As many of you know, I replaced the stock headlamp in Spinner out of self defense. Knowing that my "work scooter" might have to be driven at night, I bought the fanciest, schmanciest lamp I could find. And I got superior performance--for about three evening rides.

After I picked Spinner up this spring from minor modifications and winter storage, I took my first ride of the season. After she cooled down, I went out in the garage to wipe her off and found out that my headlamp had fogged. It used to happen all of the time "back in the day." Most folks either let the water burn out from use, or if the condition was under a turn-signal lens we drilled out a small hole to let the moisture drain.

Without much concern I kept driving her. I found out an odd thing. The more I drove her the worse it got, and the longer she cooled the better she cleared. That was odd, this lamp is really intense, and I figured even with minor amounts of heat it should have cleared.

Come to find out that there's a total recall of all the lamps purchased within my group. Last night I did an experiment. After dark, and staying within ten miles of home, I searched out remote roads with no street lights. As I suspected, all I got was a diffused beam. I could ride by it, but not at speed. The shop says this will take another two weeks. The irony is that my "best headlamp" will not function at night.

https://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb23 ... 003-14.jpg

sorry to hear that the look was pretty cool. do they replace it and labor?

Yup, brand new "second generation" lamp with labor will be free.

That labor part is a very big deal. The lamp is supposed to be 'plug and play,' but it requires that the mechanic level the light to the upright position of the bike. Strange as it might seem, there are lighted 'bars' or striations that appear in the dark that are quite disorienting when you heel the bike over in a turn. Turning with the bars gives you the impression that you are too far over. Turning against the bars makes it seem that you are still straight up and down. Since you cannot see the horizon those bars make your brain think these lighted bars are true and level when they are not.

There is a HD logo between those two rounded globes or lens. Keeping the bike upright, my mechanic Ryan leveled that logo to the triple trees. In fact, he even had to tweak it after I rode her the first time.

The small adjustments are always the most tedious, part opinion-part fact-part preferences-part ergo.....
nice to have someone at the dealership you can trust.

I'm only too glad to tell the world about Ryan, a factory trained mechanic who works out of Capital City Harley in Madison. Every year he goes "back to school." The service writer informs me that there isn't nut, bolt or lockwasher on any year vintage he cannot repair. He writes his own code on the dyno for all of the individual protocols needed mating diverse equipment.

I like his work ethic. I confided in him that I had not ridden a Sportster in years. Never a 1200, and never EFI. The 48 was a 'first year' offering then, and I asked him if he would consent to be a set-up-boy and take Spinner out of her crate. In my era, it was considered an insult to ask a wrench to set-up. He told me he was flattered and admitted that frankly he wanted to be in on the ground-floor of bike projects.

He has done all of Spinner's mods, decorative covers and the computer download. He even added the Nostalgic grips because he needed something to do one boring afternoon.

You can ask for a mechanic by name to do your work at this dealership. If you're broke down in Madison, ask for Ryan.