Information is the most precious commodity in the world. Those that do not realize this will end up suffering...
I have always pushed the limits, or as some would say pushed the envelope.
On the other side I have always been smart enough to know my knowledge boundaries. Though not my experimentation boundaries, heck I scraped an exhaust can on "Sally" (another story...).
Before I had even bought the Mule I had contacted my "Skinner" to ask about the Mule. He felt that I was headed in the right direction and that my budget was good.
The Skinner is probably the most experienced sidecar rider/monkey/mechanic in the state of Colorado and or the Rocky Mt. region.
Or as I would affectionately state, my sidecar guru.
I have been working on the Mule for over 3 weeks, talking with my Skinner, picking up tidbits of his 70+ years of experience and trying to get the Mule road worthy. All of this effort and self imposed stress came to a head today when I was able to get the Skinner to ride my Mule.
I had not told him anything about what I had done to her, just asked that he take her out and spank her.
I had to. Harsh to say but I am planning on taking my grandson on the maiden voyage in the Mule in 5 days...
Safety first, if she can't cut the muster, I will scrap her. Hard to say but just the simple facts of life. If an animal has to be put down, so be it, man up and git'r done.
I had parked the Mule out front of the garage as I knew he was coming over. What I did not know was that he had taken time to inspect my Mule before he even let me know he was at the house. Kind of like the "Mule Whisperer" shit going on. He had to get to know the beast without distraction, form a relationship before he mounted and tried to tame my Mule.
Once he announced he was at my home we talked a little, he immediately pointed out a couple of flaws that I had suspected and told me he was ready to go.
I drove lead and took the Skinner on a route that would put the Mule through the paces as he spanked her. As I looked in the review I could see that the Mule was a' bucking, not yet comfortable with this new rider, and then as time wore on I could see that the Skinner had won over the Mule. He was makin' her dance, makin' her fly and just becoming one with the Mule.
Years of riding experience can not be mimicked. You can only gain this by trial, years of riding and an unexplained bonding with your machine and or any machine you mount.
Or becoming one, man & machine.
I could clearly see this in the rear view, he was one with the Mule. Hard to explain but such a joy to see uninhibited...
Once we pulled back into the driveway the Skinner had a smile, one that only another rider can understand.
First thing he says is that; "these handle bars suck"! I was totally relieved and happy, as I hated them from the first ride I had on the Mule. He then told me that the hack shock is toast.
Both of these problems were things that stuck in my craw from the beginning.
My instincts told me these two items were problems, I just needed confirmation from the Skinner.
Over all the Skinner had praise for the performance of my Mule. He commented on how well she pulled the load, how she tracked straight and true, and that the set up I had done was good, safe and ready to roll.
He felt that other than the crappy angle of the handle bar, and the blown shock she was ready to rock & roll.
Music to my ears, I took a leap in faith, spent about a year searching for a Mule I could afford and today the blessings showed.
My Mule is now part of the herd...
W
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