Posts Tagged ‘Harley Davidson’

Motorcycle Ride to nowhere… unless Lisbon and Damascus count as destinations.

Posted: September 2, 2016 in Motorcycle Rides, motorcycle touring
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
2

b2

Debbie and I had a, nearly, 200 mile motorcycle ride this past Sunday.  We left quite early in the morning as it was supposed to be over well over 95F by early afternoon.  Our plan worked as it was 94F as we made it back to the house about 1PM. Hot and muggy, but we beat the worse of it.

Pulling out that morning we really did not have a true destination in mind other than to ride through the towns of Lisbon and Damascus.  We wanted to hit those locations to add to our “Great Cities” motorcycle tour! With no real plan this was just going to be one of those “it’s the journey not the destination” rides.

After rolling through Lisbon we decided to just ride north.  Riding through small towns and rolling farmland made for a wonderful morning.  Toss in some light fog here and there it was just one of those rides were you just love the fact that you ride a motorcycle!

After about an hour we turned the motorcycle towards the west until we ran into US Route 15 which runs right by our home. Heading south we rode the motorcycle into Frederick, MD to stop for lunch and a quick stop at the Frederick Harley-Davidson shop.  The stop at the dealership was to take a quick peek at the new 2017 motorcycles and see for myself how the new engine looks.

A bit later we pulled the bike into our garage with about 192 miles on the trip meter.  All in all just another good day behind bars (motorcycle handlebars)!

Motorcycle TV: Harley and the Davidsons

Posted: September 1, 2016 in Motorcycle advocacy, Motorcycle TV
Tags: , , , , , ,
0

hd3

Premiering September the 5th on the Discovery Channel this three part mini-series is a creative vision of the early years of the Harley Davidson Motor Company.  From the Discovery Channels website they state

“Based on a true story, Harley and the Davidsons charts the birth of this iconic bike hd1during a time of great social and technological change beginning at the turn of the 20th century. Walter, Arthur and Bill risked their entire fortune and livelihood to launch the budding enterprise. Each of these men faced very different challenges, but it was the motorcycle that united their dreams and ambitions.”

The mini-series stars Robert Aramayo (Game of Thrones) as Bill Harley, Michiel Huisman (also from Game of Thrones) as Walter Davidson and Bug Hall (American Pie) as Arthur Davidson.  Based on the trailer the trailer (see below) it looks like there is some chemistry between the actors.  I am looking forward to watching the show!

Check out this “Creating the show” video…

 

Our motorcycle vacation continued! With a major repair tossed in.

Posted: August 9, 2016 in Motorcycle, motorcycle touring
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
7

After the HOG Rolling Rally: History in the Hills was complete the second half of our motorcycle vacation started.  Debbie and I were going to go south of New Orleans to visit her sister for a few days and then head home via the Natchez Trace Parkway.

The intent was to “blast” our way south in order to maximize the amount of time we could visit with her sister. “Blasting south” meant interstate highways, hot concreate on hot days, drinking lots of water (which means lots of bio-breaks LOL).

ijustwant2ride

The compensating sprocket under the front sprocket.

The first leg of the ride we stopped for the evening to visit in-laws in Alabama.  The next morning back on the highway, but something was not quite right with the bike.  We made it to Tuscaloosa and pulled into T-Town Harley Davison.  The service tech took only seconds to state that the compensating sprocket was loose and the bike  went straight into the shop.

I am not sure what it does but if your compensating sprocket does not compensate then your transmission is having issues.

I have to give the team at T-Town a lot of praise. Knowing we were on a long trip they took us to the head of the service line. Worked with us on the cost (gaskets & transmission fluid) and had us on the road in about three hours (a chunk of which was the bike cooling down so they could work on it).  Debbie and I felt that they really cared about making sure we could get back on the road as soon as possible!

Ijustwant2ride.com

Can’t go to New Orleans without one of these pictures.

By the time we did get back on the road it was nearly 100F degrees and high 90s in humidity!  Once on the interstate it was quickly apparent that that the concrete was hotter than the ambient temperature, it had to be well over 100F. This was where we figured out when it was time to call it a day.  At a certain point in this heat we would begin to verbally snipe at each other.  When we started to argue about where do you what to eat, where do you want to stop, where do you want to sleep it was time for a cool room and long shower!

The rest of the ride to New Orleans was really uneventful.  We had a good time with Mark and Vicky, got to see a bunch of the local area including Alligators in the wild and a fishing trip/boat ride into the Gulf of Mexico.  Mark is a fishing guide and runs Hunting Red Fishing Charters, if you are into fishing check out what he has to offer

Too soon it was time to begin the trip back to Virginia.  My next post will be about our ride on the Natchez Trace Parkway.

Motorcycle Product Review: Bone Dry Seat Covers

Posted: July 30, 2016 in Motorcycle, Product Reviews
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
3

Ijustwant2ride.com

I bought a Bone Dry Motorcycle Seat Cover for our 2014 Harley Davidson Ultra Limited just prior to our nearly 3700 mile vacation.  The impetuous for this purchase is the fact that it always rains on us when we ride and we do not really enjoy putting our butts on wet seats, especially after a good night’s sleep. We also knew that a hot seat, after stopping for lunch, can be a real pain in the butt.

I looked at several different manufactures and no one product jumped out more than another except for Bone Dry.  Their product comes in different colors other then all black and that is why I purchased their product.  We have a blue bike and the blue striped cover matched, simple as that.

In operation the cover worked as expected. The Bone Dry Motorcycle Seat Cover kept our seats dry through several storms and keep the seat cool in the hot sun.

CONS

Now there are a some drawbacks that would apply to any cover of this type.  The first drawback is that in the deep south of the United States there is a LOT of humidity. There was always some condensation under the cover, especially after a thunderstorm. This was expected so no big deal.

The second drawback was what to do with a wet seat cover after a storm or early morning condensation.  Our solution was to “spin” dry the cover a much as possible before stowing.

Lastly, just like most covers of this nature, Bone Dry makes the seat covers in generic sizes.  I am sure that their covers for a pre-2014 Harley would be perfect fit, but Harley Davidson slightly changed the seats on the “Rushmore” bikes.  This change forces the cover to be tightly stretched to fit the seat.

PROS

The cover looks great on the bike!

The cover folds into itself for storage, no need for a separate case to loose.

Made in the USA.

It worked.

The ONLY reason I am giving it 4 and not 5 stars is that we had to stretch the cover to fit our seat more than I would like.  Over time, I really think that the stitching will become strained because of the difference in the pre/post 2014 seat sizes. But, I am willing to bet that this is an issue with many, if not all other covers  so this should not restrict you from buying the Bone Dry Motorcycle Seat Cover.  If you are in the market for a motorcycle seat cover, I suggest you consider Bone Dry.

4 out 5 stars

5 Motorcycle Things that interested me this week.

Posted: July 20, 2016 in Motorcycle, Motorcycle advocacy, Motorcycle news
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
0

five

Bikers viewed more attractive than drivers! 

A Motocross expert, a tight rope walker and a stunt pilot meet in the desert what happens next?

This Mercedes-Benz 240D Motorcycle And Sidecar Is Bewilderingly Wonderful 

Nova Scotia motorcyclist, 96, doesn’t plan to slow down anytime soon 

Actor Nichols Cage is not dead!

Harley Owners Group Rolling Rally: History in the Hills Day 6

Posted: June 29, 2016 in Motorcycle, Motorcycle Rides, motorcycle touring, Rally
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
4

ijustwant2ride

Waking early for our 630AM kickstands up we rolled out of bed and got dressed for the day.  Our first stop was the Mast General Store in Valle Crucis, NC.  The store is a great example of the old time general store and has been in operation since 1882.  It is still the local store, post office and community gathering place.  This was a very cool stop, make sure to ask about the “chicken chute” when you visit to see how people bartered for goods “back in the day”.

Ijustwant2ride.com

Mike got a lot of mileage from these simple wax lips!

We also swung by the Mast Candy Store.  The store focused on old school candy like wax bottles and lips, Bit’O Honey, caramel chews and pretty much any type of candy from your childhood.  Of course we had to buy back some of our childhood, one of our new friends (Mike) bought some glossy red wax lips and proceeded to scare and delight riders the rest of the day.

Rolling out of Valle Crucis we hit the Diamond Back! Our route took us about 2/3rd of the length of this snake.  This 38 mile diamond shaped loop includes NC 226A, US 221, Toms Creek Road, NC 80 and the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Riding through Little Switzerland on our way to the Mountain Gateway Museum (and lunch) was one of the highlights of the day.  One of the low lights of the day was zipper of my Kevlar pants blowing out (as well as a pocket).  The rest of the day the crew we were riding with (Mike, Dale, Stacey, Tori and Don) would occasionally call me McFly….sad day indeed!

ijustwant2ride.com

1 of 30+ machines

The next stop was the Mountain Gateway Museum where I found out there was a Spanish Fort in this area well before any English or French outposts, very interesting.  After lunch at the museum we rode to Asheville to check out the Pinball Museum. If you are into classic to modern pinball games or 1980s video games that are fully playable this is your place.  I had a lot of fun playing a vintage 1978 KISS pinball machine then jumping over to an 2015s KISS machine was completely awesome!  I could have spent hours in there…sad that I don’t but glad I don’t live in Asheville I would spend a lot of money at the pinball museum.

Back on the bike we rode a little more than an hour to the Wheels Through Time motorcycle museum. Debbie and I visited Wheels Through Time last year when on vacation.  It is an awesome facility that every motorcycle enthusiast must have on their list of sites to visit.  This time, because we were part of the HOG rally, we got to spend more time with the owner Dale as he told us stories about how he acquired several of the very rare bikes in the collection.

This time we also got to hear the story of the Traub motorcycle, a one of kind bike found sealed behind the wall of an apartment building.  I will write a separate post on this story.

After Wheels Through Time we rode on to our hotel in Hendersonville, NC.  We met our new friends for drinks and laughs and then off to bed.  Day 7 brings the Dragon.

To see what happened on day one check out that post!

 

 

Harley Owners Group Rolling Rally: History in the Hills Day 5

Posted: June 26, 2016 in Motorcycle, Motorcycle news, Motorcycle Rides, motorcycle touring
Tags: , , , , , , ,
3

WP_20160621_09_40_56_Rich

Tuesday morning we had to be at Roanoke Harley Davidson bright and early, the local Harley Owners Group chapter were providing breakfast! So we were kickstands up and riding the motorcycle at about 7AM.  Once again, the dang Dealership location feature of the GPS was screwed up! (you can read more on my thoughts about this thing from a post more than a year old here…not much has changed).

After thanking the HOG and dealership employees we got back on the road.  Hopping on the Blue Ridge Parkway (we were on and off the parkway about aIjustwant2ride.com dozen times it seems) we arrived at out second destination Mabry Mill.  Now I have been to dozens of mills over the years and this one was no different except for the story behind.  If you have time check the link for the story.  Also they have a working blacksmith forge, the gentleman working the forge makes several different items. He was just starting the heat the forge when were there so he was not working iron.

ijustwant2ride.comNow start whistling the theme for the Andy Griffith show while thinking about the song Rain Drops Kept Falling on my Head.  Because both of those fit our stop in Mount Airy, NC.  A short(ish) ride from the Mill, Mt. Airy was the home of Andy Griffith and the town has become Mayberry as a result.  The main street is a neat little “kitsch” with county/Mayberry themed stores.  But the real “Floyd’s” Barber Shop and Snappy Lunch stand are there.  We had a nice lunch at Snappy and if I had needed a haircut I would have stopped in Floyd’s.

A large part of stay in Mt. Airy was in the rain.  Riding the motorcycles in it was a hit and miss sprinkle, walking around it was a light rain but most of the stores had awnings that kept us covered but for about 5 minutes there was a downpour.  One of our new friends (Don of Don and Torri 🙂 ) made the rain stop by running down to their bikes and putting covers on their luggage.

After visiting the Andy Griffith Museum and Siamese Twins exhibit we were back on the road headed to Winston-Salem, NC.  This next stop was at the Winston Cup Museum. If you are into NASCAR this small museum will be right up your pit-lane (see what I did there LOL).  Holding 20+ race cars the museum tells the story NASCAR when RJ Reynolds was the primary sponsor.

After this it was a sprint to our hotel, a shower, beer/sprits, dinner and fun with new friends and sleep… or and air conditioning!!  Not sure what is the most important invention of the modern era… Motorcycles or air conditioning!

To see what happened on day one check out that post!

WP_20160621_14_29_55_Rich WP_20160621_14_25_31_Rich WP_20160621_14_24_20_Rich WP_20160621_13_49_09_Rich WP_20160621_14_20_22_Rich WP_20160621_14_21_17_Rich WP_20160621_13_05_02_Rich WP_20160621_13_05_54_Rich WP_20160621_13_08_35_Rich WP_20160621_12_41_35_Rich WP_20160621_11_46_13_Pro WP_20160621_11_31_00_Rich WP_20160621_11_33_03_Rich WP_20160621_11_33_14_Rich WP_20160621_11_26_38_Rich WP_20160621_11_25_25_Rich WP_20160621_10_13_56_Rich WP_20160621_09_24_23_Pro WP_20160621_09_39_40_Pro WP_20160621_10_00_57_Rich WP_20160621_10_11_28_Rich

 

Harley Owners Group Rolling Rally: History in the Hills Day 4

Posted: June 21, 2016 in Motorcycle, Motorcycle Rides, motorcycle touring, Rally
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
0

WP_20160619_18_06_53_Rich

Today’s HOG motorcycle tour started early.  We were on the road a couple minutes after 7AM (tomorrow will be earlier).  Pulling out of the motel parking lot we headed towards Natural Chimneys State Park, the first stop of the day.  

It took us a few days to figure this out but this HOG event is really an unstructured structured event.  You can go to as many of the stops as you want or none of the stops. You can follow the pre-planned routes or set your own.  We all just start and stop at the same location each day.  This day we chose to skip the State Park and go directly to the second stop the Museum of the Confederacy. 

On the way we had multiple animals try to kill themselves by throwing themselves at our motorcycle.  A rabbit, a squirrel, a blue bird, yellow bird, robins and a couple other critters all threw themselves at us, luckily they all missed by quite a bit.  

WP_20160620_10_45_40_RichThe Museum of the Confederacy is laid out in a fashion that walks you through from what leads up to the succession to the aftermath of the civil war.  In addition to the main museum there are several outdoor features including a “log cabin” built in 1832 and used as a home up until the 1960s. 

From there we headed to Lynchburg Harley Davison.  The Lynchburg HOG chapterWP_20160620_23_08_39_Rich was hosting us for lunch and we had to be there between 12 and 1.  I enjoyed the brat’s and thanked the HOG crew for their hospitality.  By the way, I now have yet another dealer pin for my collection. 

After lunch we remounted the Ultra and headed towards the National D-Day WP_20160620_13_18_32_RichMemorial.  The memorial honors all the soldiers, from twelve nations, that participated in the invasion of Europe in WWII.  As a retired soldier I can say the memorial was quite impressive and provide a poignant reminder of the cost of that invasion.  If you are in the area a few minutes of your time to visit this site would be a good idea. 

Debbie and I skipped the next stop, Foamhenge.  Turns out I wish we had not. Apparently the display will be removed in a couple months.  Oh, well. 

The last stop on this leg of the motorcycle rally, and our hotel, is the Natural Bridge Park and Historic Hotel.  The Natural Bridge is really a bridge with traffic running across the top.  Down below you can hike under the bridge and admire the vista in the same manner as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.  As part of our package we also got to view a light show projected upon the face of the cliffs.  About 10PM we were in our bed with dreams of the  next day.  

To see what happened on day one check out that post!

Harley Owners Group Rolling Rally: History in the Hills Day 2

Posted: June 18, 2016 in Motorcycle Rides, motorcycle touring, Rally, Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
0

WP_20160618_09_14_54_Rich

Day 2 started with breakfast in the Hotel (Gettysburg Country Inn and Suites).  The eggs were……weird, all uniformly round and the same thickness. It was if they had come out of one of those automatic pancake machines.  The taste???…well with the three scopes of salsa I applied they were barley ok (Debbie did not like them at all). 

Our ride around the Gettysburg area started with a trip to the Jennie Wade house. ijustwant2ride.com Jennie was the only civilian who was killed during the battle.  She was shot dead while baking bread for the Union soldiers encamped around the home.  It was a stray shot that went through two doors and killed her instantly.  Her story was quite inspiring during and after the war, I highly recommend you take a few minutes to check it out.  

After our docent led tour of the Jennie Wade house we rode back to the Seminary Ridge Museum.  We did not get a chance to see the entire museum on day one and wanted to finish the tour.  There was a lot of neat history on display. 

Debbie wanted to have taco pizza for lunch but the local Pizza Hut does not make that kind of pizza so she was quite disappointed.  Subway was her second choice so that is where we went. 

ijustwant2ride.comAfter lunch we rolled out to Mr. Ed’s Elephant Museum.  If there is an elephant toy, figurine, picture, painting of any size it is likely in Mr. Ed’s collection.  In addition to the elephant museum, Mr. Ed’s is also a candy store with a large selection of old school and newer candy as well as homemade fudge. 

From Mr. Ed’s we decided to ride to Jack’s Mountain Bridge. It is your typically ijustwant2ride.comstandard covered bridge but, the ride up and over the mountain was a lot of fun.  Nice cruiser style riding with sweeping turns and quick elevation changes.  It was short but a lot of fun, we rode it twice! Make sure to check out the video of our ride over Jack’s Mountain.  

Oh and I got a lot of comments about my hat from day one.  I was able to come up with a selection of statements for anyone that mentioned the hat (all in good fun), such as: 

Be careful or I will let the flying monkeys loose!

I have my eye out for my replacement.

I am a big believer in equal rights, there is a good chance a women will get the hat!

Whomever gets the hat next will have a hard time looking this good!

The highlight of the evening was being able to get rid of the hat! 

 

To see what happened on day one check out that post!

Harley Owners Group Rolling Rally: History in the Hills Day 1

Posted: June 18, 2016 in Motorcycle, Motorcycle Rides, motorcycle touring
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
8

Ijustwant2ride.com

This year Debbie and I decided to try out the national Harley Davidson HOG Rolling Rally.  It has been occurring for the last seven years and this year it is close to home. The theme for this year is “History in the Hills”. 

The start of the rally is Gettysburg, PA and it end a week later in Oak Ridge, TN.  In between there will be the chance to stop at numerous points to fulfill the title of “History in the Hills”. 

Today was the rally registration sign in, a trip to a special event at the Seminary Ridge Museum and the kickoff diner. Our sign in point was Battlefield Harley Davison. It was well organized and took us know time to get signed in, collect our kit of items and talk with some of the folks who are participating in the ride. 

I do have something negative to say about Battlefield HD.  When have been here several times over the years and have always found the folks polite and friendly, willing to go give a hand.  Today that promise of the past did not hold course.  I had forgotten to check the preload on my motorcycles rear shocks and could use a pound or two of additional air to get a better ride.  In the trip from the house to Gettysburg I realized that I needed the additional air and thought I would be able to borrow a pump to add the additional pressure.  NOPE, the service representative said that someone had “borrowed” their pump in the past and did not bring it back thus they did not have a pump for me to use.  Hummm, a complete service center did not have a pump to add air to a motorcycle shock. 

After that we road over to our hotel to check-in.  NOPE, the room is not read, come back after 3PM. Oh and do not park your motorcycle in front of the hotel. We reminded not to park out front at least 3 times.  OK Country Inns and Suites of Gettysburg, I get it you don’t want us to park out front. 

So onto Seminary Ridge and the museum.  We have been to Gettysburg many times and have never been to this museum and plan to take the full tour on day two.  Today the HOG folks (the tour is run my RUSH LLC) had arraigned a special presentation for the group.  We were broke in 4 groups of about 40-50 people and had a round robin education on Civil War soldiers backgrounds and the 1st day of the battle, ambulance wagons, the Seminary itself and a demonstration of how Civil War soldiers formed and marched.  It was quite nice. 

After the presentation were over we rolled over to the Pike Restaurant for the welcome dinner.  The food was good and the folks we shared our table with were awesome.  We had two highlights during the dinner, I was chosen (because I pulled a small prank) to be the first to wear the “HAT”.  The hat is the stereotypical “hillbilly” had from the comics and shows like “Hew Haw”.  I was told that last year the hat was a lobster, so at least I do not have to wear seafood.  I get to pass the hat on to someone else tomorrow….. Let’s see who that will be. 

The other highlight was that we won a $25 Harley Davison gift certificate.  All said we have had a great day and are looking forward to tomorrow’s events.

Older Entries
Newer Entries