11/14/09 Slacking

365 Group (f)



Today was a nice day to do just nothing. So, being an expert at nothing...

I figured to get in a little riding and a little maintenance on the bike today and generally just be a slacker.

I managed to get out around nine A M. With cup of coffee in hand I did a walk around of the bike to see if anything jumped out screaming "fix me". Nothing did. I had been having a lot of vibration noise lately. I figured a good snugging up of bolts and screws would take care of the aggravation and wouldn't take all day.

As I got into it I didn't find too many loose anything. I did find a couple of things that had just worn out. The signal light on the left front. The stem is a pressed together two piece unit and it was drooping like a bloodhounds ears. I guess age had finally gotten into the joint as it was really floppy. I had noticed it at some point apparently. There were a bunch of rubber bands and some electrical tape on it. They too had given up.

Looking through my small salvage yard I found a new pair of those Harley style clip on signal lights. They were still in the package. I must have had them for a really long time as the price on them was $4.99 . I spent the next couple of hours trying to sort out the wiring harness. It is old, dried out and after all these years molded into position. It took a while but I managed to get the wires routed and everything insulated. They really only had one real problem with these clip on types. Handle bar sizes. I had to make a spacer of sorts to get them solid on the bars. They work good and if I do say so myself, don't look half bad.

By the time I finished with the lights it was well past lunch time. Not being one to turn down an excuse to take a ride or eat a meal, I fired the bike up and announced to which ever governmental agency was watching me by satellite, "shake down" and headed down the drive.

I figured to make it quick and so I headed toward my favorite Bar B Que place. It's a quick seven to eight mile trip and a good straight stretch for twisting the grip. On the way down I remembered one of my last visits there where I had a lovely young lady tell me how things were fixing to shape up. This produced a good chuckle and made the ride all that much better.

As I neared town the traffic started picking up. People were acting like they were totally lost to their world of cell phones and associated junk. Plus they were acting as though they hadn't noticed I was sporting new cool looking signal lights. I guess there really isn't any accounting for some people?

I eased up to the traffic light on Mission just in time to see a herd of sport bikes blast by like they were late for something. This is the second time I've see these guys and I'm still not thinking much of them. I like to go fast. But I'm not too interested to tearing down narrow city streets in heavy traffic at a hundred miles per plus.

Finally my light changed and I pulled into the B.B.Q. place. As I walked through the door my little honey looked up and smiled real big. I made my order and grabbed a seat. A few minutes later "Honey" brought my food and sat down with me. While I ate we chatted about a little bit of everything then she brought up the bike rally at the end of the month. I couldn't help it and started to chuckle. When she wanted to know what was so funny I almost couldn't tell her. Finally I got it out about her giving orders and how funny it struck me. After her face returned to it's normal color she said "would you please take me to the party"? Seems that her current boyfriend is motorcycle challenged. In several areas. Seems that he's even challenged walking and chewing gum.
After everything settled down And we had a real chat about the whole thing, Well, I got roped into going to a bike show and following party. I still think I was hosed on the deal but it aint the first time. I didn't come away empty handed though. My meal was on the house.
I fired up the bike and decided to make a few errands and circle back to the house. The temperature was starting to drop a bit and it was definitely jacket time.
As I was getting back on the highway for the house I noticed a real lack of evening traffic. Thinking it over it came to me. It's game night at the University. One of the best times to be out around this area on a bike. Everyone is out in a parking lot "tail gating". That means no traffic.
I had a good ride back to the house. Although it was just too short it was fun. I also did a pretty fair job of slacking. So, over all, today was a keeper.
Catch ya on the road