theklanchXL1200N
Active Member
Hey guys so it's been about a month but during our last thaw here in PA in the middle of January I had to run some errands and my wife had her car, my pickup desprately needs a wheel bearing so I'm not driving it unless I absolutely have to and my box truck, well I don't start it unless I'm getting paid.... Well it was about 35 degrees and I had to run two errands I actually was going to walk my destinations were less than a mile from my house, but then I thought, why not go see if my nightster would start..... I parked it the end of October (I know that was early, but I kinda got tired of my bike being my only form of transportation for the summer till I put the clutch in my PU) and didn't do anything other than make sure it had a full tank of fuel. Last winter I was obsessed with going out to the garage and starting it every couple of days, which ended up just draining the battery, so this winter I figured I wouldn't touch the bike....... So I threw my leg over her and turned on the key..... Hit the start switch and it was a little slow cranking, but it did fire right up!!!! I let her warm up a few minutes and took off. I was amazed at the amount of gravel on my little jaunt around the neighborhood, I never left second gear.... And I desprately avoided the wet spots on the road cause the water on the road in the winter around here is full of salt..... She ran fine no problems whatsoever except for a really dirty set of wheels, which I promptly cleaned (the one thing I hate about my nightster is the black wheels, next to impossible to keep spotless if you actually ride your bike) I had two stops on my journey, and I did shut the bike down at both stops, it was a little slow cranking, but it did start. I figured if it didn't I could push it home, but as I said all was good. It really got the riding bug in check. I don't recommend going on a cross country jaunt in February, but there is something to be said about going for a ride around the block a few times on the days of the winter that are tolearble temp wise. I have been stuck in the cage as far as transportation goes for a while now this winter and it felt real good to go for a blast, be it at 20 mph the whole way it still was fun. I got some pretty funny looks from some cagers when I was out that day, they looked like I was on the first motorcyle they had ever seen.... Oh well I figured I would chime in with a winter riding story.
Today and tomorrow are supposed to be really nice around here, I think I will go get my smokes on the bike a little later, the roads are actually dry from what I can see out my window, why not? I get smokes within walking distance, but frankly I'd rather go through the crap of getting the bike out. I am going to try to ride at least once a month even in the winter so I can justify paying for insurance on something that I don't touch for 4-5 months a year.
Today and tomorrow are supposed to be really nice around here, I think I will go get my smokes on the bike a little later, the roads are actually dry from what I can see out my window, why not? I get smokes within walking distance, but frankly I'd rather go through the crap of getting the bike out. I am going to try to ride at least once a month even in the winter so I can justify paying for insurance on something that I don't touch for 4-5 months a year.
Around here you have to be careful. I live in the country and a lot of the roads are in the shade all day long and ice will remain in the shadows.
