We didn't get the freezing rain last night that the weatherman warned us about, but it did rain... Got up this morning, the ground was wet, but it wasn't raining. So I decided to take the 'ped to work, rather than bother my little sister for a ride.
It was cold and soggy all day long, so I was stuck inside for lunch. I did buzz across the street for some coffee after doing a little more paint detail on the bike.
This bike is all decked out, with just about any accessory you'll ever see on a Harley (AND a cupholder with matching cup), extra tank, saddlebags, windshield and trunk, some big jewelry, all red and black and olive drab, rubber and chrome. This past weekend I put on a new front tire (rear tire should get here tomorrow, I hope), painted the fenders and the guard around the engine silver aluminum, did some black pinstriping... Looks like a rally bike! I love my bike...
One of our customers admired it on his way out the door... "Yup. Driving Under the Influence," he chuckled...
Shit. All the goodies, all this work... and it still looks like a damned moped. Oh well.
Anyway, I decided to ride it home in the drizzle, rather than bother my sister for a ride, and besides, I might wanna work on her some more this evening...
First observation: I need to treat the windshield with Rain-X.
Second observation... my already restrictive airfilter is even more restrictive when it gets water in it. The bike got slower and slower, even downhill. She kept 4-cycling, and I had to constantly flick the throttle to keep her going... By the time I got to the store near my house, I had to dismount and push her into the parking lot, out of the drizzle, barely running, cold and wet.
I removed the aircleaner and stashed it in a saddlebag. She started right up, but was revving so high that when I got on the seat, rear wheel contacted the ground, front wheel and kickstand both went up... Throttle eventually went back to normal. She had MUCH more power. Geez, what a difference! I guess I need to drill some holes in my aircleaner. Gotta make it look good, though.
david