The ride that never was . . .

Early last Sunday morning Tattoo Tony, me and two other guys decided we wanted to ride. Three of us were waiting at Tattoo's shop for him to show up. He calls in and says him and his girl friend broke down a couple miles away. So we all ride over there to give him what for and find out his generator gave up the ghost and his battery went dead. One of the guys rode him to the shop to get a spare battery so he could put it in his bike and ride it there for repairs.

After that we all ride to Tattoo's house to plan our next move, Tattoo and his girl friend riding two up on the other bikes. About half way there, my bike sputters to a stop. I check for fuel, look at the points and everything seems to be okay. I start it up and a couple miles down the road it dies again. Hmm . . . since I had removed the gas cap and it ran for a while after that, I figure maybe the vent got blocked, so I look at the rubber gasket under the gas cap and discover that it is covering the vent hole. Ah ha! I cut a little notch in it, screwed it back on and we all got on the road again. When we got to Tony's, I took a pair of sissors and cut about an eighth of an inch off the circumference of the gasket. It still keeps the gas in but vents much better.

We get to Tony's place and end up hanging out for a while. It looks like the ride is off. One of the guys wants to go home. His bike is a '76 ironhead kick start. Except it won't start. He's kicking his brains out, everybody all around watching. Tony takes the drain plug out of the S&S carb and it's clogged with junk. He dropped the bowl and took the jets out. Same thing - clogged up. Everything gets cleaned and put back together. By this time it's around noon and it's hot. He goes to turn on the ignition and the key snaps off! I swear. Well, we get it hot wired and it starts right up. The snake bit guy rides home. So, three out of four bikes broke down, all of them older bikes. Naturally, the newest bike, a 2007 soft tail, was fine. Tony complained he never has enough time to ride and now I'm beginning to see why LOL.

I know that scenario all to well and why I do not miss my '63 rigid Pan. Over the 25 years I road her I never knew if I would get home un harassed by breakdowns big or major. Yes because the technology was able to be fixed on the side of the road made it reassuring I should be able to handle everything and anything that happened. And or more then one ocassion no matted how well or fancy the custom chopper was it was always inevitable a breakdown would occur. One guys chopper and which was featured in a recent Iron Horse held up a ride of over 40 bikes going to the Keene swap meet from Providence,RI. Ended up being carried in the chase vehicle.

I'll say this about the new technology..in 2010 it got me from New Hamshire to San Diego w/out a problem. And Key West,Pidgeon Fore,Nova Scotia,Marble Falls,AR,Outer Banks aqnd a few other places. And no disrespect to your bike I'll take that over paying the price to riding old technology iron. Just getting to old to being stuck on the side of the road which inevitably where old iron, antiquated technology bwill leave you.

Yep, years ago my mc would do rides and a Harley would jam us up on the road. It always amazed me how many tools snd spare parts were packed into the Harley saddle bags. Once I expected a black and decker workmate to appear! Harley's have come a long way since then and they still have a ways to go. I'm convinced that part of the Harley allure is the satisfaction a handy person gets from fiddling with the machine. JMO


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My 85 Evo EG was a giant leap forward but it never failed that some stupid little thing would need fixed once I got home from a trip. But it never left me stranded. Sometimes I don't know how it made it home but it did. When I sold it, back to the dealership that maintained it since new, I had just had new wheel bearings installed.

That thing ate them. I got half way home and my wife on her bike pulled up next to me and point down to the rear. I was throwing sparks. 15 miles from shop and I turn around to head back. Parked out front a told them it was throwing sparks. They came out to move it and it would not move. Welded the axle to frame. I took my money and went down the street and road home on a new BMW K100LT. And now I'm back on a dang Harley. I'll never learn!

Shut happens huh?

Sure does. I just look at it as an unexpected adventure. We ended up having a pretty good time, except maybe the guy on the ironhead LOL. It's not exactly fun when something malfunctions on my scooter, but I accept it as part of motorcycling. If I had a new bike and something broke I'd be totally lost and at the mercy of the gougers. And boys, sooner or later, everything breaks .

God bless you for enjoying and looking forward to working on your bike. Did that for many years on the '63 which is sold and the '83 FL which I still have and because I had too. Had no money. And would probably still be had not been for good fortune and luck (hard work and preparation!). Back in '02 God smiled upon me and my family and provided an opportunity to be able to upgrade and no longer meddle with my rides but ride on my days off for a change. Instead of upgrading and updating my rides I could have bought a better house and bank the money but since the kids were out on there own why? it is a small,old and humble home but its just the right size for me and Mrs badinfluence63. And after doing w/out for so long I was spending some money. Thats the truth of it. Been riding since I was 14-15, I'm 58 and it was always a matter of too much time and no money or the money needed but no time. Wonder what its like having time and money, I'll never know. I am just very grateful to God to have been blessed back in 2002.

Bottom line but for the grace of God I would still be tinkering on that quirky pan and unpredictable shovel.

It's good that you were able to get a newer bike. I've never had a lot of dough either (still don't) and because I wanted to ride a big twin again before I got too old to ride, I built my shovel. It has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.
I don't know where I got the gene to tinker and build stuff - nobody in my family was like that - nobody rode motorcycles either. Now my half brother and his wife ride Harleys up in the Cleveland, Ohio area, and one or two other distant relatives ride also. I guess we got bit by the bug later in life .

Just a little update. Yesterday a bunch of us decided to go for a ride. Tattoo didn't go because he hasn't had time to repair his generator yet - he's been really busy at his shop. We all meet up at a local watering hole called "Dinky's Dungeon". Dinky has cancer and wasn't there. Seven bikes (seven riders and a lady named Rose rode two up with her old man) all went on an all day ride stopping in several bars along the way. I drank a lot of water! We rode maybe a hundred miles with no mishap. One of the guys, Pete, was with us last Sunday on the ride that never was. We made up for it yesterday .