About this website, our bike, and a little history.
Mostly this site is a collection of pictures, a corner of the Internet meant to document good times on the road, friends and events. As time goes by and this site grows I hope to photo document the art and beauty of our two & three wheeled machines, and of course a few pictures of the farer gender will likely find there way in here as well…
My uncle owned a motorcycle dealership in Montana close to where I grew up. If you've read the book Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig, my uncle Bill was the "Bill & and "Bill's Cycle" dealership referred to in the book. Anyway Uncle Bill started my cousin and me riding dirt bikes at around age 8 in the wide-open fields and gumbo hills / buttes on the eastern side of the state. In hindsight I think it was mostly to get us out of the cabin and out of my aunt & uncles hair.
Times and attitudes were different back then. You could through a leg over, pick any old hill you wanted to challenge and no one would hassle you about tearing up the countryside, not wearing a helmet, or racing etc. Those days are now 30 plus years ago. Since then I’ve ridden all over the beautiful states of ND, SD, MT, WY, CO, AZ, on a variety of brands and styles of motorcycles, but mostly cruisers.
My family and friends are number one. They come first, always. Next is the passion for life and all it has to offer. This website is an attempt to capture, preserve and share at least part of it. Those good ol' days out west may be gone, but the memories remain. I’ve got hundreds if not thousands of pictures - bikes, friends, beautiful ladies and parties, all disorganized on outdated disks my computer won’t read and on film that my scanner won’t scan. I don't want stuff to just sit around in a box forever, thus the motivation for this website.
About our 06’ FXSTB
Of all the cruisers I’ve owned, metric and standard, I’d have to say the FXSTB with its balanced engine is one of the nicest. On the good side it’s nimble considering its weight. love the blacked out look, for both appearance and ease of maintenance. All of my previous bikes had the standard shock over swing arm rear suspension, so I was a bit leery of possible handling issues. I’ve found the bike to be forgiving and responsive. Lean clearance is adequate, and the bikes ergonomics let you know in a nice way you’ve reached the lean limit as your heels are the first thing to drag, at least with my big feet. The 200mm rear tire, new for Softails in 06’ looks good but gives slightly different feed back in tight turns at low speed. Nothing bad but it is different.
On the down side, the bike was poorly tuned from the company. Big air cooled engines and very lean emission compliant mixture settings make at best a poor performing bike, and at worst a downright dangerous ride. In stock tune the bike would not throttle up from idle without backfire, even fully warmed up, when the air temperature was less then 45. Random severe backfire, not just pops, were normal regardless of air temperature. The drag style handlebars become uncomfortable after about an hour of riding, I'm going to change them to short apes, like the FXSTS. The only other major complaint is the seat. The passenger section is about worthless.
So why an air cooled Harley? I like them. They foster memories of great times. It’s a fairly simple bike and I can fix and maintain it myself. I have great interest in other makes and types of rides and hold no prejudice against other makes or models. I don’t care what you ride. What matters is that you ride it well.
Why (do I) ride?
There is just something so uniquely satisfying about riding. It is a connection of soul and machine that no other form of transportation offers. It’s challenging. No matter how long you’ve been riding, you can always learn new techniques and skills. When you’re in the wind, every sense, every nerve is alive and giving you feedback. There is simply nothing else like it.
About Photography
It’s a great hobby, and digital
cameras have revolutionized it. I’m still learning how to use my new camera,
an Olympus
E-500. Hopefully my pictures will get better as time goes by. My last real
camera was a Pentax K1000 - a 35mm manual SLR, which I wore out. If I can figure
out how to copy files from outdated disks I’ve got hundreds of scans from
various rallies and events that could find there way on this site.