Winter Bullshit, But I Have Soft Lowers Now

Introducing soft lowers!

$50 can buy a lot of socks, you know...

These are not new, but they’re new to me.  Picked them up over the weekend at the $tealer$hip, and hopefully I’ll get to try them out over the holiday weekend.

Speaking of which, don’t count on much from me – hopefully I can finally take a crack at those custom baffles, but I have to host some inlaws and you know I’m the only one who can cook (fuck, I should make a cooking blog, at least that would have meaningful contributions to the interested community…).  And I have to build a computer for a certain down-and-out gamer.  Again, something I can do well … I should be blogging about that.

But NO, here I am, telling the world I plan to try something out.  Who gives a shit?!

See you over the weekend (or Monday).  Hopefully this freezing rain business will hold off a few more days.

Have a safe and happy holiday, all, and if you are on the roads RIDE SAFELY!  Peeps be crunkin’, yo.

REVIEW: National Cycle Hand Deflectors

I’m going to ask you what you can see (that’s new, or stands out) in this shot:

I know they're not invisible, but look at the glare over the clutch lever.

Hopefully the hand deflectors don’t pop right out at you.  My point is: they’re not ugly.  Actually, they fit very well! But how do they work?

…

When I decided I wanted something to cover my hands during those frigid winter rides, my thoughts would typically bounce back and forth between extra, heavier gloves (I own everything from $1.50 jersey gloves to 20-yr-old welder’s gloves) and some kind of chinese-delivery-boy hand fairing.

Then I learned about HippoHands.  They were basically the warmth of a glove but with the ugliness of a hand fairing! Excellent!

Hippo Hands: You might as well breastfeed at your own wedding.

The thing is, when I’m riding, I like to hold the controls and ride a motorcycle.  I’ll tell you what I don’t like to do:  operate a nuclear reactor’s control rods and ride a motorcycle.

"It's not about dexterity, it's about safety!" The morons might say.

SO!  I looked for a better solution.  There had to be some way to keep my hands happy while not making the bike look like it was designed for the mentally incompetent.  That’s what the PIPES are for, to make you look retarded.  Everyone knows that.  The handlebars must always be sexy.  Although… have you seen these?

ANYWAY….

I ordered a set of National Cycle Hand Deflectors because they looked not just normal, not just not-retarded, but actually good with the windshield.  And after riding through half of November with just a windshield, I installed the hand deflectors and had myself a time.

Here’s the package (not that these are for 2009 models – they work the same with 2010, at least for touring harleys):

Ooooooh......Aaaaaaaaaahhhh....

Installation is so easy, if I had to draw you a diagram, it would look like this:

It came with instructions because we are all dumb.

Installation truly took less than 10 minutes.  That includes dropping the nut and lockwasher behind my other bike, then finding them.

Note to future self and all those who don’t have the intuition of a lifetime of wrenching:  If you’re using your motorcycle seat as a bench to hold things, stand on the LOWER side of the bike so the parts, if they fall, fall TOWARD you.

The directions say to use 12 ft-lbs on the nut.  I didn’t use a torque wrench, I just guessed.

One issue is that by installing the deflector’s mounting bracket through the mirror stem, you have to re-adjust your mirrors.  It’s not difficult, it’s just annoying for *some* types of mirrors.  You have to leave enough travel in the glass-to-mount pivot joint to be able to get your mirrors facing how you need them.  Tightening the nut on the bottom of the stem can throw off your adjustment.  Just be warned – test your mirrors before you ride.

By the same token, test your clutch lever – if you over-tighten the mirror stem nut, you’ll find the clutch lever might stick.  Learned that the hard way!  Flexed it a few dozen times and it settled in.

With the hand deflectors on, I was delighted to see how well they fit the aesthetic of the Road King.

They do have a teeny bit of tinting to them.

And now, the real question:  how do they work?

As I said above, they work quite well.  Like your windshield, they block more than what’s directly behind them: they form a pocket in the wind that protects an area larger than the glass that forms them.  Against the wind, I would estimate they block about 75% of the rushing air at most speeds.  Yesterday I got up to 110mph and found they really kept my hands warm over a 58 minute ride.  Saturday I rode 51 minutes in the rain, got up to 92mph, and again was pleased by the wind protection.  I would give them an A+ for wind protection.

But they’re not called “wind deflectors” – they’re hand deflectors.  They block rain too! Yay!

They just don’t do it as well.  Obviously rain can still fall behind the deflectors, and rain will run off of all the nearby surfaces and it will splash and you’ll just get soaked.  Fact of life.  But they still work.  And they work well.  There was no design defect readily observable during my rainy Saturday riding.  The rain didn’t stream across my hands, sapping precious warmth.  There was no buildup up top or runoff from the trailing edges.  They would have to come up and over, like a roof, to do a better job.  And that would look silly.  All things considered, I don’t think you can do much better without sacrificing bigtime on the aesthetic (and easy as they are to install, with the mirror adjustment it’s not a joy to be taking them on and off – wouldn’t do it more than once per season).  That said, they still do protect your hands from rain.  This is a wonderful, wonderful thing!

Bottom line: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.  I paid about $90 for mine and the total delivery turnaround (credit card authorization through signing for the package) was 5 days with standard shipping.  Not bad at all.

Customer service was excellent.  Tell Scott that some pain-in-the-ass Italian guy with a 2010 FLHRC recommended you to National Cycle for some hand deflectors!

http://www.nationalcycle.com/catalog.html

(877) 972-7336

(Not a great shot, admittedly)

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.

 

EFI Management (Part 2) (COUNTDOWN: 2 days!)

Spoke to the dealer this morning to ask about whether the SEST would be covered under warranty.  They’re checking on it.  I’m concerned that the stock stage II ECM download is inadequate and that I’ll be damaging the bike while I wait on a SEST or PCV or Mastertune or whatever.  It seems, based mostly on ng’s, that the SEST is the way to go.  The PCV might work better for some, but the SEST has no reports of failure or incompatibilities and I can tune the bike myself without the hassle and expense of dealing with another party.

So I might just get the SEST anyway, even if I have to tell the dealer to give me the horrible ecm d/l and pretend I’m not getting a SEST.  $150 down the drain, but a necessary evil since my planning wasn’t perfect (I should have had the SEST in my hand, rode off from the dealer, gone down the street, plugged in the SEST, and started tuning it immediately).

Meanwhile, I’m allowing myself to get excited.  I never, ever thought I would own a brand-new motorcycle.  Used is just so smart, you know? But this is all the bells and whistles – no 2010’s exist on the used market yet and all the 2009’s seem to be lacking ABS.  Those I found on ebay motors with ABS, in black, were all just a touch less than a new 2010.  Perhaps I should have bargained, but I’m also getting away with the purchase on financing.

I was going to put $6,000 down, but I might just put down $4000 if that’s acceptable.  I can suffer higher payments until I get my bonus / house rebate / etc and pay down the principal in a few months – having the extra cash on hand will help.  We’ll see.

Last night I was thinking about how the lack of perfect information, as economists call it, really allows for prices to go all over the place.

According to my internets, $1000 off MSRP is what you should shoot for – that’s average – especially if you’re paying at least that much in extras.  God, I think the last few posts I’ve made ALONE are evidence of that much, let alone the other posts that by now are quadruple that.  Oy.

But what about those really good deals?  Anyone getting more of a discount?  If you spend $5k in extras, do you think you can talk them down $2k off MSRP?  And how much is the service plan? Universal?  Is freight $500 everywhere?

If information becomes perfect, and everyone starts getting their bike for, say, $1k off MSRP, then the dealers will all suffer.  I’m not sure where the line is between going low to please customer_01, and not going low so that you aren’t cutting off your own balls when selling to customer_02.  It would have to be somewhere if we had perfect information.

I’m tempted to not report my deal so that no one goes into the dealership and demands the same deal – but on the other hand, I want to know (even if for no reason beyond my own second-guessing) whether others have done better.

I’ll probably list my out-the-door price somewhere in an entry…

Meanwhile. .. can I get some good weather? It’s supposed to rain this weekend. A-goddam-gain.

In other news, I got a quote from Progressive insurance for the 2010 FLHRC @ 1690cc.  With $500 comp/coll deductibles, it’s $503/yr for my home-owning NJ ass.  Not bad considering my 2001 Volusia (just 805cc) with my Union Square apartment address was the same price for a NY’er.  Plus the garage can’t hurt.

I discovered hand deflectors that look just right – already ordered them.  Will do a full review after I’ve gotten a taste of what improvement they offer.  Hoping they become my perfect cold-riding gear.

Incidentally, I got my brother a present for his Sportster (for his birthday next week).  Won’t say what it is, but I’ll probably play with it a little bit before I give it to him and I’ll post back with my thoughts if I remember. Mike, if you’ve found this blog, all I can say is I hope you liked it (no way you’ll discover this before I give you the gift, but just in case…still not saying what it is).