Saturday, November 3, 2007

File Under "R" for Arrivederci"...

*Sigh*


This is the saddest day of the year - the day the Harley goes into storage for the winter. Owing to a combination of lack of garage space (especially with the monster-Ram!) and me being a lazy fuck, I store my FLHT at the dealership where I bought it (I think they actually ship them to a warehouse in Jersey, but that could be another dealer I'm thinking of...)


Yeah, I could pull the battery and drain the oil. But I won't. And I know I won't. Oh, I'll mean to. I might even go so far as to grab an oil pan and take the side covers off to get at the battery. But in the end, it'll sit in a corner of the garage all winter, improperly stored, such that in the spring I'll have to put more work into it to make sure it runs right.


So, instead, I take one last ride and send her off to be well-cared for throughout the winter. Last year it was 70º and sunny the day I brought her up for storage. That sucked.


This year? 40º, overcast, and 40 MPH winds (so windchil was somewhere in the 20s...). It was a good day to store a motorcycle for the winter...


Until April, adieu, mon amie...



*sniff* I miss her already...

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Check this out : http://girlsluvporn.blogspot.com

doubletrouble said...

"girlsluvpron"???
That's a bike thing?

ANYway lad, you tend to your chillun's (as you are obviously wont to do)over the wintah, & before you know it, you'll have the bugs in you teeth again.

Strings said...

Heh... I won't be puttin' the 'Potomus up until December. I'll be riding her in the Thanksgiving Parade here in Manty, then drive her to the garage she'll be stored in and worked on this winter (a friend a few miles south of town)...

Then, this spring (gawds willing), she'll be coming out with a totally different look...

Jay G said...

DT,

Yup. The way time keeps flying by, the bike'll be back before I know it.

And judging from the way my boy is growing, this next riding season I may have a new passenger. :)

strings,

You *ARE* going to take "before" and "after" pictures, right?

Strings said...

Of course, Jay!

and the "new version" is gonna give vent to my nautical past... ;)

Anonymous said...

Well... I do put Canth on a trickle charger... but I don't drain the oil because I never know when it's going to be over freezing and sunny out during a New England winter. Heck, now that I have a faired bike, I might have to go down to the South Shore and join my friend for the Chilly Willy ride on New Year's Day!

Store a bike??? Jay, man... you really are missing some good riding. Get some Gerbings gloves and a jacket liner, buy a full-face helmet, and RIDE.

Jay G said...

Ross,

First off, I need the room in the garage. Packing two kids into a freezing cold truck in blowing snow ain't no fun.

Secondly, I know me. I've BTDT with my '82 Magna - I carefully put it off to the side of the garage, fully intending to start her up two or three times a month, etc.

Then March rolls around, she's been sitting untouched for four months, and I have to push-start her down the driveway...

Not a big deal for a 750cc Honda; a much bigger deal for a 750 pound Harley...

Besides, as they say, absense makes the heart grow fonder...