This is an incomplete rough draft,
spelling and grammar corrections have not been preformed yet.
3500 miles on a 2004 Harley Davidson FLSTCI Heritage Softail
October 10 2006 to October 18 2006
Rahway New Jersey to Redding California
We found it late at night about nine o'clock Pacific time. Just two hours before the auction closed. After checking the Kelly Blue Book value and looking on Harley Trader not to mention closed auctions on eBay for what they sold for or how high the bidding went for the 2004 Heritage we figured the value was there and the bid price was still below its value. We finally decided what our high bid should be then waited for the closing seconds of the auction. We set up the bid window with our bid price and refreshed the other window to watch the time.
Tick, tick, tick... hershizer bids the price up to $12,300.00 about 25 seconds before the end. Since I'm watching the other window I knew we had his/her bid beat because my max is over that amount but you never know because of the eBay bid increment system, will my max bid beat hershizer? 15 seconds to go and I clicked the confirm bid button.... We are the high bidder... Tick, tick tick... Congratulatons You are the Winning Bidder...
Well, now we have done it again... How to get the bike from there to here... It is after midnight now, so I send my depost and we head for bed. We will worry about getting it here tomorrow.
In the morning I call Anthony and inquire about the bike and shipping options... (all the while I'm looking at Google Maps figuring out the mileage and possible routes home) To my surpize the bike qualifys for extended factory warrenty if I want it... I'll think about it... Shipping turns out to be reasonable... my arugument to my wife is, if I'm putting a thousand bucks into the bike what do I get out of it... the satisfaction that it was shipped in an air ride trailer? I say "Wouldn't it be better for me to hand deliver the check that way I can check out the bike before we give them thousands of dollars"... I can ride it home for less than shipping costs... (I think)
First I'll need a ticket and cheap tickets comes through. I find the cheapest fare when I depart on Tue. so I book it. Okay, now it time to get insurance and after a call to my agent I'm assured it will be taken care of. Then I put together my ride supplies and box them up so that I can ship them ahead, no checked baggage at the airport. Call me stupid, I did not check estimated arrival time until the next day when I thought to track my Fedex parcel. Whew, estamated arrival is Tue... the day I leave here, hope it gets there on time. A quick stop at AAA and I have all the maps that I need. Jackie has put together the funds and gotten a Cashiers Check so that is taken care of. I stopped by the insurance agents office as I was passing by... Good thing too, his computer has been down and his stack of work to get caught up on is huge and my paper work, as it turns out, was back in the filing cabinet. I hope it was in the "to do" drawer. He works my file as I stand there and I get the piece of paper that I need to pick up the bike... I'm beginning to think all my ducks are walking in a row. I think about the long ride home and I think it is wise to get the bike listed on my roadside assistance, a five minute call and I drop my FXR from the policy and add the FLSTCI, that was too easy and another duck falls into line.
Money - check
Insurance - check
Plane ticket - check
Ride supplies - check
Road side assistance - check
I'm outta here Tue at 5 PM...
Well the flight was okay, I had a window seat with an empty seat next to me. There was a weather delay affecting my departure from LAX so arrival time in Newark was now 7am instead of the expected 6am. Arriving in Newark a hot breakfast is in order so I had a sausage bisquet with egg from MacDonalds. Now its time to find the train and figure out the schedule. The trains in NJ move down the tracks at a very good clip, wish amtrack trains would move that fast. I find my train and board it for the 10 mile hope to Rahway where the station is across the street from the Harley Dealer.
As I'm walking up the the dealer door the clock strkes 9am and the girl inside unlocks the door as I approch... After walking around the shop for a few minutes I spy the harley out back and quickly head towards it to inspect it before anyone knows what I'm there for. It is clean and after turning on the ignition and checking lights and indecators I move around and under it checking to make sure it has not been down and repaired. The front turn indecator is bent, it has been droped at least once. So I take a more careful look without finding any other damage. Soon someone from the maintance department walks up and I introduce myself as the buyer. He runs off only to come back to say Anthony is running a bit late but will be there soon and he shows me where the coffee is.
While waiting for Anthony I make my way over to the parts deparment and ask about floorboars for my FXR. The same story that I've heard before, not available, don't have any and don't know where I might get some. But they give me a few phone numbers of people that might be able to help so I make a bit of progress in getting some boards. For those who don't know, Harley only made floorboars for the FXRP, P being police... Someday I'll find a set.
Anthony makes his appearance and we begin the paperwork... I have them mount the windshield bag I've brought with me and they fill up the gas tank for me. Then I take it for a spin around the parking lot and ask if we can adjust the handlebars to my liking. Soon the paperwork is done and I'm free to go. Time to pack the supplies I've shipped ahead and begin this cross country jounry. The weather is overcast but not too cool so I forgo puting on the long underwear and only ride with jacket, gloves and chaps. One last check of supplies and I'm outta there. It is alread 11:45.
Rahway NJ to Carlisle PA
Down the street and three gear shifts later I decide to head back to the shop. The heal shifter is way to high and I borrow the allen wrench to adjust the shifter down several splines. Once again I'm on the road and headed for the freeway.
Well, it seems I've missed a turn somewhere and I'm sort of, kind of lost, looking for I have no idea what. With the overcast sky I have no idea which way is which so I just cruse a bit and I'm sure I'll find a highway or freeway somewhere. Sure enough, a few miles later I find the expressway and I stop at a convience store for some milk and check the map to make sure it will take me where I want to go.
Now I get to see what this bike has. As I have found on the city steets she is nimble and responsive to the throttle. On the expressway there is a very solid and stable feel that is reassuring. At 65-70 it only takes a twist for a moment to move it up to 75-80. The buffetting from the 18 wheelers as they go by is minamil. (it is not long before I'm passing the trucks) The first half hour I'm content with 65 which is a bit slower than the fast movers are going but I'm still passing the occasional car or truck. After I'm comfortable with response time and the reaction to imputs in steering I join the faster traffic and begin to settle in between 70-75.
The lack of sleep on the flight in is taking its toll and after 2 or 3 hours I've only made about a hundred miles. The first gas stop and my records show I've only made 121.7 miles and it is already 3:30. Since I'm hoping to make Ohio on Thursday I had better make as many miles as I can. By 5:00 I've made another 75 miles and I see my first WalMart where I stop to look for some sun glasses as my Ray Bans broke the day before as I was moving through security... Damn it, they don't have any good ones and I don't want to waste time looking for another store today I just want to be able to make good time tomorrow. I buy a decent $7.00 pair pick up some milk, yogurt and a banana. They don't have any raspberry newtons or nut roll"...
As I stow my snacks and don my sunglasses the first traces of rain begin. If I stop now tomorrow will be a forced 400 mile day... Hell with it I'm gonna stay dry my first day out and deal with what comes tomorrow. A room for the night and something to eat are in order. I spy a hotel across the parking lot from a MacDonalds I'll stay there for the night.
Carlisle PA to Ohio
Up at 8:00am to coffee and the conental breakfast the hotel offers. It has rained overnight and the bike and parking lot are wet. After drying off the bike and packing up my gear it is time to move on as there are many miles to cover today. The sky is overcast, the weather channel says rain later in the day so I should be able to beat it. Again it is not too cool so chaps and coat and light gloves are the order of the day. It is all interstate driving so it is fast and furious driving for several hours until it begings to get much cooler, no, lets say cold... Once I'm thouraly frozen I stop for a cup of coffee and a warm up. It is down right cold now as I stand outside and have a smoke. It is time to break out the long underwear and the winter riding gloves not forgetting the earmuffs.
More miles pass and it is getting late in the day and I just know the last hour of riding today is going to be in the dark. After several hours it is time to warm up again this time with some fried chicken and mashed potatos which I might add were very tastey. It has been several years since I've tasted the fair at "Colornal Sanders Kentucky Fried Chicken". Breaking out the cell phone to call ahead to Clifford there is voice mail on my phone. Listening to my mail is not the kink of message one likes to get 3000 miles from home. Mom has gone to the hospital seeking help with her breathing... What can one do...? Clifford is home and says I'm welcome even with my impending late arrival.