-=> STAN HARDEGREE wrote to ROY WITT <=-

  RC> Big Bad Biker dudes like yourself can overcome anything.

 RW>  Not Bad 'Rice' Bikers...they're whimps.

 SH> Waynie hops on his bike and hits the electric starter...


Uh, no actually.
Though the 1978 GS550CN did in fact have an electric starter
it also had a manual kick starter.
It was also the last year that model bike had points rahter than prone to
failure early black box ( computer timing, timing, advance and retard) 

Living as I did AT  Dixie's Place in the very bar building itself
were right behind the beer taps was my kitchen there was usually a rather
course and rough crowd in the place.

I remember startiong off for work in the mornings and like on so 
many occassions seeing Bruce Megahan heading off to work, or rather 
attempting to, on his Harley.
Poor Bruce.
He would just crank and crank that Harley and it would never fire 
cold  first thing in the mornings.

So being a bit of the stinker I am I used to dress the points an extra
time a year, brush of the plugs with a brass wire brush and keep
my Suzukin in peak tune and timing just so as I could
have a bit of fun at poor Bruce's expense.

Which brings me back to my dual electric - kick starting options.

See, I would fold my arms across my chest, swing the kick starter
out and stroke it through with ONE brisk kick and the bike would
turn over into a smooth idle dead cold in the morning with no
choke and no more throttle than that set by the manual nylon knurled
unduster right at the four carberator linkage at the intakes 
provided for.

Then also dead cold I would give the throttle a brisk twist lofting
the front wheel slightly as I really moved out hitting
and making the turn at 30th Ave north and heading west to Precisionaire
where I worked for so many years.
A distance of some 2 1/2 blocks before I really leaned hard and
deep left to bank through that turn  at approximately 50 MPH at 30th.

Us bikers like to tease one another and we have a rascally sense of humor.
Poor Bruce.
He must have gottent hat bike started on occassion but I don't
EVER recall it starting easily.
Sometimes Bruce would drain the battery cranking that piece of crap.

I wish I had been a bit less teasing towards  Bruce about his Harley.
He is a good sort and wasn't one of the nasty sort that hung out there
at Dixie's Place.
But Bruce like to tease about my Suzuki a bit too, for a while.
For some reason he stopped doing that, after a while.

Anyway, the only smooth and reliable Harley's I knew of were
Panhead Jim's panhead ( a panhead of course) named for the 
head shape.
But Panhead Jim had a well stocked 2c car garage, lots of nice tools,
a half dozen Harleys and LOTS of the patience and Locktite
it takes to keep a Harley running and from falling apart while driving
down the road.

I said two didn't I"
Oh yeah.
We come to Dangerous Dan.

Dan had an Evolution Harley.
That's an 883 known by REAL Harley riders as, "half a Harley."
It was an Evolution Harley which means they took to
using aluminum lower cases the REAL Harley riders of old and weldable
and thus repairable ( what else you be doin with Harley but reparin it?)
steel lower cases.

He spent 15 thousand dollars on that half a Harley, the same cost as a
real one or 15 times what a Harley in a basket cost.
A Harley in a basket is an expression used for a box of parts, or
wreck one buys on the cheap.
But are not ALL Harleys bikes in a basket, wrecks or soon to be in a wreck?

Anyhow, Dan also spent lots and lots of time
on his 15,000 dollar half of a Harley in order to keep it running.
Dan also it seems had an ample supply of Locktite as his did not
fall apart on the road like all the others ( except Panhead Jims)
I knew of.

Well, I see by the clock on the wall it is time for coffee.
Nice chatting with and relating my experiences in the biker world
and with motorcycles with you.
Ta


 




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