Posted on 02/10/2010 12:48:20 PM PST by martin_fierro
Most people don’t tinker with their Harleys themselves, aside from adding little accessories and gewgaws that have nothing to do with propulsive systems.
Iron Butt is an endurance rally that tests both riders and machines in long distance riding. It is held twice a year and is notorious for exposing flaws and failures in bikes very quickly: www.ironbutt.org.
Perhaps most of Dallas is not NYC, but then I’ve got Mockingbird Lane and other roads around Love Field that I have to ride that will get even the softest sprung motorcycles airborne at legal speeds, and potholes that literally swallow semis.
BMW built cruisers too. Maybe they can start a new show dedicated to custom R1200Cs.
If they did that, I’d be LMAO.
In any case, the American Choppers crap was pretty much just art bikes and didn’t look like they’d be any good to ride. I much preferred the Exile Choppers’ product, which looked like you could actually use them as a motorcycle and were intended for riding.
If they did that, I’d be LMAO.
In any case, the American Choppers crap was pretty much just art bikes and didn’t look like they’d be any good to ride. I much preferred the Exile Choppers’ product, which looked like you could actually use them as a motorcycle and were intended for riding.
I now see choppers more as art. I built my own on a 70 Kawaski 650 twin back when I was a young idiot Veteran. But I survived the 8” over tubes and strut rear.. barely. After another 40 years of I wouldn’t dream of throwing my leg over one of those deathtraps.
Well ain't that precious!
Multiple high tail fetching jagyoowars, hoo boy!
Now you got yerself something to pose with on that sidewalk, Skippy!
Then I read the part about exhaust rules. Not sure my bike would qualify. :) 1800cc V-Twin with unbaffled V&H Longshots.
As I said elsewhere, I don’t use machinery to attract women. If I did, the Jags would do a much better job of drawing women.
Instead, I use the Jags for fun and transport as well as a hobby. 457rwhp, anyone? The XJR I built throws that to the wheels and will smoke most Harleys easily. (Pssst, bikes that displace a liter or more should be faster than cars, not the other way around.)
Welll, you might have to put something a little less noisy on. :P
Lemmee see if I got this straight - You built a 457 rwhp XJR all by yer lonely, but you couldn't maintain an air cooled, single carb, hydraulic pushrod twin?
Better call the sidewalk company and order a few more yards of concrete.
It's even deeper than we thought.
If you pull off the little cover on the primary case that allows you to check the chain tension you can see a bolt inside in back that bolts the case to the frame. This bolt has a tendency to work loose and fall out into the chain case. You should pull off the primary case and locktite that bolt. Then check it when you check the primary chain.
The timing mark on the flywheel is a paint mark. It can help to take a punch and put a dimple in the flywheel where the paint mark is because it is going to disappear after several thousand miles.
How many miles on it? The bike will vibrate like hell for a few thousand miles and then will smooth out as time goes along. Be sure to loctite everything and check bolt torques frequently.
The electrics need to be watched because of the initial vibration. I had to redo the wiring because of melted wiring after some insulation brokedown at about 3000 miles due to the vibration.
Aside from these problems the bike was quite reliable. People today have no idea just how troublesome bikes could be back then. Though it looks like the W2 was a POS by today’s standards, by 60/70’s standards it was quite good. My wife and I rode every where in SoCal on it from 73-80.
Most people? Well most people on the highway aren't riding motorcycles, yet I still see a lot of them. Most is a word for weaseling out of a debate. Point being, most people with a broken down motorcycle on the side of the road probably tinkered--or had someone else tinker--with it.
Iron Butt is an endurance rally that tests both riders and machines in long distance riding. It is held twice a year and is notorious for exposing flaws and failures in bikes very quickly: www.ironbutt.org.
The site you linked immediately makes you choose another of three different sites, and info on the rally is well hidden. Overall, the concept is lame. Riding for the sake of simply putting miles on your bike? Seems like an insecurity issue. I don't ride to get a pin and a certificate. I ride for fun.
There are numerous pins and certificates, and I would possibly qualify for the 2000 miles in 48 hours. After Vegas, I just wanted to get home to NYC. Within 48 hours, I rode from Grand Junction, CO to NYC. Stopped for gas in Parachute, CO and Princeton Junction, NJ. Paid with my debit card. Could get receipts I suppose. Gas stations are 1966 miles apart, and my house is about 60 miles from that place in Jersey. But I'm sure that wouldn't be up to their "standards." Like I said, it reeks of insecurity:
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There is no doubt that the documentation requirements for these certification are tough, but when you hang your certificate on the wall, you can rest easy knowing that we just don't hand these out to anyone. When the ride is over, you have survived not only a very tough ride, but you'll have the documentation to back up your claims. How many riders can say that?
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Perhaps most of Dallas is not NYC, but then I’ve got Mockingbird Lane and other roads around Love Field that I have to ride that will get even the softest sprung motorcycles airborne at legal speeds, and potholes that literally swallow semis.
It's not just the spine crushing pot holes, square edged bumps, ruts, and trenches caused by construction, winter weather, and voluminous truck traffic expected of the most populous city in the US (which has no freight rail connection westward), although that did cause damage to all my bikes. (Mostly bent rims and popped tires.)
It's the brutality of a 10 mile commute that takes an hour and fifteen minutes inching in traffic with absolutely no air flow competing for two lanes across a bridge in 95 degree super humid weather day after day in the summer and down to 20 degrees in the winter with absolutely no warm up period for the bike lest the neighbors call the cops.
Of all my bikes, the Harley is the only one that made it past 10,000 miles. Up to 23,000 on it so far, but I suppose you could subtract that 6,000 mile easy rider cruise across country and about 2,000 miles of other trips. The rest were hard fought city miles. Like I've said to you before, this Harley is the toughest, most reliable bike I've ever owned. (But I still love my Honda RC51 even if it can't hack it as a commuter bike.)
Because I bought it new, it came with a service contract for ‘free’ (ha ha) and it was under warranty?
Why should I pick up a wrench to work on something that is supposed to be someone else’s problem?
Look around for 30 year bikes, and probably 70% of 'em are Harleys, the rest are restored classic British, Italian, and certain Japanese.
30 years ago I was a line mechanic in Honda, Triumph & BMW shops. Triumph was going bankrupt, BMW had just come out with it's K model, and Honda was having teething pains with it's Interceptor series, along with everything else.
17,000 miles seemed to be the magic number for a full size Honda before they weren't worth saving due to planned obsolescence, the Beemers were expensive but would run forever, and there's alot of Triumphs out there that have been put together out of parts of many of it's brethren, as do Nortons - I'd like to believe that the Production Racer I had for 15 years is still keeping someone's wallet empty and a shit eating grin on their face.
Fortunately, virtually all the manufacturers realized that if they were going to stay afloat they'd have to make more dependable AND more servicable rides.
Ironically the bike people love to hate is by far and away the most emulated bike in the world. There's good reasons for that - they're dependable, comfortable, can be expected to hold their value over decades, and fit the needs and dreams of a great many people.
I haven't had one since my FXRS in the eighties, not counting the Buell I had for a couple years, but I have the right bike for this time in my life. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another if I was going touring.
Like another fellow suggested, people should buy what they want without having some wanker with pecker envy or other such malfunction challenging them on their decision.
To those of us in the know, that is what it says. But, those who ride them are not talking to us. They are talking to the well-endowed fairer sex who thinks Harleys are the second best thing you can put between your legs.
I read your post before going to work and couldn’t think of any way to respond to all of your sound points... and now that I’m off, I still don’t! Agree 100%
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