The damn bike won't start!

Saturday the 18th seemed like a great day to head to Wilmington and meet up with Mike for lunch and a few miles near the beach. Wilmington is eighty five miles south of New Bern and is mostly over a four lane highway known as Highway 17. It's generally an easy drive even though the traffic is fairly heavy since the road is eastern NC's main north/south corridor.






We met the Crew at 9:30 and gassed up. We live out in the country and it was fairly cool when we left home but it was quickly warming up and the humidity was not helping.







They were having a "Sell your Bike" event at New River Harley so we had made plans to stop on the way south.


























There were a few new bikes on display and Lynn fell in love with the Deluxe, yet once again. You would think that if Chad loves Lynn the way he says he does then he would go ahead and write the check. I mean, Lynn's worth it, right Chad?















This Screamin' Eagle edition with the sun on the chrome was to good to pass up. I wonder if Chad would write me a check for this?

















This bike was on display outside. What an awesome paint job.










Where's Mike? I called him as we were leaving Jacksonville and left a message. I had hoped he would meet us and ride south but maybe we would pass him heading out. He finally called and said he was running a little late and would meet us in Hampstead.






So we ride to Hampstead to meet Mike at the gas station across from Foodlion. I ride past that and stop at the Hess station: no Mike. I call and he says he'll meet us at the small shopping center just north of Ogden. It seems there is an issue with his Sportster and he left an earlier message about the problem. Basically the damn bike won't start.

Hampstead Chamber

Hampstead Weather



Mike's story:
Friday night I cleaned the bike and I left the key on. I tried to start it but all I got was a bunch of hell raisin' clicking. So I figured I could push start it. Here I am in the street in my neighborhood trying to run the Sportster down the street, jump on, squeeze the clutch, click it in gear and dump the clutch. Time and time again but she won't start. Out of breath, and sweating and swearing profusely, I give in to common sense and jump in the Yukon. There are three Harleys on the way down from New Bern and here I am driving the friggin car! That's just wrong.


The Heat!
Heat transfer? Yep, I know how that works. From the rear cylinder to your thighs! Ninety Six cubic inches of Milwaukee designed heat pump. Mike guided us on some back city roads to avoid the Wilmington traffic jam. Speed bumps and thirty MPH speeds in ninety five degree temperatures!




Flaming Amy's
We stopped at Flaming Amy's for lunch. I don't think the girls thought to much of the establishment. I think it's pretty good and I usually stop there when I'm in Wilmington which is usually two or three times a month.


Just after leaving Flaming Amy's, Debbie advises that her left peg is lower than usual. At a red light I feel behind me and try to determine the problem. I think I've got it fixed and pull out. Once we arrive at Chad and Lynn's, Debbie asked me to check her peg again because it "fell down" shortly after we left Wilmington. The left Kuryakyn peg had "eat the hell" out of the derby cover. Debbie didn't realize it was hurting anything and felt awful. Needless to say that dictated yet another trip the HD shop for a new derby cover. That has now been replaced.

The round trip of 188 miles was on one tank at 45.2 MPG. That's definitely better than the 38 we were getting when we bought the bike. There are quite a few goodies that I am adding to the Ultra in a few days. Look for a post involving some Stage 1 parts and a few extras.