Categories: all aviation Building a Biplane bicycle gadgets misc motorcycle theater
Mon, 20 Feb 2006
A thing occurred to me the other day. I was driving somewhere (not
on a motorcycle due to passengers) and saw a group of five
motorcyclists pass through the intersection in front of me. They
weren't doing anything wrong, just riding. But what I noticed was
this: they were all riding Harleys (or at least bikes that looked like
Harleys).
What's remarkable about this? Nothing on the face of it. However, although it was a bright sunny day, it was also just above freezing. I had seen no other motorcycle riders that whole day.
This isn't the only time something like this has occurred to me. I've seen Harley riders all over the place when there were no other bikers to be found.
This all flies in the face of the popularly (at least among the motorcycle community) held conception that Harley riders are extreme fair-weather riders. Simply not true, at least not in the Seattle area. On days when I've seen nary a BMW rider, or Goldwing rider, there were Harley riders.
They're getting out there, loading up their bikes, and taking trips. It's a model more bikers should follow. When I cruise around the message boards I frequent, I see a lot of Harley-bashing, and I don't think it's entirely fair. There may be a ton of Harleys slowly collecting dust in the garage over the winter, but they're also the people I see out riding more often than anyone else.
The sportbikers completely dissappear when it rains, or when it's cold out. There are a few hardy commuters like myself, but not very many. But if I see someone riding on a weekend in this season, they're probably on a Harley.
Now if only I could get them to wave back.
Posted at 08:53 permanent link category: /motorcycle
I was riding the Goldwing into work today when I glanced down a
sidestreet and saw a fairly amazing view. It was good enough that I
had to stop and snap a picture:
That's the Olympic mountain range, west of Seattle. I took the picture around 7:50 this morning.
In other news, the Goldwing remains hard to start. The other night I left it parked on the street while I was running a show downtown, and when I got out to start it around 11:30, it took about five minutes to get running. Every time I pressed the starter button, I just heard the starter spin without catching. I'm developing a theory that there's a bit too much oil in the crankcase (but not enough to cause any damage), and particularly when parked uphill, the starter has problems. The starter clutch is apparently sensitive to oil type, so presumably can also be sensitive to oil level.
Theoretically, the starter parts I ordered last week will be in soon, and I'll have a chance to do a bit of refurb on the Goldwing's starter. Hopefully that'll solve most of the problems, although the starter clutch will continue to be a problem until I drain out some oil (I hope).
Posted at 08:45 permanent link category: /motorcycle
Categories: all aviation Building a Biplane bicycle gadgets misc motorcycle theater