Well.....Bye.

[Cooter]

Cooter must have won the lottery or became a drug dealer when he moved to southern cali... How many bikes you have now?

It goes like this: (The proper number of bikes to have) = (number of bikes you own) + 1.
The biggest problem is that I like every bike I have in there right now! Usually I have one that I'm sort of over owning and ready to swap for something else. This time I was just really really curious about living with a Big Bertha like this one.
I've had Harleys before, but kept it reasonable with the Sportsters, 883/1200 Low/1200C. This Road Glide Custom is a whole new planet of experience. I can hear Buelly Bagger laughing at me

To be fair I don't really know much about them. Mechanically they are even simpler than the Buells IMO, and should run forever being an 1800cc worth of low stress, heavy swinging metal. It acts more like a steam engine than a gas one! Bought it from a cool dude who was the original owner (it's good sign when they're truly sad about selling it), checked tire pressures and left with Bubbles for a 4 day 400 mile ride down south to Julian, CA (about 1 1/2 hours east of Whale Penis, CA).

That ElCo makes my neck start itchin for a mullet.

Mine too. Especially with the Covid hair length I have now, I sat in the barber chair recently with that as my goal and totally chickened out at the last minute:sorrow: Oh well. Maybe next time?

 

[Cooter]

Bubbles and I were headed down south for her B-day trip, and since I haden't touched the Buell since then, so it was time for a quick oil change before the next ride.

When the drain plug mushed out of it's hole and brought the threads with it:mad-new: I was more than a little bummed. I love this SS for exactly this trip! I got it as a VERY nice, low mile bike! It should have had maybe one or two oil changes in its life (according to the mileage) and the damn plug is stripped?!
Darn it, welcome to Buel-life.
Too late to even Amazon the timesert kit, so what are my options? The parts-house I keep in Arizona was fast to respond and sent the repair kit immediately, but it too wouldn't show up until too late I highly recommend their services, though! Friendly and quick to respond. I'll have to Yelp review them 5-stars!

The Brutalé would be fun, a bit uncomfortable on the taint, and I have no idea how to hang my soft bags on it, but the killer was that I just found out theres a safety recall, ("NOT A SAFETY RECALL" according to MVUSA) that the ultra light-weight clutch basket likes to EXPLODE. Ok, well. I'M not riding it. They will even graciously cover the cost of repair um... "service bulletin". To cover 4 year old used bike is pretty impressive for NOT A SAFETY RECALL.lol.

I'd love to take the EBR, but it is in total track day trim and I'd burn through either set of the RS11 Bridgestones I have on the wheels right now

I could rent a bike from Eagle Rider, and I have saved enough credits to be reasonable but we have a 2 week trip to the Appalachians coming and I want to use my credits for that. Ironically, I was looking squarely at a Road Glide for that trip in October

I'll admit it was the HD test ride at the races in Moneterey that had me drooling. Something about a $40+K CVO.... Anyway this one I got ain't that one, but it's close enough for me on my beer budget.
The test ride back to back with a Street Glide up in Monterey taught me a few things about them, like how the Road glides front fairing is frame mounted and protects you from the wind, while the Street Glide has the whole 200lb fairing and stereo system attached to the handlebars, buffets my head miserably, and the 800lb bike gets thrown around with the slightest wind or pavement change. Big Nope. I will never ever be able to ride one of those Batwings comfortably.

This one had to have a couple things. NO SKULLS, or flames either.:upset: I'd rather rock My Little Pony than be that cliché. I like the short tinted shield, The bigger CVO wheels make it look a little more modern than the 16 inchers, and I love the basic Hot Rod style.

I loaded up the purses in the back of it and was pretty impressed how much cargo they hold! They are deceivingly large and handy to have. That top hinge thing is weird as ****. Ya I know it's been the same forever, but its weird to use and can't be one handed.

 

[Cooter]

My first thought was damn this is HEAVY. Top heavy, ungainly, the massive rake wants to make it fall over when you crank the bars over... Oh and those bars. Ugh. High enough to run the blood out of your hands, high enough to make you sit on your tail bone in sort of a half pull up fashion and make your shoulder blades scream after the first 10 miles. Also tall enough to make it hard to move the bike, and then rubber mounted? Mush on mush on mush. What have I done!?!

Too late now, we're already on the highway.

 

[Cooter]

It has a CD player.
You remember those? Little shiny disks that have music on them The PO also proudly showed me the I-pod connector. 30-pin of course, lol. Well I'm old enough to still have the Case Logic CD case that I put in my Duramax when I bought it in '04, and I'll let your imagination wander as to whats in it, and it is way worse than you are thinking. And even worse when it's blasting out in public out of the respectably loud OE stereo system. I'll see you in Heeeeeeeeeellllllllllllll!

I didn't even feel the first 200 miles. and not even a 1/2 tank. Wheres the gas filler? How do I?... Oh it's under this flap. Harley Davidson invented the Cruiser. No one can do it better, because they are all imitating what Harley invented. Even the Mother HD copies itself over and over. They may have their list of 'faults', but what they do, they do the BEST.
Cruise control on, resting my throttle hand comfortably on my leg, unnervingly watching the rubbery handlebars flop around at highway speeds, not one bump, freeway groove, or wind, unsettled it from its mission to eat miles.

but all the while I was getting nervous to our destination dictated by the amazing Butler Map we have.

 

[34nineteen]

Yeah, those bars gotta go. You should look up to see how much those bars cost. You'll probably be shocked.

Pro -tip : if you find that those mirrors only give you a view of your shoulders, you can flip them upside down (change sides) and at least the view wont be obstructed that much.

 

[Cooter]

Will I die on East Grade on Palomar Mountain? Just how far will this thing lean? How hard is this rubber anyway? The back tire is worn flat in the middle and heavily feathered on the sides. I got a pair of new tires in the deal but no time to swap them either. Send it!

Straight from the highway to one of the most twisty, sharp 270* corner mountain roads up to the Palomar Observatory. Ya gotta learn real quick like. Body position is all wrong, stomp the front to downshift, stomp the rear to upshift, 2000rpm is completely OK to blast out of corners, rubber band front forks don't like the front brakes (which are actually pretty good), lean lean LEAN! Shove that thing over! Oh boy...

Not dead!

 

[Tbone]

I rode to the observatory on a softail 7 years ago, a lot of scraping all the up and down.

 

[34nineteen]

You should straight pipe it.

 

[Cooter]

Ya T-bone I gashed some virgin chrome on the way up too. Bubbles nearly fell off her Z900 laughing so hard.

I'll travel through the Craigslist swamp for some stock bars, yay more chrome:eagerness: and you're not kidding about cost. I'll take what a part is worth and add a digit, usually I'm about right for dealer prices on HD stuff.

The V&H exhaust isn't quite Lunatic Heavy Industries Hellfire rated, but it's pretty loud. I'm glad its way out back and under the bag. I'll take it apart and see if theres a baffle 'missing' and if I can add one.

After 400 miles I'm pretty used to riding it at a fair pace but it still sucks to move it around the garage. I have to be a bit more careful about parking facing any slight downhill as well. It's fun, I'm learning, and I'll have it for awhile. When shopping for this one I found an older one that really cheap because it needs a case side. Say, is the the ghost of Fred Sanford I see laughing at me? AARON!

 

[34nineteen]

You really need to knock that crap off! You're pissing me off!!!!

The Sanford and Son comments? Nah, they're well deserved!

BUT YOUR BIKE PORN IS MAKING ME THIRSTY FOR THAT SPORT GLIDE!!! Damn you!

https://www.hdofscottsdale.com/inve...id-black-deluxe-scottsdale-az-85260-11087516i

 

[Cooter]

Well, it didn't work with the MV so... neener neener. But seriously, come on over and ride it!

That looks like a fun muscle cruiser, did you look at the FatBoy? I'd still rock a Sporty too! A regular 1200 with forwards and a satchel would be great for around town!

 

[34nineteen]

Well, it didn't work with the MV so... neener neener.

Its easy to put the MV out of sight-out of mind when I never see them until you post something about it, then I get all riled up again.


This. Is. All. Your. Fault. :black_eyed:


I really dig your new bike. I can think of a million reasons not to get one, but I cant look away. Keep the pics and story of yours and Bubbles adventure coming! :eagerness:

 

[RidetheLightning]

enough about the sharknose, how about that Manx!? Does it run on propane?

 

[Cooter]

enough about the sharknose, how about that Manx!? Does it run on propane?

Propane? No? but I guess it could. It's not mine but a project I'm finishing. A Manx(ter) so a full size VW pan, a-arm Fox coil over suspension and disk brakes on all 4 corners, 285HP Subaru flat 6, Mendeola 5-speed. I scaled it at 1950lbs so you could say its fast The flat plane crank and pair of motorcycle mufflers makes it scream like a Lamborghini I just got it tuned so it's a dang rocket now.

 

[Cooter]

 

[Endopotential]

Did you see the other fancy Manx at the very uppity Quail in Monterey?
https://newatlas.com/automotive/quail-automotive-gathering-2021/

Check out picture #14. Wonder if that was the very first Manx, just to earn that podium spot. 69 pics of some other very drool-worthy toys.

 

[Cooter]

Wow Endo, thats a wormhole! Like the first time I picked up a Robb Report:eek-new:

 

[njloco]

Nice bike but I can't stand to look at it with those handle bars. At your height It should fit you very well. What did you do about the stripped out oil plug hole ?

 

[Cooter]

Ya NJ, the bars are terrible and rubber mounted so they don't steer very well either:upset: I'll never understand the form-over-function thing when it comes to motorcycles. Gonna grab a stock set of bars ASAP.

Aaron graciously sent me a timesert kit to repair it. Should be better than new! and I have an appt to get the MV service bulletin done on sept 1 so I'll be back to having all the bikes sorted soon:angel:

 

[Cooter]

Got the MV back from service! Nice to have it back. Neat dealer too, they sell Moto Guzzi, Aprillia, Ducati, MV Agusta, Energica, and absolutely love the trash heap of Josephine Dirté the El Camino. Pretty funny to drop off the bike in it, the definition of beauty and the beast with it in the bed:angel: I haven't had a chance to go over their work (I have trust issues), but confidence is high!

The timesert went in without issue, THANKS A-Aron! Better than new. Literally. I honestly believe every Bueller should do it and I will start a thread offering to ship it to anyone that wants to do the job, just pay for the one insert/shipping. A little care and 15 mins and you will be rewarded with a stronger than stock, lifetime upgrade:up:

So good to have my babies back

Shopping for a set of stock Road glide bars, these "Tee" things are miserable. I'm learning a lot about the BIG HD's. Simply replacing the bars is a pain. Internal wiring, stand offs, what size is what? What fits what? What years? Even buying new grips is a pain. And oddly expensive.