Asphalt Mandala
I wanted to start a new blog that focused strictly on the subject of motorcycles. I want to write about the psychology and the meditative aspect of riding a motorcycle in the high desert of southern colorado. Im not focused on the competition from rider to rider. I celebrate the success of all riders; my competition is with myself. Come with me on this introspective two wheeled journey through valley.
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I rode my motorcycle a few times over the last few weeks. That’s not really an exploit to brag about, but then again for me it is something to claim.
I have a back and forth push and pull with my motorcycle riding, especially as spring has sprung and life has returned to the valley. The push and pull with my motorcycles is in doing the things during the inopportune times of coldness in the winter. I had plans and still have them although I planned to have those things completed by April 1.
It is now well past April and I am almost there….
A little backstory:
I have 2 motorcycles-
2001 Kawasaki Vulcan Drifter (Black)
2012 Harley Davidson Street Glide (Red
)
Ive been riding the Kawasaki since I bought it back in 2019. It was my daily rider until I got my Harley in October of 2023. My Kawasaki is once again my daily rider as I put the Harley under the knife to fix some issues and make some upgrades and cosmetic improvements.
The plans:
Kawasaki plans are to add pinstripe and vinyl wrap to spice up the color. Then, update and upgrade parts that I was never able to address while I was riding it to work everyday. Ive no tread on my back tire which is fine until I ride in the rain or start to show metal threads peeking through the rubber. I have a new tire for both the front and back tire, but changing tires is a pain in the ass and I would rather wait until the last minute to flip them, just because I don’t feel like doing them yet.
That’s a bad idea I know. I have already experienced a flat rear tire while riding, so the worst has already happened and I survived. …and yes I know that’s a bad attitude but… its my attitude. Now that I’ve written about it I should do something about it so I don’t tempt the fates with my bravado.
I have the tools and space to work on my motorcycles at home without need to get them into the shop. That is until I encounter a problem I can’t fix. Welding and fabrication are somewhat outside my areas of expertise. When it comes to items like that then Ill start sourcing shops to get into. First shop would be over at my buddies house, after that I would have to trailer my ride to another town. The closest town being an hour away and that guy had a 1 year wait the last time I talked to him.
After sitting all winter on the trickle charger and my Kawasaki is ready to ride regular again. I had an oil leak due to over filling the system last year. I started the season with a fresh oil change and filter. Filling the system with he proper level of fluid. I’ll re-check regularly, especially after a day of hard riding like I did yesterday. Emotional riding is not for the mechanically unsound. If you’re going to ride hard, you need to know how to wrench.
Thanks to the Shovelhead I sold a couple winters ago, I learned how to wrench on my rides. I also acquired a number of Harley specific tools to do that work. I had an ’82 Shoveled and at the time there were more handmade specific tools for working on a Harley. Times have changed and now my tool box is filled with very specific Harley Davidson parts and tools.
My Harley Is in pieces in my shop and will stay that way for at least another month as I replace the transmission. I have had that motorcycle for abut 2.5 years now and the entire time I have ridden it without 3rd gear. This is why I wanted 2 motorcycles that I ride regularly. While I am riding one, I can be wrenching on the other. Before I had my Harley I rode my Kawasaki with parts falling off and breaking on the regular. I didnt want to stop riding just so I could sit there and watch it lay in pieces as I found time in between work and home to get it fixed. I didn’t have a shop most of that time so I would have been working outside in the sand again.
Never again with the shade tree mechanical work. You have to do what needs doing when it needs to be done, but that sand work is for the dogs. I have lost so many small parts in the sand, or had parts ruined or require more work because the part fell into the sand and needed to be cleaned before it could be used. Its hard enough to get wet sand off of your body when you go to the beach. Imagine sticky lubricating fluids, tight small grooves, and sand infiltrating everything. If you have never felt sandy grit inside of a metal part that should roll smooth then you can only imagine at the pain and suffering endured in shade tree work in the desert.
It took me all winter and into the spring to work up the courage to take my Harley apart and start the work it needed. I procrastinated hard on that one because once its started I can’t turn back until the work is done. I could have trailered it to the Harley Dealer 3-4 hours away and pay as much as I bought it for to fix what’s broke. Which would also require me to keep going back to Harley to adjust what needs adjusting.
Now that I have drained fluids, disconnected the battery and removed the drive train from inside the motorcycle, I cannot trailer it anywhere. These things are heavy beasts and the weight is too much to push it up the ramp to get it on my trailer. I would need to call a buddy to help. I would rather call that buddy to help me repair rather than help me push a bike onto a trailer. The buddy I would call has recently done this same work when he upgraded his fathers softail to a trike. This is the same buddy who not only sold me the Shoveled, but also taught me the basics of Harley mechanics and gifted me those handmade Harley specific tools to work on the Shoveled with.
Trailering a motorcycle is a psychological issue that a lot of bikers must face. It carries shame and questions the authenticity of the rider. To be honest I don’t care much what other people think, then again I do. Questions often come from people who haven’t experienced it themself. People who live close to a shop feel no pain in having their ride trailered to the dealer for all wrenching work they need. Like I said, I am at least 3 hours away, so doing things myself is the first second and third option. Once those are exhausted I can call for help… eventually.
So My Harley is in pieces and to be honest with you aside fro the large wrenches and heavy torque specs, it has gone much easier than the Shoveled rebuild went.
Oh yeah that’s a fun fact!
I blew the motor on my Shoveled which required a tear down and rebuild which I did in my backyard, in the sand, at the bottom of a sketchy hill. I bookended my work there and made it so that the only way I would get that motorcycle out of there was to ride it up the hill. Pushing a 900lb motorcycle up a sandy and rocky hill is impossible. Once I had the motor rebuilt by Lafore's shop in Denver, I put it back in the newly reassembled machine and rode it up the hill and out to the street where a lot of necessary parts rattled off of the damned thing. I lost my shifter pedal and couldn’t get out of first gear. I had to limp it home that way and that is how it sat for the next few years until I sold it.
The hard work was already done and fixing those minor issues was no problem, I just didn’t have the heart for it any more. It took a year and a half to get the bike rebuilt. Watching repair videos, reading manuals and asking questions got me where I needed to be although no amount of support can give you the heart to keep a vintage hot rod on the road.
Now I have a modern hot rod that I am keeping on the road. It is much easier to work on a newer motorcycle than it is to wrench on a vintage ride. The classics are tanks and will keep rolling regardless the condition. Newer rides have computers to monitor the fluids, heat, and responses to each that make the tolerance for mistakes very minimal. The parts seem to be bolted on easily and remove themselves easily as well, but you need the large wrenches, breaker bars, and torque wrenches to get it done without damage. Long gone are the days of taking regular wrenches and adding steel pipe for more fulcrum strength. I was so happy and excited to find a ratcheting breaker bar that took no effort to turn and break loose heavy bolts.
Ah…. the thrills of it. Enough jaw boning about it, back to work for the kid!
