Short story and not terribly interesting but since it starts with a Harley breaking down and ends with my first road trip on a TBA I figured you might get a giggle.

Me and a bud were all set to head down to the Smokey Mountains and on over to western Kentucky and back up around to home in Vermont. My bud was riding down to my place from his home in Ottawa when I got a call from him telling me his Dyna was broken down at crossing at Cornwall. Hopped in my truck with the ramps and drove the three hours to get him figuring we could fix it and if I let him take it back home then the trip would be off.

Now my bud will never be mistaken for a mechanic and he has no desire to learn. He, god knows why, trusts the dealer and wanted to have the local dealer take a look against my objections. Called the dealer on Saturday morning and they said if we could get it there soon they might be abnle to take a look today and if not then tomorrow. Tomorrow? You're open on Sunday? Yep.

Alright then, down to the dealer we go figuring they'll fix it and my bud will have more peace of mind then if I fixed it. No call by end of day Sunday so we call first thing Monday morning to find out they are closed on Mondays!!! AARRGGGGHHHHHH!!!

Call first thing Tuesday to hear "we're trying to get you on the schedule today! Again, AAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!

This time, over my buds objections we jump in the truck and go down and get the bike. Two hours later we figure out that his vacuum operated petcock has failed. I pull the Pingle petcock of my Softail Custom, put it on his bike and she's running like new!.

Uhhmmmmmm, but mine is now inoperable. There's really only one option other then losing yet another day or maybe two to order a new petcock. "Oh Honey, can I use your bike?"

Strapped the tent and sleeping bag on my wife's TBA and off we go. The original plan is now long gone and my bud still doesn't trust my fix so we headed east to hit the Kancamangus and on into Maine as he has never been to either Maine or NH. Spent the night near Old Orchard and was able to talk him into going on for another day as he is slowly gaining confidence in his bike. From Old Orchard we headed down I95 for a bit then got off to hit 119 to 202 to 2 across northern Mass. I wasn't expecting much from this route but I was very pleasantly surprised. The entire route was downright beautiful. The roads were great and the rdie through the Berkshires was fantastic. Had we not had our run of bad luck I might have never ridden these roads. Ended up that night in Coxsakie(sp) NY and the following day headed down to Kingston on 9 and then to Port Jervais on a route which escapes me at the moment. Another very nice ride on which we hit our only rain of the trip. Our destination that night was at some friends in Highland Lakes NJ. These are friends met on a forum very simliar to this one with whom we've managed to hook up with that last four summers. The next day I had to be home to help my wife with something and since I rode off on her birthday on her bike I felt obligated. haha The ride home was hightailing all the way on the I-287 and I87. Must have seen a dozen cops on I-87. I've been pulled over the last two runs up that stretch so had my bud lead this time. Finally made it!

So anyway, This was my first extended ride on the TBA. Except for both rear turn signals loosening up and the rear bolt on the rear rack disappearing I was impressed. It did take me a while to get used to the lack of torque as compared to my Harley. You don't roll through town in third gear on the TBA like on the HD but if you're in the right gear it's great. No problems running 85-90 on the interstate and it got all the looks everywhere we stopped.

I did have some issues with it seeming like the chain was skipping at takeoff in 1st gear which I attribute to the cush drive? Does this make sense. At times I could smooth it out by feathering the clutch a bit but at other times it seemed unavoidable.

All in all I liked the bike and wouldn't hesitate to tweak it a bit to fit me better and take off to watch the sunset in the pacific.

So there you have it. Broken down Harleys and a Triumph that saves the day. I guess the story wasn't so short after all.

BTW.

Heading out tomorrow to take my wife on her first road trip. Heading up to the Rangley area of Maine. I've already resigned myself to the fact that my rat bike Harley will be ignored as long as the TBA is in the lot.

:-)