A beautiful Saturday afternoon greeted us for our ride with sunny skies and warmish temperatures (mid-50s).  As I visited with my mom, Bill rode the bikes down to the street as he always does.  I haven’t gotten a motorcycle out of the garage since I dropped the Ducati Scrambler in the driveway.  I think this is a little unfair as I realized what I did wrong (not in gear) on that drop, but Bill really loves the R Nine T, so I understand his overprotectiveness.

            Anyway, Bill had both motorcycles down on the street.  We put on our gear—I was wearing my Schott’s leather jacket without the liner; Bill was sticking with the Klim.  I finished dressing first and headed down to my bike.  I noticed Bill heading out without his Helite airbag vest and gestured to him so he would turn back and put it on before he came all the way down the driveway.  I started my bike enjoying the back and forth shake of the boxer engine and waited to hear the rumble of the Rocket.  It didn’t come.

            Now to get the motorcycles down to the bottom of the driveway, Bill starts them up and shifts into first gear to use the power of the engines to help move the bikes.  So the Rocket had started up in the garage, no problem.  Yet just as we were ready to start our ride, the Triumph wouldn’t turn over.  Having experienced no starts on the Rocket, Bill patiently took out the key fob to check the battery.  Dead.

            Two and a half months ago, the key fob received a brand-new battery.  The fob gets used once a week, and with the rainy weekends and the tire puncture, not used every weekend.  The fob has been used maybe 7-8 times.  Why, then, is the battery already dead?  The fob for my car has gotten two batteries over three years and that fob sees daily use.  So what is the deal, Triumph?  Why does the Rocket fob burn through batteries?  It is a keyless ignition; is the fob constantly searching for the bike?  Or is our fob poorly wired?

            Whatever the reason, the frustration of having to dismount, disrobe (the gear), dig out a battery, pry the old battery out, and hope the new battery will work.  Luckily for our ride, it did.  But it sure allowed frustration to build and nearly ruined our ride.  However, once we got underway, the joy of riding drove away the frustration.

            A lot more Christmas decorations were out including several Grinches, a walrus, and a polar bear delivering a Christmas tree.  My ride went really well.  The curvy road was fun; I focused on balancing my speed and my lean.  The no look turns are improving, and my U-turns were really tight even on the gravel.

            The squirrels were out and making up for missing last week.  We had five encounters.  I saw a turkey buzzard circling just before we headed out.  And I saw either the same one or another later into the ride.  Other than the turkey buzzards, I saw some large crows enjoying the day, but despite the warm day, it is looking more and more like winter.

            As beautiful as the day was and as enjoyable as the ride was, it didn’t end well.  As I dismounted the R Nine T, rather hastily as I really needed to use the bathroom, I inadvertently kicked the right turn signal on the back.  As well built as the BMWs are, the two turn signals are rather flimsily attached.  It doesn’t take much to knock them out of their seating.  Bill did it once, and now I’ve done it too.  It’s not as bad as the Rocket key fob, but it did let the ride end on a sour note.  Overall, however, the light is a minor repair and, doing some work on the motorcycles is part of the fun of riding.