Category Archives: Wrenching

So… you want to do your own wrenching? If you do, start by purchasing the official factory manual for your bike. If there is a separate parts manual, buy that too. Then read the posts in this category; may they will prepare you for the journey ahead. The posts here describe many of the changes I’ve made, un-made, revised, and re-made on the Cruiser and the Vector. Note that this category covers both maintenance and performance modifications.

Redbeard Cruise – Days 13 & 14 – The Labors of Hercules

Every now and then, a motorcycle tour goes sideways. Not in a physical sliding and wrecking kind of way (though that can happen too), but in perfect storm of one logistical nightmare after another. Days 13 and 14 of my Redbeard Cruise were sideways kind of days. The whole sordid story starts pleasantly enough in Durango, Colorado, peaks in its second act conflict in Carbondale, Colorado, and ends on day 14 in Leadville, Colorado.

Continue reading Redbeard Cruise – Days 13 & 14 – The Labors of Hercules

Redbeard US50 Cruise – Day 5

I’ve accelerated my pace a bit to try and arrive a day early, so mountain passes, a nasty construction zone that closed US50, oppressive heat, and a steering instability issue with the Nightowl were not helping me get down the road.

Continue reading Redbeard US50 Cruise – Day 5

2019 PITS Cruise – Day 7

A short day of big trees, lost gear, Bike Wrenching, good friends, and great food. Continue reading 2019 PITS Cruise – Day 7

2019 Haystack Conference and Fuel Pump Saga – Day 2

If I could limp the crippled Nightowl to to Charlottesville, I’d have four days attending the Haystack conference to fix its dead fuel pump before I had to continue to the Fontana Getaway.

Continue reading 2019 Haystack Conference and Fuel Pump Saga – Day 2

2019 Haystack Conference and Fuel Pump Saga – Day 1

This year I rode the Nightowl down to the 2019 Haystack conference on search relevance. I rode the entire way there with a dead fuel pump. Strange, but true.

Continue reading 2019 Haystack Conference and Fuel Pump Saga – Day 1

Nightowl 18k Service (early 2019)

I ended last year’s riding season just short of the mileage due for the 18k miles service interval. Consequently, I needed to get this most demanding of the scheduled service tasks out of the way before the start of the busy 2019 riding season. Continue reading Nightowl 18k Service (early 2019)

Cleaning the K1600 Fuel Sender

During the trip home from the west coast last year, I noticed some strange behavior in the fuel gauge on the Nightowl. It would suddenly show empty and then gradually return to its previous position. This post describes how to fix this problem.

Continue reading Cleaning the K1600 Fuel Sender

Nightowl 12k Service On-the-Road

I could have waited until I got home, but I wanted to see just how hard it was to perform this service while on the road. Continue reading Nightowl 12k Service On-the-Road

Adventures in Tire Plugging

In preparation for our recent trip down to North Carolina on the Nightowl, I install a new rear tire. Naturally, that same tire picked up a nail two days later, which led to some strategizing on how to get home. Continue reading Adventures in Tire Plugging

Musings on Engine Technology and the Future

Back in the mid-nineties, I began to outgrow the performance capabilities of my 1992 Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail (the Cruiser). (Sport Bike riders: shut the hell up; I know Evolution Harleys weren’t high-performance to begin with.) In addition to several suspension and drivetrain upgrades, I spent a fair amount of time and money to pry more power out of the venerable Evolution power plant. Continue reading Musings on Engine Technology and the Future