And, as the reply I got to a post on a Harley forum, went:-
"every day's a school day!"
That could be taken at least two ways. One, that it's a good thing to get to bed early as tomorrow will bring new problems. Or, that there's something new to learn every day!
Well today's lesson was that no matter what tools are available, for a Harley there will always be a need for the one that's NOT available to hand. The tool I could have done with today was a syphon tube.
Replacing the bars is turning out to be a real lesson in HD maintenance.
So far I've got the bars off, the controls stripped down and the cables disconnected. At least diconnected from the front end. To get the clutch cable disconnected I've had to drain the tranny fluid and now will need to remove the mufflers from the exhaust pipes. At least I hope I will get away with just removing the mufflers. I ran out of daylight so didn't get round to it. All this just to remove the plate which covers the clutch.
To get back to my need of a syphon tube.
It's to empty the fuel tank. I had hoped that I'd be able to lift the tank high enough to allow access to the electrical cables from the handlebars which run beneath the tank. Wasn't to be.
So I've now had to order some stainless covered tubing. The instructions in the HD service manual says "cut clamp from crossover tube" but from what I gather, because it's so difficult to do this, the best method is to cut the hose, catch the leaking petrol in a funnel and then replace the hose. Up side is that the stainless braided hose and new clamps will be easier to remove in future and will look a lot better.
At least I'm all ready to lift the tank off as soon as I can get most of the fuel syphoned off. I've released the pressure in the system by starting the engine and pulling the fuse until the bike stalls. So now it's just the myriad of connectors to release and with the tank off I should have access to the wires.
My next task will be to remove the cables, strip them down and then solder in extension lengths. I had bought an extended cable kit but that requires re-soldering the wires into the handlebar switch assemblies and then refitting connectors. (After my previous attempts at doing that, anything will be a suitable alternative!) I reckon it will be much simpler to use in-line solder splices which I have ordered from Vehicle Wiring Products.
Look out for the kit on e-bay soon! Then that cash can go towards paying for the extended cables I need. Not that I'm in a great hurry as I have not finally made my mind up about whether to get the handle bars powder coated black or to leave them chromed.
That's a decision which once made, may involve a bit of work, getting the bars de-shiney stuff offed before taking them to the coating shop.
As the man said "every days a school day!"
"every day's a school day!"
That could be taken at least two ways. One, that it's a good thing to get to bed early as tomorrow will bring new problems. Or, that there's something new to learn every day!
Well today's lesson was that no matter what tools are available, for a Harley there will always be a need for the one that's NOT available to hand. The tool I could have done with today was a syphon tube.
Replacing the bars is turning out to be a real lesson in HD maintenance.
So far I've got the bars off, the controls stripped down and the cables disconnected. At least diconnected from the front end. To get the clutch cable disconnected I've had to drain the tranny fluid and now will need to remove the mufflers from the exhaust pipes. At least I hope I will get away with just removing the mufflers. I ran out of daylight so didn't get round to it. All this just to remove the plate which covers the clutch.
To get back to my need of a syphon tube.
It's to empty the fuel tank. I had hoped that I'd be able to lift the tank high enough to allow access to the electrical cables from the handlebars which run beneath the tank. Wasn't to be.
So I've now had to order some stainless covered tubing. The instructions in the HD service manual says "cut clamp from crossover tube" but from what I gather, because it's so difficult to do this, the best method is to cut the hose, catch the leaking petrol in a funnel and then replace the hose. Up side is that the stainless braided hose and new clamps will be easier to remove in future and will look a lot better.
At least I'm all ready to lift the tank off as soon as I can get most of the fuel syphoned off. I've released the pressure in the system by starting the engine and pulling the fuse until the bike stalls. So now it's just the myriad of connectors to release and with the tank off I should have access to the wires.
My next task will be to remove the cables, strip them down and then solder in extension lengths. I had bought an extended cable kit but that requires re-soldering the wires into the handlebar switch assemblies and then refitting connectors. (After my previous attempts at doing that, anything will be a suitable alternative!) I reckon it will be much simpler to use in-line solder splices which I have ordered from Vehicle Wiring Products.
Look out for the kit on e-bay soon! Then that cash can go towards paying for the extended cables I need. Not that I'm in a great hurry as I have not finally made my mind up about whether to get the handle bars powder coated black or to leave them chromed.
That's a decision which once made, may involve a bit of work, getting the bars de-shiney stuff offed before taking them to the coating shop.
As the man said "every days a school day!"
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