Forest Rats

 Some of my readers know that I hit a deer with a bike a while back. The 16th anniversary of that crash was yesterday. If you didn't hear about it then you can read all about it here.
 I've been messing around with the GoPro trying to come up with a decent mount on the bike. On my ride to and from work I've been shooting video and to be honest, they all suck. There was one video of me almost hitting a big bird. I think it was a pterodactyl. There was also a video of a squirrel doing the back and forth dance in front of me. Make up your mind already. I don't even swerve for these idiots and consider them squishable. Whats not squishable, as I've discovered, are deer. Forest rats. The ones that are grazing in the fields don't bother me. I don't even get too excited about the ones standing along the road as if they're waiting for a clear shot to cross, like this one spotted two nights ago:

 The ones that freak me out are the speed demons doing the blind folded road runner impersonation. Here's a craptacular video but a good example of what I mean.

 If you squint hard enough you'll see a deer cross in front of the oncoming car, left to right. Part of me wishes I could have had a better video of this rat. On the other hand, I didn't have any extra underwear with me so no thanks on the close calls.
 So what do you do? Some people just won't ride because of these threats. Others wear all the gear available and "dress for the crash". That, combined with good scanning practices is probably a decent plan. I dress that way some times but not always. On any given day you'll spot me in varying degrees of appropriate riding gear. That's my choice. It's not always a smart choice but it's a risk I've chosen to accept. And I'm not alone. I've spoken to other riders that have crashed and suffered. They ride on their terms.
 The other day I didn't ride to work. I wussed out. Partially because of dense fog and if I didn't wear rain gear I'd be soaked, and partially because it seemed unsafe. I was uncomfortable with the whole idea.
 Safety didn't always rank so high. It used to be third behind showing off and looking good. My showing off skills aren't what they used to be and they weren't much to begin with. As for looking good, that really never was a thing for me and it gets worse as the years roll by. You'd think that would bump safety up to number one but you'd be wrong. While no one was looking, comfort quietly snuck its way up from last place and found a home on top of the list.
 What does that mean? Well first we have physical comfort. My Ultra Limited is designed with operator comfort in mind. I can hide behind the fairing while wearing a heated vest and turn on the heated seat and grips to aid in comfort. My choice to wear or not to wear a helmet also is based on comfort. Sometimes that comfort decision is based on the weather and sometimes it's about perceived risk. Ya, I know its a far cry from ATGATT (all the gear all the time) and may sound odd from someone thats banged their helmeted head on the asphalt after hitting a deer. It's just the way it is. One day I may feel comfortable wearing nothing but a smile while riding the Rat Turd with its cast iron seat and the next day I've got all the gear on. Wearing the gear gives me confidence and mental comfort and that helps me concentrate on the road. With the remembrance of that nasty encounter 16 years ago, lately I've been covering up with the appropriate gear.
 So one day you may see me jammin out head bangin on the Ultra. What I hope you never see again is me bangin my head on the road.

Later.

edit. I watched these videos after posting them and they have nowhere near the quality needed to actually see the deer. More practice needed. I also apologize for associating head bangin with Green Day as heard in the first video.

SCR

 Sunday was the Slimey Crud Run, an event that involves a motorcycle gathering in Pine Bluff, Wi followed by a gathering in Leland. Whatever route you take from Pine Bluff to Leland is the "run" and it's not organized, chaperoned or even have start time.  It is what you make it. The draw for many is the tire kicking, bench racing and jaw jacking that goes on while the bikes are parked. Sunday my plan was to ride the sporty down with Dan but when he backed out I changed up my plan a bit. I rode the Ultra and later rode further to my oldest daughters house for a visit. The sporty may have made the ride but certainly not with the same comfort I enjoyed on Harleys finest touring rig.
 While in Leland I met fellow blogger "Coop" from Coop's Corner.  My memory isn't that good but besides JT who got me started in blogging, Coop may be the first blogger I've met in person. We didn't talk about blogs but we did talk about something we're both passionate about. Bikes, duh.
 There was a decent turnout of bikes but it was lacking in the odd stuff usually in attendance. There was one bike that caught my attention, not so much for the physical bike itself but for the whole package.
 This guy

 It's one thing to put a sidecar on your bike but something totally different to do it without any previous sidecar experience. Looking at the bike and mounts it was clear he built this on his own and to his own specs. I was parked next to him so I had a chance to hear his story and all I could do is grin and give him a thumbs up. Of course these projects are never done. I learned that a propeller may be in the works for this unusual rig.
 Speaking of grinning, I had a weird encounter while I was minding my own freakin business watching the bikes go by. A cop walked up to me and said "It's ok for you to smile". WTF? Now we're monitoring facial expressions? I smile when it's appropriate but I don't go walking around with a fake smile on like so many people do. If you see me grinnin you know it's real.
 Anyway, I was at a bike event so you know I was smiling on the inside and no court could ever prove otherwise.

Later.

Funny Noise

If you pay any attention at all to this blog then you remember me saying the sporty was making a weird noise.

 I suspected the noise was coming from behind the primary cover so one night after work I tore into it. What I found was a suspicious clutch hub bearing. The bearing was replaced, everything bolted back together, the chain was adjusted and then the primary case was refilled with B&M trick shift fluid. This is the same juice I had in there before because the clutch manufacturer recommends it. The good news is that the noise is gone. The bad news is I have a new slight squeaking noise if I launch the bike hard. I guess I'll have to limit the burnouts, wheelies and stop light racing for a while.
 Today is the Slimey Crud Run and I plan to ride the sporty unless the forecast is for weather more fitting for a bike with a windshield, heated seat and grips. I was supposed to meet Dan this morning but something came up so I'm on my own. There's no real plans other than that so we'll see how it plays out.

 I'm still experimenting with the GoPro and not having a lot of success. I guess I'm ok with the video but I need to work on the audio. Here is a few minutes of a ride I took on the Rat Turd when I went to the Watson Street bike show.

Green Lake Bike Show Overview

 On Sunday I took my sportster to the show in Green Lake and had a pretty good time.
 On the way to the show the bike was making an odd noise coming from behind the primary cover and during a restart I got a sense that things weren't meshing as smooth as they should be. I'll investigate when I get a chance.
 Some of the bikes in the show included these three Hondas owned by some local young guys. After talking with them I got the impression I'd be seeing more cool custom work from them in the future.

 For me, the best bike in the show was this green flamed Honda. For whatever reason, he didn't place well in the show despite the obvious huge amount of time he'd spent working on this bike. Life ain't fair sometimes.

 I was approached by one of the show organizers and asked if I would fill in for a judge that couldn't make it there. Of course I said yes and grabbed the clip board and began scrutinizing the bikes in the European class.

 These were some of the older Triumphs in that class which also included newer Triumphs and BMW. How do you judge a near perfect 60's or 70's restoration against a few year old Rocket III? Well I did my best despite the fact that the only rain we got was while I was examining these rides. In the end, the right bike won (in my opinion).
 An how about my bike? Well first, I didn't realize the Rat Turd had such a big following because a lot of people asked why I didn't bring it. The bike I did bring got a second place award in its class but more importantly it got the peoples choice award!

  The next surprise I got was when they drew the 50/50 raffle. You guessed it, I won that too. Because this event was a fundraiser for the local animal shelter and because that shelter accepted a cat after my mom passed away, I donated my winnings back to the shelter. I know, what a guy.
 Sunday is the Slimey Crud Run. I gotta figure out what bike is capable of making the journey and whos going. Maybe I'll see you there.

Later.

Never Forget

 Wednesday I told you about my desire to paint the sporty and enter it in todays bike show. I know its not a show bike but so what. Run what ya brung.
 I was gonna just repaint the bike black but ran into a few issues. In fact I got quite frustrated in my efforts. When asked how the painting project was going, these are the words that came out of my mouth...
 Have you ever walked through the woods in the dark and have your flashlight puke out? A few steps further a tree branch slaps you in the face and then you fall into a deep hole. You struggle but can't get out of the hole. After many attempts you just accept the fact that you will play out your days in this hole. That is how my painting project was going.
 But then I heard a voice. It was my wife and she encouraged me. Of course by then I had already lost my cool and sprayed the entire tank in gold glitter as a protest. So now what? The show is days away and the bike I want to take is painted like a cheap piece of costume jewelry. I said screw it and decided to just free style the paint job. With the eagle sissy bar it was easy to come up with a patriotic theme and just start squirting paint. It's definitely a forty foot paint job. Any closer and it looks like ass but I had fun with it and it gave me some ideas for a paint job I would ultimately like to do on this bike...when I have more time.

 Ya, its more of a 3rd grade art project but its on there and its dry.

 Because I spent so much time dickin around with the tank paint, I didn't get a whole lot else done. The eagle is back on after cutting off the whole lower section of the old rack system. The rear fender was chopped flush and the front fender got a splash of color. I also relocated the plate and wrapped the pipes. I think the wrap looks good but the real reason for doing it can be seen by the holes in my riding pants and two pair of work pants.
 So if you are looking for something to do today, why not come to Green Lake and check out the bike show. I'll be there.

Later.

100 Grit

 I told you my plan is to take the sportster to the bike show this coming weekend and that's still the plan. The problem is that the sporty is in pretty rough shape. After removing the eagle sissy bar I wasn't able to haul a bacpac so I was using a magnetic tank bag. Well that bag wore through the paint on the tank so now the bike needs a fresh coat of Rustoleum. After removing all the tins I started sanding everything down. My wife caught the moment...

 As I was sanding off the layers of paint I found the old lightning bolt paint job. That's what the white lines are in this pic.

 As you can see, the world is my paint booth. I gotta say though, the city garbage cans are just the right height for this type of work. Ya, I don't take painting very seriously. By the time I got around to painting the tank, it was dark outside and I was trying to swat skeeters while painting. This morning it's obvious I'm gonna be a day behind because I need to sand the tank back down and squirt it again. I don't expect perfection but it was pretty bad.

Later.

On the Road

Today's post comes to you from Janesville,  wi where I just woke from a night of live music and adult beverages. OK maybe I'm not fully awake. We rode the big Ultra down here to watch our friend Jay bang his drums in a Kiss tribute band. Once again he kicked ass.
Yesterday was the Watson Street bike show. I dropped the rat turd off there in the a.m. and then went to work till 2. When I finally got to the show I was able to check out the iron and to be honest I was a little disappointed that there weren't many new entries.  Because of that I've decided that for next week's show in Green Lake I won't be bringing the rat. I thought about taking the Ultra but don't really want to take a stock looking bike to a show. The BSA isn't ready yet so that means the sporty is up to bat. My wife told me she wants to see the eagle back on the bike and I agreed but not in the exact form it was in before.  I'm not yet sure what that means but I have a week to figure it out. Sorry, posting from my phone still means no pics but if I could post one maybe it would be me and AL posing with our bike show awards or his wife holding a trophy in front of her vette. Or maybe it would be a scenic shot from the road on the ride down here or possibly an action shot of the band jammin out.

Later.