Ride Report: Halloween in Manhattan

For one of the first times in my life, I was nervous.  Had to park the ‘King in the city on Halloween.  Figured I’d pony up and pay for parking (totally against my sense of will!), and I did.

 

Riding in from the house was smooth and easy.  With the lady on the back, those sexy jumps the Stage II kit provides were what kept the bike sporty feeling when pulling away from a stop, heading uphill, or striking out on those highway straights.  Constantly happy and relieved I went for it.

We took the turnpike, heading north toward the Holland tunnel about 1 in the afternoon on Saturday.  I drifted upwards of 70mph in fifth gear.  It was effortless.  And with the road open and the sun bright overhead, I put it in 6th and let it rip.

The little green ‘6’ light doesn’t come on until you’ve fully released the clutch lever, and then there’s a tiny delay still before the bike really knows it’s in 6th.

I realized I forgot to put the windshield back on as I tore past 100mph and then past 110mph.  It was almost scary how still-effortless it was.  My mind flashed to the rating of the tires – the Dunlops might not be rated for such speeds and might blow off or something.  I had no idea.  But I dismissed it because I just had to know what was there.  The needle crept up and the road sunk away.  115mph.  The ease with which I cranked the throttle and felt the bike fall forward was the same ease it would be to step off the edge of a cliff.  It was just right there, easy as pie.  Too far forward and you’re done.

But once 115mph felt safe, I stayed there.  Lord, that’s fast.  And call me nuts, but  I had the widest grin on my stupid mug as I rolled through the curves.  It was smooth!  It was fast!  It was FLYING!

That’s what it’s all about, ain’t it?

Parked in an Icon garage – little orange circle logo with the arrow.

 

 

DO NOT WANT.

 

It was a remarkable rip-off.  I guess that’s what I get for being paranoid.  I’ll park on the street like normal from now on.  I spend so much on insurance, why the hell should I be worried?

Rode to dinner, parked on the street – sat by the window, obviously.  Even with all the drunks in the east village, no one touched the bike.  It was very reassuring.  Like it’s a different city than it was 10 years ago, somewhat.

(Side note: FU is my favorite sushi – so, so fresh and good! Seems to have hit his stride and isn’t as generous as he was, and service is a little slow, but the food quality is still top-notch and the other bits are the reason it’s affordable.)

Then the rain came, about 9 or 930, and I had to ride (solo – the girls hopped in a cab to get their costumes ready while the boys hung back and ordered more food) in that rain.  I’ll admit to apprehension.  I had all my gear on, it wasn’t a cold night so the wetness wasn’t uncomfortable, it was a short ride (11th st to 95th st … maybe half hour?), and it was familiar roads.  Still…how does the King handle in wet wet wet world?

The Road King Classic is like a pig in shit, that’s how it handles.

Can I say that again? Mothers, put the kids to bed.

My FLHRC made the FDR its BITCH as I streaked through the rain.

Wow, again, just wow.  When will the WOW’ing stop??

Within just a few moments, I was dazzled by how smooth the ride was.  That 850lbs was working for me.  Puddles the size of taxicabs were no problem.  Those generous floorboards actually shielded my feet/ankles very well – had no idea, was planning on getting soaked (had extra socks and everything). The suspension was undaunted by the shit-ton of pot holes on that strip of war road.

Told you it was a war road.

Anyhow … I made it without issue.  It was genuinely a good ride.

The next day was a day like any other.  I got over my fear of parking on the street (whereas with the Volusia I happily parked on sidewalks, under scaffolds, at construction sites, at hydrants, etc) and left the Harley on a broad sidewalk across the street from some detention center near the water.

Riding home in the late afternoon on Sunday, it was much colder than coming in with the sun.  I couldn’t help cranking up to 115mph-ish, but then settled into a solid 95 and coasted home.

Probably due to the lower ambient temperatures, there was no pinging when I parked this weekend.  I suppose I might make it through the winter without having to get a proper tune, which is great because I don’t have any cash at the moment and I don’t know what to get anyway.

Reading up on exhaust, I think i’ll experiment with the baffles in the SuperTrapp.  New discs are cheap, and a few more discs might up performance – a few less might up the noise.  Very cool, will have to trial-and-error it.

I might also drill out the baffles – I have my mint stock pipes still so I can always throw them on in answer to a fix-it-ticket.

And, y’know, I might spend this saturday drilling out the cat.  I’ve got blueballs for a good roar or a solid idle.  Supid EPA.