Passes & Canyons Blog

I received an offer of a free pair of fancy ear plugs to review and all I needed to do was come out to Avalanche Harley-Davidson for their May Bike Night and connect with the vendor at their booth. Just to be sure, I googled Avalanche before I headed out and good thing! They moved.

While I was set to head out to Colfax and . . . what? Simms? . . . but instead it turns out Avalanche has moved to a huge new site out on what the map tells me is officially U.S. 40, but what I would think of as CO93, just north of I-70. If you remember where Heritage Square used to be, it’s right there. Heritage Square was set back up off the road and Avalanche and a bunch of other new shops are right there but right up along the road.

So OK, I didn’t waste my time going to the wrong place.

And what a huge, fancy new place it is. They have got to have at least 120 bikes on site ready for sale, and it’s not at all unusual to see bikes being ridden right in and out the front doors to/from the display floor.

Now, when someone buys a bike things really let loose. They fire up some loud music and then the buyer steps up and rings this big bell, announcing to everyone that they are now the proud owner of a new Harley. Then all the floor staff line up to shake the new owner’s hand. They make a big deal out of it.

So it makes me wonder. I’ve been reading for some time how motorcycle sales are dropping, and Harley especially is having trouble because the big cruisers they make don’t appeal to the young riders all the brands are looking for. This big new facility cannot have been cheap, and it is pretty much the standard for all the Harley shops across the country. Is somebody getting ready to take a big financial fall, or are these places going to continue to thrive? I have no idea. It will be interesting to see in the next few years.

Biker Quote for Today

Gawd’s honest truth, never give up the asphalt…The bike wants to turn more than you do, at least try to help it do so…

OK, I admit, I’m just like you, I’m really busy this holiday season and I’m not averse to taking the easy way out: I’m putting up some Examiner Resurrection pieces. We’re going back here to 2010, but this is still relevant.

I spent four days on a Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail recently, hoping to understand at last the reasons why so many people are so fanatically devoted to the brand. I recapped my thoughts the first couple days out but now I’m ready to speak about my total experience and the conclusions I’ve reached.

Hint: I’m not converted, but I think I understand more now.

Ease of riding
The No. 1 understanding I came to on the Harley is that this bike is just incredibly easy to ride. Let’s compare it to my primary bike, my 1999 Kawasaki Concours.

The Concours is a tall bike to begin with, and with my 30-inch inseam it took some getting used to. The Softail has a much lower seat height, making it very easy for me to plant my feet widely and firmly on the ground at a stop. The Connie also has a 7.5-gallon gas tank that sits way up high, making for a very high center of gravity. Center of gravity on the Softail is very low, which makes the handling much more stable at low speeds. I never once came anywhere close to dropping it, whereas I have dropped the Kawi a couple times.

The power delivery on the Softail is very different from what I’m accustomed to so that took some getting used to. My Kawi has a high-revving engine and it has a ton of power. It’s very fast and the gearing is such that you don’t have to shift constantly in situations where you’re frequently speeding up and slowing down. My first impression of the Softail was that I all too frequently needed to downshift from the upper gears. To a certain extent I think that is true, but what I found with experience is that mostly that’s just the low-rev, loping v-twin and it would go along fine at the slower speed but then pick right back up with the twist of the throttle.

The bottom line here is that, while it probably took me two years to become totally comfortable on my Concours, I was right at home on the Softail within an hour or two. Now, having gotten comfortable on the Connie, I’m extremely comfortable on it and like it very much. And with longer legs it wouldn’t have taken that long. But I don’t think most people are willing to be that patient, so I can see the attraction of the Harley.

Riding comfort
Having a broad, well-padded seat was a real joy for me on that Softail. My other bike, my 1980 Honda CB750 Custom, has a reasonably comfortable seat but after doing a ride to California and back on a trip that included numerous long-mileage days, I swore never to do that again. I went out and bought my Concours. The Connie is a much better touring bike but even its seat gets hard after awhile. The seat on the Softail was a huge improvement.

Another thing I liked was the floorboards. With the floorboards I could shift my foot position a little or a lot, and even stretch my legs out completely straight. The key here is the knees. None of my buddies likes trading bikes with me and I think that has a lot to do with their aging knees. I suspect that sitting with your knees always bent as you must when your pegs are below you is just not something that works for them any more.

I, on the other hand, prefer to have my pegs beneath me because I want to stand up when I go over a bump and let my legs absorb the shock. The first big bump I hit on the Softail threw me way up off the seat and back down hard. I did find, though, that with my feet on the back edges of the floorboards, and a good grip on the handgrips, I could raise myself off the seat for bumps and minimize the impact. I still prefer pegs below me, however, and my knees are still limber enough that I can ride that way comfortably. Besides, highway pegs allow you to stretch your legs out, too. That said, I do, again, see the attraction of the Harley for a lot of folks.

While the Softail’s seat was comfortable, and you can get custom seats with better lumbar support, I strongly prefer the riding position on my Connie. Stock, the Connie had an intolerable reach to the grips, so the very first thing I did when I bought it was install risers that brought the grips back and up three inches. That made all the difference in the world. Now I have just a slight forward reach that keeps me in an erect, upright position, which is a good posture for your back. Having the pegs underneath you also helps foster that good posture.

The Softail, on the other hand, encouraged me to slouch. And after four days I could tell. My back was hurting.

Details
One negative aspect of the Softail’s low profile is the potential for contact with hot exhaust pipes. I discovered this one rainy day when I noticed black marks on the pipes. Then I noticed a spot on my black rain pants that was clearly melted a bit. Apparently you have to be careful at a stop to set your right foot down away from the bike so as to avoid this sort of thing. I also apparently let the heel of my boot touch the pipes while riding with my feet back on the floorboards, and that got melted, too.

This has never been an issue with my Honda or my Kawasaki. Sitting up higher as they do, there is room for the pipes to go beneath the pegs, and I’ve never touched those pipes with anything.

Ground clearance is another issue. Riding the bikes I’ve owned, I had never scraped hard parts until just recently when I took a Harley Sportster for a demo ride. Both my bikes are shaped live a V when you view them from in front or behind, and you’d need to lean a long way over to touch anything on the ground. Not so with the Softail. Swooping through curves on the New Priest Grade Road I scraped the floorboards and I wasn’t even leaning all that far. I’m not saying that’s a problem, but it’s definitely a difference.

I liked the very clearly defined shifting on the Softail. It gave a loud thunk dropping into the next gear, so it was always clear whether you had or had not flicked that shift lever far enough. There have been times on my bikes, particularly between first and second, where I didn’t make it all the way into gear and didn’t realize it until I let the clutch out and twisted the throttle.

I wasn’t impressed with the Softail’s brakes. I’m generally heavy on the front brake and only use the rear brake when I need extra stopping power. With the Softail I had to use the rear brake almost as much as the front. The front just didn’t do the job. Surely Harley can do better than that.

It took some adjustment for me to look to the gas tank for the instrument cluster. And I didn’t like having to take my eyes off the road to do so. Both my bikes have the instruments up on top of the fork where I can still watch the road while checking the dials and gauges.

The Softail surprised me with how smooth it was. I’ve seen plenty of Harleys that, at idle, shake like a paint mixer but that was not the case here. I definitely prefer smooth. Also surprisingly, it was a bit rougher at highway speed.

Lastly, I liked the idea that the bike won’t start without the key fob in close proximity, so with our frequent stops I wasn’t constantly inserting and removing the key. I’d use the key in the morning, then all day long I’d just turn the bike off and walk away. Coming back to it I’d just turn the switch and push the Start button. Then use the key for complete shut-down at night.

Harley or cruiser?
While these riding impressions all have to do with the Softail I was on, I suspect most are applicable to any dressed out cruiser. In other words, I’m not certain whether I’ve gained a better understanding of the Harley mystique or simply a better understanding of the cruiser mystique.

Of course one thing many Harley owners point to with pride is the fact that their bikes are “American iron.” That’s as opposed to, say, Star’s Royal Star Venture, which is made in Japan, I presume. I’ll point out, however, that Kawasaki operates a plant in Lincoln, NE, which until recently produced motorcycles. I may be wrong but I believe that’s where my Concours was made, so how much more American-made is a Road King with Kiehin carbs and Brembo brakes than my Connie?

So no, I’m not converted, but at least I don’t find it such a mystery. The Softail is a comfortable bike that is easy to ride and feel at home on. Presumably that’s true for the whole Harley line-up, with the possible exception of the V-Rod. I think especially for aging riders, and there are a lot of those out there, cruisers are absolutely the way to go. Maybe that will even include me one day. But not yet.

Biker Quote for Today

Motorcycle adventures are the perfect antidote to middle age. — Alex Morritt

by Matt Wessels

The Vintage movement is in full force and old motorcycles are finding their way back to daylight and backroads in record numbers. This year will mark the 5th annual Vintage Motorcycle Show in Golden, Colorado.

Heritage Square will host the event one last time before they close their doors at the end of 2015, and all of their facilities will be operational for the show. Those facilities include bathrooms, restaurants, and a bar.

Erico Motorsports, GrandPrix Motorsports Indian and Foothills Triumph/BMW will be there showcasing some of the factory retro motos. Last year they had a half-million dollar Vincent show up, by the name of the Black Prince. It might make a re-appearance at this year’s show.

The show (Sunday, June 7) is open to anybody with a vintage motorcycle following the structure of a controlled open floor. To enter, respond to the evite and drop a comment so that Bob can get an idea of how many bikes there will be. Being a part of the show is just as free as attending it. They are taking donations for Hospice care, so bring some stray bills to support a good cause!

Much like the show being a celebration of all that was good and right in the motorcycle world, the Hospice donations are a celebration of good people who make it their life’s work to increase the quality of life for those who can not completely provide it for themselves. The idea was started when a friend was immensely impressed with the Hospice workers who take care of his mom, and wanted to give back.

The VJMC is also giving back by footing the bill for the event and wants all motorcycles from all backgrounds, manufacturers, and styles to attend. This isn’t a profitable endeavor, this is simply two enthusiasts who want to bring like-minded people together and celebrate good bikes, good food, good talk, and good experiences.

If you missed the link up above, go HERE to register for attendance. IT’S FREE!

For any other questions or comments, please reach out to Bob @ superhawk65@gmail.com

Many of the same folks meet at the GB Fish and Chips on the first Thursday of every month for Old Bike Night. There are a few other Old Bike Night meetups around the front range area, but not all necessarily connected with this one.

You know this is going to be a long shot, but hey, someone has to win, right? Might be you.

Alan passed this along to me. Seems Harley-Davidson is having a contest where the winner gets to ride a Harley they provide through Europe for two months, all expenses paid. They want you to tell everyone about your ride and at the end they’ll give you 25,000 euros and you get to keep the bike. How totally sweet would that be?

And yeah, like I said, your chances of being picked, or mine, are pretty dang slim but you cannot win if you do not play.

Here’s a bit of what H-D has to say about your entry:

Sounds good doesn’t it?

Think you’ve got what it takes? Send your application to discovermore@harley-davidson.com and tell us:

• A bit about yourself and why you want the job
• The dream ride you’d like to do in Europe
• Your passion for motorcycle riding
• What makes you the right candidate

A great way to tell us your story is to upload a short video online (send us the YouTube link) that tells us exactly why you are the best person for the job, but how you submit your application is completely up to you! Just remember to also share links to your social media profiles with your submission.

If you’re interested you have until March 20 to get your entry in. Of course they want you to promote the whole thing on your social media venues. It’s all about advertising, and doing so pretty inexpensively. That’s how things work these days. Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it.

Biker Quote for Today

I don’t always ride my Harley, but when I do I take my tools and cellphone.

I was really annoyed when I found that registration was closed for demo rides on the prototype electric Harley-Davidson LiveWire. I had gotten an email inviting me to come see it and ride it and I had replied asking if I needed to do anything or just show up. I guess it was a mass email, though they did a good job of making it seem personal, and I got no reply. So doing a quick check before heading over to Mile High Harley-Davidson I spotted a link to register and clicked it. Registration was closed. Rats.

OK, I figured, I still want to see the bike, and they say you can do a stationary demo even if you can’t go for an actual ride. Plus, it might be that some folks who registered will fail to show up and I can still get a ride. So I went on over.

I walked up and a woman asked me if I had a reservation. I said no and she immediately asked if I’d like to be put on the waiting list. You bet. She said check back in 20 minutes.

In the meantime, I got all the paperwork done and took a spin on the stationary bike they had set up with rollers. It was a real bike and it really ran, you just didn’t go anywhere. It was a good introduction to how the bike works so they wouldn’t have to explain all that when you were getting ready to actually ride. And they shot your picture and emailed it to you. That’s me up above.

At the appointed time I checked back and they had a bike available, but there was one guy ahead of me on the list. She went searching for him but couldn’t find him so I was in. Run grab my helmet off my bike.

We got the usual demo lecture and they walked us through start and getting ready. You have two modes to ride in, Range Ride and Power Ride, the first getting better miles out of a charge in the battery, the second giving you more power (read: fun). I chose Power Ride.

One thing they made absolutely clear was that “This bike accelerates and brakes unlike any other bike you’ve ever ridden.” I’ve ridden electric bikes built by Zero so the acceleration part was not true for me, but the braking part was. I’ll come back to that in a moment.

We pulled out. The ride leader was determined to let us see how these puppies ran so he set a quick pace. Of course there are no gears to shift, you just twist the throttle. Acceleration was hard and smooth. (I’d been told earlier that the bike will go 0 to 60 in four seconds.) And there wasn’t a bit of the Harley “potato-potato” rumble. You did hear the drive belt.

Handling was great. This is a sportbike with that sort of agility and that sort of riding position. Not a tight, cramped position, but rather, a comfortable one. With your feet below you, not out in front. That’s how I like it.

One thing made it totally clear that these are prototypes and that is the mirrors. Yes, in order to be street legal they had to have mirrors but I had to look for them. It turned out they are below the handlebars and were totally hidden by my hands. Worthless. Even once I found them I couldn’t see a thing in them. Heck, I almost couldn’t see them.

And then there’s the brake. Pretty much all electric bikes use regenerative braking in order to extend the battery range. This uses the turning of the motor or wheels in braking to generate power that is fed back into the battery.

Well, Harley has carried it to the max. When you want to stop on the LiveWire you just release the throttle. The bike stops quickly. But 99% of the time you stop without ever touching the brake; you just taper off on the throttle till you get to where you actually want to stop completely. Then maybe you use the brake. Maybe. Or maybe you use the brake then to keep from rolling. They did suggest that you tap the brakes once to let the person behind you know you’re stopping.

So how did I like it overall? I liked it. It was fun. It was fast, it handled well, and it’s a motorcycle. What’s not to like?

Will I buy one if Harley builds them for sale. I’ve never been a Harley guy and I’ve never wanted any Harley I’ve ever seen. If they build this thing it will be the first Harley I’ve ever even considered buying. But they’ve got a long road to go to get the range up to where they’re competitive with other electric bikes out there, and the price would have to be reasonable.

But if they do bring it out, will I want one? Yes.

Biker Quote for Today

If you want a motorcycle just because of the way it sounds, do yourself (and us) a favor and find a different hobby please.

I’m doing this as a favor to my wife’s niece but if you’re interested it might be a favor to you, too.

The school Mindy’s kids go to is holding an online art auction to raise money for . . . I don’t know, she didn’t say. Schools always need money, right?

So one of the offerings–or maybe there’s two copies offered, not clear on that either–is a picture done by renowned motorcycle artist David Uhl. You can go to his website to see what he’s all about. I guess the guy has been around quite awhile and is pretty successful. I think you’ll like some of his stuff that you can see on the site.

The photo in the auction is the one pictured above. I deliberately took a screen grab from search results because of course the picture is copyrighted and I’m hoping it’s OK for me to use it in this manner so that prospective buyers can see what it is they’re being asked to bid on. Hey David, if you don’t like it let me know and I’ll take the image down. Just trying to be helpful here. The point is, they don’t have an image on the auction site, so who’s going to bid on something like this sight unseen.

This particular picture is one Uhl did at Harley’s request for their 100th anniversary. Mindy says that “They are really nicely framed and will likely go for around $400-500 but retail at ~$2000 from what I see on the website. (I think that is unframed.)” So if you’re a fan of Uhl then this could be your chance to get a real bargain. Plus, right at this moment, probably at least in part because there’s no image to show prospective bidders what it is, there are no bids on the piece.

In case you can’t make out what it is, it’s a crated Harley getting loaded onto a horse-drawn wagon to be delivered somewhere. Here’s what Uhl’s site says of the picture.

There is a symbolism to this work; the warm light of the factory spills out onto the fresh snow on the street. The early dawn seems silent, but this is just the beginning. New crated motorcycles are being loaded onto a horse-drawn flatbed wagon, and America has no idea yet that these powerful machines will become the symbol of freedom and independence that they are today. The horses appear slightly impatient; ready to get this show on the road!

OK. I hope it sells and someone gets a really good deal, while the school makes some money.

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Biker Quote for Today

On a perpetual dirty road tour in the land of Hicks and Nothing…

A fellow down the street has been riding a Harley for, I don’t know, a year? Maybe two. But now the bike is for sale. Wonder why?

So we were out for a walk Saturday and one of the guys living in this house was out on the porch smoking. “Why are you selling the Harley?” I asked. I don’t know these guys, I don’t know who owns it, but I figured this was sufficient to kick off a discussion. It did.

“It’s my buddy’s. Yeah, it’s for sale.”

“Why?”

“He’s got no one to ride with. It’s no fun riding alone.”

And we continued walking.

Wow. No fun riding alone. That is so wrong, and such a sad reason to quit riding.

OK, so first, this is a young single guy and his idea of having a motorcycle is probably to go for an occasional cruise with a bunch of friends and hit a few bars. I can see how that doesn’t work if you don’t have someone to ride with. It’s not about the riding, it’s about the socializing.

So does he really not care about the actual riding? Because if he does it’s not that hard to find people to ride with, and then to make friends with others who ride. First off, there are plenty of organized rides he could go to. And then there are clubs. After all, the guy has a Harley–all he would have to do is go on some of the rides by the HOG group sponsored by the dealer he bought the bike from. He’d meet plenty of other riders there. Lots of socializing.

But you know me, I have to take exception to the whole idea that riding alone is no fun. Sure, I like riding with friends, but when you get down to it, I probably enjoy riding alone the best. People think of freedom when they think of motorcycles and there is no freedom like being on your own. You go where you want to go, stop when you want to stop, do whatever it is you–you–want to do.

I can’t count the number of times I’ve been riding with the OFMC and I’ve seen something I wanted to stop for but didn’t because I didn’t want to interrupt the ride. The more people in your group the longer it takes to get rolling again. And then I have regretted again and again not having stopped. No, riding with the guys has its pluses but it definitely has its minuses as well.

I could ramble on and on with this particular topic but I won’t. If you never ride alone, maybe you should try it. Isn’t simply riding the bike fun?

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Biker Quote for Today

To ride or not to ride? That is a stupid question.

Can you believe it? I showed up at the Frontier Club Saturday for the party and games that followed ABATE‘s Randy Run, and even bought a fourth ticket in the raffle, but the KLR 650 I had planned on taking home was given to someone else! That bike was mine! Some guy named Rod Sommerall (sp?) from Highlands Ranch. And he wasn’t even there to ride the bike home.

Actually, the raffle was a little anticlimactic because none of the three winners were present. Second and third place prizes were a Garmin GPS unit and a bluetooth communicator set. You didn’t have to be present to win. But it just lacked in impact when they called these three names and nobody stepped forward.

Figuring to make up for that a little, one of the guys in the band stepped up and called for the t-shirt he had donated to the silent auction. It was one of those typical Harley-Davidson dealership t-shirts, except this one said Kandahar Harley-Davidson, Afghanistan. I have no idea if there is a Kandahar H-D dealership but there is definitely a shirt.

So the band guy announced that they would keep pulling tickets out of the hopper until someone who was actually there won that shirt. It took several more draws but someone did finally win it.

Overall sales of the raffle tickets was disappointing for ABATE, although they did make a profit. A maximum of 2,500 tickets had been set but when I spoke with ABATE State Coordinator Terry Howard before the drawing she told me they had sold fewer than 1,000. That may have changed, however, as tickets were selling like crazy before the drawing. But I’m sure it was still nothing close to 2,500.

Apparently, though, this raffle was just a toe in the water, and immediately after the raffle a new raffle began and this time the top prize is a Harley. ABATE will have to sell a lot more tickets to break even on a bike that expensive but you have to suspect there will be a lot more people interested. I’ll pass along details and a link on that once they are available. But I don’t think I’ll buy any tickets for this raffle. I really wanted the KLR.

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Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re a biker if your ol’ lady can only eat a hot dog if it’s suspended from a string above your bike.