Gossip of the month..... I'm still enjoying the Harley and I have over 15,000 happy km on the dial already! I'll update this figure for you every month to see how many of you can keep up? I'm also going to test out the "unlimited mileage" portion of the 7 year warrantee.
Speaking of warrantee issues, I recently have had an occasion to test the HD warrantee. I had a problem where my heated hand grips quit working. I wasn't sure when this happened because I haven't needed to use them for a while. Anyway, I phoned Steve Drane Harley Davidson in Victoria, where I bought my bike, and spoke to Jim in the service department. He said that if I was up for a ride, to bring the bike in that day and they would have a look. I was expecting to wait a week or two to get in. I rode down to Victoria and arrived there about 2:30 PM. They took the bike in almost immediately and within about a half hour, it was fixed and ready to go. What was wrong, you ask? I had changed out the brake light module about a month ago and unknown to me, this is where the power lead for the grips is wired to. The addition of a small jumper wire was all that was needed and my hands were warm once again! This entire episode was completely covered by the warrantee even though I was somewhat to blame. The cost to me, other than a nice ride to Victoria was nothing. So far, I'm very impressed with the warrantee and the service! Nice work guys!
Now, as promised, here is the Reader's Digest condensed version of our recent trip to Reno. We left home on August 15th at about 7:40 AM and caught the 10:15 ferry from Duke Point. After about an hour wait at the border, we were stateside and on our way south. We spent the next 4 days getting to Reno via Hwy-97 for the most part. This included stops at Everett, Leavenworth, Ellensburg, Bend, Crater Lake, Klamath Falls and many viewpoints in between. We met up with another group of friends from the Island in Klamath Falls and the next morning showed light showers for about the first hour of riding. This was the only rain we saw on the entire trip! We arrived in Reno at the Silver Legacy Hotel on the 19th at about 4:30 PM. We then ate, gambled, shopped, loafed and ate some more for the next 4 days. During this time we also took side trips to Virginia City and Reno Harley Davidson. Virginia City was very entertaining and we spent a few dollars there buying gifts and trinkets to take home with us. Reno Harley Davidson, however, was very nice and upscale but certainly had no bargains. Prices there were about the same as home with the exception of the difference in the dollar and the probable duty to pay at the border. This would have brought their prices considerably higher than ours. We left Reno on the 24th and headed west to the coast which included stops in Yuba, Fortuna, Brookings, Florence, Tillamook and Hoodsport Then up to Port Angeles where we caught the 12:15 Coho ferry to Victoria. We rolled into our driveway on the 29th at about 7:30 PM.
The weather for the entire trip was sunny and with the exception of the hour of rain out of Klamath Falls, we stayed dry the entire time. The temperatures varied from cool on the coast (65° F) to blazing hot in and around Reno. (108° F)
Some of the incidents of note include;
1. Before leaving for this trip, I installed and oil cooler in anticipation of warm temperatures. My Brother-in-law's bike is identical to mine (except colour) and didn't have an oil cooler. There was consistently a difference of about 20° to 25° F between the two bikes. However in stop and go traffic in Reno we both got our thighs roasted from the rear cylinder. Harley makes a plastic air deflector that apparently works quite well in this situation. I'll be looking into this in the future. Bottom line... the oil cooler is worth the money if you're travelling in hot country. If you never leave the coast, don't bother.
2. In a small town on the coast called Yachats, I got my bike greased for free! We were having breakfast in a roadside cafe when my Sister noticed a disposal truck pull up outside near where our bikes were parked. The truck was there to pick up a barrel of old cooking grease and promptly spilled a good portion of the grease all over the rear of my bike! After apologising profusely, the driver found a garden hose and sprayed most of the grease off the bike. I can't begin to tell you what this smelled like! When we got home, I washed the bike and I am still trying to get the remnants of grease and the smell off my bike. We had to dispose of the small duffle bag I had on the top of the trunk. It just smelled too bad! I will be following up on this with the offending disposal company. More on this later.
3. We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Crater Lake. The scenery there is breathtaking and worth the trip up the mountain and the small fee at the gate. Also, Virginia City and Leavenworth are the typical tourist traps but certainly worth seeing. The Oregon Coast is always a treat with it's small towns and gift shops and the scenery along the coast will test the capacity of your camera chip!
All in all we had a great trip which I wouldn't hesitate to do again. All I need is another full bank account and I'd leave tomorrow!
Just made it in under the wire.... I just received this e-mail from Randy Brasch. If you're interested, give it a shot.
Good morning,
CB