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Rant Archive - June 2006
June 28, 2006 - THE BADLANDER
Harley-Davidson and many other companies offer
a bunch of after-market seats for the Electra Glide. The stock seat is great
for two-up riding and offers great comfort for the better half but I also
like the looks of some of the sleeker, more "fender-hugging" seats out there
for those times when I am riding solo. Well... After some pretty intense
research I decided to pick up a Harley-Davidson Badlander. I think it looks
great and when my dealer offered it at 20% off it ended up being the best
deal as well. The pictures above show the bike in both configurations. I
plan to switch back and forth depending if I'm riding alone or with a passenger.
Below is a better shot with the Badlander and shorter windshield. I like
this look a lot!
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June 27, 2006 - DINNER IN WARTRACE
 Some
friends of ours called tonight and asked if we'd like to ride to dinner with
them. It took about two seconds for us to think about it. Let's see... a
beautiful night to ride, good food, two of our favorite people in the world...
YES! As soon as I got home from work I uncovered the Electra Glide broke
out the helmets and we were on our way to meet up with our friends at a local
gas station.
One of my favorite times to ride is early evening
and tonight proved why. I think it's the photographer's eye in me but I love
the golden hue the sun casts during that three hour period just before sunset...
and tonight the sun was just dancing off the Middle Tennessee hills. I've
said it a million times I know but as far as I'm concerned, Tennessee is
one of the best motorcycle states in the country. The scenery is
beautiful.
Anyway... our final destination was a small town
called Wartrace which is located somewhere between Tullahoma, Shelbyville
and Murfreesboro. To tell you the truth, I was enjoying the ride so much
that I just sort of fell into a follow the leader mode, not really paying
attention to how exactly we got there. It was nice to just sit back and take
it all in and I was pleasantly surprised by the town. Wartrace has a lot
of small town character without the "tourist-trap" vibe that some of the
smaller towns I've been in recently have had. It's a real, every-day kind
of place... the kind of town that you'd want to live in.
We ate at a place on the square called the Pick'n
Parlor which was way cool. The restaurant occupies what was formerly the
town bank and part of the kitchen is literally in an old vault in the back
of the room, complete with steel door and concrete walls. The place is also
decorated with tons of music memorabilia and on the weekends hosts live bluegrass
bands. We had a good-ole-time just checking out the vault and everything
on the walls. It was a great night and by the time we got back home we had
clocked 110 miles and I had made the decision to add Wartrace to my list
of "must see" destinations in Middle Tennessee.
Beautiful, downtown Wartrace,
Tennessee.
Formerly the town bank, the Pick'n Parlor is
a cool little place to eat.
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June 23, 2006 - BREAKFAST IN LYNCHBURG
 The
forecasted weather for today looked good for the morning with Summer storms
entering the picture by mid afternoon, so I got up early to get a ride in.
By 6:30 I was on the road and on my way to fuel up before hitting the Interstate.
I stopped at the Amoco just down the street for some 93 octane and then hopped
on I-24 East out of Nashville. After a few miles I decided a good destination
would be Lynchburg, Tennessee. Probably most famous for being the home of
the Jack Daniel's Distillery, Lynchburg is also a popular destination with
area bikers because of it's biker friendly atmosphere. Since I'd never been
there before, I figured today was a good day to check it out. 231 South off
of the Interstate took me to Shelbyville and then 41A took me to Tullahoma
and WOW... I gotta say that 41A is a must ride for anyone in this area. Nice
rolling curves with lot's of beautiful scenery made it a joy to
ride. From Tullahoma I headed West
on 55 for 12 miles into Lynchburg.
The town itself is picture-perfect rural Tennessee,
complete with town square and what appeared to be an old courthouse. The
town is also home to several biker related shops like Linda's Leather Shop,
The Lynchburg Saloon and Lynchburg Choppers but given my early arrival, none
of them were open. I did find a great little cafe that was open though. The
Iron Kettle Restaurant served up some good eggs and bacon along with some
good ole' southern hospitality. And speaking of southern hospitality, on
my way out of the restaurant I met a very nice older gentleman with a sweet
1965 Datsun pickup. Man, that thing was mint! You don't see many of those
around anymore.
After a quick stop at Jack Daniel's for a picture
I decided to take an alternate route back to Shelbyville so I hopped on 82
which again proved to be a fantastic road to ride. From there it was on to
Murfreesboro and then Nashville. I clocked about 165 miles total and it was
a beautiful ride... I wonder if Lelan is sure it's going to rain today, 'cause
man it was sure nice this morning!
ON THE MP3: I'm getting to where I really
like riding with the MP3 player, especially on the backroads. Today I jammed
to the new Rascal Flatts project which is called "Me And My Gang". Now those
close to me know that I am more inclined to listed to AC/DC or Toto before
a country project but I gotta tell you... this Rascal Flatts CD is awesome.
I probably like it so much because one of my all-time favorite guitar players,
Dann Huff, produced it but man there literally is not a bad song on this
thing and some of the songs like "What Hurts The Most", "Ellsworth" and "He
Ain't The Leavin' Kind" are some of the best written songs you will hear
in any genre. Check it out!
The Welcome Center at Lynchburg, Tennessee...
cool gas pumps huh?
A mint condition 1965 Datsun pickup. The guy
in the hat behind the truck drives it every day.
The Iron Kettle in Lynchburg serves a good breakfast
at very reasonable prices.
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June 21, 2006 - THE DRIVE-IN RESTAURANT,
MEMORIES OF A SIMPLER TIME
 Today
you can ride down the street of anytown USA and be presented with a buffet
of eating establishments with options including everything from good ole'
Southern Cooking to Chinese to Tai to Mexican foods and everything in between.
It didn't use to be that way. There was a time when people actually sat down
at the dinner table with their families and shared a meal on a nightly basis.
Life was slower then and eating a meal "out" usually meant we were headed
to Aunt Jenny's house for the evening or maybe to the potluck dinner down
at the Baptist church. That all started to change however in 1965 when I
was a mere 3 years old.
The town of North Kansas City, Missouri was changed
forever that year when a Smacks Drive-In opened right in the middle of town
and introduced us all to fast-food burgers, french-fries and the novelty
of eating it all in a car. Now some would say that the Drive-In represents
the beginning of unhealthy eating habits in America, and they're probably
right, but to me it was just plain-old fun and good food. A week hardly
passed that I wasn't begging to go there and on those occasions when dad
would say OK it was a major treat!
As it turns out, North Kansas City was actually
behind the times. The concept of a restaurant serving patrons food in their
vehicles dates back to 1936 when the first drive-in opened in Glendale,
California. By the mid 1950's, Drive-In's were all up and down the west coast
but even though we were late bloomers, I have fond memories of going to Smacks
in 1965. The food was good, the novelty of eating in the car was cool and
my sisters and I were all at home as a family. It was a simpler time that
I miss.
I still stop in at the local Drive-In on occasion
these days, and tonight was one of those times. I'm not a big fan of the
food anymore but a cold drink delivered to the curb after a ride is nice.
But the main reason I stop is the memories it evokes. If I close my eyes
I can still see a young Swag eating in the back seat of a 1964 Chevy II with
his sisters, mom and dad... not a care in the world. It puts a smile on my
face every time!
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June 16, 2006 - A LITTLE LESS "SHIELD"
AND A LITTLE MORE "WIND"
The Electra Glide Standard comes with the standard
height windshield which is 12" tall. It works great and sufficiently shields
you from nearly all wind, however in my opinion it doesn't look as sleek
as the shorter windshields that are available for the bike. And besides,
if you are like me, there are those times when you just want the wind to
hit you in the face. I made up my mind before I even got this bike
that it would be great to have both the stock windshield for longer
trips and one of the shorter ones for sportin' around town. Options for the
shorter one are what Harley-Davidson calls the "Wind Deflector" which is
4" tall and the "Oversize Wind Deflector" which is 6.5" tall.. both coming
in a dark smoked tint. Today I found a slammin' deal on the latter (6.5")
so I picked one up. After installing it and taking a test ride I know I made
the right purchase. At my height, I can easily see over it and the wind hits
me at about the top of my helmet. It kind of gives me the best of both
worlds... like having a windshield... but not really having one! And, since
it only takes about 3 minutes to swap them out, I can easily switch between
the two depending on how long of a trip I am on. Check the pictures above
to see both windshields installed.
BTW... While I was out testing the "Oversize Wind
Deflector" I completed my 500th mile on the bike so the Break-In period is
officially over. I can now go faster than 50 MPH and rev higher than 3500
RPM. I gave it a little push on the way back and now know that she'll do
85 mph with no problem... with a lot of room to go! By the time I got back
to the garage she was sitting at 519 miles.
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June 13, 2006 - THE ROETHLISBERGER MEDIA
FRENZY - MY OPINION
If you haven't heard by now… Yesterday, Ben
Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers rode his 2005 Hyabusa into the
side of a car in downtown Pittsburgh. Fault has not been established at the
time of this writing but the celebrity quarterback of the Super Bowl Champions
was not wearing a helmet and apparently suffered multiple face fractures,
reportedly requiring seven hours of surgery. Thankfully, it looks like Mr.
Roethlisberger is going to be OK but his mishap has fueled more media coverage
about helmet laws than I can remember. Every news program and website in
the country is covering the story and I even saw a feature spot on ESPN last
night subtly proposing that Mr. Roethlisberger was not very smart for riding
without a helmet.
People have asked me many times where I stand on
helmet law issues and to be honest with you, I tend to avoid the subject
because it always seems to start some kind of heated debate. However, with
the sudden massive national media focus on Mr. Roethlisberger's accident,
I thought I would state my view and opinion. Please take it as just that...
opinion.
First of all, let me say that I grew up in Chicago
and since Illinois does not have a helmet law, I rarely wore one when I was
younger. I know that influences my opinion on the issue today because it
still feels un-natural for me to strap a helmet on. Even my half-helmets
seem heavy, hot and at times obstruct my view. On the other hand, I value
my noggin enough to understand why it is a good idea to wear one. What I
really hate though is the fact that a lot of the people arguing for helmet
laws are not riders, know nothing about riding and seem to have alternate
agendas.
For example, not long ago a group of nurses from
Vanderbilt University argued on the floor of the Tennessee State Senate that
medical expenses would skyrocket if the helmet law in Tennessee were repealed.
I'm not sure where they came up with this but every rider I know has both
medical and life insurance and those of us with common sense found it quite
humorous that a state with what could possibly be the worst and most "frauded"
medical program in the country (TennCare) would be concerned with possible
minor financial issues from the motorcycling community. Apparently our state
Senators bought into the emotional testimony because the bill was shelved.
And then there is the local talk-show host who
this morning was basically belittling Mr. Roethlisberger for riding without
a helmet. Now, this guy is certainly entitled to his opinion but he is not
a rider and frankly was embarrassing himself by mocking a man that had just
been in an accident, using incorrect motorcycle terminology and making broad
statements about a subject that he obviously knew very little about and had
no real hands-on knowledge of. Anyone listening who rides had to be, like
me, fuming at this goober but at the same time I'm sure there were a lot
of people, like him, with no real knowledge of the subject that were jumping
on his band-wagon, oblivious to the fact that the subject only came up because
the host deemed it as good controversial subject matter. In my opinion it
was in extremely poor taste and nothing short of irresponsible, one-sided
journalism.
So where do I stand? Well, if I were back in Illinois
today, I would probably be wearing a helmet, despite the lack of a helmet
law but… I believe that a rider should be able to make that choice for
him or herself without politicians, talk-show hosts and the likes making
it for him. If they are allowed to dictate this, where does it stop? Many
people sustain head injuries each year in auto accidents so should we require
all licensed car drivers to wear a helmet too? What about boats and watercraft?
If helmets are required for motorcycle riders, shouldn't they be required
for watercraft users as well? Some people get struck by cars and suffer head
injuries while walking down the road. Should we require all pedestrians within
ten feet of a road to wear a helmet? I think you get my point.
Nobody wants to see anyone get hurt but it troubles
me that people outside of the motorcycle community are making the biggest
fuss and ultimately the rules for those of us who ride. Because of this,
I find myself agreeing with the popular saying that says… "Let Those
Who Ride Decide".
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June 12, 2006 - ATLANTA TO DEADHORSE,
ALASKA ON A KAWASAKI KLR 650
 I
saw one of the girls that I ride with frequently at church yesterday. Last
summer her dad, Allen, was visiting from Atlanta and I had the privilege
of meeting and riding with him. After spending some time with him I remember
thinking that this man was a real motorcycle enthusiast. But... I guess I
didn't fully realize just how correct I was. As I write this, Allen is in
the process of making a trip that most of us would only dream about. (Or
have nightmares about maybe...hahaha!) Starting in Atlanta, Georgia, Allen
and a friend named Tom are making a 5000 mile trek to Deadhorse, Alaska!
And because some of the roads are... well, not really roads... they are doing
it on Kawasaki KLR 650 on/off road bikes. Allen's friend Tom is documenting
the trip with daily updates to his blog and I would encourage you to check
it out at aktrek.blogspot.com. Some fascinating stuff!
CLICK
HERE NOW to read about Allen's trip.
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June 11, 2006 - THE 500 MILE BREAK-IN
PERIOD
 According
to the Harley-Davidson Touring Models Owners Manual, the break-in period
for a 2006 Electra Glide is 500 miles. During the first 50 miles I had to
1) avoid operating at any steady engine speed for long distances and 2) keep
the engine below 3000 RPM in all gears with no lugging. From 50 to 500 miles
I still have to avoid operating at any steady engine speed for long distances
but I can now raise the maximum RPMs to 3500. In addition, during the 500
mile break-in period I am to avoid fast starts, drive slowly until the engine
has warmed up and avoid hard braking. Once I pass 500 miles I will be free
to ride as usual.
Now, I have some friends that say the break-in
period is "hogwash" and not necessary but I am a stickler for detail and
if the Motor Company says to do it... I'm going to do it. According to the
manual, following these guidelines will "allow my engine to seat in its
critical parts... and assure good future durability and performance."
Sounds good to me, plus it gave me a pretty good
excuse to ride today. Gotta get that bike broke in before next weekend! I
rode about three hours and by the time I got back home the clock was reading
254 miles... so I am just past the half-way point. Below are a few interesting
pics I snapped on todays Break-In ride.
Pearcy's General Merchandise Store in Lascassas,
Tennessee.
I saw this mail-box in Alexandria, Tennessee.
Kinda cool.. I think it's an old Honda.
The Cannon County Courthouse in Woodbury,
Tennessee.
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June 10, 2006 - MY NEW BIKE... 2006
ELECTRA GLIDE STANDARD
2006 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Standard
- FLHTI.
Wow... To be honest with you, I really didn't expect
to make a purchase this soon but there are those times when a deal presents
itself and you know you gotta go for it. Yesterday I got a call from my local
Harley-Davidson dealer here in Nashville. I had planted a bug in the salesmans
ear a while back that I was looking for a new ride, possibly a used Electra
Glide Standard and he had been keeping his eye out for one. He hadn't dealt
for a used one yet but informed me that all remaining in-stock '06 Electra
Glides were about to be offered at heavy discounts to make room for the incoming
'07's. He had two black ones on the floor, the only color I would really
consider, so early this morning I headed over to check things out.
A test ride and a price well below MSRP (and lower
than what I see used '04's and '05's sell for on Ebay) convinced me real
quick that this was indeed the ONE. And beyond the great deal... I have to
say that I love this bike! It is super smooth, handles great, has lots of
power to get-up-and-go on the highway, has a nice comfy passenger seat and
backrest for the better half, is dripping with that way-cool H-D Big-Twin
vibe and is Fuel Injected! That's right folks, no more fooling with temperamental
carburetors! I am now officially the owner of a Fuel Injected H-D Touring
Bike and man I am already loving it!
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June 9, 2006 - MY NEW BIKE... THE SEARCH
CONTINUES
Made a trip to a local dealer today that carries
Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki to check out what they have to offer. I'm finding
that my need for passenger comfort is limiting my options pretty fast but
here are my findings:
2006 HONDA VTX 1800: Honda's money bike
right now is the VTX 1800. Everything I have read about this bike is great
and it felt good... but frankly, I personally am not crazy about the look
of the bike. I don't see how it would cut it in the passenger comfort department
either so I'm taking this one off my list of possibilities.
2006 HONDA GOLD WING: They had several new
Gold Wings in stock. I have always been a closet Gold Wing lover despite
the razzing by my friends and it certainly would be comfortable for a passenger
but they are cost prohibitive for me unless I could find a decent used one.
The bike is a bit tall for me also but I will still keep this one as a
possibility.
2006 SUZUKI BOULEVARD C90: This bike is
basically the updated version of the old Intruder LC. I have always liked
this bike and passenger comfort would be OK so this one remains on the list
of possibilities.
2004 YAMAHA ROYAL STAR VENTURE: Wow... this
bike is nice! Has a nice look to it and great passenger comfort. The dash
has a cool retro vibe that I really like as well. In fact, I loved everything
about it until I sat on it and could barely tip-toe it. I don't think it
would work for me.
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June 8, 2006 - MY NEW BIKE... THE SEARCH
HAS BEGUN
For the past several weeks I have been contemplating
a new motorcycle but as of a few days ago, I am officially looking and the
search has begun. I'm not sure what I will end up with but I know it will
be something that can handle longer trips and provide a comfortable ride
for both the driver and his better half. I may end up with something new
or maybe something used... I don't know but I'm not set on any particular
brand and I'm not in any big hurry so I plan to look at just about everything
out there.
2006 HONDA ST1300: Earlier in the week I
went and sat on a Honda ST1300. While I like the style of the bike it was
obviously not going to work for me. I am somewhat vertically challenged and
the bike was just too tall. Passenger comfort is highly questionable as well,
unless you add the ugly looking backrest and trunk. This one I'm crossing
off the list... which is a shame because the performance of this bike is
awesome.
2001 HARLEY-DAVIDSON ELECTRA GLIDE STANDARD:
Went tonight and checked this bike out. I really liked the bike a lot and
the price was good but I am having a hang-up with the fact that it was carb'd.
A few of my buddies have sworn off carb'd bikes and after my experience tonight
I'm thinking they are justified. I rode this bike around for about 15 minutes
and still couldn't push the choke knob back in without the bike dieing. Maybe
this bike just ran like crap but If I end up going this route I'm thinking
I'll want Fuel Injection.
The search continues... FEEDBACK welcome.
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June 6, 2006 - IN LOVING MEMORY OF MAGGIE
MAE, TRUE FRIEND AND COMPANION
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June 3, 2006 - MADKAW TAKES FIRST PLACE
AT NORTH ALABAMA BIKE SHOW
 The
guys over at
BikerDesigns.com
sponsored a bike show today in the Northern Alabama town of Decatur. A suburb
of Huntsville, Decatur is only about 120 miles from Nashville, so at 5:30
this morning, dad and I were up and loading Madkaw for the trip. The weather
was gorgeous so the drive was pretty pleasant and since we ended up arriving
a little early, we had plenty of time to get Madkaw unloaded and settled
into her spot on the floor before the crowds started pouring in. I have to
say that It was nice to see some bikes other than the ones I frequently see
around Nashville. I really need to get out more! Anyway, it was a great day
filled with lots of motorcycles and we even got to check out Rocket
Harley-Davidson in Hunstville which was only about 15 minutes from the show.
The coolest part of the day though was when Madkaw was announced as the first
place winner of the "Low Buck Chopper" class. I got a nice trophy and a hundred
bucks to boot!
CLICK HERE to check
out pictures of the North Alabama Bike Show.
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