While I was picking up my fork tubes from my independent custom shop, the owner showed me a nearly new 2006 Sportster they are selling.
The Goods:
4000 miles on it (what da? that's a few months riding out of 7 years!)
Custom mini-apes
Flawless paint
Buying from a certified H-D mechanic, so I'm sure it will get a once over if you ask
The Bads:
Bone stock other than bars 883, so it's got the smaller motor
Unknown if mileage was all at once and it's been sitting (shop may know)
Price at higher end, but again super-low miles.
No pic, but if you google 2006 Sportster and see a black one, that's about what you're looking at for this bike if you add 10" ape hangers.
PM or comment if interested.
Friday, October 25, 2013
Thursday, October 24, 2013
That paint job didn't last long....not that it's anything fancy/rattle can
Today I took the front fork tubes off the Sportster to have the oil seals replaced. I left the bike on my jack lift. A number of years ago I had a Yamaha V-Star fall off this lift while I had the wheels off for new tires and some motorcycle maintenance. Enough gas spilled in that case to ruin a paint job.
Well, my father-in-law was working in our backyard this afternoon and came back into the garage and found the Sportster partially on it's side. He uprighted it and tied it in place. Should I have tied it down? Probably, but the bike wasn't moving around after I pulled the fork tubes. I had covered the gas tank to keep from chipping my brand new rattle can paint job although the two minor blemishes in the paint were already bugging me too. When I took that off, I noticed a small area had been exposed to gasoline while the bike was on it's side and that paint was already bubbling up. Too late to do much about it.
Guess that area and the small blemish from a pet hair are going to make me pull the tank back off, re-sand it and apply more paint. I've got some leftover cans, so the only issue is having a day free when it is warm enough for the paint to set up.
Update: Still deciding how and when to fix this. While it's noticeable, it's also sort of in keeping with the theme of the bike. So I'll just keep riding both the bikes and decide later. Gonna be busy for the next few weeks with work anyway.
Well, my father-in-law was working in our backyard this afternoon and came back into the garage and found the Sportster partially on it's side. He uprighted it and tied it in place. Should I have tied it down? Probably, but the bike wasn't moving around after I pulled the fork tubes. I had covered the gas tank to keep from chipping my brand new rattle can paint job although the two minor blemishes in the paint were already bugging me too. When I took that off, I noticed a small area had been exposed to gasoline while the bike was on it's side and that paint was already bubbling up. Too late to do much about it.
Guess that area and the small blemish from a pet hair are going to make me pull the tank back off, re-sand it and apply more paint. I've got some leftover cans, so the only issue is having a day free when it is warm enough for the paint to set up.
Update: Still deciding how and when to fix this. While it's noticeable, it's also sort of in keeping with the theme of the bike. So I'll just keep riding both the bikes and decide later. Gonna be busy for the next few weeks with work anyway.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Curing Kawasaki Concours Buzz: The Never-ending Quest
The Kawasaki Concours C10 models are notorious for buzzing at freeway speeds. Seems like a perfect combination of de-tuning the Ninja 1000 engine, hard mounting both the engine and the exhaust to the frame, and setting up the powerband so that modern freeway speeds (with a 30 year old engine design) all conspire to put your hands to sleep in about 30 minutes. Add in California rain grooves, and I'm lucky to make it that long!
All kinds of suggestions exist on the interwebs and the Concours Owners' Group (COG) forum, magazine and tech tips. One of the weirder ones to me as an untrained mechanic is removing the bolts mounting the exhaust to the frame underneath the footpegs. To be honest, the buzz is so bad in my hands I hadn't paid attention to my feet until I read that. Next trip on the superslab, yep, now obsessing about foot buzz too! So I get out my t-handle wrench (great purchase btw) and the right side bolt comes right off. The heat shield on the exhause is even bent down for ease of access. So I move over to the left side. Of course, the problems now start multiplying.
First-nasty oil leak and grime makes doing anything on that side of the bike messy.
Second-look at the heat shield, no radiusing/indentation. Well let's just try to get the bolt out.
Third-two turns in and the wrench is hitting the heat shield. Switch to a different socket, no better. Could a box end wrench fit? Maybe, but would only turn 1/4 turn at a time and then the bolt would hit the heat shield.
So thank you yet again engineers who don't work on the bikes. Turn T-wrench around to the 8MM side and remove heat shield and boom the bolt is out. Then the fun of realigning the heat shield clamp (that has 88.75K miles of road grime and oil leak on it) and attaching front heat shield bolt. 2 minutes to remove exhaust bolt, 30+ minutes wrestling with heat shield removal and re-installation. GRRRRR.
Heading out on a dinner run to test out the buzz reduction! Have a great ride-
All kinds of suggestions exist on the interwebs and the Concours Owners' Group (COG) forum, magazine and tech tips. One of the weirder ones to me as an untrained mechanic is removing the bolts mounting the exhaust to the frame underneath the footpegs. To be honest, the buzz is so bad in my hands I hadn't paid attention to my feet until I read that. Next trip on the superslab, yep, now obsessing about foot buzz too! So I get out my t-handle wrench (great purchase btw) and the right side bolt comes right off. The heat shield on the exhause is even bent down for ease of access. So I move over to the left side. Of course, the problems now start multiplying.
First-nasty oil leak and grime makes doing anything on that side of the bike messy.
Second-look at the heat shield, no radiusing/indentation. Well let's just try to get the bolt out.
Third-two turns in and the wrench is hitting the heat shield. Switch to a different socket, no better. Could a box end wrench fit? Maybe, but would only turn 1/4 turn at a time and then the bolt would hit the heat shield.
So thank you yet again engineers who don't work on the bikes. Turn T-wrench around to the 8MM side and remove heat shield and boom the bolt is out. Then the fun of realigning the heat shield clamp (that has 88.75K miles of road grime and oil leak on it) and attaching front heat shield bolt. 2 minutes to remove exhaust bolt, 30+ minutes wrestling with heat shield removal and re-installation. GRRRRR.
Heading out on a dinner run to test out the buzz reduction! Have a great ride-
Monday, October 21, 2013
Dumb story to tell on myself
I'm about to pull the forks off my Sportster and take them to an indy mechanic to replace the oil seals as I just don't have the time and inclination to replace them. I probably could do the job and enjoy doing it if I had more time and a bit more organization in Millie's Garage by now but don't so throwing the "Yuppie RUB toolkit" down on the counter (i.e. a charge card) and getting the work done.
Well, the stupid comes into play as I've been concerned on getting the fork legs back on the bike in the right sides. So I've been thinking I should use a grease pencil and put a small L and R on the backside of the bottom tubes, right? Or maybe right where they slide out of the clamps. So I walk out to the bike to check out what will have to be removed (fork brace, brake piston, relocated turn signals) and spot the big base sticker that has always been on the left fork leg. Always on the left side of every bike I've ever owned.
Yeah, it's good to be tough if your stupid.
Well, the stupid comes into play as I've been concerned on getting the fork legs back on the bike in the right sides. So I've been thinking I should use a grease pencil and put a small L and R on the backside of the bottom tubes, right? Or maybe right where they slide out of the clamps. So I walk out to the bike to check out what will have to be removed (fork brace, brake piston, relocated turn signals) and spot the big base sticker that has always been on the left fork leg. Always on the left side of every bike I've ever owned.
Yeah, it's good to be tough if your stupid.
Sunday, October 20, 2013
"Mo" Vember-anyone up to doing this? Any experience/opinions of the charity?
Ok, this is barely a motorcycling or motorcycle maintenance related post, as it deals with men's health issues and the Movember fund-raising site and organization. A few friends I ride with suffer from prostrate cancer (one very seriously) so I am thinking of participating in the Movember fundraiser this year.
Basically guys start November (now called Movember) clean shaven and grow a mustache for the month. You can sign up as a member or team, and money raised goes to support men's health issues, primarily prostrate and testicular cancer and men's depression. I know a few friends have done this in the past-and for those who don't normally sport a 'stache the idea is it opens conversations to raise awareness and funds.
Anyone have experience with the organization behind this group? They post general financials on the website and appear to be legitimate if not very well-known? Anyone have a team looking for members?
Basically guys start November (now called Movember) clean shaven and grow a mustache for the month. You can sign up as a member or team, and money raised goes to support men's health issues, primarily prostrate and testicular cancer and men's depression. I know a few friends have done this in the past-and for those who don't normally sport a 'stache the idea is it opens conversations to raise awareness and funds.
Anyone have experience with the organization behind this group? They post general financials on the website and appear to be legitimate if not very well-known? Anyone have a team looking for members?
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