This morning's weather was much like yesterday. Perfectly sunny with a slight chill in the air. I needed to do a couple of things including booking my Road King in for a service with the Harley Guru. I also wanted to chat to the guru about the impending trip across the Nullarbor and get an opinion from him about any risks involved in taking the 11 y.o. machine on such a large run.
Jobs out of the way I headed to the guru, fortunately there was a spot open the following week to have the service done so I grabbed it. Now for the hard questions. I know the following
- The Harley guru cares about the bikes he looks after, and his reputation
- He only sees the ones that break other than regular services, but he also knows what models may break and when that might happen
- I've heard him refuse to fit parts and undertake work that would lead to a result that would not meet his high standards (while I was there he refused to fit some chinese manufactured handlbars to a bike citing manufacturing/safety concerns).
- His business runs on servicing Harley's, so if one wanted to be cynical you could take advice that things need to be done as a way to generate income. I DO NOT believe the guru operates that way but anyone reading this might think me stupid if I didn't consider it.
- Lastly, and it's all about the bike. It's done over 50,000k's and is 11 y.o. I'd like to know what "might" happen, if there's any major services/issues that might occur within the next 15,000 km. Let's face it, by the time I get back from Perth another 15,000k's on the clock is certainly not out of the ballpark.
The advice from the Harley guru. He wouldn't take it without doing some work on the motor. He believes that there is a possibility given his experience with the model of my bike that some proactive work should be done and if done, then there's no question the old Road King would be up to the challenge.
Hi also, interestingly, made a comment about the spoked wheels on the Harley Davidson being an issue for serious touring. Spoked wheels apparently require tubes, punctures therefore definitely mean a tow. Allow wheels with tubeless tyres can be fixed and re-inflated with a cheap kit and ten minutes later you are on your way. I've not heard this before, but it's very sensible advice.
My options for consideration are
- Do nothing and take the risk
- Spend some money on the Road King
- Buy a new bike
I'm not actually happy about any of the options and none of them are out of the question, so some serious thinking is required.
k's today: only 10.
