What was I thinking?

Now, be serious. I've never been known as Captain Sensible. I've owned a lot of sport-tourers, for sure, but what have been my favorite bikes? C'mon, I go for the way things feel, always have. My true all-time favorite pure riding bike is the Ducati SS750ie. . . of which I've owned three. Sold the first two because I couldn't justify keeping them alongside more practical mounts- the sport-tourers that I commuted to work on, rode to Nova Scotia on. Now I've got one I built for the track from a salvage bike- a near-total-wreck- that I thankfully have so much more invested in that it could ever conceivably be worth and so, selling it would be futile. I love the smaller motor simply because it does need to be shifted more.

Bland motorcycle are easier to ride, get you through a long day in comfort, provide you with no unpleasant surprises. . . but where's the juice? You've got an hour to go for a ride- is it worth it? Nah. When I had my SR500, it was. . . you could get into a whole day's worth of trouble in far less than an hour. The kickstarting ritual alone was almost enough- you hardly needed to leave the driveway.

So tell me- why was I in the process of taking one of the world's most excellent hooligan motorcycles, the Harley-Davidson XL1200S and putting hard bags on it, trying to make it into something it's not, and neither of us would be happy with? Dunno, but I've come to my senses, apparently.

Okay. All is not lost. I hadn't started to put the hard bags on, and since I paid (on eBay) quite a bit less than half retail for a complete new set, I don't think it will be difficult to recoup the money from somebody that has the XL1200C they belong on. Everything else I'd already gotten or had on order was still pretty appropriate: the Screamin' Eagle airbox kit, the Dynojet carb recalibration kit, solo rear rack. I've got a Corbin Classic Solo seat on order, all black, no welt, that will look smashing, and an oil cooler for the left down tube.

What caused the change of heart, you may well ask? When I was first working on the '75 Ironhead (a long-term project that has, er, become a little more long-term lately), I looked at a lot of exhaust systemts, and decided that the SuperTrapp 2:1 for the Evo, with its beautifully curved headers and subtly upswept muffler is one of the best-looking setups on any bike, especially in stainless steel. But, of course, it doesn't cooperate well with luggage in general and not at all with hard bags, and, it tends to be loud, and it was originally intended to be a race system. These factors insured that it didn't get much traction around the house. Then, shortly after I got my sportster, another arrived at our house, an '06 XL1200R- and interestingly enough, a BUB/ Rinehart 2:1 was acquired for that- and that system isn't known for its delicacy. Last week, though, in an idle moment, I was doodling around on eBay. . . and two days later my careful snipe got me a brand-new stainless-steel SuperTrapp system.

So, this is where I find myself, setting up a hooligan Sportster that will probably be loud, impractical, dangerous, and loads of fun. Right now, it's on the lift, still a bit dirty-looking, without seat or exhaust, air cleaner off, waiting for a rear tire, too. The tire and belt tension guide should arrive this week, although I'll probably have to wait until next week for the SuperTrapp. Saturday could be a big day; rear tire mounted, carb cleaned and rejetted, airbox on various small rust spots painted with Rust Bullet. Should be a good day, and I'll be back here with pics.

XL1200S/T, a Sport-Touring Sporty, part III

I pulled in to Granite State Harley, parked the great beast up on its sidestand, and walked over to the line of used bikes. Can't help it. . . it's the same reason we troll craigslist, and wander around National Powersports Distributors in Concord. You see something you like, you try it on in your head. "Oooh, I could use this for trips to the beach," or, "Here's a cute little number I could go on SMOG rides with," (Spanish Motorcycle Owner's Group- and if you happen to know of a running Bultaco, let me know). I was feeling a bit of a Luddite about then, so I was cruising down the lineup, checking out air cleaners- or actually, what was peeking out over the tops of the air cleaners. As in- is that a throttle body, or do I see the flat top of a CV carb? I was looking for carbs. A fresh-faced young lad stepped out of the front door and headed over to me. "Anything special you're looking for?" Oh, great, I thought. . . the boys inside have sent the newbie out to see how he does with Hammerwoman.

"Yep, carbs."

"Oh, you know now, fuel injection. . ."

"This isn't something you want to get into with me," I said, well, fairly gently. I gestured toward the building. "Did they send you out to talk to me?"

"Uh, yeah."

"I thought so. Well, my young friend, they're just playing a little joke on you. My name is Gail- they all know me, and they sent you out here just to mess your head up a little." Meanwhile, I was continuing down the line, fuelie, fuelie, fuelie, fuelie. . . oh, look, a flattop, hey, those are piggyback shocks, dual plugged heads, and that tank logo!  "That's an XL1200S- come along, then." I headed inside, with a rather bemused young salesman in tow.

A chorus of "Hey, Gail, what's up?" and general laughter greeted us as we came through the door.

"Can we get a plate on that XL1200S?"

"Of course!" and the young gentleman that had come out to greet me was dispatched for a plate and the proper paperwork. That filled out, I could hear the low rumble of the S's stock exhaust outside. It was a cold day, and I was cautioned to leave the choke out a bit. While the bike warmed up a little more, I looked it over. Basically stock, but with a poofy black seat and a clunky little sissy bar. The bike had obviously been ridden in all weathers and stored outdoors, at least for the riding season. Exhaust clamps were fairly brown, the thinly chromed shock springs somewhat beige, paint chips here and there, new front tire (Dunlop GT502, at least), shagged Super Venom on the back, and the whole thing even dirtier than my bikes usually get. Potato, potato, potato. . . she sat patiently running while I looked her over. Oops, not ready to run without the choke yet, for sure. Don't know if you're going home with me, but if you do, we're going to let you breathe, open up the airbox and exhaust, and rejet. I have no idea how H-D was able to certify this big aircooled motor with a carb, but she's certainly set up wicked lean.

I headed out on their standard test ride, along which I've ridden Dynas, Softails, the XR1200, Tourers, pretty much everything on the floor. This was a bit different, because I was thinking seriously about buying this one. Normally I'm just having fun.