So ,I took a trip thru the kootenays and okanagan of Beautiful BC,,thats Canda,EH. First breakdown was my wiring job of toggle switch between battery and coil meleted ,as I'm passing a tanker truck and leading a pack of 4,couldve been fatal,fortunately it wasnt. Second was the freakin rubbers under dash plate slid right out,in the wind,third was rh tank back mount rattled loose,discovered irt was stripped,,third ,sparks under the dash,loose ignition switch,,However was an awesome ride,just glad I packed extra wire,electrical tape and connectors,for the switch,,Zapstrap[s for the tank,and extra tools ,my bags sagged so much with all the extras,,due to reading tips on here,,made it all the way,,even passed a GSXR and a Ninja,,Man even though it breaks down,I know what to do,and 9 times out of 10,I'm prepared,,,,I love my shovelhead,,,Thanks to you guys on here for all the tips and making my journey awesome,,,

 

Now what you do when the weather turns to crap is get a heater for the garage , and you start at one end of the bike and work your way to the other looking for little little crap like that and taking care of it or reworking it to be better , you got months to play with . Get in this habit every winter and you'll have trouble free riding seasons and you will amaze all your crew with how the old shovel stands up .

 

Jeeez, I wonder how many times on a road trip that I had a failure due to aggrivated stupidity. God was watching over me when I packed the bike with proper repair stuff.

 

Once you get all the KINKS out.... You won't have to worry too much.For sure winter maint. is a must....SHOVELHEADS TILL THE WHEELS FALL OFF.........!

 

winter here is 60 degrees -- shorts at christmas -- ya might get 2 weeks of cold weather and thats a few days in the end of dec or a day here and there in jan.. then its mardi gras and who cares anyway..

biggest worry i use to have was going 90mph on 2 lane roads at 2 am praying a cow isnt standin in the road...

rode all though S.C. and N.C. in the rain -- 90" panhead with a 15 over durfee in PENN in the winter in the snow it was 17 and he chill factor was something like 10 below -- even the throttle froze up..

 

I-10 texas is BORING - dead deer and stuff that ya have to watch out for .. 85mph day time speed limits though

 

Usually always did long trips with a partner, so we'd get together before the trip and split up the tool kit to make the load lighter for each of us. The only breakdown we ever had was I blew a rear tire once. The tube was rotten so we had to wait till morning to get a new one.
However, we did help fix some other guy's bikes who were on the road with nothing.
P.S. - Oh, my pard did have the starter on his brand new FLHT stick on. A mad scramble to get the hot lead off the starter motor. After we hooked it back up it was OK the rest of the trip. ??

 

I've searched for the forum and couldn't find a travelers essential tool kit so what would you guys rec.?

 

 

I like that tool bag. I need a new one.
I don't image you can find one like that anymore.