Ride Report: June 2018

Well, that was a bit of a letdown. Tallying my riding miles for June this year gave me an even 225. That's kind of sad, especially considering my totals for June last year. Granted, last year featured my first Iron Butt ride, but still, 225 is pretty low in a month for me.

Then again, as I noted in the only long-ish ride I did last month, this just isn't the right time, at the moment, for me to go blasting off for hours at a time on a regular basis. That time will come - when kid sports, household maintenance, and other necessities aren't limiting factors - but I'm not in a terribly big hurry to get there. It's like riding anyway - if you're hurrying so fast to get to the destination, you're not enjoying the journey along the way.

But I'll still try to put in a few more miles in July...

One Year In - Thoughts on My Sportster

Much like last week's gear review, a year of riding is also a good time to reflect a bit on my choice of steeds. After five thousand miles, I've kind of gotten a feel for what I like and don't like. Is it time to dump the starter bike for something else? Maybe a street bike or dual sport?

The day I picked her up.

The short answer is "No!" I won't be changing rides anytime soon, well, unless H-D announces the Milwaukee Eight engine coming to the Dyna chassis in 2018, that would change my mind right quick, but barring that, I'll be sticking with my Sporty for some time to come, possibly until Adventure Girl is old enough to have it passed on to her.

The thing is, when I picked out a bike, I wanted a good all around ride. Something that I could commute comfortably on, with room to pick up a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread on the way home if needed. I wanted something that would be able to handle an occasional road trip, let me ride two-up with my kids around town, and with enough power to put a smile on my face and pass traffic at South Dakota interstate speeds.

My Sporty does all of that. Sure, she's a little short-legged for long trips, but after a hundred miles or so, you kind of want to get off and stretch anyway. There are faster bikes, there are bikes that carve up corners better, but I'm not going to track days anyway, so those capabilities aren't very useful to me.

Now, there are a few things I plan on changing. The wind protection is a bit lacking for my six foot, one inch frame. My current solution proved itself out on my Iron Butt ride, however, it's definitely a function but ugly solution. I'd like to go to a batwing fairing, possibly over the winter.

Ugly, but effective. Like an A-10 Warthog.

It's a similar story for my handlebars, they're just a little too low and far away to be comfortable over distances. There's probably a set of mini-apes in my future.

Still, long distance comfort changes aside, the Sportster has proven a solid, reliable choice. Fuel economy is usually more than 10mpgs better than my Saturn, and maintenance has been limited to normal wear items.

There's enough power for me to throw it around a bit in sweeping highway on-ramps, and if I look a bit silly hanging half off a cruiser in the turn, well, I don't care, because I'm smiling and gunning the throttle the whole time! That's really the most important part. Every time I put my gear on, go outside, put the key in the ignition, flip the fuel injection switch and flick the start button, I get a big smile on my face. It doesn't matter whether I'm riding five miles, or five thousand, the moment I hear that "Doom, da-doom, da-doom, da-doom" sound booming from the tailpipe, I know I'm going to have a good time.

Iron Butt Thoughts - Time is the Fire

I've wanted to do an Iron Butt ride ever since learning about them a few years ago. Successfully completing one was a major highlight of my (admittedly short) time in motorcycling. I'm happy to be able to say now that I successfully made it through my first year of riding without any accidents, and without even dropping my bike!

For our ride, my fellow H.O.G. members and I had a route that followed Interstate 90 through South Dakota and Wyoming, into Billings, Montana, before turning east to follow Interstate 94 through North Dakota, and down Interstate 29 to our starting point. With posted speed limits of 75 or 80 mph through the majority of our trip, we were able to make good time, even with the limited range of my Sportster.

I'd read and re-read Chris Cope's Iron Butt Experience, which I took as a cautionary tale. Doing things you swore you'd never do is a big part of a lot of accident chains. I decided well ahead of time that if I caught myself breaking any of my personal rules, that was it, Safety Stand Down time. A patch and pin aren't worth the cost of a serious injury, much less your life.

Fortunately, it never came to that. The American west is beautiful, and mostly empty. There were no battles with traffic, and we were blessed with mostly good weather. We even had time to stop for a few pictures at state lines, and a short stop at Beartooth Harley-Davidson in Billings (because when you ride Harleys, you have to stop at one or more dealerships on any trip. It's a requirement!)

I'll never forget coming around a bend on I-90 in Wyoming and suddenly seeing the Grand Tetons spread out in front me, still covered in snow in June. I haven't seen mountains since leaving Seattle in September 2015, the single longest time in my life I've ever been without a view of a snowcapped peak.

We hit the North Dakota Badlands as sunset was approaching. With the sun behind us, the land almost looked painted, and we were treated to another series of stunning views as darkness fell. I nearly let my guard down too far; I saw the brakelights of my fellow riders in plenty of time to slow with them, but never saw the deer they slowed for. Then again, I've always been terrible at spotting roadside deer; it was a skill I never needed to learn as a teenage driver in the Mohave Desert.

My gear and motorcycle performed pretty much flawlessly. The Puig clip-on visor extension I added to my windscreen finally eliminated the head slap effect I'd "enjoyed" at high speeds all year, without that, I don't think I would have even attempted this ride. The hydration vest (a tip I got from a distance riding youtuber) helped keep me from risking dehydration, and slightly reduced the amount of time I needed to spend stopped.

Would I do it again? ABSOLUTELY! I've already promised Adventure Girl that I'll take her on a ride like this when she's old enough to ride her own ride. That's a few years in the future though, but I might end up doing another run in the meantime. The one thing I didn't like about the time crunch required was that I couldn't wander. I saw so many little random roadside things, scenic stops and detours, that I would have loved to take. But the relentless clock pares the journey down to its intrinsic necessities: fuel, food, find beauty where you can, remember the scenery in your mind, and resolve to return again with more time, if you can.

And sometimes, if your route is good, even fuel stops can be beautiful.

One Year Ride-A-Versary

Technically, the one year anniversary of learning to ride a motorcycle doesn't hit until Sunday. However, at that point I should be somewhere on the return leg of a Bun Burner 1500, which is a fairly extreme way of celebrating a year of riding.

Testing out a few ugly but practical touring additions this week. The clip-on
windscreen extension definitely doesn't help the aesthetics, but it's proven
remarkably effective.

But hey, it's something I've wanted to do for years before I ever started riding, so the timing is perfect!

If all goes well, I'll be back with a report sometime on Monday!

Demo Fleet Day - Five New Harleys in Four Hours

Last Saturday I had the opportunity to go to my local Harley-Davidson dealer and participate in their demo days. Especially with my one year anniversary with my Sportster coming up, this was the perfect opportunity to sample some of the newest offerings from H-D, get some ideas for my own bike, and maybe find something else that fit me better.

I rode five different motorcycles, good representatives of most of Harley's general classes. Two in particular I was really excited to ride, but I'll get to those in a moment.

First up was the Street Rod. This bike has gotten really good reviews (this one from Ride Apart is one example) and I was excited to try it out. A high-revving street fighter, from Harley? Maybe this would replace the Sportster!

Picture from Harley-Davidson

High revving and fun it was. Sounding like nothing else in the Harley line-up, it felt perfectly flickable, begging for a test ride with more curves than our dealer approved route. Engine screaming up to 9,000 RPM, it had no trouble keeping up with the bigger bikes. It's the only Harley I rode that felt like with a few modifications, would have been at home at a track day.

Unfortunately, at 6'1", I felt really uncomfortable with the riding position. I don't know how Chris Cope did it in his two-day review, my hips were screaming for mercy after five minutes, and the cramps I got from fifteen minutes on the bike had me walking stiffly the rest of the day. So much for the Street Rod, it's never going to be the bike for me.

After that I moved up to my first big twin. The Road King is the least expensive of Harley's touring lineup, and thus the least costly bike equipped with the new Milwaukee Eight engine that was the other thing I desperately wanted to try.

Picture from Harley-Davidson

Now this was a ride! My first encounter with floorboards (my Sportster just has pegs), a comfortable, wide seat, and high bars. Of course those high handlebars turned me into something of a human drag chute at speed, but what arm position! I'm definitely going to be looking for some different handlebars for my Sporty.

Next came an Ultra Limited, the most expensive two-wheeled machines Harley makes. What a machine! With the big bat-wing fairing in front of me, I barely felt the wind, so much so that 60mph barely registered, nor did the fact that I was still in 2nd gear at the time. If I had the money to do so, this would absolutely be my choice for tearing down the highway for miles and miles at a time. The Milwaukee Eight engine is at its best here, giving a little bit of Harley rumble and shake when stopped, but buttery smooth once you're up to speed.

Picture from Harley-Davidson

Rounding out the Milwaukee Eight tour, I jumped on a Road Glide Special. Falling somewhere in between the Road King and Ultra Limited in terms of pricing, the Road Glide is also unique for its fixed fairing. Where most other Harleys have their fairings mounted to the handlebars, causing them to move with the front wheel, the Road Glide mounts its big fairing to the chassis. After getting used to having my windscreen pointed in the same direction as my front tire, my first couple turns on the Road Glide were a mite disconcerting. Certainly nothing I couldn't get used to though.

Picture from Harley-Davidson

The aggressive, forward leaning look is definitely a love it or hate it kind of proposition. It also made reaching the radio/navigation touch screen somewhat difficult, as it was positioned much farther up the dash than on the Ultra Limited. I think if I had my druthers, I'd probably just put a big windscreen on a Road King and do without the Road Glide's toys, but who really knows?

Finally, I jumped on something from the Dyna line, a Fat Bob. I was particularly interested in this because the Dyna series is the common step up from the Sportster 1200 that I own now, as they mark the least expensive chassis to carry one of the Big Twin engines. However, where the Touring lineup now mounts the Milwaukee Eight, the Dynas are currently still running the older Twin Cam, with its "paltry" 103ci displacement. For those keeping score at home, that's still about 25% more displacement than my Sportster has.

Picture from Harley-Davidson

Unfortunately, this one left me a bit disappointed. The big twin shook even more than the smaller V-Twin on my Sportster, but the power feel wasn't much different. Oh, I'm sure after a full Stage One upgrade (new exhaust, new air intake, and an ECU remap) I'd feel a difference, but stock and still having to add all the go fast parts that my Sporty already has? It basically felt the same. A fun, powerful ride, but not what I was looking for. Now if Harley ever fits the Milwaukee Eight into the Dyna chassis, I'll be waiting for my local Harley dealer to open for business in the morning so I can throw money at them. I'm serious. That stripped down, lightweight chassis, plus that big, smooth engine is a combination I would buy tomorrow if the opportunity was there. Here's hoping that's one of the fifty models Harley has promised to introduce in the next five years.

Overall, what did I learn? That the Street Rod is I bike that I want to love, but am too big for, that the Ultra Limited is what I want when my kids are grown up and I'm leading a little fleet of family around, and that a new bike with a Twin Cam engine is not for me. I also figured out that I want to add a bat-wing fairing to my Sportster, plus my helmet buffeting is caused by my windscreen being at exactly the wrong height. And maybe get some new handlebars that raise my arms up an inch or two.

Mostly it turns out that somehow, despite being a total newbie when it came to motorcycles, I made a pretty good choice the first time around. My Sportster may not be excellent at any particular thing, but it's pretty decent at quite a few things. But that's something I'll be talking about more next month, after I've officially been riding for a year!

Still my favorite. Mainly because she's mine.

One Month In - New Rider Update

I'm officially a month in on this whole motorcycle rider thing. I've managed to accomplish two goals in that time, namely "Don't be the guy who crashes his new motorcycle on the way home from the dealer" and "Don't be the guy who crashes his new motorcycle before making the first payment."

Hooray for that. I've also discovered that my bike gets somewhere between 33-40mpg around town, which is a big enough improvement over my CUV that feeding the bike the premium gas it requires is still an overall cost savings.

I also got the "fun" experience of riding down the freeway with a heavy crosswind. That was interesting, with the wind blowing hard enough that I had to keep a slight lean just to stay in position. I think that if I do an Iron Butt run at some point, I'm going to want a mainly North-South route to keep the wind at my back or front, or start early enough running East-West that the wind is calm until I get out of the prairie. But that's still a ways off.

Unfortunately, I've also hit my first semi-serious squawk since the bad starter relay that shut me down on my first full day of riding. See, the previous owner had installed an aftermarket digital tachometer and shift light. It's a very drag racer kind of option, and not one that I would have picked up myself. Unfortunately, it also seems that the manufacturer decided to save a few pennies on cost and NOT WATERPROOF THE UNIT! So when my bike was parked in the office parking lot last week, and a lovely line of Midwestern thunderstorms marched through, well, my poor gauge has not been the same since. The electronics are still displaying, but it's not getting reliable information from the engine any more.

I'm hoping that I can fix the problem myself, that it's just a shorted connection. If not, well, that's probably coming off the bike. I don't need an tachometer, although it is nice to have. Shifting by speed and engine sound is pretty reliable. That said, Harley does make a drop in replacement combination Speedometer/Tachometer/Gear Indicator/Fuel Gauge that would solve a bunch of my complaints in one fell swoop. That's something I may end up picking up this winter during the riding off season.

Other than that problem though, riding has been great. A little warm in my full gear, but nothing that a change of close at the end of a ride can't solve.

One Week Later - Motorcycle Adventures #2

Still having fun. I rode the bike, named Kristi by Oldest Daughter, to work Tuesday through Friday. No chances to get out and ride on Father's Day weekend, so only forty miles or so ridden, and practically all of it on city streets.

Here's the thing: while I'll admit that I'm still in the new toy/honeymoon period, so far this motorcycle has done something I wasn't sure was possible: make the five or so mile trip to work not only fun, but something I look forward to doing every morning simply for its own pleasure. It's shaping up to be a hot midwestern summer, but in the morning it's been a pleasant 70 degrees, just perfect for riding.

The other riders I see in the morning seem to agree. I try and drop a wave to any other rider I see, and I feel like I get a lot more return waves in the morning than I do in the afternoon. Maybe that's just perception though.

The other thing I want to note is that the folks at J&L Harley-Davidson have taken excellent care of me. The purchasing process was excellent, and made me feel like a valued customer the whole way through, but what really impressed me was their post-purchase follow-up. The day after I finally picked up the bike last week, the sales manager called to make sure everything was all right and that I was enjoying my purchase. I told him I was, and that was it.

Until about two hours later, when the bike wouldn't start. No ignition, nothing. One of the owners of the dealership (The 'L' in "J&L") came out personally to check things out, and helped me push my new bike into a trailer to haul back to the dealership when he couldn't find the problem in my office parking lot. Two hours later, the service department called to tell me they'd found a bad starter relay, and that I could come pick up my bike. No charge, and back on the road.

No other issues other than that. On Saturday I checked the tires, finally got around to setting the clock, and figured out a better way to wedge the bike in my one car garage. I'm looking forward to another new week of commuting!