Feeling just a little safer on the road thanks to Pope Francis I @Pontifex, @harleydavidson

Here's a story, courtesy of the Irish Independent, that I like: 'Hell's Angel' motorbikes get papal blessing! Never mind the stereotyped headline reference to Hell's Angels - Pope Francis I "performed a "Blessing of the Motorbikes" for hundreds of Harley-Davidson owners who gathered at St Peter's Square to celebrate the 110th anniversary of the brand". I sure would have liked to have been one of the lucky bikers to get such a blessing from the main man himself. The Harley-Davidson Motor Company also presented the Pope with a leather jacket and two new bikes - no doubt he'll give these to charities. A superb job done by whoever in Harley-Davidson's Marketing Department arranged this event!

Pope Francis I is shown a leather jacket from Harley-Davidson Motor Company
Senior VP Mark Hans-Richer, at the Vatican.
Image source: Huffington Post.

The Harley-Davidson Motor Company likes anniversaries - my own bike, a Heritage Softail Classic (FLSTC) is a 100th anniversary model. This year they have special 110th anniversary models and five years ago they had 105th anniversary models. Does anyone else do this? They are milking anniversaries for every sale. I would not swap my 100th anniversary model for anything - 100 years is special, 105 and 110 are not. Maybe 125 years is OK?

Harley-Davidson Woes

The trouble with Harleys is that they break down, as do all other motorcycles. And when they do they are expensive to repair. Last week while putting my bike into the shed I felt the clutch cable snap, or at least I thought I did. I have insurance with HOG Assistance, so I called them up on Friday morning - TWO HOURS later I finally got the AA to collect the bike after HOG failed to help me and I got the AA to sort me out. They have a clever system where they have a bike trailer in the back of the van that folds out like you see in the photo. The very helpful Mick of the AA brought me and the bike to Motorcycle City in Blessington Street.

What at first appeared to be a simple case of replacing the clutch cable has now turned into a massive repair job. First, I had never seen the inside of the left side of the bike's gearbox. In the photo to the right the bike is on a its hospital bed. I got a great detailed explanation as to what caused the "snap" I felt. It had nothing to do with the clutch cable. It is connected to a clutch shaft on the right side of the bike. This shaft goes through to the other side where the problem was located. In the photo below the finger is pointing to the end of the shaft, just below this is the nut that has broken off the end piece of the shaft. 

The clutch shaft has to be replaced, and unfortunately all the bearings and clips attached to it also have to be replaced too. It is a major mechanical operation where the bike has to be taken apart. I don't have a price yet, but I am worried about how much this is going to cost - labour alone will run to a few hundred euro. Only last month the starter clutch was replaced. For the first time I've wondered whether I should keep this bike at all - but ten seconds later I stopped wondering this.

My Best Birthday Cake Ever! #Harley-Davidson #spoilt

Normally I keep quiet about my birthday, but Facebook sent me several "Happy Birthday" messages this morning from family and friends - so the word is out.

However, I could not keep it quiet after seeing the birthday cake my daughter Vicki made me last night - I was banned from the kitchen so did not see it until today.

All I can say is WOW - it looks fantastic and delicious!!! Almost a sin to eat it! I think this is the best birthday cake I have ever had - thank you Vicki!

Check out also the new shirt - also a birthday present! I feel very spoilt today.

Yesterday I heard an ad on the radio for the over 55s, and a horrible thought struck me - in less than three months time I will be able to say "Next year I will be 55". 

Harley in Hospital

The bike went on fire last Thursday morning - well at least there was smoke coming out of the ignition which is placed on top of the petrol tank. Following on from our previous Lucky Escape when a light switch also smouldered with smoke, I'm beginning to wonder if there is a trend developing here. 

My Bike.

While on the new Samuel Beckett bridge close to the College on my way to work, the bike suddenly cut out. I got it re-started with a bit of bother, but moments later in the college car park I spotted and smelled the smoke - a bit disconcerting.

Despite some great effort by electricians in the College to get it going again, it would not start. On Saturday morning I brought it to Motorcycle City where Brian and Graham are experts in fixing everything Harley. I have big plans for a tour of Ireland this summer, so I'm so glad that this did not happen on the Connemara cost - miles from everywhere. Hopefully I can pick it up tomorrow after work. I have the bike over nine years now and it has become part of me. I hope to blog a lot about my Tour of Ireland - more on this in upcoming posts.

How did you spend your time here on Earth?

I now have my Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail nine years - it was in mid-January 2003 that I bought the special Centenary Edition with some of the proceeds of my redundancy payment from SmartForce. Yesterday the clock passed the 40,000 mile mark. In recent time I have questioned whether it I should continue to keep it. While it costs very little to run and it's fully paid for - in times of recession it is a luxury to be going in and out of work on a Harley. Thankfully - such thoughts only last seconds and I remind myself about the great experiences I have had and what owning a Harley means. Check out the following ad for the Harley-Davidson V-ROD to see what I mean - "It's time to ride".

Copied from American Iron Magazine (May 2004)

European Parliament - Spoil Sports!

Today's Independent newspaper reports that the European Parliament is to vote on a wide range of new laws aimed at bikers and their rides. The article, Bikers out in force against new safety rules, reports on a protest in Dublin by the Motorcyclists' Action Group. Among the proposals are to force all bikers to wear high-visibility jackets, the introduction of an NCT style test for all bikes, and no customization of bikes.

I sometimes wear a high viz vest - the photo to the right was taken near the top of a mountain in Andorra last summer when it was raining and was very cloudy. But mostly I don't. My bike has three headlamps which are on all the time - kinda hard to miss me when they are on. The long-sleeved high viz jacket that is proposed takes away from the leather jacket look, and is definitely uncool (even my sleeveless one which is decorated with Harley-Davidson logos). This new law will create a business opportunity for clothes manufacturers, as well as practically kill the leather jacket and motorclothes industry. Wearing a high-viz jacket will not make me feel safer - that will only happen when idiot drivers in cars and trucks start to pay attention on the road. Dull coloured cars being driven around with no headlights on in the twilight time by idiots are far more dangerous. Despite the noise my bike makes - some idiots don't hear me, despite the three headlights, some idiots don't see me, WTF difference will a high-viz jacket make?

An NCT test is bad news for Harley riders - mine would almost certainly fail a noise test as the exhaust pipes are Screamin' Eagle custom pipes that make a lot of noise. Very few of us keep the factory pipes. I have also customized my bike quite a lot, which both personalizes it and makes it look cooler. 

These proposals are no doubt aimed at saving lives - if they save even one life in the whole of Europe, then of course they will be worthwhile. However, I feel that they are being introduced by faceless Eurocrats with nothing else to do besides spoil our fun on bikes - where is Maggie Thatcher when we need her?. I bet none of them ever had something exiting between their legs. My message to them is to "Feck Off"!

Almost Ready To Go!

Passport - check. Tickets - check. Petrol - check. Rain gear - check. iPhone - check. iPad - check. Clean underwear - check.

When packing light, it is easy to forget something - no doubt I will anyway. We (Pat C. and I) leave tomorrow morning for Rosslare and the over-night ferry to Cherbourg in France. The weather is forecast to be very wet tomorrow - I bought a new rain-proof over-suit that fits over my leather jacket. Looks like I'll need it in the rain tomorrow. Tuesday in Northern France is expected to be cloudy with showers, but once we get to central France the sun is expected to come out - hopefully it will stay this way until I reach my destination (Murcia in Spain) on Thursday.

My biggest fear on this trip is mechanical failure. Last trip to France in the summer of 2008 was a mechanical disaster - with Macadam Moto in Montpelier taking their time (nearly two weeks) to fix my bike. I have had it serviced by Mick and his excellent crew in Motorcycle City - I'm satisfied that the bike is in as good a shape as possible for this trip.

I hope to blog along the way - ferries now have WiFi on board, and I'll be on the watch out for free WiFi in hotels and restaurants too. I'm borrowing Roma's iPad to make blogging and keeping in touch with email easier.

Excitement is building - to quote Lt George (before going over-the-top) in the final episode of Blackadder Goes Forth:

"I'm as excited as a terribly excited person who has a really good reason for being terribly excited".

Freedom....! - I got my bike back

My precious Harley-Davidson is home after two weeks in Harley Hospital - Motorcycle City in Blessington Street. Graeme and Brian (the best Harley mechanics around) replaced the drive belt, rear tire, and rear brakes. However, it was a small part, a seized "collar" on the axle, that caused such a long delay. The part had to be ordered form Holland. A few hundred euro later and I am back on the road. Freedom.

While I enjoyed using the long cage (DART train), my commute to and from work was an hour each way. How so many people have the patience to do this, and longer, every day is a curiosity for me. The Harley gets me in and out in 15-20 minutes each way - and it's cooler too.

I picked the bike up on Saturday and took the long way home via the M1 and M50 - freedom....!

I have sowed the seeds with Roma about taking the bike to Europe on summer holiday next year. I feel that there are several more long trips in me still. I'd like to go back to Normandy, though we both decided that if we do go to Normandy we would prefer to take a car/van and stock up with wine and Calvados! I've never been to Northern Europe and would like to travel in Holland, Germany, Denmark, and into Sweden - something like this trip to Malmö:

View Larger Map

A guy can always dream........

My Harley Davidson

This is me on my 2003 Special Centenary Edition Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail Classic. This picture was taken for an Irish Times article called "My Bike and I" which was published in the Motoring Section on June 11th, 2003 - you can read the full article on-line by clicking here.

This is of course my pride and joy - I use it almost everyday to go to work and it has to be the coolest way to commute.

My longest trip was from Dublin to Almancil on the Portuguese Algarve - and back. Just over 5,000 KM. I must write a Blog post about this trip.