I stand here in the throws of a dilemma.

I really do not know what to do.

I got an email today from a fellow interested in the Goldwing.

Let’s start from the begining, I have three bikes, many would say that is two to many. Each of them is great in their own right and I have been struggling since I got the Softail.   Last year, out of a whim, I put the Goldwing out by the road with a For Sale sign. As I looked at it out there by the road, I couldn’t stop the flood of feelings. This came to a head when somebody stopped by to inquire about it. I was really struggling to fight back the feelings, it was awful. The feelings were so overwhelming that, after he was gone, I wheeled the Goldwing back into the basement. Through the winter not many moments went by that I did not think about the struggle.

This year, I decided to put her out to the road again. I really enjoy the Harley-Davidson, I do not feel I can get much money for the shadow-aero, besides it is my first bike. The values of the Goldwings of this vintage are falling all the time, it is the logical choice.

Today I got the email, I called the number in the email, and spoke with the fellow for a bit. Hurting the whole time, I gave him all the information that I could and arranged for a time next week to meet with him. After hanging up, I couldn’t help but get those feelings again, hollow in the pit of my stomach. Tried to call the wife, that didn’t help.

I can always get another Goldwing later - right? This one is beautiful, it is paid for, and unique. 

Got home, pulled into the garage next to the Goldwing, stood there looking at it, hoping for an answer. None Came.

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.

This album has been a real challenge for me, as a card carrying member of the Rush fan for life club, I found it difficult to assess my feelings about the album. Rush has for many albums doing some experimenting with many different sounds and techniques that, well, pushed any devoted Rush fan into one of two groups.  One of the groups consisted of fans that liked the newer (post Moving Pictures) albums, the other group consisted of fans that did not.  I sympathized with both groups, but stood fast as a fan of all of their music. I always viewed Rush as a group that did not need to be popular, but keeping pace with music. When the synthesizers came in the early 80’s, there was Geddy keying them up.  Electronic drums came, Neil picked himself up a nice set, you get the idea. I feel that this is why Snakes and Arrows presented me with such a problem, I expected something new, in fact that is exactly what I got.

When I first listened to the album all I could say is that I did not care for ‘Workin’ them Angels‘.  Listened to it one more time with essentially the same results. So, I put it down for what turned out to be about 3 days. I was in the car and something told me to take the CD with me (yes it was already loaded in the iPod, but…).  I listened to Far Cry, I remember thinking to myself “is this the same song I listened to earlier?”. Every song I listened to after that was the same question.

What had happened?

W ho cares…  I loved it, absolutely loved it.

Fast forward about a month, it was after the great concert at Blossom, I was talking with a Rush fan that had not been able to partake in the new album.  He was telling me about his brother that had the album and was relating the same story, about initially questioning the album, putting it down, and listening to it again.

His brother put it best: “It is Pure!”.

Finally it makes sense, that’s it! Holy Smokes! I thought about the concert, through the set when they played the tracks from Snakes & Arrows. They were jamming and Jamming like there was no tomorrow. No synths, just a bit of peddle powered effects. They are back to their roots. yeah baby

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.

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.

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.

First a bit about the Venue, Blossom Music Center, what a place. We parked in the grass lot, so the walk to and from the concert was LONG, no problem though, it was nice to wind up and wind down before and after the concert. This was my first show at this venue, situated in a beautiful setting north of Akron right in side the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The Amphitheater style Venue fits nicely with its surroundings and features some architecture that is absolutely beautiful. Set into a downhill slope. Under the roof is some all weather seating that isn’t all that comfortable, but then you won’t be sitting long.

The sound quality for the venue is about on par with an amphitheater style setting. It isn’t bad but it isn’t what I would hope for. Seems there is a bit more reverb in an amphitheater, I imagine there is quite a bit of compromise with emphasis (at least in this case) on style rather than acoustics and sound deadening. In the great tradition of Rush, it was loud, and no, I am not getting old.

The traffic control is marginal at best. One would think that the designers and developers would have traffic control and speed of getting people into and out of a venue very high on their list of priorities for a public facility. The drive in along the twisty roads of W. Bath and Riverview was beautiful, however when you need to go to work the next day getting out quick at 12:00 midnight is priority.

On to Rush

Unless you are a Rush fan, you probably do not appreciate the greatness you are about to experience. No opening band, and except for a 20 minute intermission, the group played the entire three hour set. Why not, they have the material to cover the time, and then some. They are sporting 19 full on studio pieces, and a large assortment of collection albums as well as a selection of live recordings. All this not including Feedback which is Rush covering some greats.

Rush came out after a short video prelude which featured the band members and others in a rather lighthearted and quite humorous outake. The highlight for me included Neal Peart’s role of waking up in bed and scaring the other character, complete with the unique hat that Neal likes to wear. Following the prelude video, the band started the set off with the Great Limelight from the album Moving Pictures. I will pause here to tell you that there is not a single song that this band has done that I do not like, for me, a full ninety seven percent of their songs are absolutely great and wonderful pieces of work. Limelight (and the band appearing on stage) put the crowd into an absolute hysteria. I still love to go to concerts, that much is certain. Suprisingly, Rush played a quite varied mix of music before the intermission including several that I have not heard live. In the great tradition of Rush, they came out on stage with a minimal of showmanship, instead concentrating on the greatness of their music. When I refer to showmanship I can remember some of the concerts that I have attended including Kiss, and Sammy Hagar that were full of showmanship. Rush always known for the light show and other such pyrotechnics and laser show, relied on those to fullfill the need for showmanship. The band came out, tore the place apart (Musically) and fullfilled every expectation that a true Rush fan would have.

It is nice to see a band that seems so serious about their music, be so lighthearted about themselves. Geddy Lee started out wearing an Ohio State shirt. The entire band wore nothing more than casual t-shirts and jeans, as well as some interesting shoes. I point this out not to criticise but drive home my point about showmanship. Just come out, knock my socks off, that is the way I like it.

The second set concentrated on their new album Snakes & Arrows. It is so nice to see Rush coming back full circle to their roots. The band has evolved over the years incorporating various technologies into the mix including assorted effects and synthesizers. While playing the pieces from Snakes & Arrows, the band played their core instruments. Geddy his base, Alex his guitar, and Neil his drums. Except for the brief addition of some foot pedals from Alex it was pure, and great.

I would also like to add a link to wikipedia’s write up of Rush to this posting.

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 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.

• Sound Board SoundTracs MR-Series. This is a high end professional level soundboard for studio mixing. CraigList Posting $993.00
  
• Honda TRX250R four wheeler. This thing is nice, and fast. CraigList Posting $2500.00
  
• Nice set of tires off my car, plenty of tread left on these puppies. 206/60 R 16. CraigList Posting $150.00
  
• Motorcycle Lift Craftsman $93.00 (pics and link coming). Sold
• Engine for 85-86 Honda ATC200x three wheeler will fit other ATV’s (pic and link coming). $400.00
• Honda 1983 ATC200X, over all good shape but not currently running, third gear messed up. (pic and link coming). $500.00
• 1994 Chrysler Lebaron GTC Convertible excellent shape 67000 miles (pic and link coming). $5000.00

All prices negotiable, respond to this blog posting with questions or contact information (I will not publish the postings).