As most of you know, Spinner had to go in for her ten-thousand mile tune up. While she was up on the rack I had her rear tire replaced and I finally bought a pair of decent rear shocks. The only downside of the procedure (other than my 900 dollar invoice, ouch) was getting her home after our thunderstorms.

The upside was that I got to spend two hours detailing a beautiful machine. Of course, now Betty is as jealous as hell...

Her new tire, and I cannot wait to scrub off that blue chicken mark!

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These are the new shocks. I bought them one inch over length. They are a lot beefier and five way adjustable. I have them on the mid (or 'third') setting and they ease out the ride over severe bumps but still feel like they give taut handling.

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She sure does look pretty when she's all polished up. A thorough wash, lots of Windex and Bug Slide, and quite a few micro fiber cloths! All in all, a fantastic afternoon!

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It's morning now and I would like to add an editorial.

First and foremost I will always consider myself a 'Sportster guy.' Granted, most of my bikes, and my Beloved Black Betty, are/were all custom Super Glides. But when I want to have fun, I always look for a Sportster. Having said that, I doubt MoCo could successfully market the Sportster XLCH or XLH of my youth, bikes we worshipped as boys.

We now have the 'dark customs.' The advertising copy uses epithets like "raw" or the idea of a bike being pure basics. I don't buy it. The bikes are stripped of superior parts and built from "the cheap bin."

For example, using a common custom computer download, Spinner runs better and certainly cleaner. Why not load that program for everyone? My guess is cheap EPA numbers. And those worthless stock shock absorbers! Only 1.5 inches of travel?! Any dampening was totally gone, and frankly hitting the full length of travel somewhere around 6K to 7K. After keeping them for me as required by law, the serrvice writer said to just pitch them--they no longer functioned.

So here's what I hear from lots of folks. "Well, Chico, you're not using the bike as designed. You're actually riding it..."

Yeah, like I believe that with other crap like BHO's claim I can 'spend myself rich while being a patriot.' Whether you like nostalgia or not, the boys of the 1960s and '70s rode their Sporties everywhere--they raced them, used them for work, and went to Sturgis. It was worse than a stripped down dark custom, and most without electric starters but saddled with magnetos. The Sportster 48 is better than they give it credit. I wore out my tire by driving it everywhere--from Madison's circus like streets replete with broken concrete everywhere (I plan on taking a picture of East Washington Avenue) to long stretches of the slab.

I consider the 48 a full partner to MoCo's line, not some poser scooter for novice women and 'little boys.' The sad fact is two-fold. Not only does Spinner do everything, but she also has more on her odometer than most Electra Glides. I do not know if that says more about Sportsters or less about our riders.

I wanted to ask, while you had the tire off did you check the spokes? and what was the deal? were they loose?
need replacing?

I asked the wrench Ryan about that myself. I had some labor spare time and another 108 bucks for spokes built into the tune-up just in case I bent a few. During those last few weeks I was hitting the dampener stops on just about every bump.

My wrench said the wheel was just fine, which surprised me more that having it re-laced. Granted, he cleaned it, re-spin-balanced it, changed out the rim strap, checked every spoke and checked 'run out,' and replaced every single wheel weight with a new one. You know, the right way.

When I detailed the bike I rolled it around. It looks new. But I guarantee you this, had you been along side of me, you would have sworn I bent something. I took the same roads home and made sure I hit all of the bad spots. Still not a Gold Wing, but I don't feel anything now at setting "three."

Here's the invoice. Yikes, but worth it...

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Just gotta love those laced wheels!!

Looks like I'll have to, they don't make the mag wheel I want. But I figure this, the "bump" I felt was not really the laced wheel taking the brunt, but rather the the dampening unit hitting the end stop. It gives you an incredible jolt and makes a loud "thump."

The bike still takes a hit, but these shocks are beefier, there's no bottoming out (they are slightly over-length) and I don't get the feeling of riding a hard-tail.