I think it was 1990, the year after the big quake in the San Francisco Bay Area. I had just gotten my shovelhead running in a rigid frame with a 75 narrow glide single disk up front. Spring break was on, so I took some time off and headed south for a few days. I had trouble with the bike every single day, from oil leaks to flat tire to worn out primary chain shoe to (and here’s the deal breaker) my oil filter coming off the bike (it was mounted to the front engine mount), rupturing, and loosing my oil. The engine would sieze, I’d pull over, not look under the bike, kick it into life again, and go a bit further. After a few of these I got my 22 year old butt off the bike and took a look. “Ooooh.”
I pushed it a couple of miles to the coastal town of Davenport, patched the oil system back together sans the filter, found a place to stay the night, and rocketed home the next day. I was afraid to stop for long in case the whole thing collapsed into a steaming pile of aluminum and steel. I gritted my teeth and rolled as hard and fast as I could hoping beyond hope that at least momentum would carry me a bit further. The whole trip seemed wrapped in superstition. I did make it, but it was running pretty noisy and I eventually got the motor rebuilt.
Once in a while those moments of the past wind up on Jones’ plate, feeding him a bit more of the same to share in the strip. Good times, I tell ya.
Thanks for reading. We’re taking a bit of a slow down this week and will carry the story on as usual next week. If I can figure out where to go next.
Hey, while I’ve got your attention, I’d like to point you in the direction of a friend of mine who does great (said like Tony the Tiger) cartoon art of bikes and cars. I bet there’s someone, maybe you, who would love to see your favorite ride immortalized in ink, framed and put on your wall. Don “Thunder” Baggett is just your guy. His work is absolutely top notch, and his renditions are accurate to all the individualized parts of your favorite machine. Last spring he sent me a drawing of my bike and he nailed it! It’s one of my proudest possessions.
As the holidays approach, you might be looking to get your machine toonerized. Talk to Don and tell him I sent you. He’s easy to work with and does great art. Find him at his web site or on Facebook.
Broke the kick lever off my shovel a couple hundred miles from home. After getting it push started I hot fueled all the way home. Know a guy that lost the kick stand, just leaned the bike against the wall when we stopped.
used to drop my shifter on the yellow line every so often
Ben, I know there are a couple of shifter levers on the side of the road out in west Texas that came from my bike years ago. Forgot about them, getting old sucks.
Yeah, I’ve been through a few shift levers myself. Kept an extra in my saddle bags for a while after, one night, it fell off getting on the 101 in Prunedale. I rode about 20 miles home to Hollister in second gear, as I recall. By the time I got home I had no idea what gear I was in, or how fast I was going.
never LOST my shifter (luck?) but after the first time it fell off in the middle of the night and looking for it for an hour, I learned to check that bastard every so often and ride with my left ankle up against it…
I can’t tell you how refreshing this whole conversation is. For years I thought I was the only one who ever lost his shifter.
Oh no, you’re definately not the only one. Last summer riding home from work through Monte Cristo Canyon UT I went to shift up & caught open air…according to the local Harley shop, “that happens all the time”…????
Having the stock mid mount controls on my FX I used my heel to kick the shifter linkage back to get into higher gear and used my right hand to pull the clutch in as I fumbled around with my left to down shift. Made for some fun riding.