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ROAD WARRIOR

"ACHES AND PAINS"

by Flynch








I had a KLR650 for about six months because I am surrounded by gravel roads, and I live in the Mecca for adventure riders, which a bunch of my friends are, and I figured it would be fun to go gravel road and single path riding with them, I figured it would make a great commuter bike...but...BUTT... The damn thing was so uncomfortable that after even riding it 50 miles, I would be crippled and sore. WTF? I run five to seven miles a day. At least once a week, I try to do a 14 mile run...I run a pretty decent pace, I never in the past had pains from this. Now I'm getting shin splints and having to...(stretch) before and after I run, ice my shins and walk around bitching about it. WTF did my cavemen ancestors do after running Buffulo off the cliff?

Oh and my eyesight. I have cheater glassess hidden all over the place. So I traded off the KLR for a last year carbureted rubber mounted 1200C Sportster, (rode my brothers, shocked how great they rode,) bought some better running shoes, learned to stretch and try to not bitch so much.

Love my Sportster though. Too much factory chrome, but the to do list and 4 kids keep me too busy to be taking stuff off a bike and sand blasting it. I love the four and half gallon gas tank which looks like the old Super glide/Roadster tank...160 miles on a tank rocks. It's way too pretty, no time for changing it though, my mid-seventies International harverster 444, (owned and manufactured in England by Lucas Electrics at the time, assembled in Louisville) gas tank petcock is the most asinine invention ever created short of Triumph push rod tubes...so the gas tank is coming off and a Harley petcock is getting welded in.

Not crazy about the 21" front wheel, but the ground clearence keeps the lowered bike from rubbing badly, (I know it's not a sport bike, but handles as good or better than the FXR did.) I'd like to put a 16" front wheel on it, I like that look, but I'm not going to put a mid-glide or wide glide on a Sportster. Probably just go with a narrower tire. Pete said he'd lace me up a wheel, if I find a good hub.

But I tore out all the horse fence when we built the new house where the barn used to be and built a new barn where the goat shed and pasture was, so I have about ten acres of new woven wire fence to build, and build a goat shed on wheels that I can drag around the farm and have the goats clear out the native rose bushes. And buy more gravel before winter, (and X-mas for the kids, lights for the new house) build a tack room in the new barn, stalls, and wire it for lights. (code says the fluorecents have to be sealed, $80. for a four foot unit...I need four.)

I'm probably going to get a nice set of leather saddlebags, but I have been wearing my gym bag like a a messenger bag with much success to work, so maybe a nice Pony Express style messenger bag is in order instead. Some six inch risers and wider superbar bend bars. (and a Roland Sands speedo mount.) Put that right under the heading of "buy after building teenage son his first car."

Advil, Advil, Advil, make stupid running goals of finishing in the top twenty in the Flying Pig marathon next May and an Ultra marathon next November, add a couple more mystery marathons in the middle. (thinking Portland, or Pittsburgh.)

Bigger headlight...deer slayer remember...twice...bolt my pop off windshield that came on my FXRP when I got it for the winter, black out the back fender and side covers, and Road King rear shocks for a better ride...though I have them set on firm now, they are a little rough after an hour or so. (4.5 gas tank and all.) Don't even get me started on the old man bladder now. And get off my lawn.