Road Captain USA.com

Where to begin?  I love this bike!  She is a cute little bugger, and she runs great.  She is dependable, fuel efficient, and stylin’!

The XLH 883 is known as a “hugger”.  I am not entirely sure what that means, but the bike is a lowered version of a Sportster.  It is just the right size for many women or men of smaller stature.  The seat height is only about a half-inch below a Low Rider, and is actually a half-inch higher than the current Softail Deluxe.  Its overall length and wheelbase are only about 5 inches shorter than your average big-twin, so don’t let “small” make you think it is a mini-bike!  Think of it as super-easy to maneuver around the garage!

The bike is about 200-250 pounds lighter than your typical Harley cruiser or touring bike.  It is very easy to maneuver, and is very fun to zip around town.  It has a higher center of gravity, so when you “dip,” you actually dip.  It should be a carnival ride!  FUN - FUN - FUN !!!  Of course this has its downside too.  When riding on a windy day or across a bridge with strong cross-winds, the bike gets thrashed around like a dinghy in a hurricane!  It can be a workout riding this bike, but then who’s going to complain about building up arm muscles and dropping a couple of pounds?

Even though my bike is going on 8 years old, she is just coming into her prime.  They say it takes 5000 miles just to break them in.  Well she just crossed the 7000 mile mark Saturday.  I have her serviced every spring whether she needs it or not (LOL).  She got the 5K treatment this May, and I had to get her a new battery.  Oh horror!  A new battery is the only “repair” I’ve ever had to do…I should go screaming to find the “lemon law” police!!!  This bike is solidly reliable, and has been professionally tuned by Custom Cycle & Machine in New Castle, Delaware.

The 883 cc motor is powerful but not too powerful.  She’s got some serious pick-up-and-go, but she doesn’t run super-hot like the new 96 cu inch V-twins on 2007 and later models.  It’s a win-win situation especially for a new rider who might be tentative about too much power.  She is carbuerated, so a little warm up time is needed to get her running in the morning.  I just let her run while I check her over and get geared up.  She also has a tendency to spit a little oil out of the airbox when she is run extensively at high rpms, but its no big deal.

The best part about my Sporty is the fuel economy.  She has been getting 70 miles to the gallon!  Yes, that is right — we gassed up yesterday at 106 miles and she only took 1.5 gallons.  You might think that it is a disadvantage only having a 3-point-something gallon tank, but the fact of the matter is that she doesn’t need a bigger one.  I can go 200 miles without even thinking about a fill-up.  I use HALF as much gas in my bike as I do in my car (which gets a pretty darn good 35 mpg)!  If I was going to keep her, I’d throw on a luggage rack and use her as a daily commuter and to run errands around town.

Altogether, my 2001 Harley Davidson XLH 883 is a fabulous bike!  She has several chrome accessories including the engine guard, oil tank, clutch & brake levers, upper & lower belt covers and sprocket cover. She also has a Barnett steel braided teflon coated clutch cable that made it easier for me to pull in the clutch than the original 2001 cable. Jay says if you throw on apes or drag bars and cool exhaust you would have a stylin’ chopper, but I like her just the way she is!  She was a fabulous beginner bike for me, and I am sure that she will do right by someone else that will love her as much as I do.

If you know someone who is in the market for a great bike like this, check her out at http://delaware.craigslist.org/mcy/753129412.html or email editor@roadcaptainusa.com

Tags: Mrs Road Captain, Product Reviews by Diana Green
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The Soggy Hog trip to Mansfield, PA left my Harley Davidson motorcycle filthy! I’m not into cleaning my bike but there was dirt in every nook and cranny after the Mansfield trip. After I cleaned the bike my engine was still dirty. My 2007 Dyna Low Rider has a black powder coated engine with a crinkle texture. The Mansfield grime worked it’s way deep into the cooling fins and turned every inch of that black powder coat crinkle finish to brown!

I asked around and I was told to get the new S100 Total Cycle Cleaner in the red aerosol can but I couldn’t find it. What I did find was the S100 Engine Brightner also in a red aerosol can. I bought it at Mike’s Famous Harley Davidson in New Castle, Delaware.

S100 Engine Brightner is made specifically to renew the look of black finished engines and to get inside those cooling fins. You spray on a thin film of this stuff using the special nozzle that comes with it and it makes your engine look like new! I swear, it looks showroom new again! Wipe off any over spray that gets on your chrome and your good to go. It works fantastic and it did just what I needed it to do. My engine went from brown to black instantly! I missed some places where the exhaust comes out of the front most cylinder and you can see a night and day difference.

It reminds me of when I was a kid and I sprayed WD40 on everything after having read on the can that WD40 makes things shine. Of course it makes everything smell like oil also! I wasn’t a smart kid.

It is several days later and it still looks wet, just like a thin film of oil. The first day after using the product I came out to the parking lot at work and noticed that pollen blowing around in the breeze had stuck to the oily film. I wiped it down with a dry cloth and it looks great again!

If you have a black engine, I highly reccomend you get this right away!

Click here to read about the product at the S100 web site.

Get it at J&P Cycles.

Tags: Product Reviews by Jay Green
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Here is another terrific product I purchased at Marys Bargain Cycle before our Rhode Island trip: The Kuryakyn Swingwing pegs part# 4466. As a rider with mid mount controls I occasionally feel my legs stiffen and need to momentarily stretch them out. Two seconds of useing my cruise pegs does wonders for my circulation and knees. I notice a lot of riders use their highway pegs extensively. So what is a passenger to do? They have to ride for miles with no alternative foot positions, especially if you are riding a bike with pegs.

I was going to buy the Harley Davidson Dyna passenger footboard mount kit for $199.95 (footboards NOT included) so that Diana could move her feet around a bit more than the pegs allow, but then I saw these Kuryakyn Swingwing pegs. I bought them for $159.99 at Mary’s in the New Castle Farmers Market. Diana loves them!

The Swingwings were not designed as a passenger peg. They are designed to be an inexpensive alternative to a forward control conversion for those of us with mid mount foot controls. The swings give you a set of 3″ forward cruise pegs. In the closed position they are like a mini floorboard with very thick rubber cushion that can be replaced when worn out. For highway cruising you can swing out the wings for two additional foot positions. The passenger can use the inner pegs, the forward highway pegs or bridge her feet diagnally across from the inner to the outer pegs. Diana was very appreciative of the added comfort.

Installation was simple and Diana was more than willing to assist since this addition was meant for her comfort. She says that in the folded up position they look like chrome staple guns. Folded down they look like jet airplane wings.

Tags: Product Reviews by Jay Green
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While at Cox’s Northern Tier Harley Davidson on our May 2008 “Return to Mansfield” trip, I spotted a jacket that really caught my eye.  It was basically black with lots of trim in a gorgeous electric turqouise color…and cost $200   :(    I wasn’t really thinking about shopping at the time, let alone putting additional baggage on the bike for the weekend, so I let it go.  But after arriving home I found I couldn’t let it go.  I looked it up on harley-davidson.com and discovered all of the great features of this jacket.  It is waterproof, windproof, has front & back vents, reflective piping, a bungee cord system on both sides for a custom fit, and even removeable lightweight armor (not to mention the gorgeous embroidery on the back of two tribal style screaming eagles facing each other with the bar and shield logo)!   :)

A few days before “Our Trip with Skip” to Rhode Island, First State HOG held its annual spring barbeque meeting at Mike’s Famous Harley Davidson in New Castle.  The store was closing as we arrived for the meeting, but I saw that they had my jacket.  I tried it on for size and showed it to Jay.  He agreed that it was very attractive and was good quality.  So the next evening we rode up to purchase it along with some S-100 products (thanks for the recommendation, Dave) with our Mike’s Famous Famous Rewards points.  I even threw in a really cute pair of shorts, and we still paid only $108 for the whole lot after redeeming our reward points!

Since the weather report for our Rhode Island trip was calling for some cooler temperatures and a good chance of rain, I decided that my new jacket would be perfect for the trip.  I was right!  The jacket was warm enough to keep me comfortable on the 58 degree mornings, and lightweight enough that it was not too hot until we started pushing 80 degrees in the afternoons.  I didn’t have to worry about stopping and pulling out rain gear for just a little sprinkle because the jacket is waterproof.  It proved to be water resistant in light rain, but I put raingear on for the heavy stuff.  This jacket is much less bulky under rain gear and easier to fold up than my leather.  I felt a little more secure flying down the Jersey Turnpike knowing that I had the built in armor to protect me should we take a spill.  Heck, it had to be better than the lightweight tan color Harley Davidson denim jacket I usually wear when it’s warm out! I love that jacket too! I brought both of them on the trip so I would have something to wear when it got hot in the afternoon.

 I’ve never had a jacket that was vented before, so I had to ask Jay if they normally put vents in the upper part of the sleeves.  I couldn’t help but wonder if someone at HD actually recognized that a large percentage of the time, women will be riding on the back of a motorcycle and simply don’t get as much breeze across their chest as they do on their arms!  It was either a freak coincidence, or it was brilliant! The arm vents could be an inch or two longer.

The fit is fabulous.  The velcro cuffs neatly enclose the sleeve ends over my gloves, so there is no need to go the gauntlet route.  And after purchasing a size Large to fit around my chest, the bungee cords on the sides allow me to tighten the jacket up around my waist for a snug fit all around.  There is also a zipper in the center of the back that expands and contracts the fit around the hips.  It is very comfortable, versatile, and best of all mega-stylish!  I will be getting a lot of use out of this fabulous find.  I love it!

Special thanks to Nicole and her staff at Mike’s Famous Harley Davidson Apparel and Motorclothes Department for their assistance in this purchase and showing us how to redeem our Mike’s Famous Rewards points.

Tags: Mrs Road Captain, Product Reviews by Diana Green
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Another great product: The Jiffystand Extension! I know that sometimes I get down on Harley Davidson and this may be another episode of Jay criticizes the beloved MoCo. Hopefully Diana and I write a balanced website that represents my dynamic love hate relationship with the coolest brand of motorcycles in the world.

The kickstand on my 2007 FXDL Dyna Low Rider is difficult to find with my foot. It’s tucked way under the primary. In my humble opinion this is an engineering flaw on a $17,000 motorcycle. Does the Harley Davidson company know there is such a thing as ergonomics? The killer is Harley Davidson does know this needs to be rectified! They sell accessory part# 50214-98A to correct the flaw at a retail price of $39.95… once again the MoCo marketing people prove to be ingenious at exploiting our brand loyalty. Why don’t they make the kickstand correctly to begin with? Because HD stands for hundreds of dollars in accessories.

I’m not sure if Harley Davidson manufactures this part or if the V-Twin company of Vails Gate, New York makes this. The V-Twin aftermarket part# is 27-0521 for the same exact part and I bought one for $24.95 at Mary’s Bargain Cycle at the New Castle Farmers Market in Delaware. Actualluy, I bought two. I liked it so much I got one for my friend Diesel. Once installed this is a major convenience.

I did not have to drill a hole in the kickstand to install the device. I’m not saying this is difficult to install, but it requires 3 hands and I only have two. You have to hold a nut in place with a wrench, screw an allen bolt into the nut, and hold the part in position in order to install the device. If the manufacturer would thread the little plate than it would be a simple two hand operation and the nut would not be needed. Maybe if I did drill the hole I have read about, it would be easier to install.

This gizmo is fantastic. This particular part fits FXD models 1990 and up. If you live in Delaware and want to buy one, you can drop by Mary’s Bargain Cycle and ask for one. They usually carry one, just one. I know 301 Cycle in Middletown, DE is also an authorized V-Twin retailer.

Side note to anyone offended by my criticism of Harley Davidson: This is America baby! This is my blog and I can say what I want to! I am fair and truthful, but I may not always be right.  I have an opinion and am willing to share it. I hope that someone at Harley Davidson appreciates my view and someday makes at least one improvement based on my bitching. That would be cool! Believe me, I bitch about a lot of things at work and often times it results in change just to shut me up. So maybe my method works! God bless America and freedom of speech!

Tags: Product Reviews by Jay Green
3 Comments »

I am a little behind in writing blog posts but Diana has been picking up the slack for me. We have purchased and tested a handful of products that we still need to write about.

The first miracle product I need to tell you about is a throttle boss. I was starting to experience a lot of wrist discomfort and was thinking my riding future was in danger. I experienced serious discomfort all three days of our Rhode Island trip and was constantly trying to readjust my grip to find a comfortable position. I was unsuccessful.

Skip, who accompanied us on our Rode Island trip, had a Cramp Buster brand throttle boss and was willing to let me try it; but his was 1-3/8″ diamter and my grip required a 1-1/8″ diameter Cramp Buster. The Cramp Buster comes in two diameters and two styles for a grand total of 4 different versions. Check out the cool video on the Cramp Buster home page. You can buy Cramp Buster from JC Whitney. I believe Skip had the Throttle Rocker II prior to having the Cramp Buster and said the Throttle Rocker would loosen on him. I think he meant it would slide out of position. The Cramp Buster looks like it can be readjusted on the fly while riding and the Throttle Rocker II can not. Again, check out the demo video.

I purchased the Throttle Rocker II on Friday and tested it yesterday on a four hour backroad trip (8 hours round trip) to my brothers house in Rockville, Maryland. I bought mine at Mary’s Bargain Cycle at the New Castle Farmers Market and it was worth ten times the cost. It only cost $9.99 and you can get one from J&P Cycles.

The difference was felt immediately and was like night and day. Now I can control the throttle with a loose relaxed grip instead of the death grip. It is like having a lever attached to the throttle so you can use your whole hand including your palm to control the motorcycle. All I can say is this product is a must have item. Do not delay, get one.

The biggest difference between the Throttle Rocker II and the Cramp Buster is the Cramp Buster is a single piece of plastic that wraps tightly around your handlbar grip while the Throttle Rocker uses a velcro strap to wrap the plastic throttle boss in place. The Throttle Rocker is a universal “one size fits all” design while the Cramp Buster comes in two sizes. The Throttle Rocker comes in left and right models which are formed to fit your palm and look just a tad more comfortable than the Cramp Buster which is the same for both left and right. The Cramp Buster comes in a wide and a narrow. It appears from Skip’s comment that the Cramp Buster might be better, but if given a choice of buying a Throttle Rocker or nothing… I would get the Throttle Rocker in a heartbeat! I might even go back and get the left side for balance and comfort.

No tools required for installation. Immediate comfort. Costs less than $10. This is a no brainer!

Kuryakyn also makes throttle boss systems.  One works with special Kuryakyn grips and assembles with tools into a more permanant but adjustable position. You can check out this set up at JC Whitney or J&P Cycles. Kuryakyn also has the Pilot Grip with built in throttle boss, but this doesn’t look adjustable to me.

Side note for Delaware readers: Mary’s Bargain Cycle has moved to a new location inside the New Castle Farmer’s Market.

Tags: Product Reviews by Jay Green
5 Comments »

The first time I wore my First Gear Sierra nylon rain pants they melted onto my chrome exhaust pipes just a HOG’s whisker past the heat shield. I was pissed! FLHX Dave from the Road Grits Cafe came to my rescue with another one of his now famous product reccomendations.

 See that nasty black plastic?

At the time I was more amused by the product name: Blue Job. Shortly thereafter I wrote a post on the product but was still focussed on the amusing name and partly goofing around. Then the owner and inventer of Blue Job contacted me and we got to talking about the unique qualities of Blue Job. Blue Job was originally invented as a polish for valuable gems. Unlike traditional chrome polish Blue Job is non abrasive and does not create swirlies. It is a deoxidizer and will take the blue out of heat stained pipes. It comes with a special non abrasive cloth similar to a gem cloth that will not scratch. Jeff was kind enough to send me a Blue Job care package which included some Blue Job for me to try out. So I tried it!

[Read more →]

Tags: Product Reviews by Jay Green
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Keith Myers, President and Founder, of Moto-Maps didn’t want you all to wait till June for me to test and review the Moto-Maps system on Road Captain USA…  so he sent me the Delaware & Maryland Moto-Map Back Road Touring Guide along with a Map-Sak. Diana had to go to Baltimore Saturday so I took the opportunity to try the only Delaware Moto-Map route. It’s called the Red Ride and is documented as being 210 miles and taking approximately 5 hours. I measured 250 miles in 7 hours.

After riding in the rain in staggered formation with a passenger for three days straight the previous weekend I needed to get out on the road all by myself unrestrained for some 96ci V-Twin therapy! No worries, just me and the pavement! I stripped all touring accessories off the bike and put the compact Stop & Go tire repair kit in my riser bag. My bike felt feather light as I backed it out of the porch-garage. Without a passenger, loaded saddlebags and two tons of raingear I guess it should feel lighter. Ah the acceleration! All stress from the past work week melted away when I hit the throttle.

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Tags: Product Reviews, Trips & Places To Go by Jay Green
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For those of you who read my January 25th, 2008 post titled Dyna Touring Bike - 2 Bikes In 1 you know I have been adding only detachable accessories to my Harley Davidson Dyna Low Rider motorcycle. Without the accessories the Low Rider has a chopperesque look but with the accessories it looks like a touring mount. The best of both worlds! I call my motorcycle The Transformer.

The latest accessory is this Harley Davidson hard coated polycarbonate windshield. The retail cost of $340 was an issue for me. A fellow HOG member offered to loan me his new shield for my trip to Pennsylvania. I wasn’t going to take him up on the offer until the weather report started to scream RAIN! Fortunately for me, my friend decided to trade in his Dyna but kept the shield. He sold it to me for a price I couldn’t refuse!

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Tags: Product Reviews, Technical Stuff by Jay Green
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Diana purchased a bottle of Doc Bailey’s Leather Black a long time ago and it was sitting in the shop unopened. As our Soggy Hog Trip approached my thoughts drifted to waterproofing our gloves and boots.

I sprayed my work boots with a cheap aerosol water proofer from K-Mart. The brand was Texas Steer and it didn’t work. even though I sprayed several coats on my boots. Oh well, who needs warm dry feet?

Back to the Doc Bailey’s Leather Black which is sold at many motorcycle shops and by J&P Cycles. This leather treatment is made special for black leather. It’s great for motorcycle jackets, motorcycle chaps, motorcycle boots, motorcycle gloves, motorcycle seats and almost anything that starts with motorcycle. It’s like goopy shoe polish. The treatment promises to clean, nourish, restore color and waterproof. Doc Baily’s proudly advertises “Developed in Canada for extreme conditions”. I treated our leather gloves, Diana’s River Road boots and my motorcycle seat. It definitiely made the boots and gloves cleaner and softer. Diana’s boots looked like new. For these benefits it worked well and gets an A+. For waterproofing to endure ”extreme conditions” it did not work. A big fat F! Thirty minutes into the trip my gloves were soaked. Oh well, who needs warm dry hands?

The bottle of Doc Bailey’s Leather Black came with an application sponge that you use to apply the goopy black substance. This is something you should apply with latex gloves on. I think there was more of this inky black stuff in my skin than in the leathers. The good news is that I work at a printing company and we have special cleansers for pressmen that takes ink off. It did a good job but didn’t get it all off. Oh well, who needs clean hands?

Do you have any suggestions for good leather treatment or waterproofing products?

Tags: Product Reviews by Jay Green
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