Tonight Reminds Me ...

... of why I seriously considered buying, and perhaps should have bought, that "cafe cruiser" on Amazon instead of the Italica Bulldog 150:

Because it's pretty naked.

Not porn-type naked. I like motorcycles, but I don't want to have sex with them.

Naked as in "without a bunch of fairings."

I changed out the stock plug and coil this evening: A five-minute job that only ended up taking oh, two hours or more.

Really, changing a plug and coil just amounts to:

1. Detaching one end of the coil/wire from the plug, unscrewing/removing the plug, and screwing the new plug in (after making sure it's correctly gapped and putting some anti-seize lube on the threads);
2. Detaching the other end of the coil/wire from the ignition wiring;
3. Plugging the new coil into the ignition wiring and attaching it to the plug.

Oh, and one more thing:

Getting to the plug and coil/ignition wiring junction.

Which, in the case of the Italica Bulldog 150, required removal of the left side fairing, the handy-dandy built-in storage compartment, and the vented piece separating the storage box from the engine compartment. With some of the screws and bolts holding all that stuff in located under, or blocked by, other stuff.

And then putting all that stuff back on.

Because there doesn't appear to be a Haines Manual, etc. for this specific model, I had to play detective, and followed a few false clues at first, adding to the time. I also broke a U-Bolt that's one of four bolts holding the storage box in place. It's not strictly necessary to have that, but I'll probably pick one up some time. Oh, and I forgot to put in one fairing screw before putting the storage box in, making the relevant area inaccessible. I'll put that screw back in the next time I have the storage box out for something else, like re-jetting or replacing the carburetor.

Too early to tell whether the better plug and coil make any material difference. Maybe I'll see slightly better mileage. Maybe I'll see ever so slightly more power/speed. Maybe I'll have just wasted my time (except that I did learn a few things!). Anecdotally, she sounded ... happier ... when I took her out for a quick two-mile run afterward.

Anyway, with "naked" bikes, everything is pretty much just hanging out there in the air, making it easy to remove/replace/adjust parts. And they're just as cool-looking in their own way. 

But I still love my Bulldog. Her name, by the way, is Olivia D. Can anyone guess why? Looking at her might help: