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I was hoping to meet you today, Panther. I approached several possible candidates asking if they were you.

Another time, perhaps.

Last Thursday afternoon late one of the Engineering SW packages I went completely stupid. Major memory leak which ended up chewing up all the RAM and even the hard drive space (it had swap-out privileges). As if that wasn't bad enough, it started taking already allocated memory space! It eventually trashed the Program Files and the OS on that machine. I know it wasn't a virus because all my virus SW is up-to-date and run frequently and I went through the system dump and found what happened. Fortunately, I backup everything, I have a bootable recovery CD, and I was able to move the files that I was working on the minute I saw impending doom... mere seconds before the crash. So, I didn't lose any work. Unfortunately, I spent all of Thursday night and all day Friday getting that system back up and running. Friday evening, right as I finished and decided to call it quits for the weekend, I got a call from a client who simply had to have some things by this morning. Soooooo... I spent most of the weekend working... Including most of Saturday and ALL day Sunday. E-mailed that client the files/info he needed last night (this morning) at 12:38AM. Got some sleep and went right back at it ~8:30AM. I just decided to come check the forums after doing some e-mail responses. To tell the truth, I don't even know what Apple you're talking about. I'm kind of in a work blur right now.

I can tell you're not having fun.

Seventeen-hundred apple pies awaited the arrival of 2-wheeled apple lovers for the annual Vermont Apple Pie Run was yesterday. I thought you were up on those things? Don't answer! You don't sound so happy today either.

Anyway, I did look for you, tapping on about three or four shoulders, ready to make a self-introduction.

The ride consisted of a little over 300 miles of rain with showers and intermittent breaks. There was about an hour of no wetness THERE [minor miracle]. There were bikes everywhere, converging on this tiny Vermont village, even with the rain. As we were leaving, the heavens opened up and vacillated between prodigious and light rainfall except for a brief interlude near the border. Boots still soaked, bike filthy! But lotsa fun.

On the way up about close to 20 bikes ahead, a Road King with passenger [driver too!] went down. Takes a lot of bikers to lift up a laden Road King laying the wrong way on a twisty steep incline. Occupants ok but it's my bet that they weren't having fun either.

BTW: What do you think of a

Deep Sea wrote:I can tell you're not having fun.

These things are all part of the game, so I just roll with it...

Anyway, I did look for you, tapping on about three or four shoulders, ready to make a self-introduction.

We'll have to see what happens over the next week or so. I'd have liked to meet up as well... even if I can afford to forego the pie!

I'm pushing it a little on my back tire right now. I'll definitely need a new one by the next service in a little less than 2k miles, so I try to avoid too much road moisture right now. ifyaknowhatimean...

On the way up about close to 20 bikes ahead, a Road King with passenger {driver too!} went down. Takes a lot of bikers to lift up a laden Road King laying the wrong way on a twisty steep incline. Occupants ok but it's my bet that they weren't having fun either.

They're heavy machines, that's for sure. The Ultra weighs even more. There's a trick to picking one up. (My wife says, "sure there is... it's called adrenaline!")

BTW: What do you think of a

Well that depends on what "a" you're referring to!

Thinking of playing hookey part of this PM and going for a "foliage ride" up north. It all depends on how far I get with the latest "bug"...

1) Things like that are part of the game with me too, also in the software world, only I've been known to say "Mismanagement on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part."

2) Think of a what? Whoops... ...a Wide glide and/or Low Rider and/or Softail. Almost latched onto a Low Rider yesterday. Want Ape Hangers and forward controls but I can mitigate the hangers and am looking for a hydraulic clutch. I am designing an electric clutch

2.1) I just got a call to look at a decked-out '04 Night Train as I was completing this.

3) I can do the ride up there to pay you a visit when/if you see clearly through the s/w morass long enough to breathe a sigh of relief..

4) Organized Foliage run?

5) Let me get this right. A Road King rising ceremony is called an Adrenalizer.

6) V-rods are death traps. One can loose a foot very easily, even with boots if he drops it on the right side at any kind of speed. Rolling back the film to sometime last week... There's one with my name engraved in the tank, er air cleaner, spelled "Big Dent." It had problems and stalled several times as Dennis was getting ready to ride it; the salesman had to restart it and a big plume of black smoke billowed from the pipes on the second startup. It cleared up, smoothed-out and D drove it, grinning from ear-to-ear when he came back. Knowing what he had done, I was going to give it a try and then just as I was entering the major highway from the parking lot, it did for me what it did for D when he first started it. The machine sputtered as I fed it gas, would not recover and just died. I think it had fouled injectors or at least something in the ESPFI was faulty.

I cut the wheel w/o power to get out of the highway, and I'll tell you that when that bike goes down it goes down fast, REAL FAST. Skid Lid pith makes one hell of a funny cracking sound when it hits the pavement at a decent velocity; hot pipes TRAP the leg under it just above the ankle; good thing I was wearing leathers.

Deep Sea wrote:1) Things like that are part of the game with me too, also in the software world, only I've been known to say "Mismanagement on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part."

When employed as an employee for a company and something happens because of some middle/upper mismanagement, I feel exactly the same way. However, when you work for yourself, trying to make clients (who are the ones that tend to pay the bills around here ) happy... When they say "jump", 95% of the time, I say "how high"...

2) Think of a what? Whoops... ...a Wide glide and/or Low Rider and/or Softail. Almost latched onto a Low Rider yesterday. Want Ape Hangers and forward controls but I can mitigate the hangers and am looking for a hydraulic clutch. I am designing an electric clutch

A Night Train is basically a blacked-out Wide Glide. I like all of them and for most of the folks I ride with, one of those is the choice. These are the "classic" biker Harleys. I like the heritage springer or the Low Rider of these personally. It's all a matter of taste and preference. For me, if I were going solo and not doing road trips, I like the Fat Boy. But for road trips, there's really nothing like the Road King, Road Glide, Electra Glide Classic or Ultra. For taking a passenger, the Classic or Ultra offers the best passenger setup. And for long hauls, passenger comfort and "extras", that's why I have the Ultra for the two of us. My wife, by necessity, has to have a Low Rider. Otherwise, her tootsies don't touch the ground! (Or she'll need a lowered sportster) I prefer her not having her own bike. I like the close proximity of riding together.

I am completely opposed to "Ape Hangers" for a number of reasons, but the fact is that many States (including MA) have laws which are vigorously enforced against any handle bars which place your hands above your shoulders. And while sitting upright, you might be within the law, the fact is that most folks, especially with Ape Hangers, tend to slouch when riding. And that puts their shoulders way below their hands. Also, having ridden with them at a much younger age, I know that you just don't have as much control or manueverability with them.

2.1) I just got a call to look at a decked-out '04 Night Train as I was completing this.

One thing I really like about the blacked out Night Train is the fact that you don't have to spend all that time polishing all that chrome! I almost wish there was a "night train" Ultra available! (Especially with the Screaming Eagle 103 engine... Yowsah! I'd march right down and put one on order.)

3) I can do the ride up there to pay you a visit when/if you see clearly through the s/w morass long enough to breathe a sigh of relief..

4) Organized Foliage run?

Who knows how much foliage will be left by next weekend, especially with this wind, but if it's decent weather, I know a great ride up through Southern NH/VT and Western MA. Great views. I just had that same machine start to go south again. Perhaps I'll take the backup drive out and rebuild the box with a new motherboard. I've been looking at a nice dual processor board that's liquid cooled and overclocked to 3.5GHz for the processors. Then I'll load a newer OS on it (XP pro) and put in the 80gig backup drive as a secondary drive so I can get to the files. But that takes time to build and I'm busy getting the two custom designed boards I have on the lab bench running.

5) Let me get this right. A Road King rising ceremony is called an Adrenalizer.

Ummmmm... Yep! As long as no one is hurt! You can buy a new bike/car, you can't buy a new you.

6) V-rods are death traps. One can loose a foot very easily, even with boots if he drops it on the right side at any kind of speed. Rolling back the film to sometime last week... There's one with my name engraved in the tank, er air cleaner, spelled "Big Dent." It had problems and stalled several times as Dennis was getting ready to ride it; the salesman had to restart it and a big plume of black smoke billowed from the pipes on the second startup. It cleared up, smoothed-out and D drove it, grinning from ear-to-ear when he came back. Knowing what he had done, I was going to give it a try and then just as I was entering the major highway from the parking lot, it did for me what it did for D when he first started it. The machine sputtered as I fed it gas, would not recover and just died. I think it had fouled injectors or at least something in the ESPFI was faulty.

I cut the wheel w/o power to get out of the highway, and I'll tell you that when that bike goes down it goes down fast, REAL FAST. Skid Lid pith makes one hell of a funny cracking sound when it hits the pavement at a decent velocity; hot pipes TRAP the leg under it just above the ankle; good thing I was wearing leathers.

I have heard nothing but good things about the V-Rods. Everyone I know that has them, loves them. In fact, I'd like to see the V-Rod liquid cooled engine on some of the other Harleys... If the dealer put me on one (even for a test ride) that was running that crappy, I'd ream him a new one! It is their responsibility to put you on a properly running machine. Grrrrrrr.... I completely agree that for some of us, the lack of floorboards is a very good reason not to buy one though. I just love my floorboards!

I feel exactly the same way. However, when you work for yourself, trying to make clients

I've been known to bite my tongue on that issue as well. But I don't jump. I finished my last contract normally; management wanted me to jump near the end and I could have made some bux doing so, but I did risk early termination by telling them it was family first. With Chris going in the Navy during those negotiations, family time was far more important and I had no qualms making that an issue.

I have heard nothing but good things about the V-Rods.

Same here, touted highly, etc. They haul ass, look sharp, and are priced right too, especially wanted to look at the VRSCB.

I got one that was messed up and the results are what really turned me off. It was pure neglect on the part of the dealer to demo a machine like that and when it sputtered, coughed, and smoked I almost pulled Dennis off the bike with a gut feel that there was something wrong with it. I'm glad I paid for that decision and not D.

And when someone from the office shook the waiver that I signed as I was licking my wounds I almost told him that waver did not cover neglect on his part, but I let it go.

For the dealer's decision of equipment neglectfulness, my decision at that time was not to do business with him.

Now, for my next bike, I considered very carefully building my own, read-up on quite a bit of literature over the past several months, and I can do it -- a piece of cake.. I can build a superior bike over what any factory offers and already know frame, engine, tranny, wheels, etc. to use. However, Harley bikes have the best resale value of anything and everything whereas a chopper would be marketable to select few individuals. I may build one yet and it will be wild, but right now I’m thinking comfy transportation for my old bones on long trips.

I located a basic Low-Rider, FXDLI, cast wheels and nothing else except for the best price. A lot of the goodies I put on the Sportster will fit on the Low Rider, such as the windshield, light bar, etc. What doesn’t can fit on D’s 883.

There could be plenty of riding time left before it gets snowy, and I’m hedging my bets that there will be enough to make it worth my while to spring in the fall rather than to spring in the spring.

Speaking about Springers, The way the front end of them is set up is a mechanical engineer’s dream. Lotsa chrome but I hear the suspension is rather stiff. I’m looking for comfort.

Got to go without finishing everything I want to write about, but the gears have been set in motion for the Low Rider.

Continues...

Thanks to take the time with your opinions and words on what I've written so far Panther, because much of it, if not all, has been and is a valuable aid in helping me formulate my own opinions and decisions.

1) Function First, Form Second: My first priority is saomething to ride on comfortably for 100+ miles a day, every day. That is mandating my decision to move up. I really like what I have and don't want a different or larger bike but that's the only place to go for additional creature comforts. I've pretty much made the Sportster deliver what it can in that arena, but that's not enough.

2) Ape Hangers: Several peope with whom I ride cruise on Wide Glides. Arm height is acceptably lower than shoulder height on the legal issues of what I've seen so far, even with slouching. However, the part that concerns me is circulation. The hands are positioned above heart level. I've asked of several riders the question about hands falling asleep on long rides [pins and needles, going numb], and the answers I hear indicate hangers are not for me.

3) The bike I demoed before the V-rod was a Wide Glide. I liked it's handling so much I forgot I was supposed to put only xx miles on it and somehow accidentally missed my turn the prescibed path [whoops]. However there was one thing I definitely didn't like. Although the pavement was dry it often felt as if the front tire was rolling on ice when maneuvering the bars a little. I played with that characteristic a little for experimentation. A bike is an extention of the rider and I want that particular feedback to occur only when skipping across the real thing so's certain reflexes dont become unconditioned.

4) I am really torn between a Dyna and a Softail because of the engine setup. Rubber mounts is better sometimes and counter-balancing at others and it all depends upon the type of riding. Remember, I'm seeking to remove the vibrations a-la-Sportster style from both the bars and from the rump end as well. There is a decent percentage split bewtween high-speed Interstate riding and meandering back-roads country-style riding therefore the seection becomes pretty much objective. I want to get away from the hard kick of the Sporster rear end on a rough road as well as the constant seat vibration, esp. at highway speeds.

5) Of my interests in another bike, the Night Rider catches my eye and heart the most; a basically all-black bike looks sharp and stealthy to me. Easy maintenance appeals to me as well. However, there is a certain beauty in safety to be on top of as much chrome as possible. I enjoy the way chrome reflects headlights in low visibility as in night, rain, and in the morning dew.

We're talking about a "foliage" ride this coming saturday... Or a "non-foliage" ride as the case may be. If you're interested, I'll keep in touch with weather and plans.