Sunday, August 11, 2019

Preparations

 In less than a week I'll be on my annual bike trip to the Smoky Mountains. While the amount of planning has gone down each year there is still a certain amount of preparation. You'd think the most important thing would be prepping the bike. Yes thats necessary but more important is to make sure I'm physically ready. No I haven't been working out. These days being physically ready means not tripping and breaking a leg or not cutting myself open during a chainsaw test run at work. It also means going down a different aisle in the grocery store if I hear some little snot nose brat has a cough or the sniffles. I try to avoid anyone that looks like a walking germ factory.
 Other preparations do include bike maintenance and yesterday I serviced the air cleaner. The KandN filter is washed and then reoiled. I run the rain sock most of the time and the old one was wearing out so I bought a new sock. Lots of loc-tite used here during reassembly. Theres 12 screws total holding this thing together and on the bike. Harleys vibrate like a dog shaking water off itself and I just envision parts hitting the hiway if I don't use thread locker on the bolts.


 Another little task I wanted to get done was to update the radio on the bike. I have no idea what little fixes this update includes but it was a big file that I downloaded on a thumb drive then uploaded to the stereo. I walked away while it was updating and the package "image installer" shown in the pic is the only update I noticed. I don't always listen to tunes when riding but might as well have the radio working right for when I do.


 Another pre-vacation preparation is deciding what to pack. Wadding up a bunch of nice Harley shirts in a saddlebag is kinda a drag. They always come out more wrinkled than an elephants nut sack. I have a favorite shirt and I guess its made of rayon. It seems to pack pretty good and doesn't wrinkle too bad till after you wash it. I don't do laundry on vacation so I'm set. My wife bought me four more.


 Those are some serious vacation shirts. Another packing task is selecting socks for the trip. I like socks. If my feet are jacked up I get grumpy. The trick is choosing socks that are comfortable but near the end of their useful life. Why? Because I ain't haulin stinky socks back and forth across the middle of the country. Once removed from the feet they will be tossed into a motel garbage can. I have enough smell issues without contaminating all my laundry with foot odor, and having my bike smell like a rendering truck on a hot summer day is not my idea of a vacation.

Later.

2 comments:

  1. Preparation H? for the long days in the saddle!
    I have also been getting ready the normal oil change,air filter,plugs and the info center updates one is for the glitches in the system the other is to update the dealers so when the non loc-tited bolts fall out or you need that extra pair of H-D socks you can find them on the GPS. The third update is for the GPS but I see you need to buy that one so I think I can find my way down 81 and back without it.
    Then looking at tires after thinking they are ok I decided to install new ones. Never again will I do them myself. Bruises to both knees and 3 banged up knuckles. I should be healed in time to ride.
    See Ya in a week.
    Have a safe trip!

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