First Service

 Last weekend I took the new Harley up to Appleton HD for its first thousand mile service. I had a few questions and concerns about some noises I was hearing and the mechanic acknowledged that there might be something going on there but it wasn't much and I should beat it some more and see if it got worse.
 It got worse. I rode back up there yesterday and the guy working the service counter was someone else. He came out and listened to the bike and immediately decided the compensator needs to be shimmed. Sounds good to me. That was my "internet diagnosis" so hearing him say that made me happy. I have to take the bike back up there tuesday night so they can work on it wednesday. They'll give me a loaner to get home.

 When I left the dealership yesterday it was raining pretty good. This would be my first ride in the rain on this bike and I was looking forward to seeing how it dealt with wet conditions. When I turned onto the hiway I decided to run it up in first gear pretty good then grab second and fist full of throttle. I didn't expect the heavy bike to break the rear tire loose but it did.  It's nice to know where the edge is.
 The protection from the weather is decent. Not perfect but pretty good. Good enough for a bike I suppose. No complaints. You know how rain beads up on the windshield and rolls over the top? It then flies into your face or drips down the inside of the shield. This is very minimal on this bike and I think the vent in the front of the fairing is the reason why. I never thought to close it and see if things changed.
 I did not test the abs on this wet ride and it never kicked in. The reason I didn't check it out is I already know it works. Last week I was at a customers house discussing our services. He has a long gravel drive in the middle of nowhere. When I left and knew nobody could see me I sped up to about 30 mph and then just grabbed as much front brake as I could. If I were on a non-abs bike I would have been picking stones out of my knees and palms but that wasn't the case here. The front brake lever just pulsed as I held steady pressure and the bike slowed to a stop. It felt like the front wheel may have locked a few times just for a nanosecond but there was no loss of control at all. I'm impressed and happy to know that the system is there if needed. I know some guys will argue that they can brake better on their own and don't need a computer with linked abs brakes. Some of those guys may be right. For me on this big heavy bike I think it may be a good thing and so far am happy with they way the bike handles.

End.