Excellent, assuming the other "HD" manages to hold together for the entire California-to-Sturgis trip, and we're not talking about the bike!
Hank Desjardins
It started innocently enough, just hangin' out in my garage, drinking a drink, watching the rain and talkin' bikes. The usual stuff; bike
stuff, what you'd like to have, why it was so damn expensive, where we'd like to go on the first "real" ride of spring, that sort of thing.
And that's pretty much when it happened. "You know", my buddy Vince interjected, "I'm thinking of putting together a Sturgis ride, and you
need to go." It was all kind of a dare; after all, he'd made the trip a couple of times before and he and I had flown out for last year's
rally (a major sin, I know...I just tell myself I was too busy with work, makes it sorta OK)...but as of yet, I hadn't done the "big
one".
"Fine," I said, figuring like most grand riding plans, this one would fade as the day-to-day exerted its toll. Well, it didn't and here I
am getting ready for the ride of my life, with great friends and a cool bike...what's not to like? Come along for the ride...it'll be
whack, be sure of that.
I thought I could take a moment to offer up some tidbits on myself and my ride.
I've been riding for just about 30 years on all kinds of machines (Yikes...how old does that make me feel?!). My list includes the Honda CB550, Suzuki PE125, Honda CB900f, Honda VFR750, and Suzuki RMX250. I've only recently started riding Harleys and currently have two: a 2006 Road King Classic FLHRCI and a 2007 Screamin' Eagle Softail Springer FXSTSSE.
My Sturgis scoot is going to be the Road King. While the motor is fairly stock, I have done quite a few mods - some cosmetic, some performance. (Yes, I said performance.)
The basic changes were a Screamin' Eagle Stage 1 kit, slip-ons, a speedo/tach combo unit, and an oil cooler.
My list of performance changes is longer. I replaced all the brakes with Performance Machine (PM) units. The front now has 13-inch fulling floating rotors with six-piston, differential-bore calipers, while the back has an 11.5-inch PM rotor with a four-piston PM caliper. Let me tell ya, the beast can really whoa up! Then, since I wasn't satisfied with a rather vague-feeling front end, I replaced the stock fork springs with Progressives - major improvement.
Cosmetic changes? Wow, too much to list. The high notes include "custom" bolt-ons for everything north of the triple clamp; stock, leather-covered Road King saddlebags replaced by color-matched ones; and high-intensity lighting up front with trick retro blue dots in the rear. I also ditched the stock seat for an HD Sidekick model. Plenty more, but that's its own blog.
Honestly, I really just love being out on a bike - any bike. (Which is why I need a dirtbike, and why I need another sportbike, and...)
I have at least a couple of reasons for going to Sturgis. It's an opportunity to go on a truly epic ride - for me, at least - with my best friend in the world and longtime riding buddy Vince. Come to think of it, you wouldn't need any other reasons...but here they are.
Last year, Vince and I flew from Northern California to Sturgis and had an absolute blast, so I know the destination is worth the journey. Although we didn't have access to bikes at the time, we did a fair amount of touring; even by car, the roads in and around Sturgis were amazing. Can't wait to get at them on two wheels! And if that weren't enough, the company will be great. In addition to Vince, we'll have Vince's son Paul and brother-in-law Mark, and everyone's friend Nate. Paul is a great kid who's always laughing, and Mark probably looks more like a "real" biker than anyone in the group.
I've never been on a ride of this length. That's the beauty of this trip: it smacks of adventure in the making, with stories to tell, lies to be crafted...you know, typical motorcyclist stuff. My history of long-distance riding consists of overnight trips to Reno/Tahoe, Southern California, and assorted races. The most miles I've clocked in a single day of riding would have to be about 450 - nothing amazing.
However, my total number of riding-miles is pretty high, although an exact number would be hard to determine. 80,000? 90,000? This doesn't include a fair amount of offroad riding for a number of years, either. I want to keep riding fun and recreational (and I've had daughter-transport issues), so I've never commuted on a daily basis on a motorcycle. That, and lane splitting on California highways just ain't my idea of a good time.
My ride of choice for Sturgis, my Road King, has about 7,500 miles on it. The longest Harley trip to date was to last year's Street Vibrations event in Reno and the surrounding area. For the record, the ride home was through some of the gnarliest weather I've ever ridden in: high winds, heavy rain, hail, and light snow. Ugh!
To be honest, I'm not going to have to do much to the bike in preparation for the trip. I'll put the detachable windscreen back on, as well as the quick-detach rear rack. I don't really like riding with a windscreen, but it would be stupid not to have one on a trip of this length. In addition to the two hard-sided saddlebags, I'm looking into some sort of touring bag for the rear rack. Other than that, I'll have the rig serviced and hit the road.
I'm rolling with the stock, Harley-recommended tires, with an MT90B-16 up front and an MU85B-16 in the rear. Since it's a Road King Classic, they'll be big fat whitewalls. This is premium Dunlop touring rubber, so they should hold up just fine.
I have been a Cycle Gear customer for many years now. I continue to shop online and at local stores because of the selection, service and price. I am always able to find what I need when I need it, so I will be a Cycle Gear customer for life.
