I spent the morning in Ed’s garage, installing a new windscreen on my Honda Goldwing.
From the day I bought the Goldwing there’s been a problem with the windscreen adjustment mechanism, which is supposed to hold it in the raised position. It never worked right: even on a short ride, the windscreen would slide down to the lowest position.
I took the bike back to the shop shortly after buying it but they didn’t fix the problem, and I subsequently discovered they’d buggered up the adjustment mechanism. Over time Ed and I replaced the parts the shop lost or wrecked, but we never could fix the fundamental problem: the damn thing wouldn’t stay in the raised position.
Our mission this morning, in addition to installing the new windscreen, was to find out what was wrong with the adjustment mechanism and fix it. I’m proud to say I saw the problem a split second before Ed did: a bent link on the right side of the mechanism, most likely another result of the shop’s poor work. It’s straight now, my spotless new windscreen stays where it’s put, and (unanticipated bennie!) the front end no longer rattles. Six years after swinging my leg over a brand new motorcycle, it’s finally working right. Such is the Zen – and the deep personal satisfaction – of motorcycle maintenance.
So . . . first Zen, then karma. Maintenance means greasy fingerprints, so I washed the motorcycle as soon as I got home, then wheeled it into the garage to dry it out of the desert sun. Once in the garage I went to put it up on the centerstand. Wet centerstand, wet shoes, wet floor . . . over it went, ever so slowly, me moaning no no no as I tried to pull it back toward me, coming to rest on its right side, me now yelling Shit Shit Shit . . . but now we’re back to Zen because the crash bars worked as designed and there’s not a scratch on the bike (though there’s a deep scratch in my pride, this being the first time I’ve dropped it).
There’s a lesson in all this, but I’m damned if I can discern it. Oh, okay, I’ll try . . . is it to confront mechanical problems with persistence and patience? Yes, that must be it. And never try to lever an 850-pound motorcycle up onto its centerstand while wearing wet shoes. Got it.
Meanwhile, if you’re a connoisseur of migraines, click here for a parts diagram of the Honda Goldwing windscreen mechanism. The link that was bent is part # 12, and I’ll let you guess how hard it was to find (let alone get at with a pair of long-nosed pliers).