Road King Blog

Never completed the blog entry for last Friday’s ride due to some hideous tendonitis / carpal tunnel in my left hand. Haven’t ridden since then either.

During my extended trip on Friday, I tried using my GPS unit on the bike for the first time, using a R.A.M. mount on the handlebar.  With no power outlets available, I used the unit on battery power.

Which ran out before I even got to Daytona.  Obviously this is not going to work well for touring.

Fortunately, I had already ordered a pair of power outlet kits from Powerlet Products.  The kits include a lead with ring terminals and a fuse which terminates in a 2 pole SAE connector, and an adapter that plugs into the SAE lead and provides a standard cigarette lighter plug for plugging in phone chargers, GPS units, etc.  I ordered a pair of kits, with the intention of running power to the saddle bag directly from the battery and another connection to the handlebar area.  The direct run to the battery also allows for charging without having to take the seat off.

The rear cable installation was very easy.  After connecting the ring connector to the positive terminal, and the ground lead to the chassis nearby, I ran the cable back to the saddlebag, using zip ties to connect the cable to existing wiring and chassis points along the way to make sure it cannot get loose and become involved with the moving parts of the bike.

For the front cable, I wanted to set it up with switched power, so that it was on when the bike is on, and off when the bike is off.

Fortunately, there is an accessory power line on many Harley models (happily the Road King is one of them) in the headlight bucket.  The wire in question is orange and white striped, with a single spade-lug connector on the end.  A quick swap of the ring terminal for a spade plug on the red wire of the harness handed that connection, and the ground lead went under a cable clamp bolt on the right side of the frame neck, completing the circuit.  The cable was then routed up through the headlight bucket to the right handlebar, and firmly zip-tied in place.  The slack cable was bundled in the headlight bucket and secured with zip ties.

All in all, a nice reward for a couple hours of work.

(author’s note - finally going back and finishing this entry now that my hand is better and  I can type).

With the new AirHawk pad in place under my posterior, I set off down US 1 toward Titusville.  The AirHawk makes a nice difference in riding comfort for longer stretches in the saddle.

Passed south through Daytona, and continued down the coast on Route 1.  Along the way, a desire for lunch began to build, and I started browsing the establishments I passed, looking for something appealing for lunch.  As I rode along, I came across Rossi’s diner.  Just what I was looking for.  Genuine homestyle cooking.  Had a nice turkey club sandwich that was just like the fare you got at home the day after Thanksgiving.  Really hit the spot.

Got back on Route 1 and headed south into Titusville, enjoying the view across the Indian River.  The massive Vehicle Assembly building dominates the horizon.  It’s hard to appreciate the scale of this massive building.

Turned off Route 1 onto Route 50 and headed home.  A long trip (about 4 hours total), and a lot of fun.

Rode up to Destination Daytona to check out the Airhawk seat pads at J&P Cycles. Liked it a lot, and bought one. Now to butt-test it…..

Spring is springing, or has sprung, over much of the motorcycling world. Bikes that have sat snugly in storage, hibernating over the cold months are being prepped for riding, and riders coming off a long break are taking to the roads again.

But during those months, when fuel stabilizers were keeping gas tank gunk at bay, and batter tenders were keeping their charges charged, something else was happening - perishable skills were, well, perishing.

And so we begin another riding season, and many riders are relying on a little luck to get them back in the groove. There’s only one problem - luck doesn’t exist.

What we call luck is nothing more than the sum of our experience, training and instinct. As Robert Heinlein once put it, “There is no such thing as luck. There is only adequate or inadequate preparation to cope with a statistical universe.”

I’m still a new rider, in the grand scheme of things, so I treat every new week as a new riding season. And I start each of these 52 riding seasons each year preparing just a little bit better for coping with the statistical universe that is riding.

At the beginning of the season, I break out the reference materials and review them again. Hough’s Proficient Motorcycling sits on my bedside table, and I’ll pick a random chapter and re-read it. At least once during the first couple rides of the week, I’ll break out the bisected tennis balls and do an exercise or three in the parking lot. Panic stops are practiced in the parking lot, or when possible, prudent and safe, on the road.

At the end of the day, there are many variables encountered on each ride. Some we can control, some we cannot. But one thing we absolutely can control is running out of “luck”. If you’re running low, replenish your stock by reading a book, watching a video, and practicing some skills.

Just a random thought for the day.

Yeah, the title says what it looks like it says.

This is the solution we found for Lisa’s seat comfort issue.  The Butty Buddy:

The Butty Buddy easily disassembles into three pieces and fits in a small carrying bag that fits in the saddlebags on the bike.  I’ve adjusted it for the Road King’s seat, and now it’s just a matter of trying it out.  Perhaps we’ll ride up to the Sanford waterfront tomorrow….

Our first actual trip on the bike together came this morning as we headed out for breakfast.

Once thing we’ve discovered is that while the backrest is fine, the passenger pillion portion of the seat grows uncomfortable for Lisa after a short time on the bike.

Going to hit the internet this morning and look for some seating improvement options.

Woo Hoo!!!

This past weekend, we bought a jacket and gloves for the love of my life, Lisa.  We ordered her a helmet, but got a call from the store a few days later saying it was discontinued.  So today, when she flew back into town after a business trip, we went hunting high and low for a helmet that she would like and that would fit her.

She wound up with a very pretty modular design in a dark cherry red metallic.

Of course, since she now had the mandatory gear for riding, and the bike now has a backrest, there was only one thing to do - go ride!

We headed up to a local park to do a bit of riding in the parking lot so she could get used to the bike, and I could get used to having her on the back.  We then ventured briefly out onto some neighborhood roads for a bit of two-wheeled cruising.

She had a great time, and so did I  I can see we’ll be logging a lot of miles 2-up.

Bought the Harley detachable backrest kit, docking hardware and pad for the Road King and proceeded to install it.

Not a whole lot of fun, bit the end result is worth it.  Been riding around a bit doing errands and the like, but nothing really noteworthy.