Destination Daytona or Bust

Ace is here in Ormond Beach, which happens to be during the time of Bruce Rossmeyer’s funeral. It’s a sad thing when one loses a brother. Bruce was a lot of things to a lot of people and, good or bad, probably interacted with the lives of as many people in a year that most people do in a lifetime. The Brotherhood of One respects him for his accomplishments and mourns for his family in their loss.

An aside to Mr. Rossmeyer’s story is that six motorcycle officers were involved in a crash while escorting Bruce Rossmeyer's family to his funeral. They had a chain reaction incident and none of the officers involved were physically injured, but their egos are permanently scarred. They picked themselves up and continued to the funeral. The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating exactly who was at fault in the crash. We here at the Brotherhood are sure that NO tickets will be issued, and the screwup will be deemed righteous.

You Never Know

I ride and I ride and I ride and I wonder when I should turn around... cause I really don’t wanna. The reason being, I want to see what’s over that next rise, just beyond the horizon. And every time I get there I see it’s a part of America that we take for granted, that may not be there some day. Some times I stop and take pictures before riding on, on and on. I want to see what’s just beyond the horizon. And every time I get there I see it’s a part of America that may not be there forever. Things change, people change, society changes, climates change, morals change, values change, ethics change, laws change... you never know.

Let Me Do It

My riding style is laid back. I don’t get to ride as much as I’d like, I have to travel a lot for work. So when I do get on the bike, I try to take it easy and enjoy the ride. I like to look around. I like to experience all I can. I try to be conscious of the wind on my skin, the smells that wrap up around my brain. I like to feel the temperature change. I like to hear the roar of my pipes.

Every once in a while I find myself haulin’ ass, not paying any attention to the speedometer I’ll look down and be doing 15 over. And I realize at that moment that I have that same feeling I used to have when I was young and wasn’t supposed to be riding on the road; and that was one of the best parts of riding; was that danger or thrill that you were getting away with something. That just goes to show that somethings never change; and why should they? I don’t hurt nobody, and it makes me feel good, and its my own business. Let me do it.

Bobber? Just Wonderin’

I have been thinking about building my own bike. I’d really like to build a bobber. I read all the biker rags and pour through all of the pictures. I get online and look and look and look. I look at chassises, rolling chassises, parts, complete bikes. And here’s the thing--I’m just wonderin’; why are bobber’s so freakin expensive? I mean, they are stripped down bikes, all but the necessities removed, and they cost as much as a fully dressed Harley. So how does a working stiff like me afford a bobber? All I want is a barebones bike. Any ideas?

It’s Like Deja Vu All Over Again

Every time I go for a ride, for an instant, it happens. I get the feeling of deja vu all over again and I’m the little guy riding my stingray bike with the banana seat and sissy bar, sailing down the street with the wind in my face and that feeling of total non-responsibility. Remember the imaginative thoughts of every little boy? Winning the motorcycle race as the crowd goes wild? Riding across the wild West at breakneck speeds just one step ahead of the law? Not a care in the world; nothing to worry about, your only concern is if your friend is home.

Every time I go for a ride, for an instant, it happens. I get the feeling of deja vu all over again and it inspires me to come home and write about it, to tell everyone how great it feels!

Every time I go for a ride, for an instant, it happens. I get the feeling of deja vu all over again and I just want to go get on my bike and go for a ride!

Thank a Cager

I went for a great ride today. Between the weather, the road, and the scenery, it was awesome! You know how when you get out and ride and you begin to ponder ideas? I had one today I thought I’d share. By nature I’m a polite person. I might kick your ass, but my mama taught me to be polite about it. So as I was riding on a beautiful two lane country road, I noticed a car up ahead in the left lane waiting to turn across my lane into a driveway. It’s like your radar goes off before your mind recognizes it and you become alert and assess closely if they are going to cut fatefully in front of you. This person sat and patiently waited for me to drive by. As I passed I instinctively waved to them to thank them for waiting and respecting my space. Wow, what an innovative idea! We bitch and moan about how we had this close call and that one. We plaster bumper stickers all over that plead, “Watch Out For Motorcycles!” But do we ever acknowledge the driver that does the right thing? We should extend positive reinforcement to those who give us respect and encourage them to always do the right thing... watch out for motorcycles.

Brooksville

It is a beautiful day. The sun is out and the sky is blue. I had been riding for a couple hours when he rolled into Brooksville, FL on a very quite Sunday afternoon. Riding towards the center of the small town I saw this cool mural painted on the side of an old shop. The detail and perspective was stunning! This beats a day on the couch anytime.

Freedom!

The whisper of wind carried the scent of orange blossoms and freshly cut hay. On the roadside a mockingbird danced with a locust. The crescendoed whir of tires on asphalt and the rush of a passing car brought Ace back to reality. He fired the growling engine of his Harley and gunned the throttle; it always shocked his heart like a defibrillator. Looking back over his left shoulder he kicked the bike into low gear and slowly released the clutch. Ahead the pavement shimmered like water yet as fast as he rode he could never catch it; he knew it but it never ceased to amaze him. To Ace, these fleeting moments are as close as one can get to freedom in America today.

Ol' Buzzard

I think I learned something new this weekend and it only makes sense to share it. My bro and I were riding on a straight, flat piece of road and I noticed something up ahead by the center line. We were traveling at about 55 to 60 mph so I slowed slightly and moved to the right side of the lane following my bro. As we rode nearer, I recognized the shape of a bird and, what I thought may be a crow, I quickly came to realize was a big-ass buzzard on some roadkill. It watched us approach and my buddy was no more than 20 feet from it when it suddenly took off. These large birds do not take off quickly and it flew to our right, back towards the shoulder of the road, right in front of him. Already driving on the right side of the lane he swerved his bike slightly to the right as he rolled his left shoulder back to try and avoid a collision. The bird hit his left shoulder and flew off as we passed. My buddy drove off into the grassy shoulder, miraculously missing mailboxes and culverts. He nearly went airborne over some uneven ground and held on to regain control and ride safely back onto the pavement.

So what did I learn? If you think you’re going slow enough; go slower. Secondly, I think he’d have been better to put his head down and drive straight through the bird than try to avoid it hitting his body, which caused him to lose his balance. Please add your experience and advice so that the next time we can all be that much more safe. Thanks!

One Sweet Moment

Those who ride know of the sweet moments that can happen in the blink of an eye; I just had one of those moments. Accelerating to about 50 in fourth gear I had just engaged the clutch to upshift into fifth. I simultaneously rolled through a dip in the road and felt that moment when the bike feels light and one knows the tire treads are, for a split second, lightly touching the road. The suspension compresses and I feel my heart floating high in my chest I complete the shift; my head hears the increasing roar of my pipes and I feel the power of the acceleration in my forearms and seat. A breath fills my nostrils and feel the wind, the elements, and know for that moment that I am alive and as free from these earthly bounds as one could ever be; for that one...sweet...moment.

A Bright Winters Ride

Damn it’s cold. But as the wind burns my cheeks and the cold air fills my lungs I feel alive. After all, the sun is brilliant and the rumble of my pipes fill my ears. This moment is enough.

Handlebar Installation

As I mentioned in the previous post, changing my handlebars on my Harley Softail Deluxe was on the agenda. I had purchased the few parts I needed and had set aside Saturday to git-r-dun. My new bars are 1 1/4” in diameter so I could run the wiring through them; this proved to be the most time consuming part of the install. But let me back up for a moment and walk through the process. I first clipped the wiring between the gas tank and the front fork gooseneck. I then removed the grips and and hand controls. After removing the old bars from the handlebar risers at the top of the forks, I ran a couple of “snake” wires through the new bars to enable guidance of the hand control wire bundles before installing the new bars loosely in place, letting them hang in the downward position. This gave me access to the wiring holes in the bottom of the bars. I then taped the wire bundles to the end of the snake wires and pulled them through the bars before loosely reattaching the hand controls. This first part of the process took about an hour, and since I was learning as I went, the first side I did took about 20 minutes and the second side about five. Hey, that just proves that I may not be too smart but I’m getting more better.

Before spinning the bars up into there proper position, I found it easiest to strip the ends of the wires while they were exposed on the front of the bike. Then I spun the bars upright and tucked the wiring down through the risers and into position. Since my new bars were similar in size and dimension to the old bars, I only had to extend the wires by a couple inches. There are extension kits available that match the OEM coloring that run about $30 to $45 plus tax or shipping if you buy online, however for me, $3 worth of 16 gauge wire from my local hardware store was sufficient. I also chose to solder each wire connection and wrap each with heat shrink tubing and then covering each wire bundle with 1/2” heat shrink tubing. In my opinion, this method took a lot of time but you’d be hard pressed to notice that any changes to the wiring had been made.

Next, I sat on the bike and set the bars and hand controls in the positions that felt most comfortable and tightened everything down. I cut on the ignition switch and SHAZAM! the beast fired up and all of the lights worked! I not only saved myself $450 to $600 by installing them myself, but that feeling when I achieved success was priceless!

Lastly, I had to install a new front brake line because the old one was too short. As mentioned in my previous post, I measured the estimated length and bought a stainless steel line. I attached the new banjo ends and to the new line and then attached the new line to the bike. I bled the brake line and that was it, job complete. A word to the wise, cover your bike with sheets or blankets to protect the paint and chrome, and know that brake fluid can each through your paint job in seconds so be careful. Always use new fluid from an unopened can.

I figure that the whole job took me about 5 hours of actual hands-on work, which isn’t bad for a novice. Any experienced bike mechanic should be able to accomplish the same task in no more than three hours. At $80 an hour that’s $240; a far cry from the $600 I was quoted by the Harley dealership.

In the end I fired ’er up and took her down the road and the experience was awesome! The bars felt just right and I may have increased the value of my bike, but to me the feeling of accomplishment and the satisfaction of knowing that I did it is of value that words cannot describe. Ride on!

Handlebars Expense

Bros,
I bought a new set of handlebars for the bike. They were about $80 and are 1 1/4” in diameter so I can run my wiring through them. The original bars are 34.5 inches wide and my new bars are 36 inches wide, and the rise and pull-back are very similar to the original. I picked up a 42” brake line, to banjo ends and three new clips for $66. I have plenty of play in the throttle cables and clutch cable so no replacement there. I may even have enough slack in the wiring but since I have to rewire it to thread it through the bars, I will buy a wiring extension kit to do it right which costs about $30. I took them to the Harley dealership and they estimated that it would cost about $600 to install. Two other bike shops estimated $325 to $450 to install. All said it is at least a 5 hour job because they have to remove the gas tank. Man, that's a lot of money to me so I'm going to install them myself. I think it will be fun anyway because I like to do my own work but I just can see it taking five hours! I'll let y'all know how I make out...