What a Fort Worth HOG Membership Means

After the post about the Fort Worth HOG Road Captains I started considering what it meant to be a member of our Chapter. You might be thinking, what is there to know? Just show up and ride! Well, not exactly, which is why I am going into more detail. 

Most riders understand there are a lot of different types of motorcycle riding groups and each has its own requirements for membership.  MC's have a hang around, prospect, and patch in, LEO's require you to be or have been part of law enforcement, MM (Motorcycle Ministries) may require you to attend worship services regularly and participate in outreaches. Some meetup riding groups I have ridden with have no requirements at all. Some groups look down at HOG Chapters with the incorrect analysis that there are no requirements that must be met to join and remain a member.

I believe there is a misconception that being a Fort Worth HOG Member means just paying your yearly dues. To some degree, there is truth to that statement. Yes, you pay your dues, buy your patch, and become a member. That is first step of membership that precedes other requirements. The next requirement is that you have to ride a Harley if you want to ride with the group. It is Harley Owners Group (HOG) after all (not Honda Owners Group(hog)). You can ride an off Harley brand bike upon invitation from a current member in good standing for up to 3 rides with the Chapter, but then, you gotta get a Harley or move on to another group that will allow you ride whatever it was you rode up on. Even some MC's have relaxed their american made bike requirement and now allow cruiser and touring metrics with a minimum engine size. HOG however has stood firm, strong, and proud not to bend on bike brand requirements.

So you've got your Harley and your membership, now what. How about group riding guidelines.  Fort Worth HOG does have a ride guideline that its members are supposed to be familiar with and respect. None of us want to become victims of an accident due to the neglect or the dis-concern of a rider that chooses to do his own thing while group riding. Our Chapters guidelines are designed to make our rides safe. You won't be riding with the Chapter long if you can't or won't follow the ride guidelines. Its expected of riders to wear proper gear, not shorts and tennis shoes for example, pass signals back, not break formation, This might seem harsh to some but, follow the ride guidelines or get out. This is no different than most MC's, you'll be expected to follow whatever standard riding procedure they have or you'll be asked to leave. The ride guide even states on page 2- The Chapter expects all riders to ride safely and ride within their experience and comfort level at all times.  It goes on to read- new riders should learn the fundamental skills of motorcycle riding and gain some experience before joining a group ride. You can buy a Harley, join the Chapter and get started in group riding right away, but, if you're a danger to other riders around you, it will be addressed.

So your a solid safe rider of good riding reputation and none of the other Chapter members are saying behind your back, "Don't ride too close to that person, their dangerous!" What about your actions off the bike?  If you were to face a review about your attitude or respect towards others within the Chapter how would you score? As with any MC, MM, RG, etc. your attitude will play into your continuance within that organization. Thus the reasoning behind the prospecting phase of an MC. They want to get to know you and give you a chance to get to know them to see if its a good fit. If its not, you'll be asked to leave and not earn your patch. In regards to Fort Worth HOG, even though there is no prospecting period, we are expected to conduct ourselves respectfully and represent our Chapter and sponsoring dealership with integrity. If it wasn't for our dealership we wouldn't even have a local Chapter to be part of. The annual HOG Charter even states in Article VI that the sponsoring dealer may suspend or terminate a person's membership in the sponsored Chapter if they determine that a member's conduct is undesirable or contrary to the sponsoring dealerships interests. For the people that say being a HOG member is easy street and that you only have to buy your way in, try coming around and acting like a moron, throwing around an attitude of disrespect towards your HOG family and sponsoring dealership and see how long you remain a member.

Everyone likes to have a good time. Everyone's idea of a good time is different though, and alcohol often factors into the idea of having a good time. It's interesting to watch people upon arrival at a destination, especially some of the biker friendly bar and grills we end up at. I've seen groups of riders ordering buckets of beer, drinking, drinking, drinking more.... then leaving their beer bottle littered table and zooming away in close formation down the road. I don't know where Fort Worth HOG stands on this but I do know where I stand on the issue of riding under the influence. I also know that I have never seen any Officers or Road Captains drink during a Chapter event. I have seen Members on occasion drink but they didn't continue on with the group afterwards, thumbs up to them for their consideration. It's my opinion that it takes more control to not have a drink while group riding than to give in so as to have a "good time" and put others lives at risk. If you think you need to have that drink on a ride then don't ride with the group afterwards, or if its something you feel you have to do all the time, then finding another group that does drink and ride might be better for you. There are plenty of groups that don't care and would be glad to have another party-er on board. My wife and I have no problem having a wonderful day of riding without the need to involve alcohol. It's also considerate, respectful, and responsible towards your HOG family not to drink and ride.

As stated earlier there are a lot of different organizations and every one of them have their own rules to follow. I wrote this to highlight a couple of the dominate aspects of what it means to be a Fort Worth HOG Member. We are expected to uphold a reputable conduct to our Chapter, dealership, and community. When motorists see that HOG patch on your back they should know that we are representatives of a responsible riding organization. Our local community should know that when a Fort Worth HOG ride rolls through or shows up that we will be considerate, respectable, courteous, and safe. Fort Worth HOG is a family oriented riding group, not hell raisers and road terrors. We have a great time on rides, dinner runs, charity events, dealer events and it's a wonderful family of people to become part of. This type of riding group may not be what your looking for, and that's fine, but this is some of what it means to be a Fort Worth HOG Member.

Maintenance Level Limitations

On this post I want to explore just how far can or should someone go with maintenance at home.  The answers will vary greatly depending on numerous factors. Obviously riding a motorcycle doesn't mean you can maintain or repair one though.  When I rode motocross and competed in Europe I was given a highly modified bike from a place out of California named R&D Motors.  This 80cc bike I received had a custom exhaust, bored cylinder, front forks from a 125cc, custom swing arm and rear suspension, high performance carb, etc.  The only problem with the bike that we were warned about was that the thing had so much torque, we would have to replace the piston rod bearings every 4 motos.  this involved removing the exhaust, carb, head, piston, and getting to the piston bearing on the rod which would just crumble into little pieces as it was removed.  At the age of 14 I was performing this maintenance task every other week myself.  My father worked with me the first few times and then just allowed me to handle it from then on.  My stepfather owned his own BMW motorcycle repair shop for 21 years and I would often hang around his shop as well. My father and I also did some classic car restoration.  We built a 57 Thunderbird convertible and a 72 Mustang Mach I fastback from the ground up.  We broke them down to the frame/unibody and began rebuilding from there.

Not everyone has the Motorsport history and experiences that I have had.  This has been a tremendous help in being able to perform my own maintenance without concern on both our bikes and cars.  Even if you don't have the background it doesn't mean you cant do this stuff yourself, it just means you will need to read the service manual thoroughly for whatever task it is your wanting to perform.  It also means you might have to spend some money on special tools for different tasks.  I always figure it this way:  If someone built it, I can take it apart and put it back together. If I screw it up, I can haul it into the shop and pay them to fix my screw up. I would have had to pay them to do what I was trying to do anyways so what the hell, I'll try it myself first.

Another point before we delve into details is Warranty Work. I am a firm believer in letting the dealership repair the bike if its under warranty.  The distinction needs to be made about the difference between maintenance and warranty work.  Maintenance is NOT covered by your warranty.  The warranty covers mechanical and electrical malfunctions and breakages.  If something breaks and you've got a warranty, let them fix it. I would also recommend purchasing an extended warranty.  It's worth it.

Maintenance has to be paid for if you take your bike in for it.  This means things like oil changes, lubrication, air filter cleaning/change, tire replacement, brakes, spark plugs replacement, etc. are not covered.  You can purchase maintenance plans and even tire replacement plans if you want which will cover a specified amount of whatever as outlined by the plan.  I didn't purchase these for either of our bikes so I cant comment on their details.

Now lets get into some of the points that could affect the level of maintenance you want to perform or even if doing this is for you to begin with.

Personal mechanical ability- Everyone has varying degrees of mechanical ability.  Again, personal history in this area will play a large role in how comfortable you are in mechanics.  I'm not gonna say you cant learn if you don't have a history, it just might take a bit longer to learn details as to the what, why, when, and how's of maintenance.  No matter what level your at, get a service manual for your specific bike.

Time- Maintenance takes time.  It can take even longer if you haven't performed some of the tasks before. My first oil change on my Street Glide took 1.5 hours.  I had to keep referring to the manual for information even though I know the principles of performing an oil change, and I didn't have a process established for this bike.  Now I am able to do an oil change in 30 minutes.  Maintenance will directly take time away from your day that you may not want to give up.  That's understandable.  Remember though, maintenance is crucial to keeping your bike on the road, it must be performed, and if you cannot or don't want to take the time to do it, then take your bike to the shop and have it done.

Patience- This one could go hand in hand with time.  It can become very frustrating at times when performing maintenance.  The level of maintenance will also directly affect your patience.  For instance, steering head bearing lubrication is very clean, easy, and takes about 5 minutes.  Oil changes on the other hand require laying on your side to get under the bike, messy oil, more processes, and more time.  Your patience can play hard into this if its 90+ degrees outside and your sweating profusely trying to get it done.  If you get angry or frustrated easily then self maintenance may not be for you.

Tools- Most regular maintenance will not require much in the way of special tools.  Some special tools might make it easier to perform the maintenance though.  You may have to buy tools to do some tasks and it wont cost all that much.  An oil filter wrench, Torx sets, Spark Plug Gap Gauge, are some of the special tools most people don't have laying around.  Again, the level of maintenance will directly affect what tools you might need.  Also be sure to separate maintenance tool requirements from repair tool requirements. Maintenance will require far less specialized tools than repairs.

Money- Unfortunately most of us are not self made millionaires, lottery winners, or inheritors of expansive European estates.  It's convenient to take your bike in and pay someone to do it all for you if you can afford it. With my finances, if I didn't perform my own maintenance, I would not be riding a Harley. At dealership prices I simply cannot afford their cost for maintenance. However, if you read my post about oil changes, the first oil change you do can save you enough money to buy most of the tools you'll need to perform your own regular maintenance for years to come.  Thus saving you lots of money down the road.  You'll have to decide for yourself if the savings are worth dealing with some of the other points this post is covering. Either way your gonna be spending money, just far less by doing it yourself.

Space- You gotta have the space to do this stuff.  Not only that but you need to have space to store the tools and materials. This usually means shelves and/or toolboxes and space for those as well.  There are many variables on the issue of space.  Some people wont mind working outside in the open on their driveway while others might have a nice shop in a separate building.  No matter what the situation, it will take some space both to perform the work and store the supplies.

Health- This could possibly be the most important reason NOT to perform your own maintenance.  Since regular maintenance is a must, you wont be able to let it go.  That means whether its 110 degrees outside or 40 degrees outside, if your gonna ride, you've got to do it.  Unless you have a heated or air conditioned space, you could get over heated or super cold very quickly.  This could be a health concern.  There is a lot of bending, twisting, getting up and down, laying on your side, etc. involved as well.  You can get scraped, cut, and bruised if your not careful.  You might have a reaction to certain oils or cleaners used for maintenance. Chemical cleaners could cause skin or inhalation reactions for some people.  If there are any health concerns then don't do it, your health is more valuable than doing the work yourself.  Let someone else do it and live to ride another day.

Desire & Self Enjoyment- I personally enjoy doing the work myself.  It's something I look forward to doing as crazy as it may sound.  It's nice to take my time, enjoy the day, and wash my bike afterwards. Usually one of my sons or Margaret spends time helping me or just hanging out with me while I work.  I value that time with them and appreciate that they take time to spend with me working on my bike.  I also like knowing without question that the work is performed correctly and thoroughly upon completion.  It gives me a chance to go over the bike, check for loose bolts, fixtures, or possible wear on parts. For me it's another way to enjoy all aspects of having a bike.  You may not feel the same way.  If working on it becomes a chore that you just hate to perform, you probably shouldn't do it.  Mistakes could be made, improper procedures performed, incorrect fluid/lube levels or torque specifications might be overlooked, just to get the chore over with. It can also become easy to put it off for another week if you get that sick feeling when you think about having to do it.  All of this could lead to engine damage or worse depending on what type of work you perform.  Do it because you want to, not because you have to.

Rough Creek Lodge Ride 2013

Recently we took a ride with the Friendship Riders before the ice storm rolled in. Everything worked out perfectly both time and weather wise. We knew a cold front was soon to arrive but would be proceeded by a couple days of 70+ degree weather. Apparently one of the groups organizers felt the same way and planned a ride to take advantage of possibly the last comfortable riding day of the year.

This ride lasted all day and took us south west of Fort Worth into some incredible pasture lands. We crossed quite a few cattle guards to get to the ride roads and the result was incredible. At one point we rode along the side of a large hill for miles that fronted a pasture which stretched over the horizon. The cloud formations were incredible as well possibly from the cold front slowly moving in mixing with the warm air. the combination of sky and landscape made for the most majestic scenery I have recorded since Margaret bought the GoPro for me.

We stopped at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center for a break and took in a fantastic view of the valley. We then headed for Rough Creek Lodge for lunch. This place was very upscale and very biker friendly too! One of the administrators met us as we rolled in and greeted us with smiles and the utmost courtesy. We sat down in huge chairs that had embroidered pillows. There were homemade chips in paper cones and individual sealed glass condiment jars. The iced tea was flavored with some herb, don't know what it was but it was wonderful. The lunch menu consisted of 3 items and were prepared by an executive chef. Everyone seemed to fully enjoy the experience and food.

Maybe it was just because we hadn't ridden in awhile on a nice day long trip, but this ride was one of the best day trips I have been on in the Fort Worth area. The Friendship Riders are a wonderful group to ride and spend time with. They also have very creative ride destinations and related activities that always keeps your interest at its peak.

Rough Creek Lodge Ride Slideshow

Rough Creek Lodge Ride 2013 Video

Wise County Toy Run 2013

The annual Wise County Toy Run is a great time to meet other riders and ride for a reason. This year Margaret came along and rode her bike to her first large event. We met up with our HOG Chapter at the dealership for the Chapter ride to the event. I think we had about 50 bikes this year from our Chapter. It was a good turn out even though it was down from last year. Upon arrival in Decatur we promptly began taking media footage of the event.

I don't know how many bikes were there. It seemed less than last year but unless your counting each one there is really no way to know. The admission fee was a toy or $10. We just paid the $10. I figured since the money is used for event expenses its just as important as giving a toy. We wandered around taking video and pictures of bikes, toys, and people. There are a few pictures of patches of MC's as we wanted to highlight some of the supporting clubs. Right about the time the entire procession left we went to the front of the line and took pictures and video of nearly all of the bikes as they left the parking lot. Then we made our way hastily back to our bikes before we got left behind. We were just about the very last bikes out of the parking lot and they were closing the gates as we rode through them.

It didn't take long to catch up with the main procession. It was moving quite slow through the streets of Decatur. Cars were parked along the side of the road and people were sitting on their tailgates or lawn chairs waving and enjoying the bikes. For the entire trip to Bridgeport people lined the roads for the event. When we arrived in Bridgeport we found where our HOG Chapter had gathered and pulled in with them. They had left the starting point at the beginning of the parade, we had left at the end, and right as we finally pulled in, they were leaving to go eat. They had already walked to the drop off point and back, geared up, and had the Road Captains in place. I parked our bikes to make it easy to get out and we headed for the toy drop off point.

The toys were piled high, activity was at its peak, a raffle session was taking place, chili was offered, and lots of raffles for various items could be bought. We took some media here as well and stayed for awhile to take everything in.

Margaret and I went our own way back home along some beautiful back roads to avoid the highway traffic. It was an exciting day and the activity level was high. By the time we got home we were both exhausted. I wanted to make sure to get our media online as soon as possible after such a large event. Margaret was overwhelmed by it all, surprised by the enormity of the event, and excited to have taken part in it. It was a great experience again this year and we'll both be looking forward to doing again.

Wise County Toy Run 2013 Slideshow

Wise County Toy Run 2013 Video

Some Reasons People Ride

Lately with the excessive work load and cold weather I haven't done much riding. It's interesting how your mind begins wandering back to riding when your too busy to do so or the weather doesn't permit. It was too cold to do any riding and I began reflecting and throwing ideas at Margaret as to why we ride.

Everyone has different reasons for riding. Some are superficial, some are out of necessity. Necessity for me is a difficult reason though. I've talked to some people that choose to use their bike as their only form of transportation. To me it's not practical. When thunderstorms come in or freezing weather hits riding a bike is nothing but misery. That "Joy of Riding" concept will fade really quickly when the hail balls starting banging into your head, been there done that. Grocery shopping, equipment hauling, building materials, stuff like this could get difficult if not impossible on a bike. But, if the bikes only used to get you from point A to point B then it could work out. It's not my thing though.

I hear and see ads about the "Freedom" of riding and that's another reason people say they ride. Who came up with the idea that a person is more free if they are riding? Most likely advertising firms that understand how to publish lies and sell to the weak minded. There is no declaration in our constitution that riding a motorcycle makes you free. If I am driving a car am I less free than being on a motorcycle? Riding a street bike actually keeps me from being able to drive to some areas which makes me less free. If I had a 4x4, say a Jeep, I would be more free since I could go off road into areas my Harley could never take me. I could drive down dirt roads, across streams, in the mud, sand dunes, through forests, grassy pastures, and mountainous terrain. My Harley could never take me to these places unless there was a somewhat decent road to ride down. So the idea of whatever definition of "Freedom" they (whoever these mysterious they people are) are trying to push on our mentality really goes out the door when you get down to an analytic perspective of it. In many ways I am less free when riding, being subject to weather, terrain, comfort, storage capacity, and road system.

Some riders say, "Riding's in the blood". Huh. Well, ok. Possibly. Though I am not a biologist I have yet to hear of a blood cell or DNA strand linked to riding. And if there is, are there different DNA sequences that cause someone to prefer Harley's over Honda's? Is there is a blood cell that causes someone to ride supercross vs. sportbike racing? I used to compete in motocross and then moved into cruisers and touring bikes so maybe my blood contains a mutated cell of riding types. Margaret had never ridden in her life until 2013, so I wonder if she developed or grew a new riding DNA strand. Non of her family ever rode so this cryptic riding blood cell couldn't possibly have been passed on to her. I just don't know about this "Riding's in the blood" concept. It just doesn't seem to play out logically.

Another common explanation for riding is fuel savings. Wow! Really? Some of the Harley Sportsters get over 60 mpg. That's really good and if your truly riding just to save money on fuel then yeah that works out. You can get new Harley Sportsters for around 8k so the price of the bike is even reasonable if you combine bike cost and fuel savings together. However, once you begin moving up the chain into larger engines that mileage and bike cost begin to change dramatically. Let's take my Street Glide as an example. Its a 20k bike and gets about 43 mpg on the highway. I could buy a 2014 Ford focus as an example which is about 18k and gets 36 mpg highway. The car is less, mileage is a bit less so it would play out to about the same cost over a 5 year period of time. And you would have the comfort of a car for those bad weather situations I talked about earlier. You can get Harley's at all ranges of price but the engine size will be a huge determination on your fuel usage. Insurance is also a bit higher on bikes and maintenance and repairs are without a doubt higher. An oil change on my Harley costs $85 where as my truck only costs $25. I use synthetic in both and do it myself. Sorry to say it, but for most cases your not going to save any money riding a bike.

Mid life crisis is another reason people ride. These riders wont admit to their problem though. At some point they made a knee-jerk reaction that they had to start riding a motorcycle. It's funny, you can spot them pretty easily. They walk into the dealership, buy the most expensive bike they can find even though they have no clue as to how the bike rides or what riding style they have. They pile a truckload of the seasonal line of gear on the apparel counter and become "Insta-Biker". Most of them not even knowing why they are buying some of the gear they think they need. Before the bike even leaves the dealership it resides in service with a few thousand dollars of upgrades the purchaser thinks they have to have even though they don't know why. And most of the added accessories and labor are rolled into the financing which means now their paying interest on those parts when they could have ridden the bike for awhile and added parts as they found they needed them and just paid cash. Depending on the depth of the "Crisis" the bike will be up for sale within a year or it will sit in the garage under a bike cover. Once a month they will push it into the driveway, wash it, start it, gear up with all of that stuff they bought and never wear, drive to the neighborhood 7-eleven and back, roll it back into the garage, pull the cover over it and gloat to all of their friends on Monday about their awesome weekend bike trip. Some of the more adventurous ones will buy little decorative parts like bolt covers and play Barbie Bike Dressup during their monthly downtime and pound their chest about being motorcycle mechanics and bike customization professionals. I feel sorry for these bikes suffering in their depression of never knowing the open road. These bikes live a fortunate existence if they happen to see 1k miles over the course of a year. I hesitate to add these people into the reason people ride list but since they did purchase the bike with the intention of riding and will ride around the block every couple months it needs to be mentioned.

The weekend excursion is another reason people ride. My wife falls into this group. These are people who for whatever reason have taken to riding, love the feel of the bike and the road, and enjoy spending time outdoors. Most weekend riders will take every opportunity they can to enjoy riding on their time off. They won't go a week if possible without taking at least a short lunch or dinner ride even if the weather is not perfect. Most of them enjoy scouring maps and destination locations during the week for a new scenic route or place to visit. Riding is their hobby. The smells, temperature, sights, food, events, all become part of the reason they ride. The thrill of rolling on the throttle and feeling the bike roar, slowly cruising down little farm and market roads, and finding twisty curves to lean and weave along. The stories from their rides are ever present and interesting providing hours of socialization topics for years to come. This is probably the largest group of why people ride.

Lastly there are the people that ride almost all the time. They use their bikes for work and play. There are varying levels of this rider but all of them ride beyond just recreation. These riders love riding to the point that their bike takes them wherever they go. There is something different about this group. Almost a commitment that not riding is a last resort. Often they will feel guilty if they drive instead of riding on occasion. They are amateur meteorologists, always knowing riding weather conditions so they can be sure to squeeze in that ride between inclement weather. They ride when its cold, hot, wet, and humid. Some may or may not ride in snow and rain but all of them will at least attempt the ride unless its a downright thunderstorm. Many of them watch the animated weather maps to see if its possible to make it to where ever it is they are heading to without getting caught in a bad weather situation. They ride on the open road and in the worst congested traffic conditions that can be dished out. These riders are the ones who show up somewhere and if they are not on their bike people begin asking questions as to whats wrong. Riding for this group is a life style, an addiction they cannot and will not give up.

There are probably more categories that could be added to the post. We could even expound and break each topic into subtopics if we wanted to try and fit every reason into a slot. These are reasons I have seen or heard people talk about and thought it would be fun to write about. Until next time! Ride Strong, Ride Safe!

Destination: Muenster, TX

It's been 3 weeks since my last post due to a lot of construction projects I am managing at work. Because of this we haven't been on a ride in 3 weeks either! This weekend however I managed to get a small break and was able to take off Sunday. We took advantage of this and took a ride to Muenster, TX.

The weather was bleak and dreary nearly the entire day. Overcast, dark, cold, and crisp.  The chill was sharp for most of the day but did back off for a bit mid afternoon. We encountered a few areas where rain had fallen but never ran into any ourselves thankfully. Overall though, it was a fantastic ride and the day ended too quickly.

Our route took us initially from Fort Worth to Decatur via State Highway 287. We took a more direct route to get in the general vicinity quickly since the days are shorter and it was kind of cold. At Decatur we took a short break before heading up some nice FM roads that eventually took us to Muenster. It had started warming up by then and I was able to remove my gloves and begin taking video. I cant push the button on the GoPro with riding gloves on and until then began fearing I might not be able to get any footage of the ride.

We arrived in Muenster and had lunch at Doc's Bar & Grill. The food was wonderful, the service was great and we absolutely enjoyed every minute of our time there. We took our time, ate and drank coffee before our self guided tour of main street. It's a beautiful little town and we had a great time wandering main street taking in the sites and culture it had to offer. Below is a bit of history of the town that has its roots in German heritage.

Muenster, Texas was founded in 1889 by German Catholic settlers Carl and Emil Flusche. One of several small towns in Texas founded by the Flusche brothers, this one was in western Cooke County just aside the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad which ran from Gainesville to Henrietta. The railroad ceased operation in the 1960′s. Muenster is currently situated along Hwy 82 about 15 miles west of Gainesville and Interstate 35. German was spoken until the mid 1930′s after which English became more common. The economy in Muenster is maintained through agriculture, oil production, steel fabrication, metal machining, home building, and other industry.

Upon leaving Muenster we went west to see the wind turbine fields. It's quite a site and until you get up close its hard to imagine the size of those things. We were able to pull off the side of the road at one place and spend some time getting a somewhat closeup view of them. Unless your willing to drive down dirt roads its hard to get right under them. It was still a good view though.

After this we continued further north to visit the Texas-Oklahoma border which happens to be the Red River. There is a huge bridge that spans the river and makes for a nice scenic ride if you want somewhere to go. Again we took a nice break at the bridge and walked along it to take pictures and some video. This concluded our destinations for our Sunday ride and it was by now it was getting late. We could feel the temperature beginning to drop and still had a couple hours ride home.  We took FM roads again to get back to Decatur at which point we finished out our ride home on State Highways and Interstates.

Muenster, TX 2013

Spark Plug Replacement on a Harley Davidson Street Glide

This is going to be a short post and its one of those stand bye posts that Ill pull from the closet when life is busy. We started a new construction project at work so for the next 6 weeks I probably wont get a weekend off to write about much.

SPARK PLUGS! Another super easy maintenance task! The service manual schedule lists this to be performed at 30K miles. You will need a couple, literally 2, special tools for this. The tools are not expensive and easily obtainable. Not only that but you will be able to use these 2 tools on your car as well! Dual purpose! Or in my case quad purpose having 2 SUV's and 2 bikes.

For changing spark plugs you will need a spark plug socket and a gap tool/gauge. You can get the tools at Autozone or for that matter any auto supply shop. You'll need to be sure to get a spark plug socket. These are a bit different from a standard deep socket. It will have a rubber insert in the top portion of the socket. The rubber is put inside to keep the metal sides of a standard socket from chipping or cracking the porcelain on the top part of the spark plug. It also grabs the socket which makes it easier to remove from the cylinder once you've got the spark plug loose.

The spark plug gauge is used to measure the correct gap for the firing of the plug. Though this is important, its not as critical as you might be concerned about seeing as the gap measurement for my stock Street Glide is .025-.038. That is a huge range to have available and very easy to achieve with a gap tool. Not that I would do this since I have the tool but that range is so big you can almost eyeball the correct gap.

I purchased Screaming Eagle spark plugs from our local dealership. Go to the parts counter and let them get the plugs for you based on the year and engine in your bike. They will also ask you if you have engine mods such as a stage 1. This will determine what plugs you need. The plugs are different so you want to be sure to get the correct ones. Pick up a tube of thread anti-seize stuff too. This will help prevent the plug threads from rusting or seizing from carbon in the cylinder for the next change out.

Gently pull the sparkplug cable off to reveal the plug. Get that sparkplug socket out and put it on making sure you feel the rubber inside the socket is secure on the plug. Remove the plug and inspect the end. The color will give a very good indication to how your engine is running. The following assessment is a consolidated explanation, your service manual will provide more details.

1- A wet black and shiny deposit indicates an oil fouled spark plug.

2- A dry fluffy or sooty black deposit indicates an air fuel mixture that is too rich

3- A light brown glassy deposit indicates an overheated sparkplug caused by a lean air fuel mixture.

4- White, yellow, tan or rusty brown powdery deposit indicates balanced combustion.

Get one of the new sparkplugs and set your gauge tool anywhere between .025 and .038 and stick it between the sparkplug contacts. If it doesn't fit, softly grab the contact with a pair of pliers and bend it up a bit until you can get the gauge in between. If its too loose you can very lightly tap the end on a towel on a solid surface until the gap is correct. You'll want the gauge to fit snugly between the contacts and touch both sides.

Now wipe a bit of the anti-seize lubricant on the threads and put it back in using your hand at first to make sure your not cross threading the plug into the cylinder. Once you cant turn it with your hand anymore use the sparkplug socket again and tighten. This is kind of important, you have to be careful not to over tighten the plug.  If you do and ream out the cylinder threads your gonna be in a world of hurt and out of a lot of money to replace the top of your heads.  You don't have to use a torque wrench but if you have one use it and tighten the plugs to 12-18 foot pounds as indicated by the service manual.

Inspect the cables for cracks and if their ok put them back on. You might hear or feel a slight snap as the contact engages with the top of the plug. This will help you to know if its on all the way.  That's it!  A simple quick maintenance task that will save you a few bucks and again help you know whats going on with your bike.

Sparkplug Change Slideshow

Dinner Ride to Godley

We finally did all of that work around the house that we had planned for the last couple weeks. Most of it was yard work and after a long day of that, we were tired, hungry and didn't feel like cooking anything. There had been something like a 50% chance of rain all day but we didn't even get a drop. Sundays chance for rain had gone up considerably so we thought it would be a good opportunity to get take a short ride and get some fantastic food.

We called our friends George and Pat to see if they wanted to go with us, which they did, so we decided to meet up with them at the dealership. Margaret and I arrived quite a bit early so I could look at some new winter jacket options. The one I have has this collar ring that has never broken in and I always feel like I'm being choked while wearing it. We did find one that fit very well so I'll keep it in mind and do some more shopping before making a final decision.

George and Pat rolled up, did a few circles in the parking lot, and then we headed out. The ride was very short, about 50 miles round trip, which was fine especially since we were seeing pockets of rain clouds scattered around. We only got sprinkled on one time the entire evening somehow managing to ride in between the pockets of rain. There were some wet roads from showers in one area that left quite a bit of standing water. At one point we had to make a turn off the road coming down a hill on a wet road. I heard a skid noise and looked in my mirror to see Margaret getting a bit sideways while trying to stop. She did good though, let off the rear brake which brought the bike back into line. She didn't panic, knew how to handle the situation, and the crisis was averted. When I saw this I decided to go past the turn since the skidding caused her some issues in slowing down enough to make the turn. I didn't want her to skid more while trying to slow down too fast or turn too wide and have an accident so we just eased to the side of the road past our turn and decelerated safely, made a u-turn and went on our way.

We arrived in Godley and ate at the Del Norte Taco restaurant. They seriously have the best taco's I've ever eaten. The line to order was 10 people deep so we had a seat and waited for it to subside. It took quite awhile as more people kept coming but it was nice to relax and enjoy the evening with George and Pat. As usual, the tacos were wonderful and we spent a couple hours there having a good time. Alas, all good things come to an end, night fell upon us and we still had to ride home. So we parted ways on full stomachs and good memories and headed home in the quiet of the night.

Dinner ride to Del Norte Taco in Godley, TX

These are a few pictures Margaret took when we got there, and for the record, I don't like having my picture taken...

Fort Worth HOG 2013 Chapter Picnic & Parts Installation

This weekend was super busy for both of us. Again, we had plans to do some work around the house but all of that changed when Margaret got her new grips. I received the call from Fort Worth Harley that her parts had arrived earlier in the week so we went to get them Friday evening. When we got to the dealership they also had the saddlebag guards I had ordered. I started whining a bit to Margaret that Saturday would be a labor intensive day without rest, slaving away installing parts. During this whining along with the support of Nick, Patrick, Daniel, and Phil, she grabbed a set of edge cut saddlebag hinges off the shelf behind us for my bike and said that would be my payment for doing all the work. Awesome, whining pays off!

Saturday was a parts installation day. I started with her grips and we decided to do our first video of parts installation. In the past we would post photos of the process so we wanted to mix things up a bit and see how it went. I wont elaborate here about it since the entire process is covered in the video. It did come out really good and I hope it can help someone install their own grips and adjust their throttle by watching it.

I also installed the saddlebag guards and saddlebag hinge covers on my bike. We also did videos of that process which I'll work into future posts.

Sunday was the Fort Worth HOG Chapter Picnic! This is an annual event and our second time attending.  It is held at the Canyon West Golf Course in Weatherford, TX which is a beautiful place to have the picnic. We met at the dealership to line up for the parade ride to the golf course. This year the weather turned out very nice from the previous year. It was a bit chilly in the morning, 58 degrees when we left the house but soon warmed up to the mid 70's. The parade ride went well, no traffic issues and it turned out to be a very pleasant ride to start the morning. Upon arrival those that wanted to ride the golf course staged while others parked their bikes.  This is a unique opportunity that Canyon West allows us. We ride our bikes on the cart paths for all 18 holes and stop on the 9th for a photo shoot of the Chapters members. It's a whole lot of fun and brings a good laugh to be able to do this. Golfers are taking pictures of us and waving as we ride on the cart paths while were waving and taking their pictures in return.

Next on the agenda were bike games! I love the bike games. We are a motorcycle riding group thus bike games only make sense! There were 5 bike games offered and Margaret and I did all of them. I was very proud of her because she competed in the single rider slow race even though she is still new to riding. She said she didn't want her fear of trying something new on a bike to keep her from doing it. The bike games included a single rider slow race, couples slow race, ball drop, road kill toss, and weeny grab. We did well again this year taking 1st in 4 of the 5 bike games.

After the games, there was a yummy lunch and home baked sweets to satisfy our hunger. Shortly after eating lunch the monthly Chapter meeting was conducted, prizes for the bike games, and raffle ticket prizes were given away. The day concluded with a water balloon toss and a poke and run game. I was the unfortunate victim that broke the water balloon and got wet.

We rode home and relaxed from all of the excitement. We were both tired and didn't even take time to download our pictures for the blog. I didn't even take the GoPro this time. For whatever reason, I didn't want to keep up with it or worry about taking video. I just wanted to enjoy the day, spend time with Chapter members, and have fun. Margaret took the camera though and managed to snap a few shots. Until next time, Ride Strong, Ride Safe.

Fort Worth HOG Chapter Picnic 2013 Slideshow

Installing Grips and Adjusting the Throttle on a Harley Davidson 2013 Softail Deluxe

Fort Worth HOG Road Captains

I wanted to write about the Road Captains from the Fort Worth HOG Chapter. Primarily because I ride with them, know them, see what they do on rides, and have an enormous amount of respect for them. They are often taken for granted and just seen as someone leading or trailing behind each group. Some just see them as part of our Chapters structure of group riding and don't take much notice as to what is going on that makes these riders so special. What most people don't know is the amount of sacrifice our Road Captains give to help make our rides safe. Even outside of riding events they give their time unselfishly so that all of the Chapters members can have a fun filled day.

I began asking our Road Captains about what it meant and what it took to become and stay a road captain within the Chapter. The responses and explanations honestly took me by surprise. I knew they were excellent and experienced riders but did not understand what happened behind the scenes. One of the first responses from a Road Captain I talked to was "time". He said outside of your job and family, the responsibilities of being a Road Captain would consume a tremendous amount of your free time. So I asked him to elaborate....

Continuous training was one of the first things they are involved in. They work with local law enforcement and attend classes in how to best manage group riding situations. They have to keep their accident scene management certifications up to date. They attend advanced riding courses every year. They also attend a mandatory Road Captain meeting once a month through our chapter.  So you might think OK, a few classes here and there and a meeting isn't a big deal. It might not seem like much but its only the start, and coming back to the sacrificial "time" aspect, this could take from a couple hours to entire weekends like the accident scene management class took. That means their entire weekend could be gone like a puff of smoke. Or as in the Road Captain meeting, one entire evening of personal time is gone. Remember there are only 52 weeks in a year so personal time can be lost quickly.

Next it was brought to my attention that every ride the Chapter offers has been pre-ridden within a couple weeks at most prior to the event. The Road Captains have a loose schedule where they sign up for pre-rides and literally ride the entire route however long or short it may be to look for possible hazards and report this info back to leadership. Then the route can be changed if it needs to. So as members and riders, Margaret and I might get home from work and decide to take a nice little ride to a restaurant, enjoy the evening, and go back home when we want. We might just decide to flop around the house and watch movies. So while were enjoying our time together doing whatever we want after a days work, our Road Captains are out pre-riding upcoming routes. Most Chapter events are on the weekend in which they are participants, this means they are out during the week pre-riding those routes for upcoming events. Their sacrificing free time, fuel cost, miles on their bikes, and maintenance costs almost weekly. And, if inclement weather rolls in on the weekend and the ride gets cancelled or changed, they would have taken their free time and pre-rode it for nothing. UH OH! Were starting to see some serious commitment eh?

It doesn't stop there! At events, we as members look at the calendar, see the time, and make the decision about what time we want to arrive for a ride or event and leave when we want to. Our Road Captains however show up first, have a meeting about the days event and prepare for whatever is happening that day. They are also the last to leave once its over. Often times they are working 12+ hour days so Chapter members can enjoy the day and event. They work at events like Demo Days, Dealer events, Dinner runs, Open house events, HOG rallies, Christmas party, Chapter Picnic, and special runs like our mid week 9/11 run. Literally, almost daily they sacrifice their free time to give to the Chapter. Daily you say? Surely not.....well, yea, it truly is almost daily as you'll see reading on...

I decided to put together a fairly accurate breakdown and some numerical statistics of the amount of time our Road Captains give to the Chapter based on our calendar of scheduled events and what is necessary outside of that schedule.

-Classes with law enforcement= 1 weekend, 2 days

-Accident scene management classes= 1 weekend, 2 days

-Advanced riding course= 1 weekend, 2 days

-Road Captain meeting= 12 evenings a year

-Pre-rides=2 evenings a month, 24 evenings a year

-HOG Rallies? I put 1 weekend a year on this because I know they all attend at least one of them= 1 weekend a year, 3 days

-Chapter meeting= 1 day a month, 12 days a year

-Skills day= 1 day a month, 12 days a year

-Dinner ride= 2 evenings/days mid week a month, 24 days a year

-Other mid week events, LOH, Open house, NHRA nights= 1 evening a month, 12 days a year

-WOW= its serious now isn't it!!!

-Saturday or Sunday rides= 2 days a month, 24 days a year

-3 day events (3 sisters ride for example)= 3 days a year

-Demo Days, they provide lead and drag for the demo ride groups= 2 weekends a year, 4 days a year.

-And sometimes they throw in a ride on the same weekend as another days event= 1 day a month, 12 days a year.

Based on the above events, 148 days out of the year is exclusively dedicated to Road Captain responsibilities. The Chapters requirements are 50% attendance for Road Captains so that brings this down to 74 days. For the most part, this really is an entire day or evening after work that is lost to them for their personal life. This calculates out to 20.2% of the days of the year is given to the Chapter. I loosely put together these numbers based on real events over the past year, there are variables that could be applied either way in regards to more or less time given, but this is pretty close. I could with near certainty say they do even more than this.

And after all of this, even when they are riding on a nice scheduled ride through the country side, they are working. They are on high alert for the group, guiding, directing traffic, providing a barrier between the group and vehicles, directing and helping riders park upon arrival, and watching riders for any problems they might see such as dehydration or exhaustion. It takes a very unique and committed individual to give this much of themselves for the Chapter. Our Road Captains care deeply for the members they serve and its a sacrifice I believe everyone should be aware of.

Thank You to the Fort Worth HOG Road Captains for all you do!

Strawn, TX & Fort Worth HOG Skills Day

The weekend turned out to be far more than I anticipated.  Originally our plans were to work around the house on Saturday and participate in our chapters skills day on Sunday.  We got up early Saturday morning and the temperature was a nice cool 65 degrees and was only supposed to get up to around 85 for the high. We didn't want to miss out on the nice weather so we planned a short 248 mile ride to Strawn, TX to have lunch at Mary's.  They are well known for their chicken fried steak and Margaret had never been there.  So off we went with chicken fried steak on our minds!  And the ride of course!

As usual, the food was wonderful, Margaret ordered the small steak and I ordered the medium portion. They have a large portion but I simply cannot imagine eating a monster like that!  Even the medium one is gigantic.  There is nothing fancy about Mary's though, just good food and good value. The destination definitely makes for a nice short road trip with purpose. On the way home we went through Stephenville, TX and saw a lot of possible reasons for going back there.  A lot of antique shops lined the road as well as some restaurants that I thought might be good to try.

There were a LOT of bikes on the road as well.  Looks like the cooler weather brought out some of the riders that like to stay out of the summer heat.  I got some GoPro footage of some of the groups as they passed by.  Never know, you might be one of them if your riding around north Texas!

Sunday was the Fort Worth HOG Chapter's monthly skills day event.  Again, as always, I stress what an incredible event this is.  Our road captains are simply the best, period.  They do so much for the chapter that it is hard for most people to grasp.  Skills day is one of those sacrifices they make for our members.  They arrive early, set up courses, teach, monitor, mentor, while we ride and improve our riding skills.  For over 3 hours they give their time so we can become better riders. Most of them are also part of our competition team and the mentoring advice they have is invaluable.  The end result is a safer rider which transposes to every aspect of riding.

I try to never miss a skills day.  Margaret went with me on her bike and sharpened her riding skills some more.  The previous parking lot we used was apparently bought or leased by a developer and was fenced off due to construction.  The chapter officers spent a couple weeks previous to the days event to find us a new place to have skills day which turned out to be very nice. Everyone seemed to really like it a lot.  There was also another great turnout of riders.  It seems as of late that skills day is growing in numbers.  We have always had good turnouts but now more than ever.

There are two videos on this post, one for each ride we took.  Margaret did a lot of video of me on skills day so I apologize in advance that a greater portion of that video is of me.

Strawn, TX September 2013

Fort Worth HOG Skills Day September 2013

Fort Worth Harley Davidson Water For Life Charity Ride 2013

With an event as big as the Fort Worth Harley Davidson Water for Life 2013 ride I figured the extra post would be a good idea.  Margaret and I arrived about an hour early to get some pictures and video of the staging area and take part in the poker walk.  When we pulled up we were counted as bike number 160.  It was early and the bikes were steadily rolling in.

We registered so as to be counted for the charity donation and began our poker walk.  It was a lot of fun as we got to see a lot of people we knew and get some good laughs in.  Neither one of us did well with our poker walk drawings though and had to move on empty handed.

As the time for the ride meeting neared Margaret and I left early so we could get setup on Exchange street in the stockyards and get video of the bikes as they came by.  We parked in Rodeo Square which was reserved for the event and quickly walked to a pretty good area and setup the tripod with the GoPro.  Soon after we heard the squealing sirens of the police motorcycle escort as the procession began rolling down the street. It took 5 minutes and 55 seconds for the entire procession to pass.  When the last bike went by we quickly headed for the parking area to continue capturing media.

A total of 451 riders attended the ride.  I'm not sure about the number of bikes though seeing as some of them were riding two up.  One of the road captains said it was about 400 bikes though which is a great turnout.

We headed into Billy Bobs for the total tally and presentation of what the Water for Life charity is all about. The amount raised this year totaled 60K.

Fort Worth Harley Davidson Water for Life Charity Ride 2013 Slideshow

Fort Worth Harley Davidson Water for Life Charity Ride 2013 Video

Fort Worth HOG 911 Memorial Ride 2013

Wednesday evening the Fort Worth HOG chapter gathered for their 3rd 911 Memorial ride.  After a presentation of a banner that had the names of all of the victims of this tragic event, Kim read the timeline of the attacks to recall that horrible day.  This set the stage for the beginning of our ride.

Our purpose was to visit a couple fire departments and thank the fire fighters for their sacrifice and service to the community.  So often the only time these men and woman are remembered are when they show up to our rescue or lose their lives in service.  They put their lives on the line daily for people they have never met. Every emergency they respond to has the capability of ending their lives. The level of stress due to the intensity of their job alone is far more than most people experience in their lives. The 911 terrorist attack highlighted their service and the horrible truth of the dangerous situations they engage in daily.  History is full of stories in regards to individuals heroic deeds on that awful day.

We left the dealership at 1830 and visited a station just around the corner.  The firefighters came out when they saw our 22 bikes roll up to greet us with hugs and handshakes. We presented them with gifts and personally thanked each one of them for their service.  It was a very emotionally moving time for everyone involved.  Everyone wanted pictures so they pulled one of the fire trucks out of the station to use as a backdrop.

Next we headed to a fire station in White Settlement, TX for our second stop.  The sun was already beginning to set and was beautiful.  When we arrived we had to park the bikes across the street in a church parking lot as there was no room for all of us closer to the fire station.  We walked to the station across the street but no one came out.  A couple of our group began knocking on the door and even went into the garage to knock on the interior door.  We saw the blinds move up a bit and heard one of the fire fighters tell another to get the phone.  This was the first time we had visited this station on a 911 run.  You have to imagine 30+ bikers geared out banging on their doors from out of no where and on 9/11.  There was a bit of tension and concern on their part at this sudden situation.

Finally after loudly telling them through the door why we were there they came out.  There was a lot of laughs over this.  It was a lot of fun though and they were very appreciative of our purpose.  Again with a lot of hugs and handshakes we took pictures and gave them gifts before leaving.

The evening was short due to day light time constraints but the stations we visited were grateful.  All of the participants on the ride were also grateful for the opportunity that the Fort Worth HOG chapter provided to get together and visit these stations.  The evening was personally fulfilling and rewarding for me to be able to take time and thank these heroes for their service.

Fort Worth HOG 9/11 Memorial Ride 2013

Destination: Marble Falls, TX 2013

Labor day weekend brought about the opportunity to sneak in a longer ride.  When you work full time you have to take advantage of those extra days off.  I had some ideas of where to go and tossed them out there for Margaret to choose. The winning destination was Marble Falls, TX.

We got a late start on Saturday morning not leaving until almost 10 am. Our destination took us in a southern direction so we took the usual route when going south and stopped at Cranfills Gap, TX to eat lunch at the Horny Toad Bar & Grill.  I've always enjoyed going there.  The ride to get there is nice, the food is wonderful, its comfortable, and the owners are very personable.  We do like to try new places to eat but once we find one that continually provides a wonderful experience we tend to stick with it.

We finished eating about 1 pm and the temperature was already reading 100 degrees.  The Horny Toad kindly filled our thermos's with ice and water for the trip ahead.  I planned on a long route to Marble Falls, TX on small FM roads so we could meander through the country side and enjoy the sites Texas has to offer.  We were not let down! Some of the roads we ended up on were little more than a bit of asphalt plopped on the ground that served as a road which we rumbled along at an easy going 30 mph!  I often thought at any minute we would be on gravel.  There were a lot of deer to be seen on these roads too.  One time we saw a small herd of 6 deer that went bounding off as we slowly rumbled by on the bikes. Another time we rolled up to within a few yards of a deer before it finally decided to leap the fence by the road and run off.  In the area between Gatesville and Lampasas, TX we got on some beautiful FM roads and didn't see another vehicle for about an hour.  I got lost for awhile on these roads as every road crossing we came upon lacked signage.  We basically just flipped a coin as to which way we would go and knew we would get to our destination eventually, which we did.

Upon arrival in Marble Falls we checked into the Holiday Inn Express, showered, and went out to eat.  It was a long hot day, we were tired, and about the only thing on our minds was getting some sleep for the adventurous day ahead.

After a nice light breakfast we headed out to Longhorn Cavern State Park to see the caves.  We arrived an hour before the tour time and had the run of the place to ourselves for quite awhile.  This gave us a perfect opportunity to get some pictures and video of the historic structure and cave entrance before people started mingling around.  The cave is 68 degrees year round and made for a nice couple hours to keep us cool. That was our plan, and it worked.  Our guide was quite flamboyant and exciting with her descriptions and history of the cavern.  Its nice to see someone that enjoys what they do and observe how it reflects in their job routine.  It was a great tour, interesting history, and beautiful cave.

From Longhorn Cavern State Park we headed back to Marble Falls and had lunch before heading to Pedernales Falls State Park.  Now it was getting into early afternoon and the heat was over 100 degrees. Our plan had been to head to Pedernales for an afternoon of cool swimming.  Again, our plans worked out well and upon arrival we headed for the river.  It was quite low due to the summer heat but still provided us with a very nice afternoon of wading, swimming, and lounging in the little water rapids.  We wandered upstream quite a ways and there was no one to be seen almost the entire time we were there.  We had a hard time unwinding from our hectic lifestyle but when we were finally able to, our bodies just gave out.  We laid in the water for hours while it trickled over us and kept us cool.  The experience was so relaxing that when we finally had to leave and head back to the hotel our legs were weak and wobbly.  It took all we had to say goodbye knowing our mini vacation was soon coming to a close.

The next morning was incredibly cool which was uncommon since the previous couple days had been over 100 degrees.  We soon found out why on the ride home, a storm had been moving around north Texas all night and had brought the temperature down.  As we cruised at a comfortable 70 mph north on US-281 the storm front was just to the north west of us.  It was pushing the cool air east toward us as we skirted the edge of the storm almost the entire trip home.  The temperature remained 75 degrees according to the thermometer gauge on my bike the entire time.  We never got hot and it turned out to be perfect riding weather.  That is until we reached Glen Rose, TX.  It was here the storm caught up with us and began a torrential downpour as we came into town.  We pulled over at the first place we could find which was a Sonic Drive in and sat outside under the cover while we had an afternoon munch and watched the rain.  Even this worked out well, we were cool, bellies full, and enjoyed the casual time before continuing on towards home.

As we left Sonic the rain moved out and within half an hour we were dry again.  The rest of the ride home was just as perfect as it was from Marble Falls.  We couldn't have asked for a better 3 day trip than we experienced. It was hard to sleep that night because we kept talking about everything we did for those 3 days.  Tuesday we both had already scheduled time off  to use as a wind down day from the trip before having to go back to work on Wednesday.

Again staying true to the inclusion of some sort of media with most posts, I made a video from the trip.  It's impossible to capture the essence of everything we did, but it still gives a nice over view to share with you. Hope you enjoy it.  Ride Strong, Ride Safe.

Destination: Marble Falls, TX 2013

Destination: Albany, TX 2013

I had to put this post up a day earlier than usual since Margaret and I will be taking a 3 day road trip over the labor day weekend.  Hopefully we will have good fortune with our camera and Gopro and get some good media to share over the next couple of weeks.

Last Sunday we decided to take a ride to Albany, TX.  It can be a very long ride depending on the roads you choose to get there. Our route took us almost 300 miles round trip and we were out for 10 hours.  The first part of the ride took us through Granbury, Lipan, and Strawn, TX which takes you through some very nice hill country type of riding. Then as you move further northwest the land begins to level off giving some wonderful far seeing scenic views. The weather forecast was saying 97 for the high but the temperature ended up over 100 at the peak of the day.  We were careful to take a lot of stops and stay hydrated.

Our plan was to eat the Icehouse restaurant but when we got there it was shut down.  We couldn't tell if it was out of business or not.  The windows were papered to block the view inside.  We stopped for gas and asked about any other restaurants that might be open.  The only place to eat on Sunday was Dairy Queen.  Kind of a bummer to ride all that way just to get a fast food burger.  Fortunately this setback was the only downside to the entire day. This ride definitely followed the saying: Its not about the destination, its about the ride. 

We had also planned on visiting the historical Fort Griffin but it was hot and getting late by the time we arrived in Albany from all of the little back roads we took to get there.  If we didn't have to go to work the next day we could have gone there but, duty calls. Our plans were bigger than the hours in the day. Albany however has some very nice historical architecture so we spent time around the main plaza and took a bunch of pictures before heading home.

Destination: Albany, TX 2013

Installing Stuff

Saturday I took most of the day installing stuff we had ordered for both of our bikes.  I also had to do another oil change on mine having reached that 30K mileage mark.

So what exactly was installed?  Here is a list and then well go into more details about what worked, what didnt, and how we made things work.

Oil Change
Air Filter Cleaning
Hand Grips
Saddlebag Guards
Saddlebags

I started with the hand grips on my bike.  This will be the second set I've put on.  The last were nice but just didn't have the right feel to them.  They were kind of short and my hand would overlap on the end. They also didn't give my hands good support for longer rides. Our salesman said to try Avon Grips. He was so sure I would like them we spent 10 minutes walking around the dealership until we found a bike with Avon grips on it.  Like he said, they felt superb so I ordered a set that had the Edge Cut style like my clutch and brake lever. It takes about 10 minutes to install them. Here are the pics of the process.

Grip Replacement on a 2012 Harley Davidson Street Glide

Then I did an oil change and air intake filter cleaning on the Street Glide.

Next I worked on putting the Saddlebag Guards on Margaret's bike.  There was a little bit of tear down on the right side installation.  Had to nearly remove the entire exhaust system to get the lower mounting bolt installed. Not a big issue though.  After installing the guards is where it all fell apart.  We bought some saddlebags from Viking.  We didn't like the Harley's softail deluxe bags.  They are an extremely poor design and have the capacity to hold little more than a shoe on each side.  That wont do much for any type of trip we might want to take and they are expensive, over $1000 from what some people in our chapter told us they paid.  The bags we purchased are super nice and almost as big as my Street Glide bags.  A molded plastic shell covered with leather gives them rigidity and style.  Both of us are quite impressed with them and they were only $219.00.   However, the mounting kit that came with them just sucks. The left side support provided is completely useless as it will not clear the drive train. Not only that but the bolts they provided had the wrong type threads so they wouldn't screw in and were waaaaaay too long. We went to Harley and ordered a nice single piece mount made by Drag Specialties for $60.

The saddle bag supports arrived Tuesday so we picked them up and hurried home to see if they were going to work. Again, more issues.  I figure this will happen since we are using non Harley parts.  The supports fit perfectly and clear the drive train but they angle outwards from the fender.  This means the bags wont hang straight.  My idea was to find some barrel spacers for the mount and use longer bolts.  Off to Home Depot we went.  It took a while to find exactly what we thought might work and get back home.  I put the supports on and held the bags into place while I marked where the mounting bolts came to on the bags.  Got out the drill and made the holes.  I put a large flange washer that I painted on the inside and outside of the bag, the mounting bolt through those, then the barrel spacer over that, then the support which bolted perfectly in place, thus holding the bags very securely. They still lean outwards a bit but not bad enough to get worked up about.

We still had to figure out how to mount the bottom part of the bag to the support.  I didn't want to drill holes so we came up with the idea of using velcro. We used the plastic part of the velcro on the bag side and simply stuck it on.  That stuff is super hard to get off once it sets. Not really sure how to explain how I was able to attach it to the support but you'll see it in the pictures.  All were trying to do is keep the bag from rattling against the bottom of the support, the huge bolts hold the bag on very securely. It all worked well and we still got her some very nice bags for a total cost including the new supports and Home Depot hardware for under $300 which I am very pleased about.

Installing Viking Saddlebags on a 2013 Harley Softail Deluxe

Cranfills Gap 2013 & Meridian State Park

Following the previous weekend of hard riding I was able to talk Margaret into doing some riding related activities instead of riding the entire state of Texas again.  Saturday we both gave our bikes a good scrubbing.  They were still covered with an enormous amount of grasshopper goo.  This was her first washing of her Softail and a great experience too.  It was interesting to hear her whine and grumble about how nasty the bug parts were and that they wouldn't come off easily.  She wanted me to wash her bike but in my objective opinion, she hit the bugs on her bike so she needs to clean them off.  I had my own mess of splatters to scrub.  We also waxed the paint and polished the chrome on both bikes.  This was the first detailing for her bike so we took our time and did the process thoroughly.  This took all morning and we enjoyed doing it together.

Looking back at the last couple rides a problem we've been having is storage space. I am having to carry everything for both of us in my saddlebags.  We had found bags for her bike last month that she liked so we went ahead and ordered them. In the afternoon we decided to stop by Harley while we made our weekly grocery rounds.  We ordered some saddlebag guards for her bike and a reduced reach clutch and brake handle.  Shes been struggling with the reach on her controls since getting the bike so we had to do something for her.

We still wanted to ride a bit so Sunday morning we decided to go to Cranfills Gap.  I have some media already from previous rides to the Gap but Margaret has never been and its a beautiful trip.  The temperature was only going to be 98 for the high so it wasn't as bad as the previous weekend.

We had lunch at the well known Horny Toad Bar & Grill which is about the only business in that town. When we left the temperature was beginning to climb.  It was 1:30 pm and only gonna get worse throughout the day. Meridian State Park was only about 20 miles away so we decided to go there and spend the afternoon swimming and lounging around in the shade until it cooled down for the trip home.  Start to finish the trip was 257 miles.

Cranfills Gap & Meridian State Park Video

Dublin Dr Pepper & Goldthwaite Texas

We've been getting Margaret out on short rides for about a month.  Started out doing 20 miles round trip and worked up to 60 mile round trips.  I was thinking she was doing pretty good, didn't want to push her and provoke any discouragement by riding too far too fast and freaking her out.  I decided to trick her by doing a longer ride without telling her.  I worked up a route to Hico, Tx and back which was about 125 miles round trip.  The evening before Jim called to see what we were up to so I invited him and Pat along.

We met in Crowley and headed out.  The route took us through Godley, Bono, Granbury, then on some very nice FM roads to Hico.  Jim had to be back home to meet some construction contractors by noon so he broke off from us shortly before arriving at Hico.

Margaret and I had breakfast at the Koffee Kup and prepared to head back home.  She asked "where are we going now?"

"Back home" I responded.  Now is the turning point to this otherwise boring post.  She wasn't very happy with my response. She wanted to ride some more. Gotta keep your woman happy right?  We headed out on some more very nice FM roads and hours later ended up in Dublin TX.  We decided to take the tour of the historical Dr Pepper Museum and get a couple souvenirs. Apparently even this distance wasn't enough because when I said we were going to take a direct route home she whined about it.  We left Dublin and ended up back in Hico, then Glen Rose, then Granbury, Bono, Godley, Crowley, and finally home.  Every place we stopped at I encouraged a shorter route home to which I received evil glares and whining about what kind of rider was I? Shes a monster! To be honest, she finally broke loose on her bike and overcame a lot of her apprehensions about riding.  She relaxed, let the bike go, and enjoyed the ride and scenery.  She finally began to understand the beauty of riding.  She was hooked and there was no turning back now. We rode 300 miles that day and every mile and stop was wonderful.

Nice little story but little did I know it would continue sooner than later.  I slept in the next morning to about 8am.  That's VERY late for me considering my daily wake up time is 5am.  I crawled out of bed, wandering into her work room rubbing my eyes trying to clear my vision and shes standing there, dressed with her riding vest on.  "Where are we going today?" she asks with a completely serious demeanor.  WTH?!?! I'm thinking to myself that riding 300 miles in a day is a pretty nice ride in itself for one weekend and this woman wants to go out again?  I told her I didn't have anything planned to which she responded "Why not? You better figure out something soon so we can get going!"  OMG, this keeping your woman happy concept is starting to work against me!

Within an hour were back on the road, Crowley, Godley, Bono, Hico, Hamilton, and finally to Goldthwaite. We stopped at a restaurant named Peabody's to cool down and eat.  We arrived 30 minutes before closing time and stood at the front door for a few minutes while the staff walked around and ignored us. Margaret figured if we sat down we might be served. Not a chance. I finally went to the back of the restaurant where the staff was hiding out and asked if we were supposed to wait to be seated. A very rude server sharply informed me they were closed and turned away. If you go to Goldthwaithe stay away from Peabody's, they are not biker friendly.   We did manage to find a Dairy Queen and got some cool drinks and a burger. They were very friendly unlike the cold shoulder we received at Peabody's. There is a historic suspension bridge somewhere in the Goldthwaite area we wanted to see but by now it was late and we had a long ride to get home. We didn't get any pictures in Goldwaithe as there really wasn't anything to photograph. Well go back again and try to find that bridge on another trip. After another 10 hour day of riding and another 300 miles, we arrived home.

600 miles in two days.  I'm not really sure how to comment on that.  She loved it.  Every bit of it.  The riding, the stops at towns and rest areas where we would just enjoy the day together.  We stopped at quite a few historical sites as well. Even as I am typing this post shes asking about riding again.  I've got too much to do to take her out for another weekend like that this time but I promised we would go out tomorrow and ride somewhere.

During the ride back from Goldthwaite my bike started having some issues.  The voltage meter would either spike or drop at which point the check engine and battery indicators would come on.  Sometimes my cruise control would shut off if the voltage went to low.  Fortunately the bike never quit running during the trip.  I figured it might be the voltage regulator going bad.  We dropped it off at the dealership the next day for them to pull the event logs for diagnosis.  It was the voltage regulator which they replaced under the factory warranty. I know there are people that complain about Harley dealerships and service departments, but Fort Worth Harley Davidson has given us some of the best customer service of any business we have ever dealt with.

I took the camera and GoPro both of those days to try and get some media.  It's grasshopper season in Texas so I lost a lot of video due to those juicy things splattering on the lens cover of the GoPro even though I cleaned it at every stop. We still got some decent riding clips but entire portions of the ride were unusable due to the bug guts.  I still used what I was able to salvage and put together a short video. I hope you enjoy the media as much as we enjoyed the riding to compile it.

Dublin & Goldthwaite, TX Slide show

Ride to Dublin & Goldthwaite Video