Is motorcycling allowed?

[Hairy]

 

[Hairy]

Just now, Hairy said:

 

LOL .. I am "the Cool Guy" that morphs into "The Conversationalist"

[Hairy]

I had a site meeting in Franschhoek this mornings, so the only option was to take the scenic route via Philadelphia and the back roads to Franschhoek, which I should state was a phenomenal ride with almost no traffic through the rolling hills.

From the meeting via the pass and Theewaterskloof dam for a well earned Springbok Pie and fresh apple juice at Peregrine, and the inevitable slog after Sir Lowry's down the N2 and home to Sunningdale again. If I come back from Grabouw direction again, I will certainly be going via Stellies to tie back into the back roads to Philadelphia / Melkbos and home vs the mess that is the N2.

Had rain all the way from F/Hoek to Somerset West unfortunately, but it is what it is.....and I just washed the bloody bike yesterday.

My DIY Navigation System

[Hairy]

So go and get a battery replacement on the HD last night, and walk away with the knowledge that I need to replace the compensator in the not too distant future ... was a bit %#$%@#%^ off to the point that I just wanted to sell the bike and start with a new one again.

Then when I rode home I resigned myself to the fact that I like this bike and she will be staying a bit longer in my garage still.

New compensator = a decent chunk of cash I do not want to outlay on this bike

 

[WaynejG]

1 hour ago, Hairy said:

So go and get a battery replacement on the HD last night, and walk away with the knowledge that I need to replace the compensator in the not too distant future ... was a bit %#$%@#%^ off to the point that I just wanted to sell the bike and start with a new one again.

Then when I rode home I resigned myself to the fact that I like this bike and she will be staying a bit longer in my garage still.

New compensator = a decent chunk of cash I do not want to outlay on this bike

 

What does the compensator do?

[Hairy]

1 hour ago, WaynejG said:

What does the compensator do?

 

[IceCreamMan]

1 hour ago, WaynejG said:

What does the compensator do?

Thought the entire Harley is the “compensator” 😂

[Hairy]

1 minute ago, IceCreamMan said:

Thought the entire Harley is the “compensator” 😂

T'Sek

[Hairy]

A quick calc. tells me I have spent 21k so far in under two years on maintenance for the Harley, getting her to a good condition after the previous owners suspect maintenance.

 

[Hairy]

The if I add the cost of a new compensator, I am roughly at the price of what "I should have paid" for the Fat Bob in excellent condition ...... vs the steel of a deal I supposedly got from the dealer .

[IceCreamMan]

Harleys cost money to keep going, it’s just the way it is. 
 

and it goes for all bikes. They are not cheaper to run than cars, on the contrary. Even though I do most of the work on my bikes myself I would hate to calculate what I spend on them on maintenance items, tyres etc etc. 

My mighty Rf case in point. I bought it for 1100 quid. Have put many hours into it, probably spent 2 grand on it for services , tyres etc. etc and it’s now in pristine condition for its age and it’s worth around a grand.  But, it’s given me many memories including Scotland Nc500, wales, Isle of Man etc. money well spent. 

Edited March 7, 2023 by IceCreamMan

[Hairy]

3 hours ago, IceCreamMan said:

Harleys cost money to keep going, it’s just the way it is. 
 

and it goes for all bikes. They are not cheaper to run than cars, on the contrary. Even though I do most of the work on my bikes myself I would hate to calculate what I spend on them on maintenance items, tyres etc etc. 

My mighty Rf case in point. I bought it for 1100 quid. Have put many hours into it, probably spent 2 grand on it for services , tyres etc. etc and it’s now in pristine condition for its age and it’s worth around a grand.  But, it’s given me many memories including Scotland Nc500, wales, Isle of Man etc. money well spent. 

"My Guy" got back to me with a rather decent price on the replacement stator, so will look to going that route shortly.

I am starting to see it this way.

Bigger things on this bike would now be resolved. The stator on the 96Cui and up till 2014 were apparently know to have stators fail. The stator was designed for the 88Cui and they then carried it over to the 96Cui + and this could not handle the increase in power.

Other stuff should be all sorted now following my past servicing and preventative maintenance.

Soooo...after this little exercise she should be good to go for some time still ... other than may a new clutch cable, a new rear rotor and if I am feeling generous another for oil flush with a slightly heavier weight oil or a little more oil in the forks to carry the front a little higher up in the travel.

The other aspect is that I ride the bike almost daily, and I use her for both my day job and private work. I recon that in this guise she is cheaper to run on petrol, AND MAKES TIME/MONEY by being just so much quicker to get around.

Now if I drive my car to see a new client, they think nothing of it, when I pitch on the HD it always sparks a conversation and acts as a great icebreaker. So some serious value there.

At the moment I average over 1000km per month, and a 1000+km of fun each month, so priceless.

[Duane_Bosch]

19 hours ago, IceCreamMan said:

Thought the entire Harley is the “compensator” 😂

No No. That's an Over-compensator

[the nerd]

On 3/7/2023 at 6:51 PM, Hairy said:

"My Guy" got back to me with a rather decent price on the replacement stator, so will look to going that route shortly.

I am starting to see it this way.

Bigger things on this bike would now be resolved. The stator on the 96Cui and up till 2014 were apparently know to have stators fail. The stator was designed for the 88Cui and they then carried it over to the 96Cui + and this could not handle the increase in power.

Other stuff should be all sorted now following my past servicing and preventative maintenance.

Soooo...after this little exercise she should be good to go for some time still ... other than may a new clutch cable, a new rear rotor and if I am feeling generous another for oil flush with a slightly heavier weight oil or a little more oil in the forks to carry the front a little higher up in the travel.

The other aspect is that I ride the bike almost daily, and I use her for both my day job and private work. I recon that in this guise she is cheaper to run on petrol, AND MAKES TIME/MONEY by being just so much quicker to get around.

Now if I drive my car to see a new client, they think nothing of it, when I pitch on the HD it always sparks a conversation and acts as a great icebreaker. So some serious value there.

At the moment I average over 1000km per month, and a 1000+km of fun each month, so priceless.

I had to have my Stator replaced on my Versys, had it rewired and it worked flawlessly....

[Hairy]

Sorry, should not have abbreviated ... stator is different to a compensator.

The compensator is a fully mechanical device.

[Hairy]

Test road a GS R1200 yesterday

Nice bike.

Left the dealer on my HD.

HD just feels so good to ride.