Welcome FullHOG Members
I want to welcome all of my FullHOG friends to this new Blog for you, our members.
In this cyber-discussion Blog, I hope to be able to share my ideas, my experience and my thoughts about riding and maintaining Harleys. Topics will include....
Thanks again for your time and contributions to this Blog. And thanks especially to Anaheim-Fullerton Harley-Davidson - the dealership and the HOG Chapter - for all the support.
Bob
In this cyber-discussion Blog, I hope to be able to share my ideas, my experience and my thoughts about riding and maintaining Harleys. Topics will include....
- Tips: After many years, and a whole lot of miles, I've accumulated a few tips and tricks I'd like to share with you over time.
- Suggestions: For rides I've enjoyed; bike accessories I like; packing for trip tips; and other things I think up or run across.
- Maintenance: I'll share what I know - or at least what I think I know - about bike maintenance and repair. If you have a question, please send me an email and I'll try to help. (Remember that the Fullerton dealership is our ultimate repair shop. They are trained and certified. When in doubt, take your bike in for professional service.)
- Safety: Those of you who know me know that I'm all about safety. I will continue to stress safety - safety while riding as well as before and after riding - what to look for on the bike before heading out and after each trip.
- Other Thoughts: I reserve the right to share other thoughts here too. You may agree - you may not. That's OK! Let's be respectful of each other's opinions and agree to disagree when necessary.
Thanks again for your time and contributions to this Blog. And thanks especially to Anaheim-Fullerton Harley-Davidson - the dealership and the HOG Chapter - for all the support.
Bob
Hi Bob, I know this is probably not where I should be looking for this information, but I have run out of resources. We are trying to sign up for the ride the 16th and I tried to get Diane's number to RSVP and can't find out who to call. Can you help?
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Eva,
I can forward your RSVP to Diana for you. Go ahead and plan on being there. I'll see you on Saturday.
Bob
PS- I did the pre-ride with Diana a couple of weeks ago, I think you're really going to enjoy this ride.
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I think this will be a great addition to the Website!
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Eva,
Thanks for the positive comment, I think your right, I just hope our people make use of it.
Bob
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Hey Bob, What is a good tactical practice regime for emergency breaking.
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Emergency braking is one of the subjects covered in the Experienced Rider Course (ERC). I'll try to describe the method they use.
Find an empty parking lot or something of that nature where you'll have plenty of room and no traffic to deal with. Use something as a marker to mark a spot that you will use to begin you stop. The marker is a reference point to check your stopping distance. Start by approaching to marker at about 20mph. As you pass the marker start your emergency stop. Your goal is to use maximum braking without locking either wheel as well as maintaining a straight line. If the front wheel begins to lock, ease off the front brake. Most of the time this will not happen because the front wheel will have lots of traction due to forward weight transfer. If the rear wheel locks, do NOT ease off the brake. Just let it skid to a stop. If the rear wheel locks, it will slip sideways a little bit most of the time. If this happens and you then let off the rear brake you will set yourself up for a "high side crash". This is where the bike swings around and goes down with the top of the bike leading the way. It tends to throw the rider ahead of the bike, very dangerous.
Practice stopping from the same speed five or six times, you'll see improvement in your brake control and less skidding of the rear wheel as you practice. Note how far it takes to stop as well, it should become shorter as you practice. As you become more confident you can increase your approach speed to 30mph and continue to practice. Remember to give your brakes time to cool down between sessions. It is not necessary to practice at higher speeds either, the same rules apply and it just puts a lot of wear and tear on your bike.
I hope this helps. I know my stopping distance improved dramatically when I took the ERC class.
Bob
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I currently am a passenger and a member of the group. I have never ridden a motorcycle by myself. Where would I get the experience to know if I could handle my own bike? We drive a Road Glide and I can guarantee I can not learn on that. Do you have any suggestions?
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Eva,
Thanks for asking again, I got your last post as well, but got sidetracked before responding.
If I had time, I could write volumes about people wanting to learn to ride for the first time. I'll do my best to keep off my soap box and just suggest some ways to do what you want to do.
The method I'd prefer to see you go with is to enroll in one of the beginner rider courses offered at Cerritos College. There is also one held at the Dealers Auto Auction site on Kraemer Blvd. just south of Orangethorpe. I don't know who hosts that one, but I've seen them there on Saturdays just about every week. You could stop by and get info on how to enroll. Check Cerritos's website in the adult ed section for their course. With these courses they provide the bike. They use smaller bikes that are easy to handle and they teach you everything you need to know in order to get off to a good start. When you complete the course you will be ready to get your motorcycle license.
The other way is to buy a small bike and get your husband or a friend that rides to give you some training.
Once you have your license, you need to buy a bike that fits you well and start getting some experience. I think you should plan on logging a minimum of five thousand miles on the small bike before even thinking of trying to ride one of the big bikes. It's not that they are all that hard to ride, it's just that the consequences are much worse if you make a mistake and experience is the best way to reduce the chances of making a mistake.
One of my favorite entry level bikes is the Suzuki LS650. It has a low seat height, low center of gravity and looks like a small Harley softail. You can find, nice low mileage used ones for about $1500.00 or less. When you're ready to move up to a Harley you can resell it for nearly what you paid.
I hope this gives you some things to think about to get started. Remember, the most important thing is to stay safe by not ever riding beyond your ability. Practice and experience is the main way to improve ability.
Fullhog Bob
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Hi Bob ...
Can you tell me if the Kernville ride on 6/20 is an 'open' ride? I have a friend that would like to go, but I wanted to make sure it is not 'closed'//tks, Bob
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Ron,
Thanks for your inquiry. I just checked with Road Captain Roni Pinault (she's planning and leading this ride) to make sure I'm giving you the correct info. This is a Closed Ride. Now let me go over the definitions of the three types of rides. Open- All riders welcome on any type of bike, with or without a personal invitation or membership. Closed- Members may invite a guest, but they must be riding a Harley. Members Only- 'nuff said.
Please feel free to invite your friend as long as he rides a Harley. If your friend needs a room, Roni said to book in soon as there are only two left.
Enjoy the ride,
FullHogBob
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FullHOG Bob - We are getting ready for the multi day ride to Sedona and the Grand Canyon at the end of April. Any recommendations for particular service to have done prior to this trip? How about packing advice for a multi day trip? We will be riding two up on a H-D Ultra Classic? Thanks, Holly
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Holly,
I'm so glad to see your thinking about this before the last minute. We'll be logging between 1500 and 2000 miles on this trip, so if your bike is anywhere near being due for it's normal service be sure to get it done before we leave. The battery on most Harleys is good for about 2 years. If yours is getting close to that age or beyond, bite the bullet and get a new one. If it's not that old, at least tighten the connections to the battery as they do loosen over time. Trying to push start a bagger is no fun. I know Dave just put a new rear tire on, but this is for anyone reading this. Check your tires, if there is any doubt about the condition have a pro check them and replace them if they have any problem or are worn beyond 60% (40% tread depth left). Worn tires are about twice as likely to fail as good ones and long road trips put a lot of stress on the tires. Be sure to check the pressure as well. Run your tires at the highest pressure the owner's manual recommends. Under inflated tires will run hot and this increases the odds of a failure. Low pressure degrades the handling of the bike also.
As I'm sure you know when traveling two up on any motorcycle, space for your gear fills up fast. The one thing that I have found really works is to get rid of all the extra air packed with your clothes. Bob "ABear" showed us how to use zip-lock bags to pack our clothing items in and then squeeze the air out before sealing the bag. It really makes the packages small! I could put about three times as much stuff in the same space.
I know I'm looking forward to this trip as much as you. It's going to be great fun, so prepare well and everything should go safe and smooth.
FullHOGBob
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Bob, I have a tool kit I put together for my Softail, and I am trying to put one together one for the Ultra. Is there anything I should add that is unique to the Ultra? I started with the tool kit that came with the bike which is sorely lacking.
Doug P
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Doug,
Let me think, a '07 Ultra, all electronic everything, under full warranty, Huh...HOW ABOUT A CELL PHONE! All joking aside I need some time to think about that. I have the same problem and haven't quite figured it out yet. I'll work on it and publish a list when I think I have it figured out.
FullHogBob
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Hi Bob,
I had heard you should not use "fix a flat" in a tire with spoked rims. Is this true? Also, could you explain how to properly use this in an emergency and approximately how far you can travel after using it?
Thanks,
Roni
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Roni,
It's not that you should not use "fix a flat" with spoked wheels, it just almost never works for that. Spoked wheels require inter-tubes to make them air tight. When a tube type tire gets punctured the thin wall of the tube usually tears, causing a hole that "fix a flat" just can't seal. Bikes with aluminum wheels use tubeless tires because the rims are air tight. The thicker wall of the tire gives the sealer something to "hold on to" and seal the leak at least temporarily. Even if it seals the leak well, you should get the tire fixed or replaced a the first place possible. Remember, your tires are your most important piece or safety equipment. Don't take any unnecessary risks due to bad tires.
Hope to see you soon,
Bob L'Hommedieu
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Hi Bob, hope everything is going well. I haven't talked to you since Lone Pine. I do have a question for you. How much oil use is within specs for an FLHTCU? I have used almost an additional quart between my 100 and 5000 mile service. Thanks Bob. Talk to you soon. Frank
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Bob, I have another question to ask of you. How long can I expect my rear tire to last on my Ultra? Thanks, Frank
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Frank,
Since I've been a knuckle head and failed to answer your last question, I'll try both now.
First, in regards to oil consumption. Due to your very low miles, the piston rings are probably not completely seated. This will cause some oil burning. I would continue to monitor how much you're using and see if the amount tapers off. I would not be alarmed about using one quart in the first 5000 miles, but by 10,000 miles I would expect to see very little oil use between service intervals.
In years past, motorcycle tires lasted quite a while, but nowdays with higher horsepower engines and softer tread compounds, tire life isn't that great. The trade-off is better handling and traction for braking and such at the expense of long tire life. On your Ultra you should get about 9,000 to 10,000 miles on the rear tire and about twice that much on the front. I prefer the stock Dunlop tires for all around performance and life. There are other choices out there but most that handle better wear out faster and long life tires tend not to handle as well. If you feel bad about the tire life on your Ultra, just check with the Sport Bike guys. They're lucky if they get 3,000 miles out of the front or rear tire.
Hope to see you around soon,
Bob L'Hommedieu
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Bob, Just a quick question. I see a Death Valley ride coming up in October. Is that for Road Captains only? I would really like to go. Thanks, Frank
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Frank,
I'm sorry, but that ride is for Road Captains only. I know several people that would like to do a ride to Death Valley, so maybe it should be considered at the RC planning meeting in December. It is a little difficult to organize a Death Valley ride. If you try to do it in one day, it ends up being about 550 to 600 miles depending on the route you choose. That's a bit much for most riders and doesn't leave much time to enjoy the valley. I've done it that way twice and it's a long day that leaves you wishing you had spent more time there. If you plan an overnight stop, you find very few choices in lodging and they are all fairly expensive as well as being fully booked during the desirable seasons. If your willing to deal with the problems it's a great place to visit on your Harley.
The RC ride in October is an overnighter,(I haven't done that before to Death Valley) so we will see how it goes. If it all works well, maybe someone (a Road Captain) will plan the same trip for the Chapter next year.
Full Hog Bob
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