What Have You Being Doing With Your Non-triumph Today?

This is what I've been doing with TWO of my non-Triumphs.

Both my Harley Street Glide Special and my Low Rider S have been in the dealership service department recently. The Low Rider is still there. And that's another story....

But I'll start off with a gratuitous puppy picture. This little cutie-pie, Daisy, was in front of the service department doors with her owner when I went to pick up my Street Glide a couple of days ago. Soooo cute! And quite friendly. Her name is Daisy. Perhaps it's time to begin the search for another dog.


I had new handlebars installed on my Street Glide. The stock bars put me just a bit too forward, enough to be uncomfortable for longer rides. It was quite noticeable on our Payson trip last fall. So the search began and turned out to be quite the journey. There are tons of choices out there but few that seemed like they would fit my needs. Finally I landed on a bar made by an LA company called Wild 1. The model is called the "Chubby Bagger Low" and they are about 1" taller than stock with a 3" pullback. The stock bar diameter is 1" and these are 1 1/4" so a bit beefier which looks really good on that bike. I've only ridden my bike home from the dealership which is just 10 miles but I already am far more comfortable with the new setup. Plus now when I put my backrest on my Le Pera seat I should actually be able to put my back against it and not just use it to hold my travel bag on!

It is hard to see much difference with all the black on the bike but here are some before and after pics.

Before:




After:

 

Today, I are been mostly, lowering the footpegs. Found a set on ebay, for £45, from China. Thought I'd give them a try. On centre stand, definite improvement in comfort position. Keen to try when restrictions ease.

Electrics are the next project.

 

And then there's the Low Rider S.....

Part of the reason it's in the shop is positive and part is negative. Unfortunately the negative is a bigger but the issues that comprise the negative are being addressed.

I bought my 2020 H-D Low Rider S from a dealership up in the Phoenix area rather than my local dealership because they had one with a custom paint job and graphics that I fell in love with. So I decided I'd have my 1K service done in that dealership's service department. Well, live and learn. In a nutshell, I had noticed a vibration pattern while riding the bike that I'd start feeling at about 40mph which would continue as my speed increased. And as my speed increased so did the speed of the vibration pattern. Uh oh. It seems that it's related to wheels and/or tires or perhaps bearings? I also had issues with downshifting from 3rd to 2nd and 2nd to 1st. The shift wouldn't "catch"--like when you're in neutral and can't quite get the shifter to engage. Well, this new-to-me-dealership essentially made it sound like those issues were related to the Milwaukee 8 engine. Nope. I told them I have another bike at home with that engine and had one prior to that, too. Then they said of the shifting that I needed to shift differently--more decisively, don't leave my foot on the peg, etc. The implication was that I didn't really know how to ride my bike. It got worse. One of the sales managers told me he had felt the same thing with the shifting on a woman customer's bike a few months earlier so he knew exactly what I was talking about. When I told the service advisor about that conversation it was like, Oh her. Yeah, we never could replicate the problem and she was unhappy about it and (the implication was she's a she) we're not unhappy that she never came back. He didn't say it quite that directly but the implication was clear. I remember thinking to myself, "Dude, you just dissed a customer in front of another customer AND you dissed a female customer to another female customer!" In summary, they didn't fix either issue and sent me on my way. And I will NEVER go there again. What's too bad is that the salesman was absolutely awesome! Fair, personable, exceptional follow-through. I'd go to that dealership again but ONLY to stop in and tell him hello.

When I talked to the guys my local dealership and shared my concerns and also my experience with the Phoenix place, they promised to take care of me. Which they always have. Yep, I've sure learned my lesson. Within two days they had called Harley corporate and learned that some 2020 Low Rider S's were having this problem but not many. But they knew just what it was--a shifter pawl that was just off enough to cause the sporadic shifting. Evidently a "batch" that wasn't machined to specs. A new one was immediately mailed out and that part is already fixed. They will also run diagnostics on my vibration issue once my new risers (the positive part of why my bike is in the shop) are installed and ready to roll. I'm replacing my stock 4" risers with Biltwell "Murdock" 6" pullback risers. Like my Street Glide, the stock position on the Low Rider puts me just a bit too far forward for comfort and optimal handling. There was a part related to the risers that was on back order until mid-February but the parts manager, again a guy I know and have a good relationship with, did some detective work and found that part at a dealership in California that was willing to ship it to Tucson.

It would be great if all dealerships treated every customer--new and old alike--the same. But I've been thinking a lot about this experience and I think everyone is only human. When we have relationships with others, there's a different level of respectfulness and even accountability to each other. I didn't have any sort of relationship with the guys in Phoenix but I have long-standing relationships with most of the staff at Tucson H-D. It seems that certainly does count for something....whether we think it should or not. It is what is it. And I'll be getting all my service work done right here at my local dealership. The silver lining is that if I'd like the Phoenix place more, it would have meant riding 100 miles each way! Instead it's only 10. I'm not sure when my Low Rider will be done and home but hopefully it will be soon--and it'll be sooner than anticipated because the parts manager was willing to dig around and find an available part rather than just wait for the backordered one to arrive. Some of it will depend on what's up with that blasted vibration thingy (technical term).

My service advisor brought me into the room where bikes are stored that are due for service but waiting on parts so I could say hi to my "baby" and see the offending part.

 

No sweat. Just nice to see a non Harley photo...eh Sandi ? MV do make a beautiful bikes. When things get a bit better it would be great to meet up and talk rather than doing it on a Triumph forum. .....Mine goes in on the 8th Feb for a BIG service at an independent mechanics. I’ve known him for 30 odd years and trust him implicitly. It could be a very big bill though....

 

Yep, it is nice to see a non Harley pic, @Oldskool. I do wish other members would post more of their non-Triumphs, too. I'd post some non-Harley non-Triumph pics if I had something other than Harleys and a Triumph. Maybe another reason for a bigger garage?? Food for thought---what would I choose to add to the stable? Hmmm....

 

I would post more pics of mine but the ZX-10R looks more like an accident in a spaghetti factory currently!
I hate wiring and electrickery

 

We can think of it as a large 3D puzzle, tc!

 

This was Friday in a brief window of no rain and a decent temp. Not really my bike (though my name is on the registration) but thought I'd post about anyway it. I was upstairs on the other side of the house when I heard the unmistakable sound of the Norton start up. Hadn't heard that sound in quite a while (and I thought HH was working on the dirt bikes) and didn't want to miss anything so I tore downstairs and outside. After taking a short video I grabbed my helmet and jumped on the back for a quick spin around the block. I love the feel of this bike even if I'm just riding pillion! I felt like I wanted to ride anywhere and everywhere with HH on that bike. Sigh...but I had to get off and go pick up the daughter in our minivan...at least it has heated seats.

EDIT: see below for the videos that were supposed to be attached with this description.

 

Sorry I meant to post that Norton bit with a couple of videos but hit post instead of upload file and have now discovered I have no idea now to post a video. Working on it...

 

Hope this works!
Norton start up after 2+ years:

Norton return:

 

Awesome, @Martine! Gotta love a Norton.

 

Mr. Sandi and I went for a lunch ride with two friends, one of whom was on a non-Harley--yes, this is for YOU, @Oldskool! The bike in the foreground is a Victory "Hammer" (2008, I believe).

The friend who owns this bike also has a 2008 Triumph Rocket and a 1998 Honda Valkyrie. But yes, (Oldskool), the other three bikes in this photo are Harleys. I was on my orange & dark gray Street Glide getting some miles in on my new handlebars. They are terrific and I'm glad I went for that mod.

The other friend we rode with had a birthday yesterday plus became a grandpa (grandchild #2 for him) again on Friday. So we treated him to breakfast in celebration of both.


We rode over Gates Pass to a restaurant I've posted about several times previously, Coyote Pause. It's one of a just couple of restaurants we usually go to these days because they are are both (1) on a really nice ride route and (2) have outdoor seating and follow good COVID mitigation protocol.

This little path leads from where we park the bikes in a side parking lot back into the courtyard where we hang out, eat, and solve the world's problems. I wish.


In all the many times we've been to Coyote Pause, I've never gone 'round back and seen this beautiful little Bed & Breakfast called the Cat Mountain Lodge. So I poked around and snapped a few pics then brought Mr. Sandi and our buddies back to see it before we headed off on our ride. No one was around so we went into the courtyard where the five rooms are then wandered over to the lovely outdoor seating areas and checked out the little observatory. There's a shooting range nearby and one of our friends said it would be a great place to come spend the night, get up and head to the range for an hour or two, then come back for brunch. A little "Stay-cation".




I don't know when this sign was put up initially but it certainly is a sign of the times for these days we find ourselves in.


Spenser's Observatory -- it's an honest-to-goodness little observatory! You can read about it in the link below if you're interested.


https://www.catmountainlodge.com/index.html




https://www.catmountainlodge.com/spencers_observatory.html



I was thinking later during the after lunch portion of our ride that Victory and Triumph really could be considered synonyms, right? Could it be a coincidence that our buddy owns two bikes that are synonyms for each other?

 

It's a 750 Roadster and HH has had it for about 40 years. Neither one of us is very large and to me watching him ride it is like beautiful poetry; he's so smooth and fluid. I'll never be anywhere close to his riding skill but he's got a lot of riding years and a gazillion miles more than I ever will. Having fun though!

 

Another lovely little ride out in the sun..... . I am not jealous at all. I guess it wasn’t too far from home as you took the risk and rode The Hardly. And..... you had the less well refined v twin with your group as well. Very brave . I am guessing it was quite a sedate little ride...! But bloomin lovely. I jest really about the HD , if I lived in America I may consider one. And then see sense and buy a motorbike.

 

@Oldskool had wanted some non-Harley pics and I think it was @Joe mcdonald who'd asked for a post of the Norton sound so that post was for them both...and an opportunity to share the fun with others who can understand the love and excitement. Ride safe.

 

Thanks Martine. In all seriousness, I think that anyone who has a real passion for any type of bike is going to be a person I can get along with. @Sandi T. certainly has that passion and is happy to share it and I enjoy her posts with or without the Harleys... !

 

I completely agree about being able to get along with someone who has a real passion for any type of bike, @Oldskool! Maybe not 100% but pretty darned close.

Some of my friends and acquaintances have been known to refer to my "passion" for motorcycles as an obsession. I prefer your term, thank you very much!

 

Agreed on all...and I share laughs with HH over the Harley ribbing from the forum since he also rides an HD (and has a brother who's all HD and runs a business based on them so we share with him also ). Was glad I had the opportunity to try to fulfill two things with one post and share the fun with the like-minded...a pleasure of the forum... Ride safe.

 

An old riding buddy, who passed away in 2017, had numerous Nortons in his younger days before "adopting" Jap tech and still had a non runner tucked away in the back of his garage when he left us. I'm not that clued up on old Nortons but I remember him talking about Dominators and Atlas's. One of his many funny stories was when he was on one of his Nortons, equipped with an Amal carb and was "giving it a handful". Unbeknown to him, the vibration had unscrewed the top of the carb so when he came to roll off the throttle, instead of the throttle closing, the carb top just lifted up with zero effect! I guess this must have been in pre-kill switch day's 'cos he instinctively reached down and pulled off the plug lead! We both used to have a good laugh about this every time he recounted it but he assured me that, at the time it wasn't funny at all! I miss him and wish he was still here.
RIP Bryan.

 

It was a beautiful ride out in the sun yesterday! And my Harley made the 60 mile trip just fine. I didn't even need to bring a drip pan for oil leaks to put under my bike while we ate our lunch.

Of the three Harleys in the photo, the blue one is the more, well, "old school" model, @Oldskool, with Harley's Twin Cam engine. My 2020 Street Glide (in orange) and Mr. Sandi's 2017 Street Glide (in matte black) both have Harley's new(er) Milwaukee 8 engine in them. Mine has the 114ci (which equates to 1870 cc's). I upgraded with what Harley calls a Stage 2 Torque Kit. That upgrades includes new full exhaust (I chose one from Rinehart Racing), hi-flow air cleaner and tuner (H-D), and a torque cam. Corrected rear wheel torque and hp are right around 120 and 100 respectively. So when the ride is sedate, it's on me and not my bike. Harley makes a Stage II Power Kit also which includes a power cam instead of a torque cam. But I'm a low end power fan myself. Plus we don't have an autobahn in the U.S so the torque cam was an easy choice for me.

Hey, if you ever make it to the U.S., please come visit Mr. Sandi and me in Arizona, Oldskool. I'll take you to visit my buddies at our local H-D dealership. I might even let you ride one of my Harleys! Well, on second thought.....