General

Returning to a Harley big-twin (a 2009 Dyna Super-Glide) makes me remember what I liked about riding the bigger bikes in the old days.

When I returned to riding last year, I wasn't sure my spate of problems with my knees, hip and ankles would allow me to handle the weight of a big twin so I opted for the lighter 1200 Low Sportster. The Sporty didn't ride like the Harleys I remembered. I was quick, darty and a little top heavy but it didn't put too much strain on my beleagured joints and provided more than 6,000 miles of riding fun over six months.

The decision to switch to the Super Glide, which weighs in at more than 100 pounds over the Sporty, came only after two prolonged test rides. I found the Glide easier to ride, more stable and more predictable than the Sportster.

After just 40 miles, it became obvious that the solo seat that comes stock on the SG had to go. It may be OK for a younger, lighter man but my 61-year-old butt hurt like hell. So I opted for the two-up Sundowner seat that provides more padding for the butt. A fellow rider in Roanoke Valley HOG is swapping his passenger footpegs out for boards and his front riding pegs for forward controls so I was able to get them for a reasonable price.

Buying the Glide means canceling my plans for bike week in Daytona. The funds to buy the bike came out of my Daytona fund and I will have to replenish it before any long road trips.  But the weekend is supposed to be nice and I will be on the road.

When I bought the Sportster 1200L last year I knew it would only be a matter of time before I moved up to a big twin. The Sporty was a transition bike to get back into riding after too many years off.

Did so this week, replacing the Sporty with a Super Glide (left) through Harley's "full MSRP" deal that provided the price I paid for the bike last year as a trade-in. Harley-Davidson of Whytheville also offered credit for the Screaming Eagle upgrades.

I talked to two different dealers about upgrading. One offered just lip service with a "take it or leave it" price for the Super Glide without a factory security system. That dealer offered no credit for the SE upgrade and said they would charge their standard labor rates for removing accessories from the Sporty and to transfer the Garmin GPS and XM Radio to the new bike. HD Wytheville beat the price even for a Glide with a factory security system, removed the accessories for free and moved the Garmin over without charge. They also delivered the bike this week without charge.

I thought the deal was dead when the clutch on the Sporty died during a Sunday ride home to pick up my title but the dealer absorbed the cost of replacing the clutch as part of the deal even though a clutch is considered a wear item and not covered by warranty.

Needless to say, I've found a new dealer to take care of my new ride.

Depending on how you interpret it, last weekend was (1) blind luck, (2) someone watching over me or (3) a warning that my luck is running out.

It began Saturday when I followed another biker out of the driveway of Roanoke Valley Harley-Davidson en route to a rally and fundraiser for the American Cancer Society at a nearby Texas Steakhouse. The biker ahead of me upshifted and both of his mufflers dropped off his Dyna. The pipes cascaded back towards me on Peters Creek Road. I swerved left and missed the tumbling mufflers.

The single bolt that held the mufflers in place came loose and allowed the pipes to drop off.  While we examined his bike for any damage, at least a dozen bikers came by but not one stopped to see if we needed any help. Times have changed on the road.

Sunday morning. 8:30 a.m.  I headed down Bent Mountain on U.S. 221, on my way to a breakfast in Roanoke. As I straightened the bike out between curves, a young deer darted out of the bushes and sprinted across the road, right in front my Sportster. With no time to brake or swerve, I hit the deer's right hindquarter with the front fire of the bike. The deer fell to the pavement, its right rear leg broken. The bike wobbled but I regained control and stopped just in time to see the deer run off on three legs, dragging its broken leg.

Surprisingly, the impact at about 45 miles per hour did not damage the Harley. I found deer fur in the treads of the front tire but nothing on the bike was bent or damaged.  I proceeded on to Roanoke and put a couple of hundred miles on the bike in an afternoon ride.

I was lucky to hit a deer with a motorcycle and walk away from the incident. I can't attribute the escape to any skill on my part, just blind luck...and possibly the intervention of a higher power.

Thanks.

Took my wife's Suzuki GZ 250 down to Roanoke for service Monday. Thick fog blanketed the area at 7:45 a.m., delaying my departure until shortly after 8. Even with the sun in the sky, fog remained a problem until I hit the bottom of Bent Mountain on 221.

Amy's bike is sized right for her (5-foot-2, 105 pounds) which means I look like a Shriner on a miniture bike in a parade when I ride it. The 250-cc single cylinder engine has problems pulling a hill in fifth when I'm aboard so I spend a lot of time downshifting an upshifting on the hills and valleys of 221 between Floyd and Bent Mountain.

Still, it's a fun bike that's easy to dial into a turn and lean as far as you need to make the tightest of curves. Turning off Virginia 419 into the clovereleaf turn for U.S. 220 North I was able to maintain 55 through the sweeping curve and quickly zoom up to 65 on I-581 to Peters Creek Road.

On the return trip, I had to drop it into third for the climb up Bent Mountain but still managed to maintain a steady 45 through the turns. My Sportster 1200 Low will pull Bent Mountain easily in fourth and I handles the dips and hills of Floyd County in fifth without any problems. My left ankle hurt from the constant shifting of the Suzuki by the time I pulled into the garage of home late Monday afternoon but it was still an enjoyable ride.

Deer pose a constant threat to motorcycle riders here in Southwestern Virginia (and to cars as well). Robert Pauley, a veteran biker, was killed last year when he hit a deer near Riner. I know others who have had close encounters with the four-footed road blocks and I've had to break or swerve more than once in recent weeks.

But Saturday night brought my closest call yet. Heading home after listening to music at the Floyd County Store, I had just passed over the bridge near Ray's Restaurant on U.S. 221 north of Floyd when I saw a doe standing on the side of the road right across from the entrance to Great Oaks Country Club. I braked and slowed from 50 miles per hour to about 20.  As I neared the intersection, the doe darted into the road. I swerved to the right and into the entrance road to the golf club.

Everything went fine until I hit the grass that surrounds the planter in the center of the entrance road. The wheels lost traction on the wet grass and the bike went down, trapping me between the bike and the planter. At the time, I had slowed to maybe five miles per hour but my left leg was pinned beneath the bike with my ankle caught between the left side foot peg and the shifter.

Several cars passed as I tried to free myself from the downed bike but I was mostly hidden behind the planter on the entrance road. I was reaching for my cell phone to call for help when a couple in a pickup truck stopped. They had spotted me while driving northbound on U.S. 221 and turned around and also called the State Police for help. They managed to lift the bike off my leg and I crawled free.

We righted the bike on the kickstand as Trooper Keith Gregory arrived. My ankle and knee throbbed from being pinned but I was able to walk it off. Gregory and I inspected the bike and nothing appeared bent or broken. He followed me the short distance to Ray's and I used their rest room to clean up before climbing back on the bike and heading home. Once in the garage, I checked the bike over and found nothing bent, scratched or broken. My only injury was a scrape on my left leg, caused either by a rock in the grass or the edge of the planter. My leg may brushed it when the bike went down.

Unfotunately, I did not get the name of the couple who stopped. I wish I had.

I was lucky. Others who have encountered deer or other animals on the highway have not been so.

Let's be careful out there.