Cancelled Vacation

 When this covid thing started back in what, March, I never dreamed it would have an effect on vacation plans in August. I don't have to tell any of you how wrong that attitude was.  After some discussions with the group of people I would have vacationed with and the fact that some were bowing out, I too decided not to travel south and enjoy the Smokies for a week. 

 This sucks and despite really looking forward to this get away I suppose it's the right thing to do. I've made this trip 17 of the past 18 years only missing that one year because of a job interview.  I got the job but looking back I think a bike trip would have been a better stint than the 6 months at that landscaping outfit. Next year will represent 20 years that this group of internet friends have been meeting and its gonna take more than a virus to keep me away.

 I have vacation time I need to use up and some of it will be used for painting the roof of our house. There's a whole honey do list of things that need to be done so finding a way to burn hours will be easy, but I don't want to burn hours. I want to hang my knees in the breeze with the wind pounding me in the chest. The ultra is a great bike for eating up miles with its large storage capacity, creature comforts and smooth ride but the sporty connects me to nature better. To be honest, I really want to take a ride that has almost no planning and requires nothing of me but the right attitude. A clean change of underwear and a credit card are all I want to take. 

 Maybe I can find the time to squeeze out a decent ride on each.

Later.

This Bugs Me

 I need to wash my bike! The above pics were taken last week and it has been my intent to clean this bike but stuff happens and a guy gets busy. When you're busy, other stuff doesn't happen and here is the bike as of yesterday.

  I could sit here and tell you about how I promise to get the bike clean by a certain date or whatever but the fact is I'll probably just hit it with the leaf blower before the next ride. I've got some pressure washing to do on the house so maybe I'll hit it then. On the other hand I could polish it and check the forecast before each ride and never go out when the bugs are heavy. Ya right.

Later.

Another Helmet Cam Test

 Actually every time I use the helmet cam its gonna be a test because I never know what I'm gonna get. I could know if I mounted my spare phone on the handlebar but I just haven't gotten around to it yet. The bike has been pretty neglected with all the DIY going on around here and if I ever get caught up there are a few things I'd like to do to the big Ultra. We'll get into those in a future post. 

 I decided the best way to test the audio was to tell a short story. I'm hoping it turned out because I'm typing this while the footage is still downloading to my puter and I still don't know if its usable yet. If the video turns out to be about a toolbox or garage project then you know the bike footage was crap.

 

Later.

Warranty Followup

 As reported last time, I took my bike to the Harley dealer for some extended warranty repair work. I told you they replaced a light bulb and wanted to charge me hundreds of dollars for it. I asked them to remove the bulb as I didn't think that bulb was even something I still wanted in there. They put the old bulb back in and that was that. I didn't get any flack for being a cheapskate.
 The water cooled heads on this bike use an electric water pump for circulation. I guess that pump was a crap design because as they fail they are being replaced with a totally different style pump and thats what they put in my bike.
 I also complained of noise coming from the primary chain area. I knew the noise was related to the compensator because I had issues with it early in ownership. They replaced that compensator with the Screaming Eagle alternative. I'm not sure what the differences are but the service writer said it was the best one they could install under the warranty. I guess if this one goes 45k miles like the last one did then I don't have a lot to complain about.

 Now was the time to see the bill. With the light bulb removed from it the total was actually just my $50 deductible as originally promised. Sweet. I'm not sure what happened with that original phone call where he said they did the repairs, replaced the bulb and the total was well over $350. Harley advertises a pair of these bulbs in chrome cases for $400 so a single bulb couldn't be as much as stated. There were a lot of things on that bill, mostly all covered under warranty. He must have interpreted it wrong.
 My extended warranty cost me $1500 and this bill came out to $1200. That means unless the bike breaks before May I will have been better off not buying the warranty. On one hand I don't want problems on the road, on the other I wouldn't mind a major failure just to justify the warranty purchase. I took the bike for a test run last night and it sounds good. Not sure I'm gonna come out ahead on this one unless I put a $300 value on "peace of mind" knowing I'm covered if needed.

Later.

Extended Warranty

  Buying an extended warranty isn't something I normally do.  I figure if its a piece of crap its gonna break under regular use during the warranty period. When I bought my Ultra Limited I decided to get the extended warranty because so many individual pieces are so expensive. The radio was one such item I was thinking of but unless it konks out in the next couple months I guess I lost that gamble. So far my warranty claims were all under the original two year warranty so it was looking like that three year extended warranty was a waste of money...until two weeks ago. 

 I was riding home from work when an orange light on the dash caught my eye. Further investigation revealed a red light on the other side of the dash. Without my reading glasses I have no idea if these lights are warning me of a problem or suggesting my current dew rag is out of style. I thumbed through the menu and saw the oil pressure was normal. I was only a few miles from home so I continued on. Once in the garage I was able to determine that these lights represented "check engine" and "temperature". 

 I felt fortunate that this happened the week after returning from my week long vacation. A few days later I was able to investigate and determined the problem wasn't a simple fuse or relay and in fact the coolant overflow tank was empty. It wasn't like that while on vacation so I know this problem just occurred. BTW, most of you are familiar with Harley as being air and oil cooled but some of these bigger touring models also have water cooled heads. Traditionalists hate it and I'm not a big fan of all the extra garbage hanging on the bike but there are advantages to it. 

 I refilled the tank and tried to ride it to work one day but didn't make it far before the lights came back on. Now I knew I had a serious problem because the tank was still full. Was the electric water pump broken? Thermostat stuck? Dunno.

 The next step was to call and confirm my extended warranty covered this type of problem. I was told there is a $50 deductible and can I get it there or do I need it towed in. I let them know I didn't want to schedule it and would drop it off at my convenience. No problems. When I finally did drop it off the service writer told me they have redesigned the entire cooling system. He knew when I called just what the problem was because they have seen many before. I guess this is one of those cases where a crappy design may not reveal itself under the original warranty. Early in ownership I complained of a lot of noise from under the primary cover. Their response was to shim the compensator, a "shock absorbing" device in the primary chain assembly. What they shim I don't know. It sounded like a band aid repair but the noise was gone so I eventually put it out of my head. Recently that noise has returned and I mentioned that to the service writer. 

 A few days later, yesterday, he called and told me the bike was ready for pickup. He said they had fixed the cooling system, replaced the compensator and replaced one of the driving lights and that the total bill was $xxx. I told him I wasn't prepared to spend that much on a light bulb and asked it be removed. He was kind and agreed to do it but I know he was probably thinking I was cheap. While its true I may be budget minded, the fact is those lights don't offer a lot of benefit to seeing down the road or into the ditches. I believe I can put different bulbs in there and get better performance whether it be for the same money or not. 

 Thats all the info I have now. I'll run up there this week and get the bike and have a better idea of what these repairs actually consisted of and if my extended warranty was justified.

Later.  

 

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.

Tension

  Tension-the state of being stretched tight. Under the primary cover of most Harleys is a big ass chain that runs from the engine crankshaft to the clutch/transmission. For some reason I had a bad feeling about the plastic tensioner that takes up the slack in this chain. I know I've looked at it before because I have a memory of replacing the clutch in this bike at one time. I don't keep records except for the occasional note scribbled on the wall in the garage. I always thought this blog was my record keeper but trying to search for stuff is difficult.
 Right after typing that last sentence I googled this blog name and the word clutch. It took me directly to a post I made almost exactly one year ago where I replaced the clutch. That was seven thousand miles ago. I knew last year was a slow year for mileage and this year probably will be too due to a lot of time on the sportster.

 Pulling the primary cover is pretty easy. A shift lever, front and rear floor boards and then the cover bolts is all that has to come off. 

 I was happy to see the magnet on the drain plug was clean. I was also happy not to find any plastic from the tensioner. I don't know why but I thought this thing was gonna be damaged.

 Once I saw that everything was in good working order I could relax. If I would have not looked in here and then gone on a week long vacation, there would have been no relaxing. Peace of mind cost me only twenty dollars in the form of a gasket. The oil would have been replaced anyway.

 Leveling the bike for topping off the fluid level was easy with my handy dandy bike jack. Thanks Christine!

 I also decided to change out the tranny fluid. No metal on this plug either makes me a happy camper. I use Redline synthetic oils and thats why this fluid looks the way it does. Please excuse the use of bitch mittens.

 All this fresh oil means its time for a test ride. My wife had just commented that I am about to head out on a bike vacation that requires full days in the saddle. I haven't had one day this year that even came close to a full day in the saddle. My first vacation day is a five hundred miler and she doesn't think I'm prepared for that. She may be right. I decided to ride up to the Harley dealer in Appleton for a part I needed and took the most direct route I could at 56 miles. This was only to ensure I got there before they closed. For the ride home I went way out of my way and made a big loop that turned the entire trip into almost two hundred miles. Sadly, my ass kinda hurt when I got home. Not good, only ten days till vacation.

Later.

Pack Rat

 Last time I posted I hinted that the trunk on the Ultra may be a mess. This is what it looked like last time I opened it and decided it needed help.

 At first it doesn't look terrible but then I pulled everything out.

 Thats a lot of stuff. There are a lot of things I want for a road trip but also a lot of stuff that isn't needed. I probably don't need that souvenir shot glass or two identical stubby screwdrivers.
 I do need eye glasses. I've got backup sunglasses, clear glasses for night, clear goggles for rain and yellow glasses for gloomy days. For whatever reason I also have five sets of reading glasses. I think I can cut that back to just one plus an emergency spare...just in case.

 The stuff in yellow are the glasses. The stuff in the bags circled in red is all related to the air ride suspension. I put it in there after the install "just in case" but never needed it. There is also an air filter/water separator in that pile that I never got around to installing. I'm glad I'm typing this out cuz I just remembered why the stubby screwdrivers are in there. One is needed for cleaning the "up" valve of my air ride. How two got in there is a mystery.

The stuff in purple is just some hand tools and the long phillips is needed to remove the seat.
 Theres a set of playing cards that get used once a year while on vacation. Also two remote alarm sensors that tell me when someone is dickin around with my bike. Two cuz I thought I lost one. Turns out I just misplaced it and found it again after the second one was ordered. Can't seem to find the charger though.
 OMG I found two more pair of glasses in the top travel case. One went straight in the shit can due to scratches on the lens. Lets see, what else. How 'bout a 1/2" drive ratchet with no sockets or a wire terminal crimper but no connectors to crimp.
 There are a few things in this mess I find quite necessary and have saved my keister more than once. I have a 12 volt air compressor, a hand pump and tire repair plugs. Also there are some fuses and a flashlight. And as usual, I have an extra set of gloves.

 Ahh thats better. I think I may have just shaved a half second off my quarter mile time! Not all of it went back in the trunk but most of it is on the bike. I moved a bunch of stuff to the left saddlebag which I consider a storage locker for inclement weather gear, cleaners/rags and now some spare parts. That bag hangs low and is kinda a pain to access anyway. The right saddle bag is used for daily needs and now the trunk can share some of that load.

Later.

Twenty One Days...

  ...Till I leave for vacation. I've been going to the same area with the same guys for about 19 years now so there are no more "pre-vacation jitters". If I glance at a map well thats fine. If I don't then thats fine too. Really all I need to do is make sure the bike is ready to go so I took some time yesterday to change the oil in the Ultra.
 I rode to the next town over where there are at least two auto parts stores open. The first stop usually stocks my go to oil and thats Mobil 1 Full Synthetic. Unfortunately the shelf was empty of what I wanted and the only motorcycle oil they had that was a Lucas product. I'm sure its fine oil but I kinda wanted the Mobil product. You know there are so many different oils I could use because this won't be anywhere near a clutch but we all have our favorites, most of them work, and it just boils down to what makes us feel good. The other factor was that the store was packed. There were two registers running with half a dozen knuckleheads in each line and both the workers were on the phones. I could tell by their conversations and the frustration on the faces of the knuckleheads that there would be a long wait. I left to take my chances at the other store.

 I guess they just stay open on Saturdays to offer refuge to guys like me that don't want to deal with the knuckleheads cuz at first I thought they were closed but when I pulled on the handle, the door came open. I was the only one in the store so got great service. We talked about bikes and oil and the weather and upcoming vacations and just had a grand ole time. They were out of Mobil 1 and a Valvoline product they've apparently sold a lot of, but I wanted to get this oil change done so I spent the few extra bucks per quart for Amsoil. Is it a better oil? Maybe, if you believe all the tests shown online. Is it worth the extra money? Maybe, if you extend the oil change interval like they claim you can then its actually cheaper.

 I think its probably best to just pick whatever oil you like and change it often. That is as long as the oil is rated for your situation.
 I've got a few more things to do on the bike like change out the trans and primary oils and put an eyeball on that primary chain tensioner. I just have a weird feeling about it. I also notice that my rain sock is saturated with oil again and is starting to fall apart at the seams. I'll investigate if that can be purchased separately and wash this one for now. The air filter will also get washed and re-oiled.
 Probably the biggest maintenance requirement right now is cleaning out the trunk. Theres a lot of "what if" stuff in there. I'll report on that next time.

Later.

Dodging Rain Clouds

 Yesterday I woke up to 83 degrees and dark overcast skies. At first you might think that going for a ride may be questionable due to threatening rain but for me this is the perfect riding conditions. Temps were warm but at hiway speed are perfect. The sun hiding behind clouds means no shadows and very consistent visibility. That also means there are no hidden dangers in dark corners as I sweep through the country back road twisties that I've plotted out in my head over the last forty years. To a lesser extent, wet roads also mean less dust, pollen and for some reason less bugs.

 A quick look at the radar revealed a big red blob of nastiness encompassing the entire lower half of Minnesota and heading my way. I decided that there was a three hour window if I didn't want to get wet. I chose the Ultra for this ride just in case. It already has all my wet weather gear in it and offers decent protection from the elements. The sporty doesn't offer me much more than the middle finger in terms of rain protection.

 I don't seek out the rain and I try to avoid it when riding but if its gonna rain then so be it. I once started an Iron Butt ride in the rain. That ride was over 1100 miles in 19 hours and half of it was in the rain. One time while on vacation I led a group ride where it started to rain. It was coming down pretty hard even by my standards and I never stopped. I know a few people weren't too happy with me at the time and they bailed out but as I think about the people that followed me, it turns out they are the ones I still vacation with every year. Birds of a feather ride together or however that saying goes.

 That three hour window was just about what I needed to run down to the casino in Wisconsin Dells and try my luck. As it turns out I found a machine that wasn't very hungry and actually paid me back more than I put in to it. Not a lot but enough to pay for fuel and dinner. I may have stayed longer to "re-invest" but I got a glance out the window and noticed it was pretty dark outside. Once out to the bike I scanned the sky and determined it would be wise to don the rain gear.

 I like this kind of riding. The weather is questionable with gusts of wind bending the trees and fast moving clouds continually changing my perspective on what may come next. The roads were wet and I could tell from leaves and sticks on the road that a wicked front must have just passed through. The road was still steaming and my bike was kicking up its own spray from the wetness. My one hour route would be mostly back roads with only two small towns to pass through. Out in the open I scan the skies for signs of a storm and try to adjust my route and timing to avoid getting wet. I guess its a game because as I said, I already had the gear on and don't mind the rain.
 I could feel the temps dropping the further north I rode. It was now fifteen degrees cooler than when I left the house and I could tell I was creeping up on the back side of the storm. There wasn't a road to turn off onto to scooch around the rain so I decided the thing to do was stop and smell the roses. When I saw a small boat landing in the marsh I decided to check it out and waste some time. I thought I could take some of those nature shots my wife is always posting on facebook but I don't see things through the lens the same way she does.

  I'm not sure who's using this boat landing cuz its a bit rough.

 I wouldn't think the water level would be low because we've had a wet spring/early summer until the last week.

 This is the bottom of the landing. Your basic f150 isn't launching shit in this muck. There was a time when I would have gone out and bought a boat just to have an excuse to launch it and monster truck through this mess. That time has passed. Not sure why.

 Back on the bike I pretty much followed the back side of that storm right to my house. It was a great ride and it turns out I didn't need the rain gear but somehow I suspect if I hadn't put it on things would have been different.

Later.

Bike Wash

 Spring has been busy and come to think of it last fall was too. The Ultra spent the winter with a layer of bugs splattered all over along with a bunch of road grime. Never had a chance to wash it before temps dropped below freezing. Yesterday I was finally able to find the time to give it a bath.

 In order to wash the entire bike the way it should be done a person needs a few hours. The saddle bags should come off, the luggage should come off, the wheels should be scrubbed etc. I wasn't willing to make that kind of commitment and just wanted it to look presentable. After all, its just gonna get dirty and full of bugs next time I ride it.
 My process starts with something like S100 that can be sprayed on and allowed to loosen those bugs. After that comes a hard rinse. The bike now had a little longer to soak as I needed to get a bucket of hot water and soap.

 While I was inside getting that hot water, Mowby Dick took the opportunity to get all tangled up in my garden hose. No action shots of that cuz I wanted to quickly get him untangled before the little shit cut the hose. That Dick came from the other side of the house just to sniff out what I was up to. I scolded him and sent him on his way but not before hosing him down. I run him rain or shine and the other day he was wet before going under some bridal wreath bushes. He don't care.

 So now the bike gets hot water and suds to remove what was left. The areas I started in dried before I got back to rinse them but looked great. I left it. Again it was a half assed job but the bike does look much better. One thing that didn't look so great was my blog sticker.

 Maybe the pic doesn't show it well but the sticker on the bike is quite faded. Its supposed to be removable but that sucker wasn't peeling off so I did just like on the license plates and just slapped a new sticker over the top of the old one. One sticker deep isn't bad and I might even get away with three but after that I'll need a new plan.

Later.

Memorial Day Weekend

 Many of us are on an extended weekend because of the Memorial Day holiday. Take a moment to remember the people that died while serving in the US armed forces.
 We don't normally fly a flag at work but this is one of the few times a year that we do.

 I worked Saturday but have today and tomorrow off. After work yesterday my wife and I went on a dinner date on the Ultra. That was our first bike ride of the year together. Actual seat time was about three hours and that was plenty long enough.
 Speaking of seat time, I think shopping for a new recliner is on the list for this weekend. I haven't let on to my wife yet that I'm secretly looking forward to that. Not sure why but any time I think about a recliner, I think about my Grandpa. Well actually I suppose I know why.  He was always sitting in his recliner and that was probably the first one I had ever seen. It was treated as his special chair and everyone respected that. I'm not trying to recreate that, I just like the memory.
 Part of my to-do list also includes working on that bathroom remodel. The next step is putting down the linoleum flooring. I've been struggling with this one in my head since the day we brought the roll home from the store. It won't fit up the spiral staircase and theres not enough room to lay it out and cut it up there. I'll have to cut it close to size and then haul it up there. If it goes anything like the rest of this "measure it twice and cut it three times" project went then I'm screwed.

  I gotta wrap this up. I slept in for the first time in a long time. I didn't really enjoy it and just feel guilty for pissing away a few hours of the day. Have a fun and safe Memorial Day weekend!

Later.

Hydrosackosis

 Monday turned out to be a beautiful day when afternoon temps rose to the lower seventies. When I walked out of work I was thinking how nice it would be to go for a bike ride. I had the bike out once already so I knew it was good to go. On the way home I couldn't help but notice the abundant sunshine was starting to be blocked by a small dark cloud. The closer I got to home the more I realized that cloud was dang near over my house. My plan for an extended ride was reduced to just chasing dinner and the chosen take out restaurant was about a fifteen mile round trip. Not much of a long ride but it was more about not missing an opportunity to get out on the bike than how far I could go. As I backed the big Ultra out of the garage a bird shit on my head. At least thats what I was hoping because the alternative was rain. Sure enough it was starting to rain but I refused to accept that. Not on my parade, not today.
 My destination was away from the incoming droplets and I quickly out drove the moisture. By the time I reached the restaurant I had forgotten about the pending gloom and went inside to order. This wasn't a fast food joint so I had time for a refreshment and to catch up with social media on my phone. I noticed my buddy JT the Barber was doing some podcasts and made a note to check them out later. John got me started in blogging and if it weren't for him you wouldn't be reading any of this gold. Anyway, during my surfing session my wife had texted me to inform me of heavy rain and lightning. I told her it was only seven miles home and if a little rain was gonna stop me then I needed to turn in my man card. Soon they brought my carry out food to the table and thats when I looked out the window. My man card was in jeopardy. The rain was coming down so hard it was bouncing back up as if some unseen force was rejecting it. This is not how I wanted to start out the 2019 riding season but I also knew I was heading to the comfort of home so a little discomfort wouldn't last long.
 The worst part about riding in the rain is the time spent not moving very fast. This includes walking in the parking lot and riding at city speeds. Just getting on the bike sucked because as quickly as I wiped the seat dry, it flooded out. I couldn't get the thing swiped dry and swing a leg before a puddle formed on the seat. I knew the restaurant patrons would all be looking out the window at the knucklehead getting on his motorcycle in the pouring rain so I did my best not to cringe as I sat down. The resulting hydrosackosis was a little more discomfort than I had imagined.
 The thing about riding a motorcycle is that it cures whatever is ailing you. Once at hiway speed I had a great ride despite mother natures attempt at force feeding me a shower. It actually ended too soon although the drop in temperature would have probably caught up with me. Maybe this year won't be that bad. Mileage in 2018 was at a twenty year low and I'm hoping that was just a fluke, not a trend.

Later.

First Ride?

 Yesterday my wife decided we should do some couch shopping. I'm not opposed to replacing our worn out davenport, it looks like ass. My job is to say "yes dear" and work out the logistics of hauling a sofa. That meant walking out into the back yard and seeing if the ground was firm enough to support the big ass station wagon. I determined it was and the next step was to re-strap the Ultra in the trailer so I could pull it up into the driveway. I opened the door of the trailer and what I found disturbed me.

 Lots of moisture on the bike. I know it wasn't wet all winter but not sure how long it suffered this spring. I pulled the trailer onto the drive and rolled the bike out. It had been on a tender all winter so the big v-twin roared to life after just a few revolutions. Some of you know that I have an air ride suspension on this bike and unfortunately it ran a few seconds then shut off. That means the bike is not road worthy until fixed. We were in a hurry so I pulled the bike in the garage and we took off couch shopping. We didn't find anything we wanted but did manage to find a couple of big slabs of meat and some brandy old fashioneds.

 Today I'll have a little time to at least investigate the air ride problem. Maybe, just maybe I'll be able to go for a first ride of the season.

Later.

35,750 Miles

 That's what the odometer on my 2015 Ultra Limited was reading when I decided to pull the primary cover and replace the clutch. I had noticed on a ride two weekends ago that I was able to whack the throttle and slip the clutch. Not the kind of thing you want to mess with when bangin gears, doing burnouts and knee draggin with your buddies in the Smokie Mountains. OK, these days we're more like the old geezers we used to laugh at as we flew past, but its all good, knees in the breeze and all.
 My first concern was getting the bike vertical to work on it. No center stand and even if there were, I ain't capable of putting a 900+ pound scoot up on one. OK, maybe I could but my back would be barking at me for a week. These days I limit my lifting weight to an 18 pack of brewskies, 24 pack if they're on sale.
 Anyway, the chore was easily handled with a bike lift that Chris VB gave me. At first I was nervous and thought my wife may need to run the jack while I balanced the bike but I found that the lift was well suited to the task of bench pressing a full size touring rig. Once I blocked it up front to rear the bike felt quite stable. Thanks Chris!

 The job itself is pretty much just straight forward wrenching with no special tools needed unless you consider a torque wrench a special tool, which you shouldn't.

 The heel shifter, front and rear floor boards and primary cover come off. Then 6 bolts holding the diaphragm spring in place and thats it for tools. During disassembly I discovered this gunk smeared around the edge of the pressure plate, under the diaphragm spring.

It had the consistency of a paste but I accidentally found out it was attracted by a magnet. This is the worn material from the fibers and steels of the clutch.

A caliper proved that the clutch was actually worn past spec.

 The last clutch I did was in the sportster and the manufacturer recommended soaking the fibers in primary oil overnight. This Barnett clutch only wanted a 3 or 5 minute bath.

  So after buttoning everything back up and filling the primary with oil, it was time for a test ride. I thumbed the starter and the beast let out a big roar as it came to life. The next sound I usually hear is the famous Harley "clunk" as the bike is shifted into first gear. Not this time. One down, no clunk, not a peep. Sweet! In fact, in about a dozen shifts from neutral to first it only made a light clunk half of the time. Thats a huge improvement and I wonder if it will get better. Before if I wanted a butter shift from N to 1 I had to pull in the clutch lever and whack the throttle three times before attempting the shift. Two whacks didn't work.
 The clunk wasn't the reason for the new clutch. Slippage was and I realize now how bad it really was. No more twisting the wick and getting a slip. A couple of rips through the gears and wow I could really feel the difference. It pulls hard and I'm looking forward to the next ride.

Later.

Time For A Battery

 My Ultra is just over three years old now with something like 36k miles on it. Lately I've noticed that when hitting the starter button the engine doesn't always crank over with the same gusto it once did. With a nine day out of state bike vacation coming up I figure some good preventative medicine would be to replace that battery with a fresh one. I mean this bike has an awful lot of electronic gizmos including the air compressor I've added for the air ride suspension so I'm not gonna take a chance.
 Or am I? Five or six years ago, I had the same idea when I swapped out the battery on my Aprilia Futura right before a bike vacation. At work we are a dealer for a popular line of batteries and I can get a fair deal on them so why not, right? I did the swap, rode the bike locally for a week or so and then went on vacation. One day while on a ride with my buddy Bill my bike wouldn't start. The battery wouldn't take a charge and I was SOL. To us we were in the middle of nowhere but Bill and I removed the battery and he loaned me his bike so I could venture off in search of a replacement. I found a service station with a suitable replacement and left my junk battery with them as a core which is pretty standard. Besides that I had no intention of hauling a dead battery back home nine hundred miles away. I returned to the scene of the crime, swapped in the new battery and enjoyed the rest of my vacation trouble free as far as the battery is concerned. In the end that replacement battery lasted years in the bike so we know the bike wasn't the issue.
 Upon return to work the following week I told the battery supplier about my problem. He had no desire to credit me for the bad battery because I couldn't produce it. I guess this is where good or bad customer service is decided. A reasonable person would understand someone not wanting to deal with hauling a dead battery around while on a motorcycle vacation. Hell if I had enough room to pack a dead battery then I might have actually packed clean underwear or deodorant. As a reasonable person myself I know companies have policies and employees don't always get to do what they think is right. I wasn't gonna get a credit for my defective battery until my boss found out about the story. Bottom line was this. He told the battery supplier to credit me or get all his shit out of his store. I got my cha ching back and we still sell a shit ton of that brand battery. In fact I ordered this battery from the same guy that sold me the first one and he even gave me a little break on the price.
 So the short version of this post is to tell you that today I'm gonna swap a new battery into the Ultra.

Later.

Pillion Pics

 Yesterday we had some really nice weather. I know this because every customer that came into the store let me know how decent the weather was. My standard reply was something along the lines of "that depends which side of the counter you're on".
 Once my work day ended and I was on the freedom side of the counter I arrived at home to find my wife ready for a bike ride, and so we did. The following are random pics from her point of view on the back of the Ultra.

 We had a nice ride mostly on back roads but maybe we stretched it out too long as I clearly heard a groan from her when she dismounted. I guess I made a grunt or too as well when I got off the bike. Still, good times and it was nice to get out for a ride.

Later.