Packed and jacked!

Ready to rock on to Indy. MotoGP, here I come!

No interstates will be harmed on this trip.

Cheap knockoffs

I couldn't stand it. The fake Ohlins just look too good, so I got a pair.

I pose, therefore I am.

New stuff

Got my new luggage rack for the Sportster. Originally for a Knuckle or Pan, it bolts to the rear fender.

Of course, I don't want to bolt it down for a couple reasons, mainly drilling holes, so I have to come up with another way. I bought some suction cups, but they don't keep it off the fender enough. With weight on it, it'll scratch the paint.

So, I have to scrounge up or make something a little thicker, like a hood support or a kickstand bumper rubber. It's always something!

Also got my new Bell Classic helmet, the coolest! Actually the cheapest.

Those new grips aren't gonna cut it, I don't think. I'll give them another couple rides before they get shelved.

Changed the front fender back to the original, it's a better setup for the rain.

Getting ready for the road

I plan on riding my Sportster to Indy MotoGP in a few weeks, so decided to do some work to it, instead of riding it all the time.

First up, raising the ride height. Since the stock shocks were rusty and leaking, I've been running a set of Dyna shocks. They're an inch or so shorter and stiffer than the originals, and I've had to run the preload all the way up so as not to bottom. It rides a little rough, but looks good lowered.

I bought a set shocks from a friend of mine that were replaced with shorter ones on his wife's bike, he said they have less than 20 miles on them. They look the part. Here, you can see the difference-

The bike before-

After the shock change-

It jacks it up some,but after a couple thousand miles, I'll be glad I switched them. The new shocks only cost me 20 bucks.

I'll be doing some riding at night, so I thought I better finally put a license plate light on it so Barney Fife doesn't have an excuse to hassle me on the back roads through Podunk.

Lit-

Next, I was going to put a Kaoko throttle lock on it, but the Biltwell bars are made of thicker tubing, making the i.d. too small. Scratch that idea. It has the pld style Harley thumbscrew anyway.

I had bought some grips to cut in order to use the Kaoko and decided to use them anyway. They're e-grips, supposedly better for the long haul. I'll do some riding before I leave so I can take them back off if I don't like them. A pic-

Next up, oil change and service the whole bike, finally take the rear wheel off and pack the bearings, change the rear brake rotor. I have been running one from a Softail. It's the same rotor, but has a different wear pattern than the stock one, making the brakes feel a little wooden.

Local wildlife

I stopped by one of the neighbors' to help her adjust the mirrors on her Harley, and this guy showed up-

He fans and then shakes the feathers behind it to scare the squirrels. As you can see, it doesn't work too well.

Bar #3

Put my Biltwelll tracker handlebar on today, went from this-

to this-

I didn't get a chance to ride it or do any adjustments, had a little rain. I'm looking forward to it, though.