another step forward

I've managed to get access to the clutch cable at last.

I was able to do it it by only taking off the front muffler. The manual says to take off both as a unit but that seems to be just a bit too much work for the same result. Once I got the fasteners loosened, it wasn't so difficult after all. Having left everything soaking in WD40 overnight helped a bit too.

Now I have removed all the control cables, moving on to fit extended ones seems like a possibility at last. For a while there I wasn't sure if I really should have started it all. To be honest I was doubting my skill with tools, at times, but it's all starting to come back , ever so slowly!

The obstacles in front of me now are only financial ones. It's not a cheap hobby, customising a Harley!
So, with Christmas rapidly approaching I'm going to have to put off purchasing too many bits and bobs until into the New Year. Then I can start worrying if I'm going to finish in time to get some riding in the spring!

Planning ahead, to the day when I swap the front forks, one thing I have bought is a front wheel I found on e-bay. It's a 19" spoked, dual disc from a dyna but although the axle size is different, that shouldn't be a problem if I'm fitting it into new forks. At the price I got it for and considering it comes complete with discs and tyre, I couldn't let it pass by. At least that will be the case if it's in as good condition as the seller claims. As I wont be changing the front end until I've got all the bits together I will have time to refurbish the wheel if necessary. Then I can keep an eye open for a new master-cylinder as the dual set up has a larger bore.
Brakes are something I will have to think long and hard about. I like the look of Harris four pot billet callipers but the more expensive my option the longer it may be before I can afford them.

how difficult

Can it be to remove the mufflers on a night train?

I've got the air cleaner off and I have removed the throttle and idle cables (yet another reason for switching to a carb maybe?). All I need to do now is get the exhaust off in order to get the clutch cable disconnected. Then I can go buy the extended cables.
But, were it only as easy as the service manual makes out!

"See Figure 4-57. Remove front (1) and rear (28) mufflers as an assembly."

That's great but for a couple of problems, the main one being that the nuts are seized on the fasteners. Then there's the choice of bolts and nuts which could be removed. Working out which ones are the important and necessary ones to remove in order to remove the "assembly" is just not as easy as it sounds.
Anyway that's for another day now.
I managed to get the tank off without too much petrol getting on myself though I did lose some onto the garage floor. Though I followed the tip and blocked off one end of a length of tubing with a bolt and got it connected to one side of the crossover line, I was so engrossed on trying to keep my finger over the other nozzle, then catch the fuel coming out of that in a funnel draining into my petrol can, I didn't notice the bolt had been knocked out of the first side.
Result - a petrol covered floor. Oh well at least it evaporated reasonably quickly!
Anyway, the tank is now off and I'm gradually learning about my bike and how it's held together. So with the handlebar cables disconnected I can start to plan extending them. There's only one side which will need extended as the other is long enough to reach as it is. I will have to cut and solder both though, in order to feed them through the bars!
Once I get the bars powder coated that is!

marching on

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!"

working

Well, the turn-signals are at least!

I got them fitted, connected up and flashing away. I think they look just right but I'll post some pics so you can see for yourself.
In the end I had to cut a bit off the indicator stalk to allow the bolt to reach through the thickness of the fender and the supporting bracket inside (something I hadn't calculated for when I did the dry build) but in my opinion bringing the bullet closer to the fender looks even better!
Getting that job done means I can finally fit the back rest and now that's on I have decided on a wider touring pad for it. It will only be fitted when I'm taking someone pillion so comfort is more important than looks in this instance.

I have also made up my mind how I want the front end to look and that involves black bars so I'm now on the look-out for somewhere to get parts powder-coated. These will include the foot controls brake and gearshift so I'm hopeful that it will work out cheaper than buying the black billet levers that Harley sell.

small (TINY) steps

Had almost a full (well as much as the light at this time of year allowed) day's working on the bike today, and still I haven't got very far!

I re-connected the electrical system and tried out the turn signals. Guess what! They work!!
I was amazed that I had actually guessed the polarity right at the first time of trying. I had soldered wires to match the original colours on to the bits of wire that came with the lamps. These were going on to black and purple wires on the original connectors which I had to re-use. There was always the chance (50/50) that I'd got it wrong and the two ends wouldn't match. Not a big deal really but it felt so good that something had gone right first time.
That was the end of my good luck!

Next, I had to fit a waterproof connector onto the stub of wire from the multilock which plugs into the tail-lamp assembly. This is the only way I could see of doing this as the wiring from the turn signals has to be fed through the bolt which fits the signal onto the fender. As I've no power in the garage, I can't solder it as the connection must be made after all the parts are assembled.
The connectors proved to be so fiddly they are just not practical to fit in such a confined space. So, once more, it is back to the drawing board.
I had a read through Vehicle Wiring Products catalogue and decided on using heat seal bullet terminals which I will wrap in a cable cover. Hopefully this will give it enough weather-proofing. At least they deliver exceptionally quickly so I will have all of the stuff I need in the next few days.

To be fair to myself, I did also manage to strip down the front brake hose and measure up the control cables. So next weekend I can go back to Area 51 and order up the extended cables I need. I had considered buying them myself from V-Twin Mania but the ones they have on sale are fitted with chrome banjo bolts whereas I'd prefer black stainless ones. I also want black braided control cables so hopefully they will be able to source them as the HD ones, which while looking the biz, are just over the top price-wise.

None of this is ideal but at least I know that my ideas have worked even if putting them into practice takes longer than planned. And, just so you can see what's going on, here's some pics:-