To Harley Or Not To Harley, That Is The Question?

[likitlikeyoulikeit]

When I did that first ride with the older guys, I had to stay in the middle of the pack, since I had only been riding for less than a year. But I was SO eager to get that KZ750 leaned over in some turns, especially when we got up into the mountains. Jeff led the whole way on his KZ1000 J2, and Uncle Charlie, whom we called 'Beer Truck Chuck', because he had one of those pvc containers mounted on his luggage rack on his LTD1000, filled with beer and ice, usually brought up the rear.

But as it turned out, Ralph on his KZ650 CSR would ride slow, falling way behind, even past Charlie. He'd get so far back we couldn't even see him behind us! So I decided to "ride the gap," a trick I picked up from Motorcyclist Magazine that basically said, when you're on twisty roads with cars going slower than you want to, but are unsafe to pass, when you catch up to a 4-wheeler, you pull over until the next one comes up behind you, and jump back in, ride at your speed, catch up to the car again, and repeat. (This only works in light traffic though.)

So I did that with the bikes. I'd catch up to Jeff, then fall back to Ralph, then ride at my pace, enjoying the curves, until I caught up to Jeff again. This was on 211 in VA, and the Blue Ridge Parkway. I had a ball, and was still able to stay inside the group!

Then a cop stopped to check on us, because we decided to pull off and wait for Ralph, not knowing where he was!

Before we got to the camp site, we pulled into some podunk town to find a spot to change back out of the rain gear, and there were these guys just hanging out on a porch of what looked to be a closed store. I was the only one who was down for parking the bikes right up at that porch, and making some new friends! But after we got introduced, we all ended up smoking some weed with them, and the next thing I know, one of the guys is riding off with one of them in his truck. He gets back with some home-made moonshine! Perfect! LOL

Fun times, but it ended up being the only year I did that ride with them. Many years later, when I got the Concours, and later the Electra Glide, I'd do that same ride, but with my wife, and later my gf! I LOVE getting out to those mountains!! Probably been there about 6 times. It's so peaceful up on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I always pick it up at the south end of Skyline Drive, then ride it down to around Staunton.

Meeting new people and talking shit ..sharing a buzz... sometimes eating as a group, taking over a whole restaurant....I really miss that shit.

Met so many cool people that way.

 

[ᛗᛜᛜᚺDᛜᎶ Ꮤᛨᚳᚴ]

When I did that first ride with the older guys, I had to stay in the middle of the pack, since I had only been riding for less than a year. But I was SO eager to get that KZ750 leaned over in some turns, especially when we got up into the mountains. Jeff led the whole way on his KZ1000 J2, and Uncle Charlie, whom we called 'Beer Truck Chuck', because he had one of those pvc containers mounted on his luggage rack on his LTD1000, filled with beer and ice, usually brought up the rear.

But as it turned out, Ralph on his KZ650 CSR would ride slow, falling way behind, even past Charlie. He'd get so far back we couldn't even see him behind us! So I decided to "ride the gap," a trick I picked up from Motorcyclist Magazine that basically said, when you're on twisty roads with cars going slower than you want to, but are unsafe to pass, when you catch up to a 4-wheeler, you pull over until the next one comes up behind you, and jump back in, ride at your speed, catch up to the car again, and repeat. (This only works in light traffic though.)

So I did that with the bikes. I'd catch up to Jeff, then fall back to Ralph, then ride at my pace, enjoying the curves, until I caught up to Jeff again. This was on 211 in VA, and the Blue Ridge Parkway. I had a ball, and was still able to stay inside the group!

Then a cop stopped to check on us, because we decided to pull off and wait for Ralph, not knowing where he was!

Before we got to the camp site, we pulled into some podunk town to find a spot to change back out of the rain gear, and there were these guys just hanging out on a porch of what looked to be a closed store. I was the only one who was down for parking the bikes right up at that porch, and making some new friends! But after we got introduced, we all ended up smoking some weed with them, and the next thing I know, one of the guys is riding off with one of them in his truck. He gets back with some home-made moonshine! Perfect! LOL

Fun times, but it ended up being the only year I did that ride with them. Many years later, when I got the Concours, and later the Electra Glide, I'd do that same ride, but with my wife, and later my gf! I LOVE getting out to those mountains!! Probably been there about 6 times. It's so peaceful up on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I always pick it up at the south end of Skyline Drive, then ride it down to around Staunton.

LOVE the Blue Ridge Parkway! Truly 500 or so of the best miles I have ever done ;~)) Only did it once but if I were to do it again, I would ride it end to end in both directions (assuming cooperative weather)!! Other road highlights for me are of course Hwy 1 in California, US 101 along the Pacific coast once you leave California (which I consider to be all one road, like the BRP and it's extensions), and US 12 (aka The Lolo Pass) bridging Montana and Idaho! Blue Ridge and those two are probably my top 3!!! I stopped on US 12 to take a picture of the sign at the beginning of the video below, epic ride ;~)) And although some HD riders don't like the sharp turns the way crotch rocket riders do ("My boards were throwin' sparks"), the turns on this ride are gentle and total bliss!!! A must do for any rider, bucket list item IMO (along with the other two I mentioned). A lot of great stretches out there including but not limited to the whole Black Hills area in SD. Great riding country as well, but do NOT go during Sturgis ;~)) And of course, any place there is mountains, rivers, other water, forrests, etc. can be pure bliss!!! Amber waves of grain and corn fields can get old real quick (at least for me), but between these wonderful riding paradises, you are bound to endure some heavy doses of that Americana richness ;~))

Rides I do not need to do again include Mississippi River Road (not a whole lot of river riding and difficult to follow IMO) and Route 66 (or the parts that remain anyway, it has some great sections but overall, pass, though of course, better than the interstate ;~))

​

 

[Rock Chalk]

Man, you guys are bringing back a lot of great memories with the stories of the bikes! I'm pretty sure I posted a pic of the V-Max I had back in the day, and after that there was the '90 Kawi ZX7, and then the '95 Honda 900RR......all great bikes, but the days of goin' 140 down I-435 wearin' nothin' but shorts, tank top, and a pair of Vaurnets are over!

I hope @la szum doesn't mind, but I'm going to post a pic of my latest bike in his thread. I haven't had a bike for about 25 years, and I've wanted one of these since I was 10 years old......well I finally got one....lol

Without further ado, I give you the 1969 Honda Trail 70.......mini but mighty!

 

[la szum]

LOVE the Blue Ridge Parkway! Truly 500 or so of the best miles I have ever done ;~)) Only did it once but if I were to do it again, I would ride it end to end in both directions (assuming cooperative weather)!! Other road highlights for me are of course Hwy 1 in California, US 101 along the Pacific coast once you leave California (which I consider to be all one road, like the BRP and it's extensions), and US 12 (aka The Lolo Pass) bridging Montana and Idaho! Blue Ridge and those two are probably my top 3!!! I stopped on US 12 to take a picture of the sign at the beginning of the video below, epic ride ;~)) And although some HD riders don't like the sharp turns the way crotch rocket riders do ("My boards were throwin' sparks"), the turns on this ride are gentle and total bliss!!! A must do for any rider, bucket list item IMO (along with the other two I mentioned). A lot of great stretches out there including but not limited to the whole Black Hills area in SD. Great riding country as well, but do NOT go during Sturgis ;~)) And of course, any place there is mountains, rivers, other water, forrests, etc. can be pure bliss!!! Amber waves of grain and corn fields can get old real quick (at least for me), but between these wonderful riding paradises, you are bound to endure some heavy doses of that Americana richness ;~))

Rides I do not need to do again include Mississippi River Road (not a whole lot of river riding and difficult to follow IMO) and Route 66 (or the parts that remain anyway, it has some great sections but overall, pass, though of course, better than the interstate ;~))

​

That is epic! I have driven the entire length of the Lewis & Clark Highway. From Lewiston, ID to Missoula, MT??

Swam and bathed in the Snake River. Seemed like it followed right along the River the entire way through Idaho.

Man, loved that stretch of road. So great.

That was all in a Toyota Pathfinder. Maybe someday on a bike.

 

[6string_Lydia]

Always premium. Usually put stable in there. Thats all. Or is it called stabil. Something like that. My boyfriend usually puts it in because he knows how much.

He said he only puts stabil in it because i don't use it much. He puts it in all of the machines. He doesn't have a motorcycle, he has a license but its kinda scary when he tries to ride lol.
SO, today i put 54 miles on it. It was fun . I took myself to lunch. It was a good day. I might even ride it to work Wednesday.

 

[ᛗᛜᛜᚺDᛜᎶ Ꮤᛨᚳᚴ]

He said he only puts stabil in it because i don't use it much. He puts it in all of the machines. He doesn't have a motorcycle, he has a license but its kinda scary when he tries to ride lol.
SO, today i put 54 miles on it. It was fun . I took myself to lunch. It was a good day. I might even ride it to work Wednesday.

Yeah, if you are not using up the gas regularly, then you are a perfect candidate for some Sta-bil treatment. The other option is to only put the gas in that you might use within a certain amount of time. It is good to get your tank to run as close to empty from time to time to ensure you are getting most of the old gas out of the system. My girlfriend does not understand this, so when the cars are at half a tank, she wants to fill up! My explanations hold no sway, so it is what it is. The problems with letting it get low are running out of gas (duh), more stops at the gas station (booo) and possible rusting on the inside of the fuel tank of your bike that never gets touched with any gas.

Great that you are getting out, enjoy the season, it will be gone before you know it! That goes for you as well @la szum ! Next time your friends come over and you decide the ride is not worth it, count your miles this season, maybe it will push you over the edge on that BAD decision to not go ;~)) Think what all of those "wing-ladies" (other riders SO's) could have done for you in scouting the crowd and thinning the heard of ladies that would have been wanting the double-up spot on your machine ;~))

 

[ᛗᛜᛜᚺDᛜᎶ Ꮤᛨᚳᚴ]

That is epic! I have driven the entire length of the Lewis & Clark Highway. From Lewiston, ID to Missoula, MT??

Swam and bathed in the Snake River. Seemed like it followed right along the River the entire way through Idaho.

Man, loved that stretch of road. So great.

That was all in a Toyota Pathfinder. Maybe someday on a bike.

Yeah, that road in any vehicle is magical! Get there on the bike though!! I have a vision of you making that journey in the summer of 2025 (but do it well before and/or after Sturgis so you don't have half the countries HD riders in that region of the country)!!!

 

[6string_Lydia]

Yeah, if you are not using up the gas regularly, then you are a perfect candidate for some Sta-bil treatment. The other option is to only put the gas in that you might use within a certain amount of time. It is good to get your tank to run as close to empty from time to time to ensure you are getting most of the old gas out of the system. My girlfriend does not understand this, so when the cars are at half a tank, she wants to fill up! My explanations hold no sway, so it is what it is. The problems with letting it get low are running out of gas (duh), more stops at the gas station (booo) and possible rusting on the inside of the fuel tank of your bike that never gets touched with any gas.

Great that you are getting out, enjoy the season, it will be gone before you know it! That goes for you as well @la szum ! Next time your friends come over and you decide the ride is not worth it, count your miles this season, maybe it will push you over the edge on that BAD decision to not go ;~)) Think what all of those "wing-ladies" (other riders SO's) could have done for you in scouting the crowd and thinning the heard of ladies that would have been wanting the double-up spot on your machine ;~))

I always keep it full. I heard that it can rust if you don't. Years ago before I used stable my brother showed me how to clean out the carburetor. That was on my sportster. Since we used stabil i haven't had to do that. I think i have had the superglide 6 years and never had to take the carburetor off. Supposedly the sportster takes the same carburetor. I do remember something about the air filter. My boyfriend took it off and cleaned it i think? I really don't like it when he takes my stuff apart.

 

[6string_Lydia]

I rode my bike to work today...walked in with my leather jacket on, helmet in hand. A couple people asked what's with the helmet and leather jacket lol. Called me a biker chick. Lol. I think im gonna ride it tomorrow too.