imagining

As the weather (and therefore the light) has been so poor I haven't been getting much work done on the bike but have been thinking a lot about where things are going.

I've more or less settled on how the rear end will be except for the width of the wheel. I was thinking about going wider, maybe to a 220 or 230 but that would mean having to replace the swing-arm. I'll need to decide before I buy the rear mudguard as it may not look right if I fit a wider guard then go for stock width wheel.

One change that I did make up my mind about was the seat.

I've decided to go for a slim leather sprung seat. The deciding factor was probably finding a mounting kit on e-bay for almost half the new price. Aftermarket ones are even more expensive than the HD ones, so I've got a real bargain. This is something I can fit even before I change the mudguard so wont be held up until I can afford the rest of the bits.

But, before I start that I'm going to re-line the tank using anything but Kreem. The stuff I spent ages doing, only a few months ago, peeled off as soon as I filled the tank with petrol. I'm then going to try doing a gloss and matte flame-job myself.
Fingers crossed!

looking familiar?

I finished connecting the clutch cable (I ran out of daylight yesterday), fitted the cover and exhaust then started to rub down the fuel tank. When I fitted and sprayed it last time, I only did a very basic job on the filler and there are a few pits I've still to sand out.

I'll do that over the next week or two but don't really know if I'll be able to afford a professional paint job on the tins as I'd rather spend the money buying front and rear mudguards, as well as all the other bits I want!

So it may be another rattle can job.

cheese and clutches

I got the new clutch cable in the post on Thursday and went out to the garage to fit it yesterday.

Is nothing straightforward on a Harley?

It is almost impossible to do as the manual says and screw the cable into the cover. It has to be done by turning the cover and screwing it down onto the cable while it is held in a vice. But, as the clutch cover seems to be made out of cheese, getting the thread started is frustratingly difficult. I thought I almost had it cracked at one point until I let the cover slip out of my hand. The clutch ramp mechanism dropped onto the floor of the garage and although three ball bearings fell out only two seem to have hit the floor!

Even after a comprehensive search, moving the bike and crawling around on all fours for half an hour with a torch, there was no sign of it.

What I did find, when I was down there, was the brass ferrule from the idle cable that had flown off when I was refitting that the other day. I've got half a dozen of them on order for future use.

I've now ordered three new ball bearings and will have another go at getting the thread started. If that fails I may buy a satin stainless steel one.

Harley really should put some type of hardened thread insert into their covers. (which gives me an idea)

 

I eventually managed to get the throttle cable screwed into the casing after a good few attempts. I was just about to give up and was measuring the thread, to order a helicoil kit, when I gave it one last go. It caught on a thread and from there went in no bother!

I then decided to tidy up the garage a bit. Mainly to kill time, as it was raining outside and I couldn't face getting soaked on the walk back to the flat. So, as I was moving things around to get the floor swept, I found the missing ball bearing. It had travelled all the way to the back wall so must have rolled about eight feet after it hit the floor.