January 2008 Letters

[Buzz Kanter]

Chris, I don't want to be a "nit picker" on Monday morning, but I just received the November 2007 AIM & got to the last page. The Harley Memories photo on page 214 shows a small child and& a man on a "1950 Sportster." To my knowledge, the K models were produced from 1952 through 1956, and the first true Sportster was introduced in 1957 as the XL model (883 OHV). I'm sure the 1950 date was just an oversight. I have subscribed for several years & always enjoy your magazine.
Gordon Elmore
Wichita Falls, Texas

Yeah, we screwed that up! The letter that came with the photo called it a 1950, but we should have caught that one! Judging by the engine, it’s a K. But as you correctly pointed out, 1950 isn’t right for a K either. -- Chris


From Scratch
In the August issue of AIM, Steve had a problem with superficial scratches on the speedo and tach lenses of his 2006 Electra Glide Classic. There is a product on the market that we use in the aviation industry for removing scratches from aircraft windows called Micro-Mesh. It is an acrylic restoration kit available in four different formats: AO, Regular, MX, and MXD. The regular kit will provide the best results on plastics. The kit comes with several cotton backed sheets (3” x 4”) ranging from 1500-grit to 12000-grit. The kit also includes a foam sanding block and polishing compound. The product is also great for removing scratches from CDs and eyeglasses. Aviall Services Inc. in Dallas has the kit available. However, a quick internet search provided several other distributors as well.
David Shea
Blue Mound, Texas


Happy Camper
Reading your letters column, I have noted some readers are dissatisfied with corporate H-D. Well, here’s my recent encounter with the Big Giant. My digital dipstick crapped out after a month of use. Rather than go through proper channels, I decided to pack up the damaged unit and ship it directly to the address I found on the H-D website. Instead of having me wait around for the new product, they refunded all my money back, which in essence gave me the option of keeping my bucks or buying another LCD dipstick. I do not have any stock in H-D (other than my '05 Ultra), nor do I own a dealership or play golf with the CEO. But, I am one happy customer. And yes, I do have a new H-D LCD dipstick and it works great. So put me down in the positive column. 'Nuff said.
Jungle John
Illinois


Radio Reply
In regards to Steve Schiffel and his radio problem, I have an ‘04 Screaming Eagle dresser. I wanted an MP3 disc player for long distance rides. Biketronics.com had the perfect solution: A marine radio that plugs into all Harley gear. It’s that simple, just plug and play, plus great quality and reasonable prices. He won’t be disappointed with this super system.
Iron Mike
Via Internet


Coed Riding
Genevieve, I just read your article in the September issue. Thank you! I have been riding since 1996 and never liked being separated from the men riders, especially (and I’m not knocking them) the LOH (Ladies of Harley) group. I always asked why the LOH group can’t do what they do and include the men? I never received a satisfactory answer. I can in no way compete with men -- I have no desire to -- but I like riding with men and women, either together or separately. I do not, and never have, liked the women riders being separated from the men. Thank you so much for the article you wrote. It has uplifted my riding spirit even more.
Linda
Via Internet


Women Wrenches/Riders
Genevieve, most of the time you write good stuff worth reading. In the bike world, I think you miss a whole lot with this female rider stuff. Take a look at the real bikers who throw gender out. Real bikers are not the people that buy a bike and ride down the highway not knowing how or why the machine works because they take their ride into Harley-Davidson for an oil change. I know a few women that are capable of taking care of their own bikes today. Panhead Patty was one of the real bikers worth riding beside. She was a wrench that could help anyone in a fix. The interior of her Little Blue had Panhead Patty fingerprints all over it as she efficiently cared for her ride. Female bikers like her are equals and do not need to defend themselves with Venus-Mars crap. They were worthy of rolling up their sleeves, pitching in, and giving a worthwhile hand. Little Bones was another woman that we had to move out of the way so we could work on our sleds. She, too, was a wrench and a biker. These female bikers are worth riding with!
Bandido Tumbleweed
Via Internet


You’ve Got 90 Days!
I have a 2002 Road Glide that has 92,000 miles on it now and will likely reach 100,000 by mid-September. My last Harley died (literally) with 106,000 miles and my ’87 was sold with 192,000 miles. In January 2006, I upgraded to a 95” kit with a better-breathing air cleaner, a tuner kit, and Harley touring pipes. Well, after a little over 18 months both mufflers are shot according to Harley. They want me to buy another set for $500 (with end caps). I asked what Harley was going to do since the mufflers only lasted 18 months (the work was completed in the beginning of February). The answer was nothing as Harley only warrants their mufflers for 90 days. They asked if I wanted the mufflers and I said no.
I bought a set of SuperTrapps for less money, and they have a realistic one-year warranty. Now, I’m not saying that one muffler is better than another. The mufflers I bought met my requirements (I wanted a performance but quieter). They could easily have been from another manufacturer. As I was thinking about the Harley warranty it occurred to me that if I bought my bike in December, made some upgrades at time of purchase, but didn’t ride it because of snow, etc. until March and then discovered that the mufflers were bad -- Harley wouldn’t cover it. In other words, I’d have to buy another set of mufflers without actually having ridden the bike except, maybe, to bring it home. Does Harley actually have so little confidence and faith in its products that it only provides a scant 90 days for something to happen? It was then that I decided to go with someone else. In fact, because of this I decided not to buy any more Harley accessories for my bike as Harley doesn’t stand by the products it sells.
Nick Shaw
Maj., US Army, retired
Elbert, Colorado


Gender Bender
I read AIM pretty much cover to cover every month. I typically start with the monthly columns and work my way backwards. This month I got stuck at Genevieve Schmitt’s column, Gender Bender. Her writing has generally struck me as mildly antagonistic toward men and so when she claimed that she was careful not to alienate “non-female” readers -- the other gender, referred to by most writers as men -- I thought I’d provide the male perspective.
In her August 2007 column, Genevieve noted that “supportive men” equated to male partners that supported their women with smiling faces, cold bottles of water, and an umbrella to shield their women from the hot Vegas sun. Describing the preferred male motorcycle rider as one that stands in the sun, smiling at his woman with water in one hand and an umbrella in the other might just alienate a few “non-female” riders. How about the man that screams out to his woman every time she rides by, sprays her with a beer when she rides over, and then grabs a handful of her leather-clad backside when she gets off her bike letting everyone within eyeshot know that she is the hottest thing on the track -- now that’s being supportive.
In her April 2007 column, when writing about testing motorcycles with groups of men, Genevieve commented that some male riders blow past her because she honestly believes some men can’t handle a woman riding in front of them. When Genevieve shared her view with a male editor, he told her that men routinely size each other up when riding in a group, implying that men treat other riders the same, regardless of gender. Shockingly, his view didn’t alter hers. If you don’t want to alienate “non-female” readers then it’s best not to imply that they are sexist and/or insecure.
Finally, in her September 2007 column where she was explaining her care not to alienate the “non-female” reader she noted certain comments in other magazines referring to a woman as “the old ball and chain” and a ride on a new bike as “a date with a Victoria Secrets model” and then noted that male readers were oblivious to these sexist comments. As difficult as it may be to believe, men are not stupid. Some sexist comments upset us, others make us laugh, and others are simply a reflection of the writer’s biases. We generally ignore them, unless, of course, the writer devotes their column to explaining how unbiased they are and then we write back. If you don’t want to alienate your “non-female” reader, it’s best not to imply they’re stupid.
Greg Beams
Seattle, Washington

I think you read way too much into what I write about. I’m just having fun writing about motorcycling from my point of view. -- Genevieve


Jim’s Rides
Buzz, I enjoyed Jim Babchak’s Harley Heritage article in the May issue; it brought back some good memories. Jim’s parents and my parents were living then, and we both lived at home -- not quite Fast Times at Ridgemont High, but we both left remains of whatever we were working on wherever we went. Jim’s trike was real nice when he sold it. He had tried a cross-country trip, but I got a call from a small Harley shop in western Pennsylvania, because the engine decided that H-D did not build trikes for interstate travel. That engine got a complete rebuild, with a pair of NOS cases. It was less expensive in the long run.
In the meantime, for two months or so, he had set his mind on a 1948 Panhead. They were desirable, even though the ‘65 Pans had not yet become collectible. He bought the only one he could find, an EL. After swapping out the glide front end for an original springer, he headed for northern New England. It wasn’t long, however, before that ‘48 got traded in, like the trike. This time Jim got a stock 1963 Pan FLH with a foot shift. The beaches on Long Island, as I recall, demanded late-20th-century suspensions and both hands on the bars. Better him than me.
I was less fortunate than Jim. Everything that I bought needed just about everything except engine work, and while Jim was freelancing, my parents’ one-car garage must have looked like the founders’ shed. Without machine tools, I ended up focusing on trying to put things together while Jim’s tool supply was bare minimum. But I did have an affinity for original paint.
I don’t think the ‘62 quite met Jim’s expectations, it soon followed the trail of the others. The last I heard, a 1953 Indian Chief with low miles and original paint had found its way to the suburbs of New York. By the way, this is not a celebrity roost.
Rick Politi
Stowe, Vermont

Rick and I had many motorcycle adventures together in our hometown of Peekskill, New York, some 35 years ago! We joined the AMCA about 1973, which flamed our passions for old iron. Just for the record, the old 1962 Servi-Car gave up the ghost at Zebka H-D in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, on the return cross-country trip! The Zebka family brought me to a Greyhound bus station and lent me bus fare home to NYC. Outstanding folks! -- Jim


Cold Storage
I just finished reading the Storage Strategies article in your October '07 issue. Great article!! Even though I have been doing most of the things in the article to my bikes over the 28 years I have been riding, I still learned some things I didn't know. Here is one tip for tires I can offer that may help readers out there when storing their ride.
I place my bike on an old sheet of plywood. (Get one long enough to have both tires on it, and just slightly wider than the width of the bike.) This will keep the tires from deflating over the winter, as well as provide a solid barrier from the concrete and not let moisture form under the bike. Before I started doing this I would always have either one (or both) tires go flat during sub-zero temperatures. Since I’ve done this I have never had a tire go flat. Also, once a month, roll your bike a little forward or backward to place the tires on a different spot on the plywood, this will prevent flat spots.
If your bike has a kickstarter, kick it over once a month to keep the pistons from sitting in the same position, or, if there is no kickstarter, place the bike in high gear and roll it forward.
Mike Abitz
Mount Morris, Wisconsin


Biker Basics
I’ve been a reader for six years, cover-to-cover, every word. Nice work. I was looking forward to the tech piece on primary chain adjustment. It’s a simple procedure, but it’s awkward to measure the amount of slack through the inspection port. I use a fat Allen key with the short end pushing up on the top strand of chain inside the housing, while trying to measure the travel against a ruler with the long end outside. I was curious to see if you had an easier, more accurate method. However, you sidestepped the entire issue by removing the primary cover so you could get a good shot of the ruler against the chain. You also mentioned that the resident mechanic did the whole procedure blind and tool-less, presumably with his calibrated left index finger. For me, this defeated the whole point of the article.
Oh well. I look forward to next month’s feature tech piece, wherein you demonstrate how to check rear tire pressure on a bagger by putting the bike up on a hoist, removing the saddle bags, exhaust system, drive belt guard, rear calliper, rear axle, and wheel, so we can get a good look-see at the tire pressure gauge being applied to the valve stem. You could also mention that the resident wrench does the procedure without a gauge by wrapping his lips around the valve stem, pushing the needle with his tongue, and watching how far his cheeks billow out. Just kidding, and best regards.
Paul Brophy
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

Man, if we can talk him into checking the tire that way I promise to run the photo! Seriously, many people have never seen what’s inside the primary covers, so we thought it would help them to actually see what they are attempting to adjust. Maybe some of them will use your method, now that you’ve sent it in. Personally, I’ve done so many chain adjustments that I also just do it by feel, too. After you’ve done a few hundred, you get a feel for it, you know? -- Chris