Sportster Challenges

 Having that day off during the week really screwed up my sense of when the weekend would be here. Friday felt like a Monday so when Saturday got here and I didn't have to work, I wasn't prepared. Fortunately, adjusting to having a day off is a pretty easy task, but how would I spend the day? Earlier in the week I took care of that misfire in the BMW. I also scheduled an appointment for new tires and an alignment. The big ass station wagon got a little attention when I replaced a sticking caliper and brake pads on Thursday. My wife is nursing a sore knee so I had much of the day to myself and decided I wanted to take that sporty for a ride. The only way that was gonna happen was if I forgot about painting flames and just assembled it with what I had.

 One last effort to make a Rustoleum paint job look a bit more presentable. I Followed up the buffing compound with a coat of wax. You know the hardest part of this job was finding all the parts and hardware. It came apart over a year ago and stuff was scattered all over the shop and garage.
 Once the tank and front fender were mounted I ran the Ultra to the gas station for a gallon of fuel. What a jungle it was in town. The flea market drew an unusually large crowd and the idiots were out in full force. Our street has no consistency in which intersections have stop signs or no stop right of way. Ya just have to ride assuming no one is gonna stop and that approach served me well when an Illinois plated SUV blew a stop sign and would have monster trucked me if I hadn't been prepared.
 I thought the next hurdle would be dealing with a varnished carb cuz to be honest I don't remember using stabil or properly draining anything. It turned out my battery that had showed it took a full charge didn't have the amperage to crank the engine. This meant I was taking a second ride on the Ultra, this time a forty mile round trip to the parts store for a $90 battery.
 Replacing the old battery fixed my problem and I was finally able to go for a ride, or so I thought. I pulled in the clutch and tried to drop the beast into first gear but just got some nasty grinding. How does a clutch cable go out of adjustment while just sitting in a living room? Dunno but grabbed a couple of half inch wrenches and made the adjustment. My next attempt to go for a ride resulted in a squeal from the clutch and the same from the rear tire. Ahh, things are back to the way they were when I parked it!
 I think its the closeness a rider has to the machine and environment that draws me to bikes. Maybe also in some part the chance that things can get interesting in a hurry if they don't go as expected. I had a low speed miss that cleared up after a few hiway miles. I suspect a fouled spark plug was the culprit. The lack of a fairing allows everything mother nature has to offer to slam you in the face and chest. I guess I like that, at least when the weather is nice. The light weight compared to my Ultra makes throwing this bike around kinda fun. Its called a sportster but I know its not a sport bike. Still, its a refreshing change to the bigger bike. All the effort getting the bike running was worth it and I am looking forward to another ride today.

Later.