Store your Bushtec Trailer in less space by standing it upright.  My 10 second review:  I love this thing!!!  Full evaluation coming soon!

Working on my next evaluation.  Installed the headsets today and hope to install the Freewire soon.

Seeking out new products to evaluate at the American International Motorcycle Expo.

You can read about it here!

construction-of-the-shed

LED Headlights from The Electrical Connection and LED High Beams from SoCalMotoGear.

lighting-your-way

“This is my last headlight/high beam evaluation”!  There have been a number of times I’ve been tempted to make that statement.  Perhaps someday I will, but not right now.

Today was a day for installing LED headlights from ABC, high beams from XYZ and a windshield wiper from ICTYRN*.

In preparation of the tasks awaiting me time was invested yesterday researching how other people have attempted getting to & replacing the high beam bulbs on 2001-2005 GL1800s.  Read a bunch about tiny hands, scrapped knuckles & remove the vents so you can see what you are doing…nothing of use.  One thing doing evaluations has done is to make me proficient at removing the seat and top shelter.  This takes far less time than trying to do all four front lights wasting time fumbling around, dropping things and not being able to reach & see what you need to access at the same time.  Some people mentioned the “metal bar” that obstructs access.  With the shelter removed take out one easy to get to bolt on each side and the bars move out of the way.  On top of all of this you are two push pins away from removing the “air tunnels” making the job even easier.  This would be a great time to service the air filter had I not cleaned it the last time I did the high beams.  A side effect of doing all of this was the ease with which the harness for the wiper motor was routed to the battery.

Looking forward to taking a ride tonight when it is quite dark outside to see how the new lights perform.  While I’m not anticipating headlights as bright as the HID lights they replaced they should be much better than the original Halogen lights.  What they should do is give a much more “stock” lighting pattern.  The new high beams should likewise outperform the lower output LED bulbs now sitting in a box in the garage.

We are anticipating a hot weekend here, I’ll be spending much of it in my air-conditioned living room writing up my next article(s).

*I Can’t Tell You Right Now…(sorry)!

P.S.  Just went out for a ride.  The evening sky had not fully darkened yet the situation was quite illuminating.  Having at one time ridden with HID headlights and high beams I never thought I could say this about LEDs up front…WOW!

How does your Wing compare to newer models?

Early in the 1970s Kermit Shields entered my life and enriched it by introducing me to motorcycles. Kermit redefined for me the term “friend” and although life’s circumstances have put several thousand miles between us I’ve always felt close to him. Earlier this evening I learned of the passing of his wife Maria. Tonight…I share in his sorrow.

Click to access 14_october2015_helibars.pdf

Okay, there is more to the story than acquiring a favored snack.  Last fall Lyn and I were on the other side of the border in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada where we discovered Sour Cream & Bacon Ruffles.  They are fantastic!  (No, this is not another product review)!  After returning home we discovered this product is not available for purchase on our side of the dividing line.

Twice in my motorcycling life I’ve traveled in excess of a thousand miles in under 24 hours but never documented the experience.  The last time was probably 25 years ago or more.  For quite some time now my goal has been to get certification from the Iron Butt Association.  A few weeks back I started researching an appropriate route and decided to head northeast and looked to see how far I-95 went through Maine.  Starting from home and heading in that direction was a series of highways forming an almost straight line that stretches just over 500 miles to the Canadian Border.

It would be nice to have a little more justification to this undertaking.  I had noticed that Heli Modified, the company that makes the Heil-Bars I am reviewing, is in Maine and not far off my intended route.  After discussing this with Harry, President of Heli Modified, the goals were set:  Head for Walmart in Woodstock, New Brunwsick for Ruffles, tour Heli Modified and take photos for the review, travel 1000+ miles in under 24 hours and make it home for dinner.

Unfortunately…didn’t make it back in time for dinner.  Everything else was accomplished despite the weather.  Hit the road 24 minutes after Midnight.  Stopped to fill up just over the New Hampshire/Maine border only to have it start raining.  There was supposed to be little or no rain so all I brought was the jacket to my rain suit.  The rain, heavy at times, stopped shortly after the next fuel stop.  Nearly 3 hours of riding in some of the worst rain I’ve ever had the misfortune to ride through and well before daylight.

There was a little more rain later on in the afternoon.  Despite this, I made it home with photos from the factory tour, 8 bags of chips and 1073 miles of sometimes enjoyable riding, according to the GPS.  By the end of the week I should have all the paperwork ready to send off to the IBA, and a new personal best for a single day ride.  Maybe someday, who knows…the chips won’t last forever!

Impressive looking.  Time to start writing, the evaluation is due mid-July with publication scheduled for the September Wing World Magazine.