HAVE YOU HEARD OF THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN, HOW ABOUT THE 250 DOLLAR BOLT.

Yep its been awhile, again??? Trying my best to get back to blogger. I just think I needed the time away from the blog. Had a couple of quick stories I wanted to share… 

First story, went by Hattiesburg Cycle to get an oil change on my V-Star 1100

As luck would have it the deanship was having Indian motorcycle test rides. 

So after dropping off my bike I quickly put my name on the list to ride the 2014 Indian Chieftain

I got to admit I had never really consider buying and Indian mainly due to the price compared to the Harley and Victory, both about $ 4000 dollars cheaper than the Indian. Well wow how quick my mind can be changed, 

the Indian road like a dream with power to spare. Loved almost everything about it. Damn nice ride.

Ok story two…
My poor little V-Star needed a much needed oil change and new front tire. Well being being the good father I am I was going to change the oil myself (Ok I'm cheap). This is where the 250 dollar bolt comes in, well all I can say is I tried for four long days everything I could think of to get that possessed oil drain bolt out… 

I mean everything, from screaming at it, using a jack to move the wrench, beating it with a hammer and taking very nicely to it. The bolt just would not move, so I took it to the dealership… Long story short, the dealership had the same problem (I have to admit this gave me some small satisfaction)

 Well satisfaction, until i got the bill for the oil change… 

Yep you guessed it 250 DOLLAR OIL CHANGE and yes they got the bolt out with some drilling and a blow torch. Hmmm that Indian is looking better and better.

Till next time
Big Al

UPS is coming! UPS is coming!!!

That’s right, Friday January 21, 2011, UPS stopped by the compound and dropped off three boxes.

Oh yea, my Memphis shade fairing is here...


The plan, wait till Saturday afternoon and put it on with a co-worker buddy Dave’s help…one problem, I could not wait, so I got started on it Friday night around 7:00pm. The fairing comes in three boxes, one has the fairing, one has the windshield and one has the quick release brackets that hold it on.

I started by taking my stock windshield off,

this proved to be the hardest part of the job. I had to first remove the windshield, then to get the bottom bracket off I had to remove the headlight,

then to get the upper bracket off I had to remove the nuts that hold the handle bars on.

Done, time to hang the stock windshield on the wall.

Now all that is required to mount the batwing is…

One: Mount the bracket on the batwing

Two: place the clamp on the fork near the lower triple tree

Three: place the clamp on the fork near the top of the triple tree

Four: the bracket that holds the throttle, brake and clutch cable was too close to the fork and would not let the clamp fit around the fork near the upper triple tree.

Five: time for modification of the cable bracket by drilling out the bolt hole to move it over a little.

Six: still could not move the bracket over enough, time for the saw, I cut it into to two pieces and it worked fine.

Seven: Installed the fairing and did the final adjustment.

Eight: installed the windshield, with three bolts.

Nine: done!!!

I think it looks great, took it for a test drive this afternoon and it blocked the wind great, it came with a black gel-coat that matches the paint on my bike great; no painting required. I'll post more later, after I have had a chance to try it on the interstate.


Big Al

Motorcycle parts additions, while I was gone.

Here is a list of things I added to my 2008 YAMAHA V-STAR 1100, well you may remember the first thing I added awhile back engine guard and foot pegs

then the cobra pipes back in March of this year. http://bigalscompound.blogspot.com/2010/03/cobra-installation.html
I guess after that came a new rear tire, then a front tire and a set of front brake pads, rear still ok…I never use them. Ha-ha. Then I added a luggage rack

and bought a large TourMaster Bag with rain cover.

Never had a need for a piece of luggage before, I had all ways just strapped my gear to the rear seat.

My son recently decided to take a long motorcycle trip with me, so I could not use the rear seat for our bags, unless I strapped my boy on top (it was considered), well you get the point. Ha-ha.

Only have great things to say about the TourMaster Bag, I went with the large, it straps tight around the sissy bar and on top of the new luggage rack…that sucker did not move and inch…I must say I think the large (comes in small, medium and large) is a little over kill for a single rider…it held all of my son and my gear easy with room to spare. I would highly recommend this bag, I’ll give another report on it after my trip to Maine…coming soon!
Big Al

MOTORCYCLE PRODUCT REVIEW

I took my bike into the shop to get the oil changed (I have a oil change plan that came with the bike, otherwise I would do it myself) anyway I decided it was time to get a engine guard put on, so I checked with the guy at the parts desk and they had one in stock. I had been looking at one made by Cobra but decided to go with the one made by Yamaha. It’s a one piece with chrome from end to end. So then it was up to the service department to get it installed and the oil changed by Friday. This was important due to I wanted to take my bike to Greenville Friday morning. Well the service kept up there end of the bargain and the bike was ready Thursday afternoon.

I picked up my bike and the engine guard looked great,

I could not have been happier. So I decided to go inside the dealership to see if I could find any foot pegs…well I did…for a healthy price tag of 130 dollars..Wow!!! I decided to pass and got on my bike and headed home to look on EBay. On my way, I passed a small Harley shop and stopped in to see if they had any pegs…well they did…two kinds; one cost around 70 dollars and the other was around 30 dollars. Hmmmmm, guess which one I bought. Yea you guessed it; I went with the cheap one made by Drag Specialties …Ha-ha.

Truth is I had never used pegs before , so I was not sure if I would like them or not. So off to the house I went with my new pegs tucked away in my saddle bags. Once home, I went straight in and got some tools out of the workshop…I only used a few wrenches and a big crescent wrench.

The pegs came with a loop to fit a 1” bar or a 1 ¼” bar (like mine) simple installation; just pick the proper size loop, one bolt holds it to the engine guard and one bolt tensions the flip up motion of the pegs…it took me all of 5 minutes to hook them up…easy (anyone could do it)

First problem; the chrome cracked and flaked away on the loop as I tighten it to the engine guard (yep cheap…you get what you pay for) not sure if you can see it in the photo BELOW but the chrome did chip off.

My second complaint; was the pegs are chrome with little strips of rubber spaced around on it…I found it very slipperier when my foot was placed on it, and my guess is the rubber will tear soon.

Besides that they look great (well I think so…anyway)

The next morning I was off on my trip to Greenville, Ms (250 miles away) to watch my boy play baseball. I could not wait to try out the pegs and was using them before I even reached the highway…love them. I did notice that once I reached highway speeds my right foot wanted to try and be pushed off by the wind. So I reached into my saddle bag to pull out my tool bag (wait a minute…I don’t have one yet!!!…Chessie would not be proud. Chessie for you that don’t know is one of my bike ridding on line blogging buddies…great site by the way check it out when you get the chance.

http://chessiestales.blogspot.com/

She is always preaching

about how every biker needs a good set of tools somewhere on their bike.

Hmmmmm… so I looked around a store while getting gas and bought a 3 dollar crescent wrench it worked fine. I turned the peg in a little, made it kind of a V to the engine guard…no more slipping foot…worked great!!!

I’ve only been on one trip so for (AROUND 600 MILES TOTAL) I can’t believe I have been riding a bike without pegs. Its soooo nice to be able to stretch your leg out while riding. I will say, I will most likely buy better pegs with a heel loop soon. But as for now the Drag Specialties pegs work just fine, and the engine guard I can’t imagine how you could get one any better.

As for the trip to Greenville, Ms I’ll have a blog on it soon.
Big Al

A small act of kindness???

Its amazing what a little kindness can do for your day…ok here is the story. I woke up this morning…

well lets say not in the best of moods. Work right now is driving me crazy and truth be known it has been keeping me in a very bad mood 24/7 for the last couple of weeks. (Long story…not going there) anyway I got ready, jumped on my motorcycle and off to work I went, dreading getting there the whole way. I make my turn down a little county road that takes me to the highway and what do I see…the railroad crossing arms

coming down and don’t you know it…I’m on the WRONG side of the tracks…AGAIN!!! (if you’re a long time reader I did a post awhile back about living on the wrong side of the tracks http://bigalscompound.blogspot.com/2008/11/living-on-wrong-side-of-track.html ) Ok back to the story…this is where the small act of kindness comes in…I was a good boy and stopped my bike at the crossing arms, the train was a couple hundred yards down the track just starting to move my way…normally this does not bother me at all, but already being in a bad mood I could feel the anger building up.

Then I looked up and saw the (not sure what you would call him) I’ll call him the engineer assistant

standing on the front of the train pointing at me telling me to go around the crossing arms before the train got there…and I did…breaking the law…breaking the law. As I turned on the highway that parallels the tracks I could then see that the train was long real long (it went on for miles) and was moving at a snail pace. I guess the guy on the train knew it was going to take awhile for it to pass and that’s why he motions me on through. I TOLD YOU IT WAS A SMALL ACT OF KINDNESS!!! I know, I know it sounds like nothing but it did make a difference in my day…here is how, as I was driving down the highway I was thinking to myself what a nice deed the man on the train had done for me…he had saved me at least a fifteen minutes wait…not to mention it was very hot outside.

I swear my mood started to change

as I was coming into downtown Hattiesburg…then it happen, a eighteen wheeler

merged into my lane without any warning…I had to gas the mighty V-Star 1100 to get around him before I became mush meat, only to look back to see the trucker swerve back to his original lane once he saw me pull in front of him…ok here is what is important about that, normally this would not bother be either (when I’m not in a bad mood) because I know the trucker did not see me, he was not trying on purpose to run me down (at least I hope not. Ha-ha) but IF I had still been in a bad mood as I was before the kind deed of guy on the train...well let's just say I’m sure I would had given the trucker a one finger salute and then I’m sure I would have gotten one back…well there is no telling what might of happen after that, Nothing good can ever happen from something like this…everyone in the end turns out to be a loser…

and all started over a simple mistake. (Scary at the time but still just a mistake)

So three cheers for the guy on the train for starting my day off right…and yea I’m doing my damnest to keep it going that way. Funny how a simple hand motion from a guy on a train can change your whole outlook for the day…I’m sure he never gave it a second thought…
Big Al

Well it happen

Well it happen…as I mentioned many posts ago, when I bought my Yamaha 2008 V-Star 1100, I found out that one of my bosses had bought an identical bike a few weeks before me, same year, same color the only difference was his (Mr. Duckworth) had a seat back rest (HE'S GETTING OLDER AND NEEDS SOMETHING TO PROP UP AGAINST TO KEEP FROM FALLING OFF..HA-HA)

and highway bars. Well, I also mentioned that I loved my bike but wish it had a sixth gear for hwy. riding.

Well, I’ve been saving up my pennies to buy a set of pipes (Cobra Speedster Slashdown pipes- see pipes below)

for my little bike (funny that an 1100cc bike is considered small now days…I remember when that was the biggest motor you could get) shhhhhh don’t tell my wife I have saved the money now for the pipes, she will want some of it.

But now that I have the money, I’m having second thoughts about putting the pipes on, as I’m starting to dream of a bigger bike.

WELL IT HAPPENED…Thursday, April 16, 2009 my boss Rick (I bought a bike better than yours) Duckworth threw me the keys to his new motorcycle and said “you will just never know until you ride it)

Ok here is a little background about his new bike before I go on…he too had loved his little bike and was a Yamaha man from years back. As the story goes Rick had stopped into his local dealership to buy a dust cover for his V-Star 1100, when he walked into the door…There it was sitting all alone a fully dressed out 2008 Yamaha Road Star 1700, black on black (see photo above) with every option you can imagine including cruise control (as I mentioned before, he is getting kind of old and brittle and twisting the throttle is getting to be a little much for him…HA-ha. it appears that a coworker must of brought in a wheel chair for him today. I guess in case of a crash or just getting around in the office).

Well come to find out the bike was used, the previous owner had ordered it with all the bells and whistles and after putting just 24 miles on it bounced a check and the bike ended up back at the dealership just waiting on Rick to get his grubby little hands on it at a great price and trade in of his old V-Star 1100.

Ok back to the story, after getting the key I stopped off at my desk and picked up my helmet and was followed to the bike by two co-workers Ann

and David

They wanted to check the bike out too. As we were looking the bike over, Ann mentioned that Rick had more money than brains…hmm I’m not sure what she meant by that; and David after finding out that the leather bag mounted to the handle bars was not a bike tool bag as we thought and was really holding Rick’s gas cards

wanted to go on a gas spending splurge…don’t worry Rick…I stopped him…I gave him crime does not pay speech. Well after I saved Rick I’m sure thousands of dollars in gas charges, the next thing to do was to have a seat and crank it up. This caught me a little off guard as I had not noticed the custom pipes, the beast roared to life with a fantastic sound. As I clicked the bike into first I could feel the difference in my bike and his as soon as I let off the clutch. Power and power to spare, as I tooled down the road amazed at the feel of the bike, I swear a little drool dripped down the side of my mouth

as I drove it down the road (lets not mention the drool to Rick as it would give him a much bigger head than he already has) . I have to admit the ride would have been more fun if it was not the boss’s brand new bike with not a scratch on it (pressure, pressure) I kept imagining the call Rick…Mr. Duckworth sir… oooaaa I’ve had a little accident…that would have been a very bad call.., and I’m sure it would not look good on my resume. Well I made it back safe and sound (I guess the key is the bike made it back safe and sound. Ha-ha.) well to quote Will Smith from the movie Independence Day as he first test drove the alien space craft “I have got to get me one of these’s!!!) This was my thinking exactly!!!

Later that day after work, I was driving my truck to the store to get some tomato plants and…I must of blacked out because I ended up in the Hattiesburg Cycle dealership parking lot…hmmm I guess I was thinking since I was already there I might as well go in…after I walked in I was greeted by a sales man named David and yep I looked at motorcycles just like Mr. Duckworth’s bike…but then there was a twist to the story….stay tuned…

Ok on the serious side, I’d like to thank Mr. Duckworth for letting me test drive his new bike, its not every man that would let an employee do hot laps around the building at break neck speeds…uhhh I mean slow control turns at nearly idol speeds as I obeyed all traffic laws. Oh yea and the part where I said Ann said you had more money than brains….well ahhh…she should not say those things about you…that’s just wrong!!! And David…yep he was going to steal those gas cards…ha-ha.
Thanks again Mr. Duckworth.

BREAKING NEWS!!! THIS JUST IN!!! I just recieved a email with this photo attached, it appears that Matt (the hammer) Roland also took a ride on the bike too without permission (he must of hot-wired it). The email also said "DIET COKE RULES" I'm not sure what he meant by that...maybe Duckworth will know...hmmm