April 6: My Baby is Back!
When I left to pick up my bike at the dealership this morning, I didn’t plan on traveling over 200 miles roundtrip to my favorite bakery afterwards. After all, with temperatures in the forties and no break in the rain forecasted, it really wasn’t an ideal time to go riding. However, when I sped south on interstate five to go back to my house and realized that My Baby was finally riding smoothly for the first time in months, I decided to take the long way home.
I’ve loved the feel of the wind in my face since I initially rode on the back of a Harley 10 years ago. When I first rode my own in 2018, I couldn’t believe how such a powerful motor could so easily glide down the road. However, two months ago, after putting over 120,000 miles on my two Softail Slims, I was dismayed to discover that for some reason my handlebars were shaking violently at higher speeds.
I’m very thankful that the outstanding service department at Paradise Harley was willing to systematically troubleshoot all the potential causes for the vibration and get My Baby back in tip top riding condition. It’s been difficult for several weeks, trying one different fix after another including replacing components of the steering head, rotor, and wheels. We’ve also tightened down a variety of loose accessories including my sissy bar and pegs.
It seems that the biggest culprit might have been the wheels as apparently the last shop to put tires on inadvertently left the old weights in place, so that two different sets of weights were on opposite sides of my rear tire, causing the tire to be out of balance. The bearings in the rear were also gritty, compounding the problem.
What a relief it was to be able to bomb down the road today with the flow of traffic and be able to fully relax on the bike. Rather than gripping the handlebars tightly and trying to see clearly while my head shook forecfully back and forth, I was able to sit back, put my feet up on my highway pegs, and take in the beautiful scenery all around me.
Although it was a damp, cold, and foggy day, nothing could dampen my enthusiasm as I barreled down the road, chortling with joy while pulling on the throttle. Passing fields and farmlands on both sides of me, pastures were empty and fields bare. Apparently, all the farm animals had gotten the memo about the chilly conditions and were safely ensconced in their stalls.
Arriving at the Creswell bakery, I celebrated by buying six loaves of multigrain sourdough bread for my freezer, a mixed berry fruit tart, and a deliciously creamy and runny bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast ciabatta sandwich. I’ve always felt so fortunate to have a bike of my own but today I am especially grateful. Although there are so many things I appreciate in my life, it really is hard to top the sheer joy of effortlessly guiding such a powerful machine down the road.
