Thursday, February 18, 2010

Itchin' to Ride

Yesterday, it was sunny and 46 degrees, so I couldn't resist taking a quick motorcycle ride to combat cabin fever. My Yamaha Virago has a Battery Tender pigtail on it, so I threw the charger on it a couple days earlier. It was at full charge in about an hour, so it really hadn't discharged much, despite the fact I haven't really ridden it in about a month. The bike started right up and idled smoothly (which I attribute to using Sea Foam fuel additive and stablizer). I checked the tire pressure and neither tire needed air, so I took about a 20-minute spin that included a short stretch on Route 1, where I got up to 65 mph. There is still snow on the sides of the roads, with some wet areas from snow melting, but the temps are slowly getting close to the bearable range.

Earlier that day, when I was driving my van, I saw one other motorcyclist on Route 1, riding a metric bike. While I was working in my garage, I heard what sounded like a Harley in the distance, but I wasn't sure. The farthest I ventured out in my Harley was my driveway, since I'm waiting until ALL the snow is gone and we have a heavy, soaking rain to wash all the salt away.

The first and only time I rode my Harley Wide Glide was also about three weeks ago. I had filled the gas tank before I parked it, but didn't add any fuel stabilizer (I ran out of Sea Foam at the time). I was a bit concerned about the fuel going bad and the battery discharging, but three weeks is apparently not long enough for either one of those things to happen. I added some Sea Foam, backed it out of the garage, and it started on the second or third try. I let the engine run for about 10 minutes to charge the battery a bit, while I sat on the bike and enjoyed the good vibrations.

2 comments:

  1. Glad you got a ride in! We just continue getting snow so it's not safe yet plus it's only been in the 20's. I do so love riding though when there is snow on either side of the highway and the people in their cars are thinking, damn those are hardcore bikers there! :)

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  2. I've always wanted to buy a Harley and ride cross-country, but for some reason it hasn't happened yet. who knows maybe one day i wake up, sell my car, quit my job, buy a Harley and just ride away.

    good blog, I'd like to see more pictures!

    -mike

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