Mike’s Typo

A bit wet & soggy, we’ve drug this out of the Typo Vaults to bring you another holiday gift idea. For the guy or gal who has everything, there is now Nikwax Map Proof. Here’s the blurb. Among traveling’s lesser joys is when rain makes a nice, expensive map disintegrate like toilet paper. It doesn’t have to be that way, though-not if you treat it with Nikwax’s Map Proof. Just sponge it on, and the solution is said to render maps waterproof, while keeping their ability to fold for storage and even write on them. One $7.95, 4.2-ounce bottle should be able to treat six or more maps. Check out the Nikwax site. If you think this is right for your enthusiast, you can order it online from Whitehorse Gear. Original source: Motorcyclist, 9/06

When Spring comes around it seems there are so many more fun things to do, than dive into a “Spring cleaning” frenzy. To-that-end, I just skip the Spring ritual and clean on a just-in-time basis. You get the idea. When I can’t find anything. When I can’t get around. When I run out of places to put things that I must keep. As I said, you get the idea.

So, the other day, I came across a small pile of posters from way back when. Some of you will remember the Miss Behavin’ posters we did. I was guessing there are a few of you out there who might like one for your garage wall. The poster is really a photographic print, suitable for framing. But, I’m guessing most people just tacked them up on the wall to keep their bike company when they can’t be in the garage. The print is 20″x24″ and is a nice addition to any suitable space.

Yup, that’s paint. Your #1 question has to be, “How long did that take?” Glad you asked. The whole photo shoot took about ten hours. The paint took about 8. It was a raining, cold, blustery day in Santa Cruz. We’d gotten permission to use part of Salz Tannery around these huge tanning drums. So, we brought in a motorhome for the artist and model to work. The photographer and crew went to work hanging 30′ long sheets of plastic to partial enclose the area where we intended to shoot. We brought in huge gas heaters. The whole scene looked right out of the movies. All day, we kept running into snags. While it felt like one disaster after another, when the model was ready, it all came together. And, two very sexy images were produced.

No sales hype here. I’m guessing this is your last chance to snap up one of these posters. When they’re gone, they are gone. We aren’t putting them on the web site. So, payment and ordering is simple - use PayPal. Here is the how: log into your PayPal account and send us a payment at: beccivigil@santacruzharley.com. The poster is $20 plus $9.95 shipping & handling. Your payment should be for $29.95 and remember to include your shipping address. Becci will pick, pack, and ship this fine art pronto!

How’s that for a catchy title? Believe me I worked long and hard to come up with that one. If you’re anticipating being saved by reading this column, you will be. But, maybe not in the way you were hoping. What we are talking about in today’s sermon is SYN3 lube from H-D.

Just to set the record straight, all lubricants tested and approved by Harley-Davidson Motor Company are great choices for your motorcycle. SYN3 is the synthetic, single lubricant choice. For years, otherwise sane people have hotly debated the benefits of synthetic lubricants over the “other” kind. I’m not going there. Suffice-it-to-say, Harley calls SYN3 their “high performance lubricant.”

If you’re thinking about SYN3, I want to debunk some myths. These fast oil change places have got us thinking about flushing, and once you switch to synthetic you can’t go back. Might be true for cars. Don’t know. But, that’s just hog wash (pun intended - also took a while to come up with that one). No flushing necessary. And, if you want to switch back to regular lubes from SYN3 - no problem, just drain and do it. Remember to drain the existing fluids first - you shouldn’t mix. Just like beer, right. You’d never poor a Bud into a glass that’s still about a third full of MGD! I just stick with Anchor Steam; it’s local and it tastes great. I think I’m off the subject.

So, why do it? Switch to SYN3, that is. The factory marketing types say, “SYN3 can provide you with reduced oil consumption, improved wear protection, high temperature stability, and superior overall performance.” Here’s my long and short of it: one lube for all the openings. Who can mess that up?

It got cold quick. So, it’s time to think of heated grips, a heated seat, or my favorite the heated jacket. What a difference being toasty makes when there is a chill in the air. Call me a pansy ass. I’ve got no problem there ’cause I’m riding and I’m comfortable. The service department can throw a pair of heated grips and/or a heated seat on your bike faster than you can say the Gettysburg Address. If your looking for the ultimate clothing solution to add natural or “artificial” warmth, look no further.

First the artificial options. As I said, the heated jacket liner is “the shit.” Pardon the expression. The heated jacket liner goes under my FXRG jacket no problem. You can control it with a pocket switch and thermostat or you can wire it to a switch on your bike. I’m not big on fumbling around in my pocket while I’m riding, so I have a plug by my seat and a switch discretely mounted on the bike. I don’t use the thermostat; I just flip the switch ON when I’m cold, and OFF when I’m warm enough.

Aside from the heated jacket liner, there is a heated vest liner, heated pants liner, and heated gloves. I haven’t seen anyone around here with the heated pants liners, but we sure sell a lot of jacket and vest liners. The gloves are popular as well. If you’re using the heated jacket liner, the gloves plug right into the cuffs. Trick.

So, we’ve got this stuff in stock. Or, want it now - you can click over and order it from us online. You can find the heated jacket liner here. Want the heated vest liner? Here are the heated gloves.

There are also a host of thermal garments available from Harley. I use them all Winter. They’re great. There are a bunch you can find in the Santa Cruz or Watsonville stores or you can order them online. Here are my three favorites: the neck tube keeps your neck warm; the thermal cap is great off the bike; and, the face mask is essential if you wear a half helmet.

How can anything that costs $6.95 (from a Harley dealer!) be magic. No, I haven’t been watching too many late-night, infomercials. This is the real deal. The Microfiber Detailing Cloth is as close to a magic cloth as I’ve ever seen. This is a great cloth for wiping down your bike. I like it so much I carry one in my saddlebag. Ok, that was probably more information than you wanted. But really, ask Rob, Jeff, or Mike at the Santa Cruz parts counter, the why and how (or Shawn at Green Valley). Then buy it. You won’t be disappointed. Just think, you can buy 14 of these clothes for less than $100 (plus tax). Wow.

Source: Rob, the newest parts counter dude.

For the guy or gal who has everything, there is now Nikwax Map Proof. Here’s the blurb. Among traveling’s lesser joys is when rain makes a nice, expensive map disintegrate like toilet paper. It doesn’t have to be that way, though-not if you treat it with Nikwax’s Map Proof. Just sponge it on, and the solution is said to render maps waterproof, while keeping their ability to fold for storage and even write on them. One $7.95, 4.2-ounce bottle should be able to treat six or more maps.

Source: Motorcyclist, 9/06