Wrenching

Ghost expounds upon:

Wrenching Philosophy

• To Thine Own Self be True
• Thinking Ahead
• Educate Your Guesses
• The Performance Mod Mindset

Safety Upgrades

• A Louder Horn
• Brighter Headlights
• Extra Tail Lights & Running Lights

Optimizing Your Bike for Touring

• Highway Pegs
• Luggage Rack
• Gauges
• Saddlebag Hardware

Common Repairs

• Front End
• Base Gasket Repair
• Camshaft Replacement

Performance Mods

• The Wake-up Call

Cruiser Photos

• Right Side
• Left Side
• Rear
• Dash
• Glamour Shots

Vector Photos

• Evolution

Wrenching Philosophy

Fact: You will modify your bike.

To Thine Own Self be True

There are few major capital purchases that are customized as much a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Comparitively speaking, many people will modify their homes or cars to their own needs. The home may get a new deck or a change of color. A car may receive some sexy floor mats or some driving lights. A motorcycle, however, may receive new storage compartments, and new paint, and personalized replacement accessories, and lighting changes. This tame list of modifications doesn't even touch performance enhancements to the motor and drivetrain. Consequently the original supposition, "You will modify your bike", is simply a blunt statement of fact. Period.

The first lesson in motorcycle modification is understanding the difference between a custom motorcycle and a personalized motorcycle. The motorcycle-oriented mass media is respledent with sleek high-performance examples of rolling sculpture. We all look at these machines and, we should just admit it, we covet them. Sure, you'd never ride cross country on a 131 cubic inch supercharged hardtail with a 1.5 gallon gas tank, but it sure would be cool to take one out to a tavern or two on a warm summer night. We all want something unique, and a custom motorcycle is certainly unique.

Unfortunately most of us are not professional motorcycle builders. Undaunted, we purchase our "off-the-rack" motorcycles and proceed to do our best to alter them until they are as unique as those sexy customs. This, my friend, is the path to the dark side and should be shunned as strongly as a root canal sans novicane. The trap is that, while you can certainly change virtually every bit and piece of your ride, a _____ (fill your bike model in here) with $3000 of added accessories and personalizations is still a _____. I know this to be a true hard fact of life. I've made a huge amount of additions, deletions, and upgrades, some visible some not, and everybody can see that the Cruiser is an Evo Heritage Softail. While the Cruiser is a very highly personalized motorcycle, it will never be a custom. It still looks too stock to me, but I know that it is uniquely personalized to my needs, and I'm at peace with that.

The second lesson in motorcycle modification is to be true to yourself. You must resist the temptation of the dark side and make only those modifications that you really need (along with a few that you just plain want, I mean, shit, this isn't absolutism, it's a hobby). Pick a path for your bike's personalization and follow it slowly. Trust in the guarentee that your mind will change, the path will correct itself, and the personalization will continue in a new direction. The trick is to modify your bike in a order such that future changes in the path doesn't dictate replacement of prior (i.e., paid for) modifications. For example, if you simply drool over the look of forward controls, don't install them until you're sure your riding style and physiology are compatible with the change in riding position. Otherwise, when your passions for Iron Butt rides assert themselves, you may find yourself removing those sexy forward controls in favor of a staid set of nice comfortable floorboards.

A a sidebar to this lesson, we can all be forgiven for that first dash to the dealership to pick up our favorite bolt-on bits and pieces. I still have my reciept from that auspicious shopping trip; I purchased the following:

• Chrome swingarm-bolt and axle covers
• Headlight, tailight, passing lamp, and turn signal visors
• Gas cap emblems
• Padlock for the front fork lock (the only truly useful item)

None of these items constitute drastic modifications. In spite of their tame nature, some were subsequently sacrificed or removed as the Cruiser evolved. The swingarm-bolt covers fell off and weren't replaced because I added toolbags that cover the bolts. The colorful "Made in USA" gas cap emblems were removed in favor of two more meaningful and unique pieces. This visors, however, have endured. Two of the original visors remain, the rest have been replaced as necessary to maintain the fully visored look. The padlock also remains; it is scratched and corroded, but still protects the Cruiser to this day.

Lastly, don't make modificatons just because a friend or wrench tells you to do it. While there are examples of empirical motorcycle wisdom for the masses (e.g., carry a tire pressure gauge because tire pressure is important and should be monitored), motorcycle personalization is an intensely subjective endeavor. You should make an effort to take everything with a grain of salt, waiting to compare any discovered concensus to you own personalization path. I'll expound more on this subject in the Educate Your Guesses section.

Thinking Ahead

Simple question: How will you use your bike?

I realize that this answer to this question is often elusive. Who can know what they will be doing with their bike two or more years from now. I suppose that would also beg the question, "Why modify my bike now before I know how I will use it?" Admittedly, the most satisfying move is to start bolting on additional or replacement accessories that change the cosmetic look of the bike. The wise move is to keep the bike stock until your growing number of hours in the saddle reveal how you ride and where your bike can be improved or personalized to serve your riding style and ability.

Case in point: Adding Progressive rear suspension to the Cruiser. Everything I read and heard about Progressive's rear Softail shocks was favorable. Unfortunately, they are a tough love, demanding over $400 of respect before you can add them to your bike. My riding style hadn't been aggressive enough to make the Cruiser handle adversely, and therefore didn't merit the upgrade. Then one day I was blasting through the Bighorn Mountains with Chuck Lanter and noticed the rear suspension wallowing in the troughs of the road surface on hard corners. My riding style had finally exceeded the stock suspension's ability to provide a stable ride. I justified the purchase of the upgraded shocks and installed them later that season.

Another good reason to think ahead is that some modifications are mutually exclusive. You might not be able to install a engine guard if you already have forward controls. One rear rack may be compatible with a quick-disconnect system while another is not. Some fairings and large windshields are fine with stock fuel tanks, but won't work with those sexy seven-gallon models that will increase your driving range.

I found that it helped to categorize proposed modifications into groups. Below are some of the categories I have used:

• Anti-Vibs - Anything that would lower the vibration level. You rubber-mount or TC-88B owners can safetly ignore this.
• Chrome - Shiny bits that serve no purpose other than to look good.
• Comfort - Creature comforts that better fit the bike to your body. For example, highway pegs, passenger floorboards, windshields, fleeces or gel seats, rider and passenger backrests, handlebars, grips, levers, etc.
• Gauges - Mods that tell me what's going on with the bike.
• Performance - Improvements to engine and drivetrain.
• Saftey - Anything that makes the experience more survivable. For example, engine guards, brighter lights, extra lights, louder horns, brake upgrades, etc.
• Suspension - Upgrades to shocks and forks.
• Insanity - Shit you want just because you've gotta have it.

After proposed mods are broken down, you may fid it easier to prioritize your purchases. In my book, the safety category comes first; some of these items could literally save your life. The comfort category comes next as it directly affects your enjoyment of your bike. The chrome category has a low priority, but it is good to keep a list of cosmetic changes you want to make. The next time you feel the burn to buy something (anything?) for your bike, the list will be there. The rest of the categories require saddle time to get fleshed out. Changes to suspension and drivetrain require that you carefully consider the need for the change. Also, some drivetrain modifications (e.g., gearing) will directly affect performance. Performance upgrades to the motor are their own special barrel of monkeys, an are addressed in the The Performance Mod Mindset section.

Educate Your Guesses

Repeat after me: "Knowledge is power."

In this the Age of Information, it is shamefully foolish to make any motorcycle personalization decision without at least a little research. Information that used to take a lifetime of networking to collect now takes a few weeks of asking questions, reading web pages, and reading a book or two.

Note: I'm certainly not saying that you can learn all there is to know about building engines and motorcycles in a few weeks. Don't be stupid. I am saying, however, that a year of browsing websites and lurking in a good email list will teach you more about riding and wrenching than a lifetime of barstool bullshitting and attending Owner's Group weinie roasts.

There are two major purposes to educating yourself:

1. Obtaining a background on how your bike works.
2. Obtaining specific information on products and modifications that will mold the bike to your personal needs and riding style.

Background information on motorcycles is most quickly learned from books. Here are some culmulative suggestions on the value of the printed word:

1. Truly, truly I say to you, if you plan on doing your own wrenching, even for minor scheduled maintenance, go to your local dealer and purchase the service manual and parts manual for your bike. There is no substitute.
2. For weekend warrior types that want to personalize their bike as much as possible, but don't relish tearing the motor and drivetrain apart, look to purchase an additional book on general "customizing". For the Harleys with Evolution motors, I'd suggest "101 Projects for your Evolution Harley."
3. If you plan on doing any performance modifications to your bike, I would suggest reading obtaining one or more performance guides. Personally, I'm partial to "The Big Twin High Performance Guide: Volume One" by D. William Denish. It provides a wealth of theory and background information and always points out the ever-present tradeoffs of making certain modifications. Even if all you will ever do is tweak the carb or install a bolt-in cam, this book will help alot. (Note that Denish has published Volume 2 by now; might have to get that one too <chuckle>).

When it comes to educating yourself on specific products and modifications, your computer is your friend.

The vast majority of motorcycle equipment vendors have web sites which describe their products. This information is extremely valuable as it comes directly from the horses mouth. For specific questions about compatibility issues or non-published specifications, most vendors have a tech line. Two notes about the tech lines: First and foremost, don't forget that the guy on the other end of the line wants you to buy their part. When you ask the Crane technician about the merits of their H316-2B camshaft in comparison to the Andrews EV-27, take the answer with a grain of salt. A better question would be what combination of Crane springs and collars will support 0.600" of valve lift at a maximum of 6500RPM. The tech can likely answer this in their sleep. Questions that compare brands are best posed to performance houses like Zippers. They sell all brands and don't care as much about whose product you buy (as long as you buy it through them). The second hint about tech lines is to know what you want. Any good techician won't get very far past your name and the weather before they'll ask you what you want out of your ride.

For information from those who actually own a given item, consult some of the online email lists and newsgroups. For the Harley crowd, there's the Harley Email Digest (HED) and the rec.motorcycles.harley newsgroup. (Other brands of bikes have their own forums; a quick Google search will ferret them out.) Also look for performance houses (like the aforementioned Zippers) or personal websites of self-ordained psuedo-experts in the field (like myself). If possible, keep track of those members of email lists or newsgroups who have similar riding habits to yourself. If you tend to tour, then advice from a committed drag racer might not carry as much weight as counsel from a fellow touring fanatic.

Finally, there are a plethora of online catalogs for discount motorcycle parts. After your research narrows the selection down to a specific part, consult the online discount houses for the best deal on that item.

The Performance Mod Mindset

Alas, I could go on about this forever.