Cheap motorcycle tools that are very valuable for maintenance

Do you work on your own bike? Especially the routine maintenance that gives you time checking your bike and a feeling of accomplishment when you are finished with the task?

I do, and normally enjoy it and find it a good opportunity to check things out, spend some time doing mechanical things which is quite different than my normal day, and have that confidence that while I can't repair complex parts of the bike, I can take care of routine items myself.

The frustration comes when a project should be simple, but turns out to be overly complex or messy. One great example is changing the oil on a Harley-Davidson. Everything is pretty much right there out in the open. One hallmark of the Harley twin-v design is the oil filter placement forward of the front cylinder-looks good, works like a bit of an oil cooler, and makes accessing the filter for oil changes straightforward. Put an end cap filter wrench on, rachet drive with an extension and off it spins.

That's where things go wrong. About half a turn in and oil starts leaking out from the engine case all over the lower portion of the engine. I had tried all kinds of "solutions" on multiple twins-newspaper, cut up 2-liter "coke" bottles, tin foil. All worked to some degree, but all were also messy or a lot of effort for a simple job.

Then a friend let me borrow his oil change funnel kit. Available from a variety of manufacturers, these are purpose molded funnels that solve this problem, and the primary case fill problem too. A hard plastic funnel slides under the filter, has a drain and small rubber tubing to take oil right to your drain pan. A really good set is available on Amazon here, and for full disclosure (thank you nanny state) I am an Amazon Associate and get a few pennies if you buy from that link.

This is a simple tool, many companies offer a variety of them for less than $20, and the simplicity of doing oil changes with it is very welcome. I'll feature another simple but elegantly time-saving tool soon. Thank you for reading!

Sold the Honda CB750F Project Bike Parts

Three years ago I traded a 12-string guitar and a custom cigar box guitar I made to a friend for his project CB750 parts.  I was going to make a rigid bobber or streamlined, Exile Cycles style trike but life and other projects plus restarting my financial services business resulted in zero work on it.

Well, I decided since I wasn't going to be able to build a bike for at least another year, I should sell these parts and maybe later build a bike with other "donor-cycles".  Craigslist ad got  a few responses, and I sold the bike for what I was asking plus delivery money to someone fairly close by.

Hope he enjoys it and gets his CB750 back in the wind soon!

A Couple of Quick Updates

Working on the bikes, prepping the 1986 Connie for sale plus checking what might be my options with the 1974 Honda CB750.  Odds are I'm going to sell it too-while I'd love to build a bobber or trike with it, the time and funds to do that right aren't going to be available for atleast 6 months and maybe more like two years.

Riding the 1994 Connie prior to a massive service on it (all fluids, test mount bodywork and prep for paint) and the Harley, so I'm still in the wind.

Does the bike make the rider? Musings while riding

Like many motorcyclists, I've owned a number of bikes, and bikes from a variety of styles for road riding.  From the Honda XL250 Enduro I got most my first miles on, to probably 6 or 7 cruisers, one or two standards, a vintage sportbike (Ninja 900, aka "the Top Gun bike"), 2 Kawasaki Concours sport tourers, and among the cruisers a Harley Sportster and a Street Glide.

Currently I have a ride one of the Concours and the Street Glide.  Before that it was one of the Connies and a Sportster.  So I had a fairly big sport-tourer and a Harley as my bikes for most the past decade.

What I noticed, especially if riding them back-to-back, or the next day, is I actually rode differently depending on which bike I was on.  Not only did they handle differently (side note-the Sportster handled more like a sport-tourer than any other cruiser I've owned, and with good power-to-weight, it was one of the quicker bikes I've owned), I rode differently-often more aggressively on the Harleys.  More attitude, more "this is my lane/space".  That's not to say at times I have fully used the Connie's impressive roll-on speed, even as a 30 year old bike!  But there is just something about being on the Harleys, at least to me.

Do you find yourself riding differently on different bikes if you own more than one?  How about if you've switched styles?  I'd love to read your comments about this!

Quick Post-Update on Connie Projects

Being TWO (Two Wheels Only) for seven months now and not traveling for work anymore has meant lots of miles but also lots of wear and tear on the Connies.  Here's a quick update on projects, maybe I can post more specifics on what I did and why in future posts.

1986 Connie

Rolled it over 100,000 miles
Cracked the Main Fairing Bracket (again)
Stripped main fairing off and removed bracket for neighbor to re-weld (again)
Changed Front Tire
Changed Oil
Had a pinhole radiator hose leak (see 1994 Connie projects...)
Removed and re-installed hard bags and antlers

1994 Connie

Used as transportation bike for almost 1,000 miles/good shakedown
Had a friend repair tank leak
Killed two fuel filters in four days using said tank due to rust inside it/replaced fuel filter three times (lol-but wasn't funny limping a starving for fuel bike home twice in four days, including some roadside networking with a Sheriff Deputy!)
Relocated 1986 tank and bodywork and spare bodywork to make 1994 all red
Moved/removed antlers and hard bags for commuting use, then back to 1986
Re-bleed front brakes but still too soft.  Replaced pads but still not gripping right
Drained radiator fluid and scavenged down pipe and hose for use on 1986
Documented brake and fork repairs needed prior to returning to full-time use

So I've been using 2.5 Connies to keep one on the road.  Tomorrow I celebrate 7 months of not owning a truck or car for me and only occasionally using a family members or friends!

Keep the knees in the breeze friends!

1400 miles to go

Just a quick post as I haven't updated this blog in a while.  I'm still riding the 1986 Connie and slowly getting the 94 back together.  The 86 now has 98,600+ miles on it and depending on work travel should roll over 100,000 miles in April.  Then it will be time for a tough decision as the registration is due that month.  It's not very expensive to renew, but I will be re-registering the 94 once it's back on the road too.  Insuring and registering two bikes (plus the project bike when it's done) gets expensive since I travel a lot and can only ride one anyway!

Quick update-1994 Connie Restoration

It's been a while since I updated the progress on the 94 Connie restoration.  I've got the bodywork sorted out on which pieces from all the body panels are going back on the bike but still need to do more sanding and coating light scratches with resin.  I also need to patch one turn signal "cut-out" where most of them on Kawasaki Concours main fairings break.  There are some YouTube videos on how to do this so I'm going to try.  The drive train is solid from the small amount of riding I've done and the front brakes are working if not great.  I'll likely replace the old front brake pads and re-bleed before putting the bike in daily use.

Other than that I'm pretty happy with this bike and look forward to riding it for years to come.

And so it begins-new to me CB750 project bike in the storage shed

A friend and his wife recently let me know he had a project bike for a chopper build.  Unfortunately he won't be riding anymore, as I met them after he was in a very bad motorcycle wreck.  He is being medically retired from the Marines and didn't want to move the bike back across the country and offered it to me.  Not wanting to take advantage of his misfortune, I offered to trade for it instead of just picking it up.  Saturday I took a Fender 12-string guitar and one of my custom cigar box guitars to their house and picked up the bike parts he had.  He threw in some Harley take-off parts, mainly some pipes and heat guards, but I left the quick release parts for Harleys as they could sell those quickly.

What he had was a torn down Honda CB750.  While many of the smaller parts were left at their long-term home by the military movers, the main parts are all there.  Tight 1976 single overhead cam engine, frame, front forks with wheel and tire, rear tire and sprocket and a few other pieces!  Since the rear swingarm and shock weren't included, the first order of business will be either replacing that or getting a weld on hardtail to make it a "roller".

So the bottom line is I own a cruiser again after a month or so of not having one but it's in parts in my storage shed.  The plan is to finish restoring the 1994 Connie while riding Miss Swail, my 1986 Connie while planning what the first version of the CB 750 will be and accumulating parts.  Next winter I'll assemble the chopper at least to a street legal and running bike, then sort out what to make it into.  Initially I'm planning on my standard black rattle can paint job, wrapped pipes and no frills.

I'm guessing it will cost me about another $1000 to get to that point, meaning I'll still be under $1500 since the 12-string was a Craigslist find and the cigar box guitar was probably only $50 in parts or less to make.

Let's get choppin'!

Selling my 1999 Harley-Davidson Sportster 883

Due to having three bikes and only riding the Sportster a few times a month, I have decided to sell it.  I love the bike and always smile riding it, but 3 sets of registration and insurance just aren't making sense.

I have it listed on Craigslist out here in San Diego:  http://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/mcy/4508191974.html
and here's a picture of the bike:

1999 Harley-Davidson Sportster for sale

As you can see, some customizing done.  I like the clean understated but non-stock look.  Asking $2999 with current tags and clean title in hand.  Thanks!

Independent shop review: Liberty Cycles, Hinesville GA

My travels recently took me through Hinesville GA.  Right across the street from my hotel was a small Polaris dealership and custom/service motorcycle shop.  So for the first time in too long, I was able to visit a new-to-me indy shop, and this one fit the bill totally.  Original owner, long-time service tech, and blister-pack parts that have likely been on the walls since shortly after the shop opened.

Ken, the owner, was willing to chat, so we discussed a few different topics.  As a Polaris dealer for nearly 20 years, Ken was able to confirm some things I have learned researching Polaris as a company since they have re-introduced Indian Motorcycles.  Since he only sells Polaris quads, not motorcycles or snowmobiles/snowmachines (remember I was in Hinesville GA) he had a different perspective from the dealers I spoke with at the International Motorcycle Show or multi-line dealers in Southern California.  Ken told how he became a Polaris dealer.  Back in Desert Storm when many of the soldiers from the nearby base deployed, his maintenance, repair and customization business nearly collapsed.  A hunter from the nearby area brought his Polaris quad by for repair, and Ken and his service tech at the time noticed the quality of the vehicle and ease of repair compared to other quads.  He contacted Polaris, and over the next few years became a dealer.  Over 20 years, he has built a well-balanced business balancing service and accessory sales with Polaris quad sales.  I didn't get to ride any of the quads, but Liberty Cycles has a good selection of good looking vehicles.  Of not, I want to give them credit for an outstanding deal-if you bring your wheel in and the replacement tire, they will mount and balance the new tire for $20!  If you are anywhere near here, stop by and say "hello".  While I haven't used them, I'd bet you could get some motorcycle maintenance completed in a timely and cost-effective manner.  Hope I can throw some business their way.

Well, that's all for tonight-ride safe!

Forgot my own mantra: Start simple when troubleshooting

Two days ago I took the Concours/Connie out for my first ride on it in two weeks.  I had traveled for work all but about 8 hours since Veterans Day, and had ridden the Harley-Davidson Sportster Sunday.  So Monday morning I knew the Connie would be hard to start,  but it was really slow to start and idle.  I had remembered I was running the fuel low for a set of motorcycle maintenance tasks that require pulling the tank, but I didn't realize how low it was.  This condition was augmented by two weeks of evaporation out of said nearly empty tank.

So first the bike doesn't want to start, which I chalk up to an older and cold battery.  Then it starts smoking a bit, which scares me, as the oil leaks have gotten a bit worse lately.  Well, the bike isn't making much power +a bit extra smoke, so now I'm getting paranoid.  This is exactly how the old custom Harley with a Rev-Tech motor went south on me.  When the bike won't get over 3K RPM, I pull into a parking lot with lots of oil on the lower end and the header pipes.  I shut the bike down and put it on the kickstand and make a few phone calls rescheduling some appointments.  At the end of the call, there isn't a huge pool of oil, so I decide to try to fire the bike back up.  It starts and runs pretty well-which should have clued me in.

I make it about 2 miles when it starts cutting out again.  Pre-occupied with what could be going on in the engine I miss what is truly going on, and you are liking thinking.  I push it into a gas station parking lot....and buy 2 gallons of gas.  Runs pretty well and today I filled up with fresh gas.  Yep, bike runs fine-still has the oil leaks, needs some maintenance, but went over 89,500 miles on the odometer with no signs of the engine having true issues.  Yep, needlessly paniced when putting the bike on reserve would have solved the problem.

Live and learn, and never forget your own frailty.

Gear Review: Grease Monkey General Purpose High Performance Work Gloves

Last week I was removing the fork tubes on my 1999 Harley-Davidson Sportster to replace the oil seals and just do general motorcycle maintenance on the front end.  I didn't have any mechanic's work gloves, so while at the other HD (Home Depot) buying some wood for another project I picked up a pair of Grease Monkey General Purpose High Performance Work Gloves.  They aren't very expensive-I paid less than $15, and the large pair fit my hands well.  This is always a concern, as these gloves are meant to be used holding tools and parts.  A previous pair I owned (I don't remember the brand) were too long for my fingers and soon were used for non-mechanical work which quickly tore them up.  Not the problem with these gloves-nice fit, decent construction so I added them to the cart.

Getting home, I used them for the removal of the front tire, brake piston, fork brace, turn indicators and then the fork tubes.  While the front end of the bike wasn't too dirty, there was some road grime and brake dust and of course fork oil (reason #1 for this project!) involved.  Having gloves on saved on clean-up time, and I was happy with the dexterity the Grease Monkey gloves provided.

Re-assembly was also done with the gloves and some of the challenges may have been as much my unfamiliarity with working in gloves as these specific pair.  Some of the smaller bolts, like on the turn indicators, I took one glove off and worked Michael Jackson style.  Also I had to grease the front axle and opted to use an ungloved hand vice a rag to apply and spread the grease.  But cleaining up was much easier.

So far they seem to be well made and will likely hold up well to the amount of mechanical work I do.  I'd be interested to hear how long any of these type gloves hold up under daily use if a professional or avid hobbyist would care to comment.  I'll also ask when I visit the auto-hobby shop or some mechanic friends.

Ride safe and enjoy wrenching and customizing bikes!

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.

Second video from Sportster rattle can paint job posted to YouTube

I just posted the second video to YouTube I shot while painting the Harley-Davidson Sportster fenders.  In it I show the prep work on the rear fender that I did, plus the supplies on how to make your own paint booth out of an old easy-up/pop-up cabana!

J.C. Whitney cargo box on a Kawasaki Concours

     On the Kawasaki Concours Facebook page there is an ongoing discussion regarding different top boxes, mounting hardware and technique.  This is similar to a thread on one of the Connie forums a few years ago when I was customizing my Connie (ok, starting to customize-I never finish tinkering, and the Connie Forum guys are infamous for continual “farkling” of our bikes!)  At that time, J.C. Whitney was having a big sale on their top boxes, so I took the plunge and ordered from them for the first time in years.

      There were lots of different ideas on mounting the boxes, everything from the Kawasaki factory luggage rack/backrest for the Concours to making your own metal rails to the most unique-using a cutting board as a base!  Well, I didn’t have a factory rack, I hadn’t started working metal at that time so off to the stores I went looking for cutting boards.  Wally World had some that were the right size (yes, I carried the J.C. Whitney baseplate in with me…) but they were either white or blue.  I’ve got the fastest color Concours, red, and thought these boards would look bad on the bike.  Yeah, it would be covered from the top by the box, but would stick out being those other colors.  So off to the store where everyone wears red, the store is red, and yes, I mean Target.  Sure enough, they had a display of cutting boards and had a red one.  So I grab it, pay something like 8 bucks and have my base.

      I get back to Millie’s Garage and start figuring out the best layout of the cutting board, base and bike.  Definitely doing the “measure twice, cut once” process and researched the project on the forum all over again.  Finally ready to cut, so I take a jigsaw, load up a new blade and cut down the cutting board.  Of course my wife and Father-in-Law look at me like I’m nuts, but this isn’t new to them.  I then sand it down, drill some mounting holes to mount the board to the bike where the small luggage rack was (the one that is pretty useless) and bolt it to the sub-frame and tail section.  I then mount the topbox rack to the cutting board.  Once all the bolts are in and tightened I go to mount the top box.  Clearance is an issue and it is a very tight fit.  The locking latch won’t fully engage, so I take the top box off and file the mating surfaces slightly.  Now it latches and is still tight/locked in place.  Off we go for a test ride.  Success!  Custom farkle and cheap storage solution mission accomplished.

      Bottom line is the top box makes this bike an awesome commuting machine!  Since the hard side luggage are one of the hardest pieces to replace, I only run them when I have to carry more than the topbox can hold.  I keep the J.C. Whitney box installed all the time.  I mounted it almost three years ago and it’s holding up well.  The drawbacks are I’m not sure it would work well for a passenger, as I don’t carry one.  It also bounces around a bit due to the flexible nature of the cutting board.  That is a little disconcerting at first.  If I either start hauling a passenger or mount one of these boxes on another Connie, I’d look to get the factory rack or make supports out of aluminum.

I'm a "motorcycle multi-media maven"-yeah right!

Ok, here it is, my first motorcycle maintenance YouTube clip!  I re-established my YouTube account last night and uploaded a couple of test clips.  This morning I downloaded the footage I shot when rattle can painting the Harley-Davidson Sportster.  This clip is the intro and set-up on how I'm going to do the project.

I'll post the rest of the videos later, but happy it works! 

Random musings-deferred motrocycle maintenance and Adsense

Between some other tasks for this weekend, the non-arrival of my Harley Davidson Chrome Cash, and Santa Anna winds, I'm not getting the Sportster tank re-repainted anytime soon.  I've got to figure out why the speedometer on the truck still isn't working-it's likely the speedometer drive gear for a 350 auto transmission, but there are multiple gears available.  I wanted to only take it apart once with the spare in hand, but don't want to not get the right one the first time.  A local salvage yard has them, but their price isn't any better than eBay mailed to my door for a new one.  Considering these gear drives are plastic, new in a few days may be a better option than used tomorrow.  Update-took most the parts off, and the "guts" are pretty worn out or gone.  May be having to get another part that is about $90 to get the speedo working.  Can you say "GPS" or iPhone speedometer?

Speedometer parts from a 1975 Chevy 350 Transmission

Enough about truck maintenance since this isn't a Chevy Stepside blog, it's a motorcycle, motorcycling and motorcycle maintenance blog.  It's also a commercial blog, not that I make much money from the affiliate marketing ads and AdSense ads you see scattered on the page.  First, I don't really spend a lot of effort "optimizing the page" although I have messed around a little with SEO, test posts with key words, and other little things.  And yes, I make about enough per month to buy a cup of coffee!  What is really odd is occasionally AdSense credits my account with $.01, one cent, uno centavo (is that even Spanish?) without there being a "click" that day.  I've researched this and can't find how I'm making a penny.  Not that I'm complaining, but its weird.  I understand that different ads have different pay structure but the penny just flat out has me perplexed.  If anyone knows, please let me know how I'm making one penny with AdSense!  We could partner and start a tremendous social networking blog, "Become Rich Using AdSense-One Penny At A Time!"  Yeah, that wouldn't even make $.01.

Update: Sportster tank rattle can paint job

Checked out the rattle can paint job on my Harley Davidson Sportster fuel tank and overall the coats look good.  Only problem is one area isn't dark enough and some primer shows through.  While I may distress this paint job, this isn't in the area I was considering doing that to, so I've got to shoot another couple of coats tomorrow.

I have about 1.5 cans of the semi-gloss left so it's no big deal other than time and clean-up.  Still don't have the bushing for the mounting tabs either so this didn't set back re-assembly and riding the Sportster.

Today's example of over-engineering-Harley-Davidson Sportster edition

Look at that wiring harness!  I've removed the tank from my Sportster to finish the rattle can paint job.  The picture is along the backbone of the bike.  While I have relocated the coil, so some wiring is re-routed back instead of forward to the original coil mount under the tank, look at that monstrous amount of wiring for what is a pretty basic bike!  No Gucci electronics like cruise, radio, accessory power-just the basics according to DoT, CARB, and H-D.  But that is 2 wiring looms both of which are about 1 inch in diameter.  How much is needed for ignition, turn signals and a brake light?  Really.

Everything "beneath" the rail (in the picture) is all wiring.  I'm going to see if I can tuck more of it up out of sight, but previous attempts failed and I don't want to mess with the frame and route it internally.  If I was better at wiring and what electricity is required where, I would take everything off, buy an older wiring harness and start over, but that is beyond my ability to manage trons and the magic blue smoke.  Guess I'm living with this excessive wiring eyesore.  Yuck.

Will finish sanding the tank tonight and shoot paint sometime over the next few days.  I'm awaiting chrome cash certificates for the fork seals, so I probably will get the tank back on and keep running the bike using the "bandana on the forks" trick to keep from wearing too much more fork oil.  Good thing it smells pretty much like veggie oil!

2006 Harley-Davidson Softail Heritage Classic for sale-$10,000 (San Diego County CA)

OK folks, another bike for sale by a friend of mine: (his write-up, although I can personally vouch for 90% of this, only exceptions are work he did before we started riding together)
Harley Davidson Softail Heritage Classic, 57,500 miles
Red-Black Original Harley Paint Scheme,
88 CI engine (balanced),

Custom (Red) Screaming-Eagle Spark Plug Wires
Thunderheader 2 into 1 header pipes, flat black (the best sounding pipes out there, in my humble opinion!)
MoFlo High-Flow Air Cleaner
Replacement Saddlebags (the right ones for this year and model), Leather, Studded
Always run Mobil 1 V-Twin Synthetic oil
PowerCommander with custom map (Tweaked the map to get rid of decel backfiring which is common with the Thunderheader muffler)
Custom Corbin seat (buddy type, 2-passenger, one piece)
Sissy Bar by Harley (permanent fixed mount)
18 inch 80-spoke rear wheel (Michelin Tire) with about 2,000 miles, 1/3 worn
Standard 16-inch 40 spoke front wheel (Dunlop H-D Tire)
Kevlar compound brake pads, over 50% front and rear; both discs completely serviceable, no grooves
Cigar Lighter Fixture run to handlebars
"Mini-Apes", below the shoulder, kicked back about 5 inches.

This bike runs perfectly, paint is 8/10 and I am willing to get a professional painter to touch it up if you wish.
Removable H-D Windshield, 7/10 condition; battery 4 months old and is a Cycle Gear lifetime warranty.

This bike is a real runner, starts every time and no issues at all with any of the running gear. It is better than average for this year bike, lots of chrome on this model, and although it has miles, it has been meticulously maintained and I have 95% of the maintenance records with miles. Oil changed every 4,000 miles with Mobil 1 V-Twin Synthetic, filter changed every time with H-D Chrome filter, Spark Plugs new, All wiring 100%, all bulbs work, all controls work 100%. Just changed trans and primary oil with H-D standard Trans Oil. No fork leaks; I will change the fork oil before I sell it (it's due.) Shop Manual by Clymer and H-D Parts manual