Finally some sort of decision

What an interesting end to the week.

As you may've read, I wanted to celebrate my Deuces 1st birthday with a makeover. Actually some of my riding friends think its way overdue since the only thing I've added since riding it off the showroom floor is a small Harley bag attached to forks and the windshield. I was fortunate though with the bike coming mostly chromed.

After a few frustrating conversations with two Harley Dealerships I decided to talk to Bobby (owner of Bobby B's) who recommended not only the Vance and Hines Bigshots, but was quite candid (and no sales pressure) about what other upgrades were needed to make the bike run correctly with the new pipes.

However, getting the motorcycle to his shop was an ordeal all on it's own. As of early Friday evening South Florida was swamped with monsoon type rains that were still giving it the old college try Saturday morning. Knowing I wouldn't ride in the rain, I stood outside my buddy's garage waiting for a break in the showers to pull the Deuce out, which in itself was a problem. The last entry in Biker Diaries had the ominous warning that I wouldn't be too happy with all the DIY materials stored all around the bike in his garage. Sure enough, when I opened the door stuff was cramed everywhere, even around his Heritage which he must've brought back from work. It looked more daunting than it actually was and I could back the bike out after only moving three or four things, such as stools, a sledgehammer crown-molding and marbile tiles.

What was even better was the break in weather lasting well after I arrived at Bobby B's Harley Shop. Now Bobby is a pretty serious rider, taking three weeks off to ride up to Sturgis and then out west before coming back to Florida so the guy knows what he's talking about. With the great reputation he and his shop has around town, I felt comfortable dropping the bike off there this morning and leaving a laundry list of things to be done.

Here it is;
Vance & Hines Big Shot Pipes
TFI Kit to help the fuel mixture
Add chrome Master Cylinder and various housings on handle bars
Add chrome clutch and brake levers and housing
Matching Grips and pegs with heel rests
Chromite cables for Brake & Clutch
New mirrors
Synthetic oil change
Relocating rear signal indicators*
Rear Indicator kit

The indicator kit flashes the brake lights and indicators four times when braking and the lens fitting over the indicator has an amazing look to them that can only be described with pictures. *Since he'll have the bike until thursday, I'll only have two days to put on the ghost brackets and saddlebags so it seemd like the best idea to have Bobby put the relocation kit on and save me some tool time. That goes for all the chrome work actually. Although I could've done it myself, they can do it quicker and certainly with less frustration.

Here are the bigshots














Speaking of saddlebags, this is what I've narrowed my choices down to;


I'm not sure how often the bags will be on the bike, but regardless I wanted a clean look to compliment the sleekness of the Deuce. With all three being about the same dimensions bag number two is the leading favorite. Conventional but clean.

This is adding up to a little more than I'd planned on spending but bearing in mind theres really nothing else I can think of doing to my bike, it'll be nice to have all the upgrades out of the way.

But all this work is leaving it pretty tight to head up to Daytona for bike week on March 3rd, and after talking with my riding buddy, we're still not even sure if his friend's house will be available for us to crash in. This is shaping up to be a fun trip!

At this point its not clear if I'm standing taller because of all the pressure off the shoulders from finally getting the bike in somewhere to have the work done, or if its because my wallet is so much lighter now:)



Because it can't all be about me
I've mentioned before that you're only ever a few clicks away from a fun find when checking out other biking blogs. Sure enough, earlier this week when reading some comments on KTDid's blog, I came across Christine's Corner. Its just a great read, with her funny insights and personal riding experiences. I mean, look at the picture she uses to head up the 'About me' section, pure firecracker!
















So thanks to KT for leaving the breadcrumb for me to follow! When I added Christines blog to my 'Other stops along the way column' it was also cleaned up to make it easier to see which blogs are which. After all, these are all wonderful blogs and should have the respect they deserve, gosh darnnit!



Time to roll the eyes
Going from something totally enjoyable to a sad matter that was just dumb. The local paper, Sun Sentinel reported a rider died after losing control of his motorcycle while doing 120 miles per hour! Understand that although the road he died on is three lanes wide, but it isn't a highway and has traffic lights dotted up and down it.

Just plain stupidity.


All Harley all the time
In a few years, you'll be able to do more Harley stuff when you visit Milwaukee besides factory tours. Harley Davidson announced Friday it will start construction on its 130,000-square foot, $75 million museum this spring.

"Many companies lose track of their history," said Willie G. Davidson, Harley's senior vice president and chief styling officer. "We are finally getting a place to showcase ours."

The museum will feature motorcycles from the company's collection of more than 400. It includes a 13-foot-long 'King Kong,' which had been customized over a 40-year period, Harley-Davidson's serial number 1 cycle from 1903 and Elvis Presley's 1956 Harley-Davidson KH motorcycle. Also on display will be posters, photographs, advertising, clothing, interactive exhibits and memorabilia, museum director Stacey Watson said.

Read the full story in the Chippewa Falls Online.