grubsie Posted May 19, 2017 #1 Posted May 19, 2017 The weather finally broke over the past couple of days. Being self employed, I was able to clear my schedule for the at noon time today. I decided to take my "new to me" 1997 HD Road King out for an adventure first. I posted about buying it and disappointed about the bike. Previous post on another here: http://roadstarclinic.com/component/option,com_fireboard/Itemid,187/func,view/id,1009852/catid,49/limit,10/limitstart,0/ I decided to finally give the HD a good go. With all the bad weather, I got the front bearings replaced, new handlebars and glad I have stock in Blue Locktight as I crawled all over the bike re-tightening bolts and finally got the most irritating vibration from the exhaust figured out. After all the crawling around the exhaust, I discovered that one of the exhaust clamps was the faulty party. You know the clamp. It's a p-type clamp that has a )( type spacer in between the bolt head and bolt. Removed the )( spacer, then retightened the clamp and the vibration/rattle disappeared. Anyway, took the Road King for a ride. With the new handlebars and the exhaust rattle gone, it was a rather enjoyable ride. I was amazed how well the bike tracked through the corners on the back roads. A little down on power and a little more cramped than the RS but a fun ride nonetheless. I spent 3 hours on here and enjoyed every minute. I bought her for a flip but I may just keep her. Got home and switched to the Road Star. Had another great ride. I discovered that the RS isn't as smooth as the HD, but a great ride nonetheless. It was nice to have more stretch room and a little more power and it handled the corners on the back roads equally as good as the HD. Rode it for 2 hours. Got home and switched to my powerhouse 1968 Honda SS125. I have to say that this bike was far more enjoyable than the my previous 2 rides. Cruising down the back roads was an absolute blast. Of course I had it revved to the max to attain 40 mph but fun, fun, fun! Can't describe the fun. I stopped at a local little league baseball game ( My favorite baseball of all) and the amount of people gathering around the bike was more fun than riding it. So as you can see and I have always said, no matter what it is, if it has 2 wheels and a motor, I can find a way to have a blast on it. Anyway, glad the weather broke and I was able to clean my schedule to have a really good day of riding. Gonna pay for it tomorrow though and I don't care. Today was worth it. If the weather holds as it looks like it's supposed to. The Mrs and I are planning on a 2 day trip through Vermont on our RSV. Can't wait! What can I say? I am an equal opportunity bike rider. 2 wheels and a motor, right?
CaseyJ955 Posted May 19, 2017 #2 Posted May 19, 2017 So glad you got to take the ride. I had the first grand spring ride not long ago and just got back from WY, CO and NE. I really enjoy the first ride stories, I can almost feel the rush of sunshine and open roads. Theres just nothing like that first sunny clear day in the spring. I'm self employed also and I'm damn glad I am, I can make time to do the rides and rallys. Ride what you like and enjoy it. Rides like this make everything alright with the universe.
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