Garage queen to daily driver

[Jusme]

When I towed my (2700 miles) dream bike home a couple of weeks ago I knew I was going to be doing some sorting. I rolled it off the trailer in the back yard and started it. Drove it down a grassy knoll through some mole hills right into the wood pile. Spinning the rear tire while dragging some firewood I got it back on top of the grassy knoll. Didn’t drop it. Those foot pegs are strong. I adjusted the creeping clutch. Then took another picture. I immediately noticed I had a front fork seal problem. I would post that picture but it keeps getting rotated. I’ll come back later this technology is eating too much time.

 

[chubs]

Ya just have to remember, There are 2 kinds of riders. Those who've crashed, and those that will. Looks like ya might have gotten the first group taken care of. Sweet looking ride.

 

[HMAN]

You will have lots of little WTF moments while going over ur Dog. Well, its happened to me a couple times. Lol. Once you work out the bugs, they gonna have to pry ur ass out the seat!

 

[Jusme]

Thank you Hman I’m already there. I’ve been trying to post my story on here for a week. This is the technology I’m fed up with. I just rode the bike down to the local bar to have some more coffee and think about it. So I had this front fork seal problem and I read somewhere on here that somebody sprays silicone in there. I’m sure it’s temporary but so far it looks great. Pic is still rotated but what the hell.

 

[Rottweiler]

Hint always put it in neutral before starting.

 

[Jusme]

I rode the bike around town for a few days gravel roads grass dirt. Just getting used to it. Then I took it for 100 mile trip. When I got home I noticed a break fluid problem.

 

[Jusme]

Started in neutral but it had the clutch creep and a very stiff lever. That’s why I immediately adjusted the clutch.

 

[Mr. Wright]

These low mileage bikes are great finds, but unfortunately from all the sitting most of the seals are going to be rotted. Take your time fix it as it needs. Make sure you got a good Deka battery in it.

 

[HMAN]

Yep, I agree with Shannon. Get urself a fork seal kit, good how-to here, and grab a front caliper rebuild kit. Had the same issues with the 04 Chopper.

 

[Jusme]

As soon as I saw the front rotor I ordered the front and rear caliper kits from HDM. The Rebuild kits got here in no time and I’ve already rebuilt the front caliper. The O-rings had failed. There was also some strange blue adhesive in the race. Front brake works perfectly now.

 

[Jusme]

These low mileage bikes are great finds, but unfortunately from all the sitting most of the seals are going to be rotted. Take your time fix it as it needs. Make sure you got a good Deka battery in it.

The original owner said it was on its third battery which is drag specialties. Good news is it came with a battery tender.

 

[Jusme]

I plan on doing the front forks this winter if I can gain enough confidence. I’ll be rebuilding the rear brake caliper soon. I polished one side of the front wheel with turtle wax polishing compound and it came out real shiny. I did the rear fender supports with this mothers stuff and came out kind of dull. Someone mentioned the cc purple metal polish. Might try it.

 

[Mickmorris]

I plan on doing the front forks this winter if I can gain enough confidence. I’ll be rebuilding the rear brake caliper soon. I polished one side of the front wheel with turtle wax polishing compound and it came out real shiny. I did the rear fender supports with this mothers stuff and came out kind of dull. Someone mentioned the cc purple metal polish. Might try it. View attachment 105881

Welcome from Florida! That stuff is ok. But there’s better out there. I like this stuff from Barnes Performance Cycles. Works really well. Check out their website. Also Marky-marc?( that could be spelled wrong) has a great video on Youtube on how to rebuild your front forks

 

[Chong]

Polish methods taught to me by Mr Wright ..

Get a good polish .. there are some choices . I use Adam's..it was shown to me . Works good and I haven't wandered..yet .. lol.

Apply with nytril glove ..usually blue in color .

I buy bulk flannel at fabric shop ..

Use one to wipe and polish compound off .
Come back with a clean piece hand buff .

Once buffing cloth starts to load up I grab a fresh one and start using old one for polish removal .

Painted surface again from Mr Wright ..
Meguire's Ceramic wax .. blue bottle.

Don't use micro fiber cloth on polished aluminum parts .. Ok on Painted surfaces .

 

[Jusme]

Thank you Mick and Chong valuable advice. I did use a microfiber cloth. Someone else said they use cloth T-shirts.

 

[Mr. Wright]

The original owner said it was on its third battery which is drag specialties. Good news is it came with a battery tender.

Drag batteries are on the list also.

Another battery

This is another battery to add to the list of do not use. The bike has been sitting in my shop for over a month, it shows 12.8 volts. It has zero amps to crank the starter, and is leaking acid at around the terminals. We keep saying it over and over again, use a deka battery, part number ETX20L...

www.bigdogbiker.com

 

[Jusme]

Getting ready to take the dog out shopping for some of the above mentioned items. Thought I would adjust the carburetor first. I really need to address this clutch cable issue. I would ultimately like to go hydraulic. Until then I’m wondering if anyone has addressed the bracket versus plastic covering issue?

 

[Jusme]

For now I’m going to cut the offending plastic off. Ultimately I’m thinking about boring out the channel in the bracket and chamfering the edges.

 

[Jusme]

Right now it’s causing some very stiff steering.

 

[Jusme]

It seems to me these brackets were positioned too far apart causing a bind. For today I think I’ll run it without the top bracket.