Gear review: Harley-Davidson Windshielder Gauntlet Gloves

Since the winter riding season is over out here in San Diego (well, June Gloom is coming...) it is time to review the Harley Windshielder gauntlet gloves I used this winter.  After 7 seasons, my Joe Rocket gloves were beat-damaged, dirty and most the insulation collapses to about the thickness of two sheets of paper.  So using some gift certificates, I picked up a pair of the Windshielder gloves at one of the local Harley shops.  Here's a pic, courtesy of the H-D webpage:

First, about the quality of the gloves. Well made, soft leather so there really isn't much break-in time.  See the bike flap on the gauntler of the bottom glove?  The other side is all velcro-a huge patch that holds really well.  They fit true to size on my fairly average sized hands.  After fairly consistent use, all seams are holding with no "Irish pendants" or loose threads.  The knuckles aren't armored, and all four fingers are independent, not 3rd and 4th fingers sewed together like on road racing gloves.

The gloves are not too thick, which is ok for a San Diego winter, but had some drawbacks.  It rarely gets below 30F in SD, but I took a couple of rides into the high desert (Barstow/FT Irwin, 29 Palms/Desert Center, others) and got chilled.  This happened with my other gloves too-mostly because my hands are completely exposed, and to be honest, I'm a wimp when it comes to the cold on the bike.  If you live somewhere truly cold and wet, I'd only recommend these gloves for 3 season use, or behind a fairing.  I will likely run liners inside these gloves next winter going over Cajon Pass or other colder rides.

My only other complaint/issue is my previous Joe Rocket gloves had a little "squegee" on the back of the left thumb.  Sure, they lose "cool points" but did it ever come in handy.  And the incorporated squegee looks cooler than the ones you can wrap around your thumb I've seen on the aftermarket.

My verdict?  Good glove if you either have to have them say "Harley-Davidson", need a supple 3 season/mild winter glove, or have a gift card/chrome cash. 

Murph's Kits

I'm trying to get the Connie back on the road, and got my order from bikebandit.com, so soon I'll be trickle charging the battery and prepping to change fluids in the bike.  While bikebandit is a great shop and has a huge selection, the Connie is a niche bike, and some parts just aren't in stock.  Of course one company shouldn't be expected to have every part for every bike model ever made, right?  While that would be really cool, it's just a bit unrealistic.

So what to do?  Well, for owners of certain Kawasaki's, let me recommend Murph's Kits.  I first found out about Murph's from the Concours forums, and when you are looking for parts for either generation Connie's, KLRs and a few other bikes, he's a good place to start.  Not only does he have OEM and maintenance parts, there are some after market "engineers" that have come up with solutions to long-standing problems that market their gear through Murph.  All said, got some new carb boots and o-rings on the way.  Hoping they get here soon, time to get "Miss Swail" back on the road!

Update (3/31):  Order has already been shipped!  Can I get the bike running by next weekend?  I HOPE SO!

Mira Mesa Bike Night (MMBN)/Bike bogging down?

Yes, it's Thursday, and yes, once again San Diego is having it's worst weather of the week.  But I've already ridden some today (more on that later) and I'm planning on heading out to MiraMesa Bike Night tonight.  I expect to see you there!  Some CMA'ers will be on hand, and we'll have flyers for the upcoming Rubio's Fundraiser on April 19th (an upcoming MMBN) to support our Run for the Son.  If I can figure out how to do it, I'll also attach the flyer to this blog before the 19th.

Ok, on to riding today.  At a few stoplights, I felt the bike bogging down, and wondering if I had some bad gas, water in the gas or some other problem.  Well, the real issue was I HAD NO GAS!  Gerbils in the brain get the wheels moving and I realize that when I checked the odometer I had gone far enough on this tank to need to flip on reserve.  So like a moron, there I am in the far left lane sputtering to a stop trying to flip my petcock to "reserve".  All I succeeded in doing at first was getting my glove stuck as bike slowed!  Crud, that's what I get for not practicing in the heavier gloves.  Finally it flips up, glove pops free, quickly to the clutch lever, downshift, rev to get fuel in carb bowls and off I go.

Despite that adventure, you still won't get me on a fuel injected bike!  Ride often and far, my friends-

"Harleys never change"-yeah right!

When I started riding cruisers, one truism was that the "metric" makes kept changing their models, sometimes too rapidly, while Harleys would make the same model for years and years.  This was one reason given for how many more after-market parts there are for Harleys compared to the "Hardly-Davidson" clones.  That makes sense.  How can you market a customized, chromed doo-hickey if every 3 years the manufacturer changes how the bike goes together?

Well, fast forward ten years, and my now leaking Sporster oil tank saga.  Doing a little research and replacement part shopping, I have found four slightly different oil tanks for a bike that has changed twice in 20 years!  What is Harley doing?  Well, the Ironhead Sportster oil tank is slightly different than the one on the early Evo Sportsters.  A few years into the Evo run, around 1996, the design of the inlet and outlet pipes and the attachments to the frame and battery box changed.  Then in 2004 the Sportster engine stayed the same, but the frame and accessories changed when the engine got a front rubber mount.  While not too frantic a pace, those are fairly quick changes for Harley-Davidson!

So what's the "so what"?  I will probably be getting my oil tank braized to fix the leak, since the only take-off oil tank I have found is the early EVO model and fitting it to my bike may be harder than just fixing mine.  And I'm still riding-if you don't ride a Harley that's leaking oil, you don't ride a Harley!