A Christian living for Him, putting pen to paper and print to page. Spending my life on two wheels. Writer, carpenter, drummer, guitarist and all around musician. A jack-of-all-trades and master of none.
I’m not sure if this is universal for all motorcyclists or if this is an individualized issue, but I am never satisfied with my current motorcycle. Don’t get me wrong, I love my bike, but what if there is a killer deal on a different bike out there… one that could be even better? This leads me to the root of all evil and the gasoline on my ever-blazing fire; Craigslist.
I’m always checking the tri-state area for great deals on bikes and gear.
I work in powersports so the art of wheeling-and-dealing for toys of all shapes and sizes is literally what gets me out of bed in the morning. Making an awesome trade or finding a great buy is the definition of my 9-5. I eat it up and that could contribute to the Craigslist appeal.
Maybe someone will be looking to unload their bike due to personal reasons? Perhaps I will see the last bike I owned come up for sale? Be it my next project or a new piece of gear I always feel like I need to at least check it out.
Am I the only one who loves to scope the local classifieds? You just never know what you might find!
Spring is always a struggle in Minnesota. Last week we had daytime temps in the 60s and 70s, this week we saw snowflakes and rain. Makes you really appreciate good motorcycle weather.
That’s the kind of weather we had last Saturday when Ralph and I took our first two-up ride of the season. There were hundreds of bikers out, too, many of them headed for the annual Flood Run along the Mississippi. We’ve ridden the Flood Run before. It’s exciting, with 30,000 bikers roaring up and down the Minnesota and Wisconsin sides of the river. Some of them never get beyond the bars in Prescott, Wisconsin, at the beginning of the route, I’m sure.
We decided to take our own route, making a loop from Red Wing to Zumbrota and back. We tried to follow a route mentioned to…
My desk at work resembles the mess that could be found on an episode of Hoarders Buried Alive. No, it isn’t that I can’t cope with the thought of disposing of a few invoices and other clutter but rather I continue to stockpile aftermarket parts and accessories. With a longer winter here in the upper Great Plains, a motorcycle enthusiast is left with entirely too much time to spend money at the parts counter.
Sometimes I wish I didn’t have a discount at work…
I absolutely love working at a motorcycle dealership, but having catalogs from Tucker Rocky and Parts Unlimited continually at my fingertips is a guaranteed recipe for spending.
These are about 25% of the catalogs on hand at all time. I quick snapped a picture between customers, but this gives you an idea of the temptation.
Day dreaming of future rides and road trips coupled with 18,000 feet of showroom stocked with new “toys” on display, it is difficult to behave during my 9-6 stint. My system of purchasing and installing parts is one that I have refined over the past few years.
Yeah… this isn’t dangerous to look at all day long at all…
Living in an apartment with a two-stall garage is great… But a heated two-stall garage would be better. When the daily high temperature rarely finds the single digits, wrenching in the elements isn’t much of an option. The next logical choice? Clearly I borrow a trailer from work and bribe one of my technicians with pizza and adult beverages to come and supervise while I toss my bike on his lift.
I know how fortunate I am to have this opportunity to have a shop, trailer and knowledge at my disposal but that is another thing that keeps me working at this shop. It keeps me wanting to continue being a part of this power-sports family.
Although this may not be the most fiscally responsible way of enduring the freezing temps, but as a motorcyclist, parts and accessories are just a part of the passion.
Why 9 things on winter motorcycle storage? Because everyone has lists of 10 and 11 is to many! Hah!
Anyway, here in northern hemisphere winters cold fingers are starting to grip and the polar vortexes appear ready to freeze us off our motorcycles. In fact the first snow of the season is coming down on Northern Virginia as I type!
Riding season, depending on what you are willing to put up with, is either over or nearly so. There are thousands of suggestions and tips out there on winterizing your motorcycle, such as putting a teaspoon of oil in your cylinders and filling the tires with nitrogen, so do your own research to find out what works for you with manner and place you store your bike. If it is time for you to store your bike until the spring thaw here are some of the things you need to…
I’ve had cruisers, dirtbikes, supersports and baggers. I love to put on the 6 miles to work or a 600 mile day in the lake country. I can pretend to be a high plains drifter or Rossi taking the checkers. The identity isn’t only with the rider, but with his or her ride.
2006 Harley Davidson Electra Glide
You can say that I drank the Kool Aid. I was looking for a bike that could do 2-up touring in style and comfort. The solution, or so I thought, was my 2006 Harley Davidson Electra Glide.
It was comfortable and it was something new and different. I know I’m still young, but am I too young for cruise control, backrests and a huge stereo? How great is that? Sure maintenance is continuous, but I’m always looking for a project…
I had never had a Harley before and this was my chance to join the ranks of those owning a piece of America! Right!?? I didn’t buy the matching jacket and bandanna (I didn’t lose all self-respect here), but I was joining every 40 something year old mid-life-crisis squarely on-board the Harley bandwagon.
This motorcycle is perfect… but it isn’t me. I live for the morning and evening commute. Rain or shine. I love weekend blasts and an trying out a new restaurant that just happens to be 30 minutes away. I need a bike that can do it all. A Harley, for me, is not the answer.
All rider’s assume a persona and share a personality with their bike. To be perfectly honest, I felt like with the Harley, I was trying really hard to like something. It just didn’t fit.
The ability to haul the kitchen sink was handy, and comfort to crush highway miles 2-up was great. But the compromise of handling an overweight pig day in and day out isn’t even close to being worth it.
When purchasing this bike, I prioritized the 2-up trips that I would take occasionally over the other riding that I would do daily. Is it possible that I could have cut the sleeves off of a black and orange tee shirt, left my helmet at home ? Absolutely. But is that who I am or what I believe riding is all about? Not in the slightest.
Im not saying that a Harley is a bad choice, but for me, it was the wrong one.
Life In The Split Lane 