It was a warm mid-July morning with the promise of more thunderstorms at some point in the day as we planned to head out for our ride. We didn’t get far at first, but eventually we did get going.
My parents’ driveway is very steep; walking up it I can feel my calf muscles straining. Plus, ever since I dropped the Ducati Scrambler in the driveway, Bill has been the one to back both motorcycles out of the garage and park them down on the road. He starts with the Rocket and then the R Nine T. I visit a bit with my mom, change into my Daytona riding boots, while he does this.
On this particular morning, I was helping my mom scan some documents and had popped out to let Bill know that I wouldn’t be long. Bill was sitting on the Rocket having backed it out of the garage in preparation for riding it down into the street, but instead of riding, we waved me over. The Rocket wouldn’t turn over. The dashboard lit up as it should though the fuel gauge didn’t move, but when Bill again hit the starter, it gave a whine and nothing.
We haven’t owned the Rocket even a year yet. It is a beautiful motorcycle, a dream bike in man ways, but it does have technical issues with the key fob. Many riders report connectivity issues with the key fob, having the bike say it is out of range in the middle of a ride. Bill has had issues in closeness of the fob for the engine to engage, but it always did engage until today. We pushed the motorcycle back into the garage, and Bill went out and bought new batteries for the fob. Still no turnover, so I called the Triumph dealer to speak to a mechanic. The only practical suggestion to come from the conversation was to check the connections on the battery because they may have “vibrated loose” according to the mechanic. Bill did so jiggling them as he checked for tightness; they were tight.
It seemed as though our ride was shot, but Bill pressed the ignition switch one more time and was rewarded with the grumble of the engine igniting. Since the battery cables weren’t really loose, we think he jiggled them enough to let the starter connect. It is a good thing to know when a motorcycle acts up to check the battery cables. We keep all of our motorcycles on battery tenders. These provide a constant charge to the bikes’ batteries, useful because they are not ridden every day like our cars are driven every day. But even with the tender, the connections on the battery that respond to the starter can vibrate out of place—all part of learning the character of a motorcycle.
Speaking of character, once we got going, I came to the realization that of the three main motorcycles I’ve ridden for some period of time, the R Nine T is by far the easiest to ride. Once I developed my comfort level with the clutch, I’ve not had many struggles. There’s been that odd day when I had some missed shifts (and almost crashed), but I see that as character that comes with the bike. The balance of the motorcycle is phenomenal and has helped develop my confidence in making Uturns. It has the power to let me easily keep up with Bill on his Rocket, and it looks fantastic. Looking at the bike, it embodies the essence of what a motorcycle should look like. In its retro styling, it harkens back to the motorcycles of the 1940s and 1950s, and with the exception of the weird numbness I get in my right hand, the riding position is great. I still find myself thinking about the R 1250 GS, and I do still believe that is my dream bike. But being “stuck” with the R Nine T is a pretty good place to be.
Speaking of good places to be, even with the cloying heat, the ride was wonderful. My shirt was stuck to my back within five minutes of us zooming off. With our late start due to the start up issues, we went for a quick ride that was mostly cruising. The cruising allowed the air to circulate enough to keep me mostly comfortable. I also had decided to try wearing my Klim riding jeans instead of the Rev’It leather pants, and I do think those kept me a wee bit cooler. I was rewarded on the ride with three different butterflies—the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, one Cabbage White, and a small Black Swallowtail making me even happier that this ride did happen.
Flutterby Biker 