Making Your BDM Bulletproof List

Energy One
SuperNova

SuperNova

Member
New guy here and over the past few days I have been looking thru the forum and have read the countless issues people have with their BD's. If you were to make a list to "Bulletproof" your bike; ie ECM Upgrade, Hi-TQ Starter, etc... what would all be on that list and who makes it? I think Id like to get working on that this Winter while the weather is cold and very little riding is taking place.
Breaking down far from home, or having to bail on a ride with friends because your bike wont start is the worst and luckily I have not experienced that yet nor do I want to... Looking for as much input as possible, and NO I do not want to hear if you dont want any issues go buy a Harley :p I love my Dawg!!
 
Mr. Wright

Mr. Wright

Knows some things
The most problems you're going to have, all stem from electrical. Having a good battery will save you tons of problems.
Deka battery, Amazon Etx20L
Make sure both ends of each battery cable are clean. And clean your starter solenoid contacts. I do this each oil change.
Next upgrade your charging system, along with your EHC.
wildsteedworx.com
When you have it apart, every plug you see, take it apart and install dielectric grease. This includes the PC boards in your handlebars.
Upgrade your headlight to a Day Maker LED. You can find them on Amazon for around 50 bucks.
 
HMAN

HMAN

I just like my Freedom
Supporting Member
One thing you can do to help waterproof the Dog is to add dielectric grease to all connectors. I went a bit further, I put heatshrink tube on all connections I could. A spray can of Marine conformal coating is needed to spray all PC boards. (Keeps the corrosion n water out.) PC boards in quite a few places, turn signals, tag, hand controls....jm .02
 
Mr. Wright

Mr. Wright

Knows some things
Non electrical problems are few and far between. But there are a few things to look out for. Upper motor mount bolts, make sure they stay tight.
Change out your wheel bearings with each tire change. If you go through two tires on one set of bearings you'll find the bearings are really bad on the second tire.
If you write a passenger make sure your rear strut bolts stay tight.
Make sure the engine is good and warmed up before riding.
Pull the clutch lever in, and look at the end of your cable, to make sure it's not fraying. If it clutch cable breaks nine times out of 10 it will be at the handle and not down at the bottom.
 
Mickmorris

Mickmorris

Well Known Member
Supporting Member
So my 1st question is Year & model of your BigDog (we love pics btw). Yep electrical gremlins are the worst & most prevalent on these dogs. Not sure if Curtis has any EHC available. But Jeff at Dead One Customs can hook you up. Pretty pricey but worth it in the end to bulletproof your electrical system. Plug & play with the BigDog harness. Totally agree with Shannon on the bearings with every tire change for sure.
 
Mickmorris

Mickmorris

Well Known Member
Supporting Member
SuperNova said:
New guy here and over the past few days I have been looking thru the forum and have read the countless issues people have with their BD's. If you were to make a list to "Bulletproof" your bike; ie ECM Upgrade, Hi-TQ Starter, etc... what would all be on that list and who makes it? I think Id like to get working on that this Winter while the weather is cold and very little riding is taking place.
Breaking down far from home, or having to bail on a ride with friends because your bike wont start is the worst and luckily I have not experienced that yet nor do I want to... Looking for as much input as possible, and NO I do not want to hear if you dont want any issues go buy a Harley :p I love my Dawg!!
Click to expand...
Harleys have way more issues than a BigDog! Just my opinion.
 
SuperNova

SuperNova

Member
Mickmorris said:
So my 1st question is Year & model of your BigDog (we love pics btw). Yep electrical gremlins are the worst & most prevalent on these dogs. Not sure if Curtis has any EHC available. But Jeff at Dead One Customs can hook you up. Pretty pricey but worth it in the end to bulletproof your electrical system. Plug & play with the BigDog harness. Totally agree with Shannon on the bearings with every tire change for sure.
Click to expand...
I have a 2006 Ridgeback
Yeah I read about DOD. He is about 2 hrs from me.
EE4FD4F6-E8C3-4C49-A2CA-B042AFC75663.jpeg
 
desertdawg

desertdawg

Member
1. Get service manual.
2. Get familiar with scheduled maintenance criteria.
3. Perform maintenance as mileage dictates.
4. Ride motorcycle or put in garage and worship (recommend riding) seen both.
5. Forum is great for weird shit and recommendations but do your homework.
6. Hand tools only or you'll scratch the finish. Do your own work. You'd be surprised at how easy these things can be.
7. Always, always, always, did I say always? Disconnected the mutha effing battery PRIOR TO PERFORMING ANY TYPE OF WORK ON YOUR BIKE!
8. Live in Arizona where they store all airforce surplus jets due to lack of humidity. Side step BDM electrical issues.
9. "Don't listen to Sven".
(Sorry Sven, couldn't resist, you know we luv ya)
 
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