Jeff Blogs

The speedometer and instrument panel for the Harley-Davidson Softail Night Train consists of a single gauge located on the top of the gas tank. It has an analog speedometer as well as an odometer. The odometer portion has not only the total bike mileage but also has a resettable trip odometer.

From a readability perspective the gauge is first rate but somewhat limited. I prefer having a gauge that shows not only the current speed but also has a tachometer for monitoring RPMs. For a Softail owner you basically have two choices.

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Motorcycle riding in Arizona is an interesting proposition. During the winter months, temperatures can reach the teens in the remote desert. In the summer temperatures can get up to 120 degrees. Those kinds of differences make finding the right kind of riding jacket nearly impossible.

While there are several jackets made for riding in the cold, riding in this kind of heat is not something that many people have to endure so manufacturers have been somewhat reluctant to develop riding gear for severe heat.

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Shortly after I got my Harley-Davidson Night Train I realized that I was going to need a way to carry things while riding. Initially I just figured I would get a backpack and put what I needed in that but quickly decided that wearing a backpack was a pain, literally.

As a software developer I seem to have to carry things around a lot. Whether it is my laptop computer, or a series of documents that I have to review I seem to always have something in my briefcase.

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Now that I have my Shoei X-Eleven helmet and Trina has her Sparx S07 helmet I thought we were all set to start riding.

We took a couple of short rides and while they were a lot of fun, we found it difficult for us to communicate while on the bike. There were times when I wanted to ask Trina whether she wanted to stop at a particular place or continue on the trip. Likewise Trina wanted to let me know when she needed something without having to resort to one handed sign language while clinging to the back of my jacket.

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When I first bought my Harley-Davidson Night Train it came with a full face helmet. The helmet was one of the best they had at that time at the dealership. I wanted a full-face helmet but wasn’t sure how comfortable they were. The salesman suggested that I consider a module helmet.

For those of you who are not sure what a modular helmet is let me explain. By the way, until that night I had no idea what he meant when he said modular helmet. When I heard that term all I could think of was a helmet made out of Lego blocks; that’s not what it is.

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