Featured Everything Old Is New Again! A Road Trip To The Past

Thanks, Joe! My Mustang is by far the coolest car I've ever owned and definitely the most fun to drive. I just don't see getting rid of it ever unless I something happens that I can't drive a standard transmission.

Sadly, a car port or garage add-on isn't an option. First of all, we have absolutely zero space to do build either of them. Second, I'm sure that our HOA wouldn't agree to it. We'd have more luck kicking one of the neighbors out of their garage as you suggested! I did actually think about seeing if one of our neighbors had an available garage space for either the Fat Boy or my Speed Triple. But that stirs up another whole pot of having access to someone else's house and things that might come up because of that. We have great neighbors but I don't think they'd go for it.

 

Fat Boy #2 Update:

Eek! This past week Steve Rode the Fat Boy over to our friend, Roe's, house to show him the bike. Roe is an old bike aficionado who loves to ride and restore old Harley's. (The bikes are old, not Roe...) While they were looking at the bike, they checked out the tire date and were stunned and appalled to learn that the tires were the original stock tires! Steve knew the tires needed replacing and had already ordered a set. But none of us ever dreamed that the previous owner wouldn't have changed the tires since 2001! Steve had measured the tread which was ok so he rode it to the mechanics and back and he rode is to breakfast and back home last weekend. Today he and I rode to our local dealership to have his new tires installed! And now knowing he was on 23 year old tires, he rode VERY conservatively! One more old bike issue addressed....

Here's his bike waiting to be brought back to the tech who was to install Fat Boy #2's new shoes.



On the lift





I rode my Low Rider ST today. I'm only 300 miles from needing my 5K maintenance service.



The tech, Dave, riding back into the service area after test riding the new tires



The lot tech, Seth, riding the bike out to the breezeway where completed bikes are parked to wait for their owners



The bike to the left of Steve's Fat Boy is a Road Glide Ultra--pretty similar to Steve's Road Glide touring bike. What a size difference!!



This new addition to our moto family sure does make Steve smile! And that makes me smile!

 

@joe mc donald

Yep, Joe. Kinda (well, REALLY) scary! We still don't know how long ago she put the bike into storage. But it has about 14,000 miles on it so I guess she was one of those who either eyeballed the tires or just figured as long as there was sufficient tread, the tires were good to go. Steve rode his Fat Boy today about 60 miles or so, so between that and riding home from the dealership, his new tires are scrubbed in and THESE tires ARE good to go!

 

@Martine, thanks for the info and link. This "shed" seems pretty cool! I'm going to do a bit more reading to see whether there might be a size that would fit my bike and fit on the concrete area where my bike is parked. I watched the video and that was helpful, too. I really like that the cover doesn't contact the bike (which concerns me) and that it's really quick and easy once assembled. I also like that the material is light colored and would reflect/deflect our intense sun vs. the black Nelson-Rigg Defender Extreme cover I'm using. I suspect the bike Shield won't fit on the concrete but it sure doesn't hurt to check. Thanks again!!

Also, I've been thinking about you and your family. Are you all ok through the storms and flooding??

 

You are so right that Steve has been lucky, @Pegscraper. Although he only rode it a total of about 50 miles or so, that's probably 50 miles too many! He did say that he sometimes felt a bit like he was "skating". I suspect you're correct about the bike being in storage for a long time. I'm so glad--and relieved--that he's on new tires now. Today he rode the bike about 70 miles and said it felt great.

 

Glad you all are ok, @Martine. And that you still went to the rally. I'm looking forward to seeing your report about it!

 

@joe mc donald and @Martine, you two are both so sweet. I enjoy posting and sharing Steve's and my adventures. AND I also really enjoy reading others' post about what's happening in their moto lives, and that includes the two of you for sure.

 

@Martine, I've been absent from the forum for awhile and am just now catching up. And I just finished reading your terrific report on the Lace, Grace, and Gears women's rally. Loved it! You didn't really post it "the wrong way" as you put it, but you could have posted it as a new thread under a FORUM heading such as "Rideouts, Trackdays, Touring, and Spotted". If you go to the top of the forum page and click on FORUMS, you can see all the topic areas and go from there. You should get bottom you can click on that says something like "New Thread". And....please take more pictures! I thoroughly enjoyed the ones you did take and post.

 

A little update on the Fat Boy....and relatedly, the Speed Triple.

According to Steve, the Fat Boy is "done". But of course we all know how that goes. He did mention it might need some additional tuning which from my understanding is a bit more complicated with a carbureted engine than EFI which is all I've known. He's really enjoying riding it and I think he has only ridden his Road Glide one time since he got the Fat Boy. He has absolutely NO regrets about his purchase and is a totally happy camper with his "new" Fat Boy.

My Speed Triple, as I've mentioned, is the "odd man out" now and has to reside in the back yard. But....for the time being, he is back in the garage because my Low Rider ST is at the dealership awaiting a repair kit for a safety recall on that model. So although I'm bummed about that bike being laid up for a couple of weeks, the silver lining is that Speedy gets to live indoors for the time being! And he's making friends with the Fat Boy.





Steve and Russell finished up laying the pavers that are Speedy's new route out to the street. I've yet to get him out myself and have let Steve "do the honors" of figuring out the best way to navigate our rocky front yard. The most tricky part is backing down the little ramp and through the gate. Even Steve finally admitted that that part is "a little disconcerting". It's not a direct shot and it take a bit of finesse to not take off my right side rear view mirror. As long as it doesn't take out my right kneecap, I'll be good.

Here's Speedy on his concrete platform. That ramp at the back of the platform is steeper than it looks in the photo.








To bring the bike back into the back yard after a ride, we'll (well, I'll) ride through the front yard (all dirt and rock and little "hills and dales") to the pavers and ramp and up onto the platform where Speedy lives now. That way there's no 90º turn coming off the patio. Let me tell you, there were LOTS (and lots and lots) of animated discussions about the best way to do all this. I'm not sure this is it but it seems like the best solution for now anyway.



@Martine, I did a lot of reading about the Bike Shield as a covered storage solution and I was pretty excited to shift to that from my current Nelson-Rigg cover. But alas, even the smallest size Bike Shield is way too long to fit on the concrete platform that my bike is on. It would have been a much more elegant solution--simpler to use plus no fabric always touching (and rubbing) on the bike.