First Ride in 2020

[cushman eagle]

As I was about an hours work short of finishing 'winter service'on the VXII,I saw the opportunity arrive
It was January 11th,it was not raining,and it was above 40 degrees.
The Cushman was not down yet for 'winter service'
Yeh,I fired it up,took it out for a 20 minute, 16 mile ride,got home,and it started raining. It was good!

[ekap1200]

But that was not on the 1200 so it don't count....

I am, as of last night , about 2 hours away from getting the 1200 down off the lift... The winter service took me way longer this year. Tires and bearings sat here for the longest time until I could get back on my feet and strong enough to get her down off the lift. She is just in need of some cleaning and waxing , bags , trunk and side covers . Weather has become winter again, so not sure when I can get out on the road but I am anxious to roll down the road. I made a slight change to the trailer hitch and It is so much easier to install now.
And now that the rear end is back together with the new spline on the wheel , it feels like new again...
I am feeling the need for speeeeeeed...... and have had enough of winter.
GENE KAP

[cranky]

...and have had enough of winter.

+ a gazillion!!!!

[cushman eagle]

Yah,Gene it does count I had traffic chasing me more than I wanted, pushing me long enough at 55 MPH that my hands were so numb from vibration at that speed,I could hardly shut the bike off.
The weather is in the 15-23 degree range and snowy so the VXII is not needed yet,so I have not quite finished it! May get it done this week,depends on what time we get back from the International bike show at the IX Center in Cleveland

[Steverides5]

I got a ride in on New Year's day and we met up with the New Sweden BMW riders here in southern NJ. Hoping to ride with a new friend tomorrow. Forecast is high in the mid fourties, unusually warm January do far this year. Can't wait.

[VoyKimmer]

My first ride of 2020 won’t be until April or May. All the plastic off both bikes and have some cracked pieces that need to be fixed which I did but having a hard time finding a painter that is willing to match the colors. So until I get the trunk lid painted on my 02 and the front fender painted on my 96 I am grounded.

[ekap1200]

I finally finished the 1200 and down off the lift. Now that it was off the lift the only items were the trunk and bags. So on a balmy morning with a light rain coming down I ventured out to the shop to wrap things up. Upon turning on the radio I was informed the date was 02\02\2020...... Well I just had to get out for a bit. Shut the heat off and opened up the garage door and the rain stopped and the sun was trying to make an appearance. Got the bike done and backed out into the drive. She started up the same as always and was ready to go.....So I went in the house changed into gear for a 41 deg day , and when I went back out, just 15min later , the sun was no where to be found and the clouds came rolling in. Just a light drizzle I said to myself Well it was not a long run , 14 miles out and 14 miles back. Not bad for a road test after all the work that was done, and glad I had no issues because I never stopped to inspect anything. It was 14 miles to a coffee stop and I kept one glove on with the coffee in the other hand, Man I was chilled.....It was a 70 mile per hour run on that first 14 miles and when I pulled over for that break , I dared to let go as it went down to the dreaded 30 mph speed.... No wobble at all. I did allot to the front end, head set /torque, new wheel brg's, new AVON, A real good wheel balance, The ride home was an easy low speed cruise, trying to warm up a bit, hiding behind the wind shield . This old mans body just don't like the cold as much as I did when younger.
What I did notice , is that it was well worth replacing the wheel damper / and driven hub... What a smooth shifting trans. Like it was brand new. In 100k the spines had quite a bit of backlash . The 1200 however was a dirty mess from the wet roads , glad I did not give it a good cleaning yet...So just 28 miles for the new year is all I can claim. May try aging this weekend..
Gene Kap.

[cushman eagle]

Gene,I was tempted to ride yesterday,but coming off a bad cold ,I felt it would not be wise.
Glad to see we can plan to see you at the rally.

[cushman eagle]

I had an opportunity Saturday and Sunday to get the first 83 miles on the VXII.
Neither day was warm enough to do any longer[34 on Saturday,49 on Sunday],but it sure felt good to be on a real bike this year.
Like Gene said,the Cushman does not count
I still need to get the winter service done on the Cushman,but I need warm enough weather to get it warmed up for an oil change,then lube the grease fittings and oil the rest of the moving parts.

[VoyKimmer]

Was suppose to get into the mid 50s today and sunny so now that my 96 is put back together decided to take it out. Very cold , never made it into the 50s . Rode it both slow roads and highway for around 70 miles. Everything checks out but not happy with front suspension.