the coffee shop, but first stop by the City news for a magazine. Had a nice stay at the coffee shop and headed home. Bike now has 728 miles on it.

Saddlebags showed up today.Oh boy, Oh boy.

Couldn’t wait to put them on but wanted to make sure I documented the installation.

Started off with the box, opened it and there were two smaller boxes in the larger box.

The saddlebags were packed individually, pretty heavy box.

The first that I opened was the left side. Looked inside the saddlebag there was the support bar wrapped in foam, but no hardware… Uh oh! Opened the box marked ‘right side’ pulled out the saddlebag, a bit heavier. Opened up the bag, and pulled out the right support bar, bag of hardware, instructions, and a container of Leather dressing.

Laid them all out for a picture.

The saddlebags are hard bags covered with leather, they hinge from the outboard of the bike, not much room in there. Looked over the instructions and got to work. First thing I noticed was the bags will not work with the ‘Screaming Eagle’ exhaust and gives a part number. Uh oh!

Decided to start on the right side despite the instructions insistence to start on the left.


Apparently, Harley-Davidson made a change to the exhaust bracket on the 2007 Softail Deluxe, a lot easier to install the support bracket, simply installs on the exhaust bracket with some nuts, bolts, and spacer. Here is a hint: The instructions say “don’t tighten yet”, don’t tighten yet, nothing. The left side is a piece of cake (relatively). Remove the bolt that holds the passenger peg on, using the longer bolt in the kit, put the peg back on, tighten the bolt down, then from the back add the saddlebag support, and the supplied nut, again, don’t tighten anything.

Now for the saddlebags, one side at a time to keep the fender in place. Remove the second from the front and the last Torx bolts that connect the support to the fender. Pick the large Hex head bolts and a set of washers, carefully hold the saddlebag in place, and thread the bolt into the fender, front and rear. Repeat for the other side, don’t tighten, in fact, keep them quite loose. Four allen head shoulder bolts are in the hardware. Them and the foam pads are needed next. Get on the ground thread the shoulder bolts through the saddlebag support, through the foam pad, and into the bottom of the saddlebag. There are two sets of holes in the bottom of the saddlebags, use the outboard set, I imagine the inboard set are for use when the docking hardware is used for the sissy bar. Thread those shoulder bolts in, again loosely. On the right hand side I found that a standard allen wrench (not one on a tool) was necessary and I really had to loosen up both the saddlebag and support to get at the bolt, too close to the exhaust.

Now tighten up the Saddlebags to the fender I torqued them to 25 lb/ft with my trusty craftsman wrench. Next tighten up the support to saddlebag shoulder bolts, I just snugged them, they were supplied with a dab of loctite. Finally, I tightened up the support bracket bolts connecting to the bike, Torqued to 20 lb/ft. Had to dig around for the key, found just one, will need to get another made.

They definitely do not hold much, but I believe they will increase the utility of the bike. Being able to take a few things along will be nice. I also do not believe that the axle nut dress ups will be needed, nor will the bolts that dress up the pulley. I believe that I would still like to have the chrome belt guard. I will still like to have the swing arm bolt cover. Overall, I believe that I like these bags a lot, they really make the bike look a bit more finished.

Darn hot today, think it is 92°.

Went for ice cream and fill it up with some fuel. Stopped by the ice cream parlor on Liberty St. in Wooster. Pretty good ice cream, but needs more low sugar flavors besides vanilla. Put 2.26 gallons of fuel in the bike with 81.4 miles on the tank. The thing requires premium fuel which kind of sucks.

There seems to be a bit of a creak coming from the rear suspension shocks, will need to have that looked at on Saturday.

Planning on going to Century Harley-Davidson on Saturday morning for a ride. From there proceed down to Adventure Harley-Davidson in New Philadelphia to get a shirt. Then a trip out SR39, out to the camper to mow the lawn, may stay out there for a swim, perhaps for the night, not sure.

I am getting to like the bike more and more it has a feeling about it. Can’t wait for the bags, ordered them today, hopefully they will be here tomorrow.

Brand new Month, The SofTail is now 2 weeks old.

Been pretty hot out lately, this has caused me to wonder about how the machine will do. The SofTail is an Air cooled engine, both of my Honda’s are Water Buffalo’s. I know that there are Harley-Davidson Motorcycles in the desert and in the heat of North Carolina, they are managing just fine, I doubt that I have anything to worry about. The only thing that really concerns me, I guess, is the Stage 1 kit that the bike had installed on it at the dealer. I do not believe that they did anything to remap the Fuel Injection.  I will need to ask them about this, next time I am at Century Harley-Davidson. Looking through some of the magazines apparently there are kits to modify the signals coming from the Oxygen sensors to richen the mixture. Apparently, the stage 1 kit allows the engine to create more horsepower:

Took the bike out today for a bit of a ride to the car dealer, then to the grocery store. After, it was off to the coffee shop and home. The bike now has about 540 miles.