Tour-Recipes

Saddleworx Riding, Touring and Mechanical Tips

Mechanical:  General comments regarding the 97 HD Soft tail

Problem: You have run out of gas and don't understand why you had no fuel on reserve.
Solution: The lever on the fuel shut-off points down for on and reserve is up.

Problem:  Cant find "Neutral"?
Solution:  Tighten up your clutch lever cable but still allow some slack. Neutral will be a breeze to find. Revving the engine slightly will also help. I always pull up with my toe for a nice soft touch.

Problem: Oil spray on oil tank coming from air intake.
Solution: Probably caused from too much oil in tank after an oil change. From what I understand the level should be at a little below the line when engine is hot. When cold it should be just to the bottom of the filler tube. Use a turkey baster to remove excess oil.

Problem: Bike runs fine when weather is hot and at other times when engine is cold and  hot but sputters, backfires and barely runs when warm.
Solution: Switch back to HD plugs as iridium or platinum cant be used in a non-fuel injected engine. Once these plugs are flooded they are toast. Irregular gas flow from a carburetor is a recipe for disaster.

Process: Adding 1/2 small bottle of gas line anti freeze would cure this problem as long as I continued to use it. Gas line anti freeze is basically alcohol and a little oxygen. This will do two things. Cause the engine burn easier as alcohol is more combustible and cause the engine to burn leaner.

Problem: Bike starts and runs but engine dies when fuel bowl has emptied. Now bike will turn over but wont start. Does not appear flooded and there is no smell of gas. This seems to happen when the weather has changed from warm to cool and back again. Possible sticky fuel shut off valve.
Solution: Remove air filter and place a piece of cardboard over intake to increase draw. If this doesn't work mist in some gas with the bike off and the throttle open and the slide pushed up. Try to start. It took me three times.  I changed my valve at the earliest convenience. Surprisingly it took 16.5L to do a complete fill up. Note this sticky valve only happened on early spring hot days with cool damp mornings. My valve was hard to turn.

Problem: Vibration causes pain in thumb.
Solution: Shift to higher gear later. Especially when cruising around 60 mph. You should feel a little vibration in your feet not in your hands. A head wind will also cause this as the bike is working harder. I find I have to drop back on my speed when this happens.

Problem: Bike kicks back with a very loud mechanical bang. Sounds bad and it probably is as I have had two starters replaced.
Solution: Pink wire (top of coil) on coil goes to the rear plug. It shouldn't matter because it is duel fire and I cant seem to get a definitive answer from HD. The manual does say this the way it should be wired. It did seem to make a noticeable difference. My mileage has also increased but that could be because I haven't been riding at a 140kmp. 
Process: These are all the steps that I have gone through over the years to try and fix this problem.

The solution to "kick back" on starting a warm ( not hot) engine could be from extra compression caused from carbon build up. A water spritz down the carb on a hot engine should blow this problem away. Talk to your mechanic on how to do this.
    I believe in my case the carbon build up was caused from leaving the enricher on too long. This is a little more complicated than it sounds as I never felt like had done this. I would simply shut the enricher off as soon as the bike would idle properly. It wasn't until I ran with the idle set a little higher than normal that I realized the enricher could be shut down as much as 10 minutes sooner. To start the bike in a way that this kick back wont happen is to use a full throttle while cranking. A backfire may happen and if so this replaces a hard stop in the middle of the starting crank. A bike running too rich can cause this problem as well.

    Update: I had my carb set up in Hamilton Ontario. I highly recommend Don Morris. He ran the bike on the Dyno and made some changes. These include removing the Yost master kit and basically putting the bike back almost to stock. He also clued me into the correct starting procedure (see below). The bike was simply running way to rich and the bike would kick back when warm (not hot). My mileage went from 150k on a tank to 225k. New plugs eliminated the kick back while starting when cold.

    Update: I have switched from my braided spark plug wires as I felt they may be leaking and they where not the grounded type. I also changed to Iridium Spark Plugs. The first thing I noticed right off is how fast the motor was turning over. Incredible, it sounded like a sewing machine.

    Update: Unfortunately I have found out due to running problems when warm that carbureted engines cant use platinum or iridium plugs as either plug is destroyed if the engine is flooded. Carbed engines send in fuel in clumps creating a similar effect as flooding.

"Iridium is a precious, silver-white metal and one of the densest materials found on earth. The natural properties of Iridium offered NGK the opportunity to create one of the world's finest spark plugs. The result are spark plugs that require less voltage to spark, burns fuel more efficiently, sparks at leaner air/fuel mixtures, and delivers higher horsepower and better gas mileage."

    Starting procedure: On a cold start or after the bike has cooled an hour pull the enricher full on and hit the starter button. Do not crank the throttle more than once. This will add too much fuel and wash down the cylinder walls.  There are several holes in front of the plate in the throttle plate to allow fuel in. The way I see it the bike is choked by default and using the throttle opens up the plate. Gradually easy of on the enricher.

    The Starter drive clutch seems to be a big seller for Harley. I disassembled mine after it failed while on tour. I can not believe that Harley could not have prevented this from happening. The black gap is where the roller should be to drive the shaft. The brass ring is allowed ( by bad design) to be pushed in and applies pressure on the 5 rollers. I figure they all work there way up the ramp until the starter just spins.

    I have had to replace my second starter drive clutch and I am wondering if it could be caused by low voltage. In other words a low battery may cause the clutch to operate improperly and jam.  

Cold Hands (Reynaud's)

   The HD winter Gloves seem pretty good. I still had to turn on my heated grips but they made a noticeable difference. You will definitely want to ride with two fingers on the front brake, no easy chore. Price was around $130 CDN. Remember to keep the chest area warm. This will naturally keep your hands warm.

Vibration

    I have dealt with this in a few ways. I have installed dynamic balancers on clutch and the engine. This is a device that contains a ring of liquid mercury and bolts on. I have installed harmonic balancers in the bars. This is simply a long fairly heavy bar that is suspended by flexible rubber mounts. I ordered the parts from Honda for a 98 Aero. I had to modify (shorten and weld).I also use foam grips.Running the bike on the Dyno also showed vibration at the back wheel and possibly at the primary chain. Shifting later and not lugging the engine makes the biggest difference.

www.balancemasters.com/motorcycledesc.html  http://www.hdcycles.com/balance2.htm

Fall and Spring reminders.

    Fall: 

• Remove fuse that feeds memory on radio to avoid battery drain.
• Fill gas tank to avoid condensation and corrosion in tank. Add half bottle of gas line anti freeze to tank.
• Plug in battery tender and don't start bike until spring as it will wash down cylinders.

    Spring: 

• Remember to use front brake not rear.
• Mark down mileage. 
• Check oil level and tire pressure. 
• Reserve is up so ride with lever pointing down. 

Cleaning

Spokes

    I have been trying different ideas to clean the 40 OEM spokes on my front and rear wheel. This is a problem that can only be solved easily with a magic wand or space age chemical! 
As of today I have come to the conclusion this is the only way... 

    Sept 17/03  I removed the front wheel and separated the rotor. I dropped the rotor off at Iron Horse Choppers and for a reasonable fee they will polish the semi-stainless steel rotor up to a chrome like shine that should last a long time.
I then rigged up a double 3" polishing pad that I had removed the outer few rings of stitches on to a die grinder and using a medium polish stick removed the excess film on one side. I then used HDs Soft strips with Boms You could use Twill Tape from your local fabric store at half the price. I would buy the 1" wide tape. I ran the tape around the backside of each spoke on the side I was working on and the nuts (nipples) of the other side. I then used my polishing pad to clean up and repeated until side one was done. With a little poking and prodding with a cloth around a plastic stick I could get around the spokes at the center hub. I then wiped the white wall down with Varsol ( mineral spirits) and the chrome with alcohol.  After finishing side two I started over on side one for final touchups. I figure this to be a eight hour job. Results: AMAZING  More to come...

    The following week I couldn't resist giving the rear wheel a try after seeing how good the front rim looked I found this time I used mostly the twill cloth (strips of cotton material) and the cleaner. The rear wheel wasn't as rewarding because the center hub wasn't chrome and the spokes had  a bit more damage from leaving the brake dust on.    Time: At least 8 hours ( no kidding)

Plastic and chrome

• I use Novus polish #2 for both. Use hot water to dissolve bugs on first. I wouldn't use the Novus #2 more than once or twice a year as it will remove the protective coating of the Lexan.

Leather

• Doc Baileys makes a great finish for anything black. Simple and you can use it on anything black.
• To bring back the shape to saddles bags that are drooping simple pack as tight as you can with anything soft and dampen outside with hose as if riding in the rain. If you can store all your soft rain suits and cleaning towels in the bags rather than leave empty.
• Always dry leather slowly.
• Use oatmeal and a brass wire brush to clean suede and restore nap.
• Use Carnauba Cream on wax pull-up leather.
• Use Neatsfoot Oil on heavy leather straps when they get hard.

Touring

Americade link

• Instead of packing that big rain cover buy a smaller cover that will cover seats and helmets. This is real easy to use when you are in a hurry and will save space. It will also protect from heat from the sun.
•  Rain suits are a must but glove and boots can get expensive. Carry some plastic shopping bags for over your socks.
• What to bring to clean your bike? I wouldn't suggest wiping down your bike without rinsing off dirt first. I see a lot of people doing this and I cringe when I know they are scratching the bike by moving all that dirt around. I bring a fleece towel that I rinse in the motel sink with hot water. I use that to soak the bugs off windshield. Then I clean glass cleaner and another towel. Remember not to use paper towels as they are made out "wood" and will scratch. With this system I manage to get through a tour week without a wash.

Electrical add-ons

Headlight on\ignition reminder. 

If you use the run switch to shut down bike it is very easy to forget ignition switch is on.

Directions are for FLSTS but they couldn't be too hard to adapt to other bikes.

Purchase a buzzer form your local automotive electrical supply house. The one I bought was a Delco for $8.00, part#1#728545 . You will also need a couple of feet of 14 gauge wire and 2 wire taps.

1. Join the ground end of your buzzer to the white wire with black stripe. This wire goes to the solenoid and runs across the bike in front of the battery in the large loom. This would be the wire to attach a kill switch to if so inclined. This wire will be a ground when the run switch is off.
2. Extend the live side of buzzer and join to the red wire that is live when the ignition is turned on. This will run very close to the switch on back of dash panel.
3. Stick buzzer in front of battery and facing out left side.

    The whole job should take only 1\2 hour.

Heated Grips

    I have tried and like Custom Heat Grips. They have chrome ends.  http://www.customheat.com/

    They work well for spring like weather. 45 F and above and are less hassle then gloves.

    This fellow made his own heated grips. http://www.mysunrise.ch/users/joerg.hau/mot/hotgrip.htm

Stereo

    I used a Sony with a wired remote. Stereo goes in saddle bag. Be sure to use a decent two way speaker. I made my own cans and covered with leather. Rear speaker lead should provide more power.

**Now I am looking at a Panasonic marine radio and remote with a Hard drive in the removable face plate to record MP3s

Products I Tested and Reccomend

Dynamic Balancers for clutch and engine. www.balancemasters.com/motorcycledesc.html

Iron Braid Braids over Ness levers with a 10 degree angle. www.ironbraid.com

Custom heat heated grips. (they have chrome ends)  http://www.customheat.com/

Harmonic balancers from Honda 98 Aero for bars. . I had to modify  (shorten and weld).
Understanding harmonic balancers and engines in general...

www.autoshop-online.com/auto101/eng1.html