Life Lessons

Life Lessons...what are they?? Well,they are the lessons that you only need to learn one time. There are MANY of these! We will only cover a couple,because of  constraints on time,and space here.

     My first life lesson for you is that Bikers have a warped,twisted sense of humor. I learned this at a tender young age! The older Harley Davidsons had an item in the ignition system(I think),that helped make the spark for the plugs. It was called a "capacitor". I am not really sure exactly what it did,my uncle was the mechanic,I was simply his "gopher" at the time.

        Seems that a capicitor can store a LOT of electrical energy without discharging it until asked to do so. A LOT OF ENERGY!!!! Trust me on this one,ok? So, one day,I am helping my uncle,and some of the other guys...they are working on one of their bikes. Knowing ahead of time that I would show up at about this time,they have been running the bike,and taken the capacitor off. It now is lying on a work-bench,full of electricity.

        So, my uncle says,"hey kid,give me that silver thing right there". No problem,I simply grab it up,and promptly get EVERY SINGLE MOLECULE IN MY BODY RE-ARRANGED!!!! Them bikers---lots of fun!!Like I said,you only need to learn that one ONCE!!

         Now,here is another. On a cold morning,kick-starting a cold Harley is NOT a good idea. No one back then had electric start. I had always heard the guys tell horror stories about some poor fellow letting his foot slip off of the kick-start pedal,and getting his leg broken when it sprung back,and hit him.

          I always swore that this would NEVER happen to me! And it never did. But one cool,crisp,lightly frosted Autumn morning,I learned another life-lesson. A bunch of us were about to go on a weekend  cruise. We were all ready,packed up,and some of the fellas had their bikes running. I kicked mine twice,and flooded it. The big Mikuni side-draft carb was always hungry for fuel,today was no exception.

             Imagine my surprise when,on the third kick,she decided to kick back!! Now imagine my surprise when it threw me over the handle-bars!!!! That's right,all 150 pounds of me hit the street in front of my bike! Helmet?? Are you kiddin? My uncle come over,bent down,and asked very softly,so no one else could hear "you ok?" I said yes. He promptly yelled that when I was finished "Kissin' the Pavement",would I please get on my bike,I was holding everyone up!!

             Yep,them boys was a real hoot!!!