Sunday, April 19, 2009

bad wrenching, lady riders and love of the road..

I fired my mechanic yesterday..he has taken care of the old shovelhead for 30 years. Knowing it was the nicest day of the new riding season (for those who have riding seasons) he rushed through repairs to get on the road..Big fucking mistake. You don't rush it if it's in the shop and on the ramp..ten minutes doesn't change the day or the ride..That was all it would have taken to inspect the work and be sure it was all tight and where it needed to be..Instead, I melted an oil line and breather line off the carb..Caught it quick but still dumped half the motor oil in the primary and the bike ran like shit..Got it home and spent three more hours fixing what should of never happened..Then got attacked by a killer bee on the test run..Damn, lol. By the way, I'm my own wrench and still waiting for my severance package..

Lady Riders..Hat's off to the lady's who ride and let me explain..I grew up old school. Having said that; the line of thought was always you girls belong on the back and not at the controls..Having rode in groups with lady riders over the last few years I have learned that you are more focused on your surroundings and on the people you are riding with than most of the boneheads I ride with..But in the last few months I have gotten a real lesson in lady riders..

A little history of the Rat and the Tat and what I have learned..Sunshine I hope you don't mind..We met on another biker site; BON..We traded some emails and found out we knew many of the same people and had traveled the same circles for years..we had probably been in the same room many times..We both share the passion for the road, Harley's, riding to nowhere, and searching for paradise..She has also opened my eyes to lady riders and the fact that their passions for the road, the bike, and the life are no different that those I have lived for my entire adult life..maybe much harder to archive because of the many who view them as lady's and not riders..I'll give you an example of passion for riding and doing the work to make it right..The Tat posted a blog about lean angles and her Deluxe sucks..she's a rider and wants to be able to corner without losing a foot doing it..so The Tat went to work..she measured, researched and put together what was needed to make the bike work for her..Being a rider she understands looks are cool but being able to do what you want to do is foremost on a bike, and she wants her setup for the road-not bike nights..She put together a forward control kit that will improve cornering, lean, and get rid of the pig boards..She walked into her favorite dealer, handed over her parts list and was told it hadn't been done but wholly shit it will work..they are on the way..You rock girl and I'm proud of you..Looking at the other lady bloggers bikes you all have done the same thing..you work hard to personalize your bikes for you...ride on lady's..

It's love of the road friends..

The Rat..

12 comments:

mq01 said...

go easy on the mechanic, you dont wanna lose the 30 yrs experience, lol.. sorry about mother nature and the killer bee!!!

lady riders, how we met, and my latest wrench project...im honored by your blog and a touch speechless, thank you :)

now wheres my wrenches again, those forwards will be here soon...woohoo ;)

FLHX_Dave said...

Hey, I'm gonna give this a whirl. Last time I tried to comment it yelped something having to be in your circle or something like that.

Enjoy the reads. Your last deal about riding the wind was a kick. I rode that day and missed getting whacked by a sycamore that fell on 68 by 30 seconds or so. I have ridden some hairy shit but agreed that I have never rode in wind like that to date. I was dumping sand out of my duds.

30 year mech? err...I would give him a second chance. Ain't too many of those around.

Lady Riders? Yeah, I get shit for teaching my lady to ride. Some of the brothers won't go on a run with a chick who is at the controls. She just did here first "outlaw" pack ride this weekend and she rode better than most of those peckerheads. I'm proud of here. She kicked ass.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Dave, Welcome to the blog..Thanks for the ego boost..the mechanic thanks you too..If I fired him that would mean I would have to take the thing to the shop..I had a bad day wrenching and a killer bee day riding..One of those days..but I still rode..

Sunshine, be proud of what you have accomplished..I will use Daves analogy of peckerheads..they call or knock on the door cause they can't figure out simple shit..you went in a built a package to make the changes you need to make the bike work for you..I'm proud of you..roses and carrot cake proud..

Mr. Motorcycle said...

Heh, I was all ready to start bashing you mechanic right along with ya until you said it waz U!

Great post about lady riders!

Unknown said...

Mr.Moto..damn the pain of finding out your not perfect after all these years..Thinking back it could have been a failure in the wire ties or duct tape..The mechanic could be in the clear..

Mrs Road Captain said...

Thanks for the props to lady riders. I've been told by a few of the "seasoned" riders in my HOG chapter that they'd ride with me any day (and not necessarily some of the guys in the chapter). It means a lot coming from those guys, because I know that they are coming from an era where women belonged at home, barefoot & pregnant, and definitely not at the controls of a Harley!

Stop by and check out the article I just posted about Women Riders Month at http://roadcaptainusa.com/2009/04/20/women-riders-month/

mq01 said...

wow, go off to work and i miss all the fun :) i totally agree, this respect means alot to me. my hog friends say the same about me, they'd ride with me over many others. yet some still have issues with "chicks" at the controls. fuck em...they like looking so they'll get over it somehow, lol. lets ride :) !!!

ps, bravo to BB on the outlaw run!! that is too cool...

woolybw said...

Like wise respect to "de ladys"... Both Bitchy and I wrench on ours... Unless its like Dyno tuning a "Power Commander". LOL MQ, Bitchy set up her Streetglide for the road also! 4'-11", they recommended the Deluxe to her and she would spin and leave! She lowered Streetglide as much as possible, shops recommended going with air shock to lower even more, but she didn't want to change riding dynamics... She raised herself with 1-1/2" platform soles on her riding boots.

Sorry all for not blogging earlier we finally got some of our PC problems resolved so we're going to be learning how to post here... Later...wooly

woolybw said...

First this is Bitchy, Rat I check in here to read your wounderful writings and thanks for writing I always enjoy them...
MQ01 I have never met you but I think if I did you would be one of the few I call a friend...
This said Much respect to you it takes more then riding skills (in my book) to be a biker and you are more then just a rider, much more...
Thoose boys that have peoblems with women riders... I have been cussed at spit at and fliped off by these boys and my sweet revenge is to flip them back off as I am passing them on the roads..lol boys not men
ride safe and hopfully we will meet soon..

Unknown said...

Wooly and Bitchy..damn good to see ya..Been thinking about logging into BON to see if you were still around but my computer has a no drama bug..everytime I try my stuff crashes..Hey do all the readers a favor and post up the knuckhead blog..too die for..Bitchy..The Tat is something special I hope before you two head into the sunset we can all put some miles down..Rat..

mq01 said...

wow... rat, wooly and bitchy, much respect and appreciation, sincerely, im touched. sooooo much to say...and i dont know where to start. so for now i'll just say - thank you.

i agree bitchy, (personally my circle is small), i think we'd be friends. i hope we get to ride together sometime, sometime soon...im looking forward to it.
til then, ride safe and enjoy...