This
is my current ride. It is a fuel injected 2006 Electra Glide
Ultra Classic. The color is Brandy Wine Sunglo and it has a four-speaker
sound system, CB radio, and intercom. Touring amenities include hard
saddlebags, a King Tour Pak, cruise control, fork-mounted faring, and lower
fairings
to protect the legs. I have customized the bike to make it more personal.
So far, we've put on a set of Kuryakyn highway pegs and shifter pegs. We
also put on an HD Nostalgic Brake foot pad, adjustable
rider backrest, chrome racks on the saddlebags
and Tour Pak, a Stage I modification with mufflers to add some horsepower
and a little sound, and lots of other chrome doo-dads to dress the bike up.
Our previous bike took us a long way (over 35,000 miles in 3 years), and we're looking forward to this one
taking us even further (31,000 miles in a little over 2 years).
Here are some of my old motorcycles.
I bought my first motorcycle in 1970 when I was 19 years old.
It was a very used Honda CL 350 (a model similar to mine is pictured at
left). I didn't have the Honda very long, as it died
on me less than a year after I purchased it. Upon the demise of my first
bike, I bought a new 1971 Harley-Davidson 350cc Sprint SS. This was followed by two more H-D Sprints over the next few years. The
picture to the right is of my third Harley-Davidson Sprint. I took this picture
in the Fall of 1976, while I was "ridge riding" the Mississippi River bluffs in Illinois, just
north of Hannibal, MO, and south of Quincy, IL. The spectacular foliage
between St. Louis, MO, and Keokuk, IA, make this an exceptional Fall tour. (Some noteworthy features in the
H-D Sprint picture are the old style
bench seat, the "bubble mask" on the helmet, the single cylinder engine, the kick start on the left-hand side of the bike,
and the "dreaded" AMF in the logo.)
As every motorcyclist will tell
you, it's all about "more power." I needed a motorcycle with
more muscle for riding two up with my wife, and I wanted a bike with less
vibration. (The 350cc Harley was notorious for shaking.) I moved up to
a Suzuki GT550 in 1980. The Suzuki had a three cylinder, two-cycle engine. Of all
the motorcycles I have owned, this was by far the smoothest riding. I
could actually see things clearly in the rear view mirror, and could even
tell the difference between a car and a semi! The two-cycle engine was a
bit smelly, but the bike was a trooper and ran well. I had the Suzuki for
several years, until I sold it to buy a computer. I was working on my
doctoral degree and thought I needed a computer more than I needed a
motorcycle. In retrospect, I should have kept the bike and bought a
cheaper computer.
I went for several years without
a motorcycle until I bought the 1978 Yamaha SX650 twin pictured to the right in 1997. The
Yamaha was a basket case when I bought it, so it was more of a restoration
project than a motorcycle. For example, the front fork was bent and had to
be replaced. The alternator blew and I replaced it with a re-build. I put
new tires on and re-jetted the carburetor. After a while, I realized I
could buy a new bike for what I was spending fixing up the Yamaha. I
also began to realize I wanted something that was more
reliable and with "more power." Finally, I wanted to return to my
Harley-Davidson roots. I visited my local dealer and discovered that there
were several models of Harley-Davidson Sportster that were well within my
budget. At the time, it was taking about 6-9 months to take delivery on a
Sportster. I ordered my bike in October and sat back eagerly awaiting a
Spring delivery.
I took
delivery on my new Harley-Davidson XLH Sportster 883 on January 29, 2000. I customized the bike to include a tandem seat, seat back
rest, and carrier rack. In addition, I replaced the stock handle bars with
buckhorn handle bars, and added a tachometer and a windshield. The color was Bronze Pearl.
The Sportster was an excellent bike for me, however, my
wife was very uncomfortable riding on the back. After a few months, my
wife announced that we needed a bigger bike (What a great wife!) so she
could ride more comfortably in the passenger seat. That's when we ordered
a Harley-Davidson Dyna Low
Rider.
We
took delivery on our 2001 Harley-Davidson FXDL Dyna Low Rider in July, 2001.
The color was luxury rich red and black. I outfitted it with a windshield,
ape hanger handlebars with one inch risers, Kuryakyn Iso-grip hand grips, custom air
filter, billet aluminum air cleaner cover,
Screamin' Eagle slip on mufflers, Mustang seat, backrest, luggage rack,
saddle bags, engine guard, running lamps, and floorboard kit. When
finished, this bike drew a lot of attention. I rode the Dyna to the Harley
100th in Milwaukee and we were part of the 100th anniversary parade as well.
It was featured in the Easy Rider Harley-Davidson 100th Anniversary
supplement and in the August, 2004, edition of Motorcycle Cruiser
magazine. I put more than 35,000 miles on the bike and rode through Canada,
Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia,
Maryland, Virginia, Missouri, Arkansas, and North Carolina just to name a few places. The best
ride was through the Tail of the Dragon and the Cherohala Skyway in Tennessee and North Carolina.
I had to sell the Dyna, however, when I suffered a
herniated disk in my back. I could no longer take the sporty ride and the
"hunched over" sporty riding position. That's when we moved up to the Ultra
Classic you see at the top of this page.
This
is my current ride. It is a fuel injected 2006 Electra Glide
Ultra Classic. The color is Brandy Wine Sunglo and it has a four-speaker
sound system, CB radio, and intercom. Touring amenities include hard
saddlebags, a King Tour Pak, cruise control, fork-mounted faring, and lower
fairings
to protect the legs. I have customized the bike to make it more personal.
So far, we've put on a set of Kuryakyn highway pegs and shifter pegs. 
We
also put on an HD Nostalgic Brake foot pad, adjustable
rider backrest, chrome racks on the saddlebags
and Tour Pak, a Stage I modification with mufflers to add some horsepower
and a little sound, and lots of other chrome doo-dads to dress the bike up.
Our previous bike took us a long way (over 35,000 miles in 3 years), and we're looking forward to this one
taking us even further (31,000 miles in a little over 2 years).
I bought my first motorcycle in 1970 when I was 19 years old.
It was a very used Honda CL 350 (a model similar to mine is pictured at
left). I didn't have the Honda very long, as it died
on me less than a year after I purchased it. Upon the demise of my first
bike, I bought a new 1971 Harley-Davidson 350cc Sprint SS. This was followed by two more H-D Sprints over the next few years. 
The
picture to the right is of my third Harley-Davidson Sprint. I took this picture
in the Fall of 1976, while I was "ridge riding" the Mississippi River bluffs in Illinois, just
north of Hannibal, MO, and south of Quincy, IL. The spectacular foliage
between St. Louis, MO, and Keokuk, IA, make this an exceptional Fall tour. (Some noteworthy features in the
H-D Sprint picture are the old style
bench seat, the "bubble mask" on the helmet, the single cylinder engine, the kick start on the left-hand side of the bike,
and the "dreaded" AMF in the logo.)
As every motorcyclist will tell
you, it's all about "more power." I needed a motorcycle with
more muscle for riding two up with my wife, and I wanted a bike with less
vibration. (The 350cc Harley was notorious for shaking.) I moved up to
a Suzuki GT550 in 1980. The Suzuki had a three cylinder, two-cycle engine. Of all
the motorcycles I have owned, this was by far the smoothest riding. I
could actually see things clearly in the rear view mirror, and could even
tell the difference between a car and a semi! The two-cycle engine was a
bit smelly, but the bike was a trooper and ran well. I had the Suzuki for
several years, until I sold it to buy a computer. I was working on my
doctoral degree and thought I needed a computer more than I needed a
motorcycle. In retrospect, I should have kept the bike and bought a
cheaper computer.
I went for several years without
a motorcycle until I bought the 1978 Yamaha SX650 twin pictured to the right in 1997. The
Yamaha was a basket case when I bought it, so it was more of a restoration
project than a motorcycle. For example, the front fork was bent and had to
be replaced. The alternator blew and I replaced it with a re-build. I put
new tires on and re-jetted the carburetor. After a while, I realized I
could buy a new bike for what I was spending fixing up the Yamaha. I
also began to realize I wanted something that was more
reliable and with "more power." Finally, I wanted to return to my
Harley-Davidson roots. I visited my local dealer and discovered that there
were several models of Harley-Davidson Sportster that were well within my
budget. At the time, it was taking about 6-9 months to take delivery on a
Sportster. I ordered my bike in October and sat back eagerly awaiting a
Spring delivery.
I took
delivery on my new Harley-Davidson XLH Sportster 883 on January 29, 2000. I customized the bike to include a tandem seat, seat back
rest, and carrier rack. In addition, I replaced the stock handle bars with
buckhorn handle bars, and added a tachometer and a windshield. The color was Bronze Pearl.
We
took delivery on our 2001 Harley-Davidson FXDL Dyna Low Rider in July, 2001.
The color was luxury rich red and black. I outfitted it with a windshield,
ape hanger handlebars with one inch risers, Kuryakyn Iso-grip hand grips, custom air
filter, billet aluminum air cleaner cover,
Screamin' Eagle slip on mufflers, Mustang seat, backrest, luggage rack,
saddle bags, engine guard, running lamps, and floorboard kit. When
finished, this bike drew a lot of attention. I rode the Dyna to the Harley
100th in Milwaukee and we were part of the 100th anniversary parade as well.
It was featured in the Easy Rider Harley-Davidson 100th Anniversary
supplement and in the August, 2004, edition of Motorcycle Cruiser
magazine. I put more than 35,000 miles on the bike and rode through Canada,
Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia,
Maryland, Virginia, Missouri, Arkansas, and North Carolina just to name a few places. The best
ride was through the Tail of the Dragon and the Cherohala Skyway in Tennessee and North Carolina.