The Atomic Shovel is HOME!!! Thank you Ivy Vanessa Yapelli for giving me a lift, and for taking the beautiful pics of riding into the sunset! Feeling very John Wayne….pilgrim….
Got the bike home, popped the saddlebags on – they bit me – those damn springs. Cleaned and lowered the windshield, put most of the Red Fox jewels on – I need some Chicago screws to finish that job. Swapped my phone holder out for a larger one. Tried to put the chain guard on, but it was being fussy, so I will do that another day.
Oh, and I had to adjust my right controls to get the right side mirror in the right position. Whoo!! Good bunch of little stuff done.
The best part is how smooth the bike is now, compared to before. The vibration through the bike before was pretty violent, and very destructive. I did a post after my TN trip where I listed the 13 things that had fallen off or broken off the bike, or failed in some way due to the insane shovel shake.
And with a brand new clutch and throw out bearing, the bike shifts like butter. Before, I literally had to stomp on the shifter to get the bike to go from one gear to the next. It was SO bad. Now it shifts just as nice as my 2011 Road King.
I did forget how craptastic the brakes are though! Took a few stops for me to remember to leave myself space, and clamp the shit out of the front brake.
OMG how I have missed this misfit bike! It is stubborn and crabby and crude – all torque and no top end – but I LOVE THIS BIKE.
Utah, here we come!
Today certainly did not go as planned, but I am back on track. Minus a scratch and a chip in the brand new paint on my fender. Sumbitch.
So I took the Atomic Shovel out for what was planned to be a 200-mile shakedown ride. It’s been running so good, I felt that was a reasonable goal. Until……
Rolling out of the driveway I heard a “rotational squeak.” As in, I had a squeak somewhere in the front wheel area that was related to wheel speed. WTF. Since I just put the front fender back on, I knew it was somehow related. I checked everything 6 times. Couldn’t find the source. Checked my tire. It looked fine. So I went. Screw it. I hit the gas station, and once I slowed down enough that the engine noise didn’t drown it out, there was that damn squeak again.
At this point, I decided to stop over to the shop where the bike has lived and see if Dan could help me find the squeak. If it wasn’t life threatening, it would continue riding. If it was a problem, I was only 20 miles from home, so I could go back and fix it.
Turns out it was the head of a ziptie I had used to lasso the tailgunner wires. I also noticed that I had lost the ring and lens for one of the same tailgunner lights. Sumbitch twice, and once more cuz it feels good.
So I turned back and headed home. Shakedown aborted. Pulling that fender off and putting it back on by myself is a colossal pain in the ass. The first time was really bad. Today, I guess I figured out a couple things and it was slightly easier, but with the repairs and everything, I ended up gouging the paint in one spot and chipping it in another. Nothing I can do at this point.
Also nothing I can do about the lost lens. I tried calling V-Twin to see if replacement parts are available, but could not get through to an actual human, so apparently for the moment, that answer is a hard no. Trying not to be super pissed about that. It isn’t really working tho.
However, I did get the wires secured with a different strategy, got the fender reinstalled, tested the squeak (all gone), tested the lights, headlight back in and tested. All good.
Tomorrow I have another shakedown planned. Hopefully that will go a bit more smoothly.
I did take some better shots of the bike once I got it fixed. I swear I need to sage that damn bike. It has an angry soul.
Atomic update: Far better day today. Did about 200 miles with my girls today. Bike ran great, no front fender issues. Lost a screw out of my right hand controls, but I had extras with me, so a huge gob of loctite – no, I don’t care that you are only supposed to use a drop – and the new screw was in place. Tightened the others, loctited one of those. Tank badge screws were also loose. More loctite.
Everything else appears to be holding tight.
Huge thanks to my Stilettos sisters for all the love and support y’all give me. 💙💙💙💙
The Atomic Shovel 