Here’s Why You DON’T take Vintage Harleys on Road Trips
Would you embark on a 4,000-mile cross country Shovelhead adventure?
YouTuber Joshua Laurenti ; an online personality who has garnered nearly a quarter million subscribers on his “Shadetree Surgeon” YouTube channel, climbed aboard a 43 year-old Shovelhead and commenced a journey from Portland, Oregon to Tampa, Florida. He documented the entire adventure in a YouTube video entitled “Why You DON’T take Vintage Harleys on Road Trips.”
Hitting The Open Road
Josh had purchased the 1979 model year bike sight unseen, and took off on his adventure with minimum preparation and almost no mechanical supplies onboard. Suffering through (and surviving) numerous mechanical setbacks throughout the journey, he persevered and eventually arrived safely at his destination.
By the time he arrived he had been relegated to starting the bike by either push starting or jumping the solenoid with a pair of Leatherman pliers.
He used duct tape to fasten the fuel tank to the frame, and purchased a number of passable substitute parts from Walmart. Serious oil leaks were addressed with wooden plugs fashioned from scrap wood found on the side of the road. Because…persistence. Because…obsession. Because…YouTube content.
Lessons Learned
Though this clearly was not the brightest idea a motorcyclist has ever come up with, Joshua made some brilliant, if not universal, observations along the way. Every biker can relate to some of his pearls of wisdom. These are a couple that jumped out at us:
“Things don’t have to be perfect. Don’t let good get in the way of perfect when it comes to taking an epic trip.”
“It’s making me slow down. I really think there’s something to that…it’s something really cool.”
“The worst part of this Shovelhead is me.”
And the one that kind of puts it all in perspective:
“Nothing about this trip is perfect and everything about it is perfect. All at the same time.”