Terrific photos of that beautiful bike of your, @LEZ90! Congrats on your 3rd place in the charity bike raffle. Sounds like a terrific day out all the way around.
Managed to take a day off to get out on the water Fantastic weather and fishing Trolling some lures Skipjack Tuna (made sashimi and bait) Albacore Tuna (3 x 6kg) Our limit of Snapper and some Kahawai
Brought the Z out of Winter hibernation. A quick MOT, re-tax and we're airborn again. Also had to fit a new battery which was a bit disappointing as the last one was only 3 years old and kept topped up with a Ctek. Fitted a Yuasa this time.
Spent the evening wrestling with the swingarm bolt on the Berg. The nut spun off easily but the bolt was seized solid and wouldn't budge despite big hammers, swearing, heat, more swearing etc. The bolt passes through the frame, swingarm and the rear of the engine cases and it was impossible to tell for definite exactly where it was seized. As it turned out the problem was the sprocket side bearing. Ended up pulling the bolt out with HT threaded rod, spacers, a combination of heat and freezer spray and the trusty Milwaukee impact driver but it was a b***h! The bolt is fubared so a new one is on order.
Yesterday I rode my Street Glide to Tucson H-D to check on the status of my back ordered parts. Of course I could have just called and asked over the phone but, heck, it was a good excuse to get a bit of a ride in on a lovely day. And yep, my parts are still listed on a long back-order. I'm still stunned by how many bikes the dealership has on the floor these days. They are getting very few 2022 models but have a massive number of used bikes and many are relatively new models with very low mileage. There are lots of changes happening at THD these days to improve the appearance and layout of the dealership including a new floor, painting all of the walls, fixing things that have been broken for years (like one of the sinks in the women's bathroom), and removing some of the "clutter" to open more space for bikes. This photo was taken from the upstairs office by a friend of ours who was the former GM and is now overseeing a number of H-D dealerships nationwide. Seems he's cracking the whip! While I was talking with one of the salespeople, a couple with a Frenchie puppy came over to ask some questions about one of the bikes. I got to meet their pooch and chat with the and she was a total sweetie! So, so cute. And she was quite interested in my helmet (and the empty water bottle) both of which I'd set down so I could pet her. It's nice that Tucson H-D allows pets in the store. Mr. Sandi and I have talked about bringing Ellie there but haven't done so yet. She would (will) love it! Speaking of sweet, this sweet Fat Boy was on the floor today, a lightly used 2019 with just over 2K miles on the clock. A good friend of mine with whom I ride is looking to get a bigger bike relatively soon and after seeing my Fat Boy, she's on the hunt for the same model. This one looks pristine so I'll be sending her photos and info on the bike. I'm heading back to THD tomorrow to get one of the back-ordered parts that actually came in installed on El Gordo. Temps here are heating up and the high tomorrow is predicted to be 90ºF. It's already time to break out the mesh riding jacket!
I would bet that you'll be counting your weather blessings when my ride reports in a few months indicate our desert temperatures are hitting a "balmy" 115ºF, Pegscraper!
Back out on the Berg again today after a service, of usual items, plus new swingarm bearings and a new rear boot to try out! A deserted Ughill Moor
I rode El Gordo to Tucson H-D to have my Kuryakyn vertical curved license plate holder installed. The plate holder was one of four parts that I ordered back in early January and it was the first to come in. The others are back-ordered until anywhere from August to November! Anyway, I figured I'd get at least one thing on my Fat Boy! The stock plate holder has an arm/bracket that sits between the left turn signal and an attachment on the fender strut. The new plate holder will attach to the swing arm instead which does mean moving my swing arm bag forward as possible on the swing arm. Well, after looking around the dealership for about 20 minutes while my plate holder was being installed (or so I thought), my service advisor found me and said, "Uh oh, we have a small problem." That seems to be par for the course these days. Turns out that the mechanic saw that if he removed the stock plate holder and attached the piece coming off the turn signal to the attachment thingy on the fender strut, the left turn signal "stalk" would be noticeably shorter than the one of the right. Yes, @Iron and @darkman, I know that "stalk" and "thingy" are probably (probably?!) not official wrenching terms. Anyway, the needed part, a turn signal housing that matched the right side housing, had not been ordered in the original order. So back to the drawing board. The good news was that the needed part plus some parts related to doing a bit of rewiring for the new plate lighting, are NOT on backorder! Hurray for that. Since I'd planned on being at THD longer, I now found myself with some time to spare so decided to ride down the road five miles to check in with the guys at AZ-KKT, our local Triumph dealership. The salesman there, whom I've known for about ten years now, hadn't yet seen my Fat Boy so I wanted to introduce him to El Gordo and also to see if they had anything new and interesting on the showroom floor. When I first arrived before going inside, I saw this lightly used Street Triple in a matte orange. Very nice! It turns out it had just that hour been traded in on a red 2017 Speed Triple. I got to watch the young man who'd just made the trade shake the salesman's hand, mount up with a big smile on his face, and ride off on his new Speedy, leaving behind a sweet Street Triple that will make someone else just as happy. And speaking of red Speed Triples, they had a 2022 Speed Triple RR for sale on the showroom floor! It's a beauty but I have to say I like my 2019 RS so much that I'm not even tempted. Having sat on the one that came through a few months back that was on display, the ergonomics of the RR just aren't for me. But it shore is purty. There were also two Gold Line Editions on the showroom floor, a Bobber and a T100 both with lovely aesthetic touches. As I was getting geared back up to ride home, the salesman said goodbye and that he needed to move some bikes around. Turns out he shifted the matte orange Street Triple that had just been traded in to make way for another lightly used and very good looking Bonnie also in orange. He said that the previous owner was in his 80's and that sadly the bike was just too big for him these days. Yet another bike that will no doubt bring a smile to another new owners face.
A good salesman would have told the guy part exchanging the bonnie that he should try a Street Triple, much lighter and more manageable..” I may have just the bike for you sir…”:
A bit of mid-week green laning and not a soul in sight. Not a breath of wind and almost complete silence, apart from the bleating of a few sheep and the bark of a big single Sunset over Dirtlow Rake......
Took a run up to Glen Esk this morning as I've never been before, Road heading into the Glen, a lovely twisty road stopped off at this folk museum for a coffee, not far from the end of the road at Glen Esk. had a little look in the museum This bike cost £21.00 in 1885 equivalent to £2,875 now! Some old farming tools
This morning we did a small-ish group ride with five of us since we don't typically do a group ride on Easter Sunday. Everyone agreed that Mexican food sounded good and since we hadn't ridden up to Mammoth in a long time, we'd ride to breakfast at Mi Pueblito. Mi pueblito means "my little town" in Spanish. I've posted pics from this restaurant before so it may look familiar to some of you. The ride itself is lovely once you slog through the 10 or so heavily trafficked miles through Tucson to get north of the city. The weather was nice today with temperatures around 70ºF at the start and around low to mid-80ºs on the way home. It did get quite windy but I rode my Street Glide today which is heavy enough to mitigate a lot of the effects. The fairing helps, too. I've been riding my Street Glide a lot fairly recently. It's nearing 10K miles and I'm trying to time my 10K service to get it done prior to our big June trip and with enough time to ride it a bit to make sure everything is dialed in and good to go. After today's 95 mile ride, my odometer sits at 9,345 miles. And that's about what it'll be when I bring it in for my service appointment this coming Friday. Close enough..... Today's group, which interestingly will be our exact same group for our June trip! One of the guys looked around the table and said, "I guess today is a practice run for June." We've all traveled together multiple times in the past and it's really a terrific bunch to tour with. As I was taking a picture of the guys, our waitress offered to take one of all of us so I'm actually in one this time. I had the tamale plate with one green corn tamale and one red beef tamale served with two eggs and a side of refried beans. It's one of my favorite dishes at this restaurant. My friend to the left was eating enchiladas topped with eggs and a side of refried beans. Mr. Sandi chose the chorizo and eggs with home fried potatoes. Three of the five of us had ice cream for dessert from Maria's Ice Cream Shop right by where I parked my bike. No photos because it was so delicious and I was so focused on eating it that I forgot to snap a pic. Next time for sure--and there will be a next time because it was fantastic ice cream. I had Butter Pecan. This is the view out to the east from the outdoor covered patio. We had the patio all to ourselves today. In fact, we basically had the whole restaurant to ourselves today. It was actually sort of weird that there didn't seem to be any other customers--and on a Saturday morning at that. About mid-way through our meal, a police officer pulled up, parked, and went inside to eat. Now that I think about it, I wonder if something happened at the restaurant that would explain no other customers and a police presence. Hmmm.... Even the usually full motorcycle parking area was empty except for Mr. Sandi's and our BMW friend's bikes. I took this photo for the artwork on the walls--all done by local artists. But now that I look at it, what stands out to me is.....no customers! And speaking of artwork, check out the paintings on the bathroom doors! Tomorrow it's my Speed Triple's turn to get out on the road. Mr. Sandi and I are planning to do our usual holiday morning ride after church which entails riding to breakfast at either Waffle House or Denny's. We leave our waiter or waitress a really big tip when we depart. We've both been servers and know how difficult it is and especially on major holidays.
@Sandi T you may have stumbled into the aftermath of a crime scene - but at least the service should have been quick with no one else there . I like the idea of Butter Pecan ice cream too.....especially in your lovely sunshine. Are your friends happy with their change to the GS now that it's been some time? Have a great ride tomorrow!!
Local Facebook bike group, had a run up to Glenshee today, i went up early and just stayed for about an hour or so as i was meeting up with the family for an Easter picnic. On my way back home i passed loads of bikes on there way up so god knows how many were there later on. My brother in law had taken his bike to the Easter picnic so he asked me if i wanted to go a wee run as he had his new bike with him.. Edit i put this in the wrong thread as i had my triumph today!
I am certainly wondering if we did stumble onto the aftermath of a crime scene, @Mrs Visor! But I'm hoping that we were just there at an "off" hour. I don't know that we've ever ridden to Mi Pueblito on a Saturday before. We always go there on a Sunday. Maybe Saturdays are always slow. Interestingly, the service was NOT all that quick which is also curious. But the butter pecan ice cream wasn't mysterious at all--just delicious. I'm feeling quite daft but I can't figure out to what GS change you're referring. I've been racking my brain to see if I can shake something lose but no luck. Could you kindly refresh my foggy memory? Thanks!
Probably me misremembering @Sandi T rather than you; but did your friends not change some time ago from Harleys to the BMW or am I just completely making that up (probably!!!!)? .
Had a brilliant run with a mate today, just playing on local roads but still got plenty of miles in and lots of twisty bits. We done plenty of bike swapping, perhaps my bikes swan song both these bikes (superduke R & GT) are epic!
