Old School Companion for FFR7074

[Gumball]

It's no surprise to most that I'm a bit old-school when it comes to my build and other things, so the most recent addition to the shop shouldn't be a surprise, either.

After a 30 year hiatus from motorcycle ownership, Mrs. Gumball allowed as to how she wouldn't divorce me and take most of my stuff if I bought a classic-styled Harley. After watching the market for the past few years, I decided that a Heritage Springer would be the perfect companion for 7074 and would fit right in around my shop. The Heritage Springer, with it's iconic front suspension system, was around for a number of years, but in my opinion peaked in 2003 with the 100th anniversary edition. I found a really nice example of one recently - not a garage queen, but with 7400 gentle miles, tasteful accessories (I've learned that rarely is a Harley-Davidson kept stock), and attractively priced. One look and I knew it was coming home with me.

So, here it is in its new home - resplendent in Vivid Black paint and acres of chrome.

[TBull]

Congrats, looks awesome!

[GoDadGo]

Chris,

7,400 miles is nothing, but at least enough miles to keep things well lubed for a bike of that age.
Nice bike and I agree that Harley was at their peak for the 100th anniversary so well done.
For the record I love every color motorcycle, as long as that color is BLACK!
Congratulations On Your Recent Purchase!

Steve

[NAZ]

Always been a sucker for the retro look and Harley pulls it off better than anyone.

And it's important that the wife is on board.
108672

[SerpantFL]

Gumball, I had a few HDs in my time including a '99 Sporty Custom 1200, a '79 Ironhead, '01 Road King, and loved every minute. The wife wasn't too thrilled until a got the Road King. We rode to the Harley 100th in Milwaukee, went to Washington County fairgrounds where we saw the late BB King and Jeff Beck live. Only thing I wanted to change other than displacement, was a kick start, but the knees wouldn't hear of it. Ride safe... Anthony
P.S. The wife will appreciate Kuryakin foot pads in the rear to reduce vibration, mine swore by them.

[Chris Wood]

Hey nice bike! I also re-entered motorcycling this spring. And in a similar way. Meet Barney.

Chris-

108825

[David Hodgkins]

My all-time favorite Harley! 2003 100th anniversay springer.

Wow. You found a fine example. SO JEALOUS!!

:)

[WIS89]

Chris-

Beautiful bike; she's a great addition to your stable of beautiful machines!

Congratulations on a great acquisition. Enjoy her and stay safe!

Regards,

Steve

[steno]

Very nice Chris!!

[JimLev]

108672

Ditto

[harveyspecter1209]

It's no surprise to most that I'm a bit old-school when it comes to my build and other things, so the most recent addition to the shop shouldn't be a surprise, either.

After a 30 year hiatus from motorcycle ownership, Mrs. Gumball allowed as to how she wouldn't divorce me and take most of my stuff if I bought a classic-styled Harley. After watching the market for the past few years, I decided that a Heritage Springer would be the perfect companion for 7074 and would fit right in around my shop. The Heritage Springer, with it's iconic front suspension system, was around for a number of years, but in my opinion peaked in 2003 with the 100th anniversary edition. I found a really nice example of one recently - not a garage queen, but with 7400 gentle miles, tasteful accessories (I've learned that rarely is a Harley-Davidson kept stock), and attractively priced. One look and I knew it was coming home with me.

So, here it is in its new home - resplendent in Vivid Black paint and acres of chrome.

Click here (https://www.theriderbase.com/best-motorcycle-oil/) to find suitable oil for her engine to maintain.


Congratulations! Enjoy her.

[Gumball]

So, last weekend I attended the rider academy at the local Harley Davidson dealership and had a blast. Given that older guys returning to the hobby after years (and buying big and/or fast bikes) are one of the largest statistical groups when it comes to motorcycle accidents, I thought it would be a good idea to start from the beginning.

The dealership provided Street 500 bikes for the range work and we spent two days doing lots of slow speed maneuver exercises, as well as things like shifting and emergency braking / swerving drills. We also had two evenings of classroom discussion and a written test. Since I still have my "M" endorsement on my license after all those years, I didn't need to worry about the tests or coming back to the dealership on a subsequent weekday to be tested by an inspector from the state, but I was surprised to learn that I scored 100% on both the written and on the range skills test. One thing I wasn't surprised at was how the feelings came flooding back - it was just like I remembered from when I first started riding back in the early 1980s.

I realized, though, that I need to spend way more time practicing slow speed stuff and getting used to the controls again, so that everything becomes second nature. When I need to act quickly on the road, there won't be time to look down at the switches or to think back to class - I have to be able to execute immediately. To that end, I found an incredible deal on a '15 883 Iron (Sportster), which is lighter and smaller than the Springer (600 lbs instead of 800 lbs). It was pretty much brand new with only 460 miles on the odo and I got it for just over five grand. Having come from sportbikes back-in-the-day, I'm used to light and responsive motorcycles, so jumping on the Springer after all those years doesn't really give me much of a buffer. I'm hoping that the Sportster will help ease me back into riding and get me used to a heavier bike with a higher center-of-gravity. I'm sure it won't be around long - maybe just the rest of this summer (or maybe into next summer), but it'll certainly serve my needs for getting used to riding again (and getting used to traffic) before I jump on the Springer. After that, I'll pass it along to some deserving new rider and recoup a good portion of my investment, as it'll likely still have really low mileage.

Here's a pic of the Sportster......

[Gumball]

And are some updated pics of the Springer - I removed the bags and covered the mounting studs with chrome sleeves and acorn nuts. I'll put them on for trips and such, but for short rides, I like the cleaner look. I also had the local dealership put new engraved white walls on it (it still had the original 16 year old tires), do the scheduled maintenance, and update the cam chain tensioner / oil pump that is the week link on the Twin Cam 88 engines.

[Gumball]

Okay - so this may be getting out of hand. I sold off a bunch of my stuff earlier this year (and lost 65 lbs while I was at it!) so I'm feeling a bit "unburdened," to say the least. I've really been enjoying more time to do other things I like (besides working on my car projects) and getting back to more physical stuff, including lots of bicycling and walking with our two Siberian Husky pups (currently 8 months old).

After 6 weeks of practicing on the Sportster to knock the rust off my skills, I sold it to a new-ish rider as his first motorcycle and moved on to riding the Springer a bunch. It feels great to be back on a motorcycle after all these years. I realized that many of the things I've been doing for the past three decades have been attempts to fill the void where motorcycles used to be - autocross, track days, wheel-to-wheel racing, my FFR, etc.....

So, the madness didn't end with the Springer, as I recently bought the other bike of my dreams........

Now, this is gonna be fun.