For the record, I know nobody but me will care about this. In fact, I don’t even know if anyone other than my mom even comes to this site.
From the first minute I owned this motorcycle I wanted to change the tank to get rid of that giant “Forty Eight” logo. For a stock bike, this thing looks pretty good so I’m not sure why Harley failed so miserably with this weird logo. So, I planned a big weekend of modifications! I need to give Darlene a HUGE thank you for helping me, without her I don’t think I could have finished everything.
So here’s what I did…
- Removed the tank
- Stripped the paint off the tank
- Moved the coil and ignition to open up some space over the engine
- Removed all the plastic pieces hiding wires
- Re-organized the wires
- Lifted the tank 1.5 inches
- Rerouted the wires under the tank
- Sealed the tank with an aircraft/nautical lubricant to prevent the raw steel from rusting
We did have to troubleshoot a leaky seal around the fuel injector, but once that was figured out the bike started right up! I love the new look after all the mods and I already have a long list of future changes. Next up, a new seat!
Kent and his Gremlin Bell
We didn’t quite put an official Harley post up yet here but, well, Kent bought a Harley. I love seeing him so excited about a purchase. He looks so happy after he comes back from a ride. He has lot of modifications planned, so we will get some before and after shots up soon. We got an incredibly important element in the mail today. Our Gremlin Bell has arrived. What does it do? It wards off all of the evil gremlins.
Mom’s Visit
It was so wonderful to have my mom stay with us for 2 weeks! The time flew by and before we knew it she was heading back home. We did too many things for me to go into too much detail but some of the best moments were just having her here in the house with us hanging out and playing Yahtzee. I think I will let the photos speak for themselves. I will also break up the trip into a few posts so this one doesn’t end up being too huge.
This first batch is kind of a random collection in sort of a random order. More galleries to follow below this one.
Trip to Lana’i
After a beautiful 40 minute ferry ride from Lahaina we landed on the amazing island of Lana’i, one of my favorite places in the world. We rented a jeep, which is a necessity if you want to see some of the more remote beaches (most of them) and we stayed at the charming 10 room Hotel Lana’i, built in 1923. We stopped at the Blue Ginger for lunch, which was recommended to us by the hotel clerk/concierge. We visited the Mike Carrol Gallery, which is Lana’i’s only art gallery. Mike Carroll’s wife, the gallery director, recently organized and built Lana’i’s first and only Animal Rescue Center. She invited us to visit, and without thinking twice about it, we made it our first stop. You could hear the purring of 300 cats as soon as you pulled it up. It was definitely Darlene’s heaven on earth.
Next stop was Shipwreck Beach, a beach known for its high winds which caused many shipwrecks, including the enormous World War II Liberty Ship, one of the few concrete hull ships in existence. We spotted a sea turtle resting or giving birth on the beach, either of which is a rare sight.
After our beach adventure, we stopped at The Four Seasons Lodge at Koele for a few drinks before dinner. The grounds included a koi pond and orchid greenhouse. We had dinner at Pele’s Other Garden, and it was some of the best Italian food we’ve had since moving from Chicago. Who knew? We played a highly competitive game of Yahtzee before turning in for the night.
The next morning included a visit to the tidal pools at Manele bay, Sweetheart Rock and some snorkeling before we had to catch our ferry back home to Maui.
Lana’i, we miss you already.
We took a wonderful trip upcountry to Makawao and the Alii Kula Lavender Fields. Let’s see, what else did we do this day? Oh yeah, I bought a Harley.
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