Some innocent (ignorant) questions...

[BigDogNZ]

Guys, reading through the various threads on this board is begining to scare the crap out of me.

When I bought my 2000 BD Vintage Classic I got the whole 9 yards from the dealer and the Big Dog rep who happened to be in town (Tampa) at the time about the quality of BD engineering. Now I am not was not totally green so I took it with a couple of shovels of salt, but I admit, I was kinda sold and bought the bike off of the brochures and the look/feel of a BD chopper or two they had on the floor. In particular I was convinced by the assertions around the S&S motor being blueprinted, equipped with top end kit for high performance and good for no less than and probably lots more than 100k miles before a top-end rebuild would be called for etc and so on. Actually I was also convinced by the arrogance of the local HD dealer that I never wanted to buy even a push cart from them....

Yet on this Board I come across thread after thread about rebuilds and repairs (as opposed to servicing) to engines and drivetrains with as little as 5-10k miles on them and engine rebuilds under 60k. Now don't get me wrong here, it is great info to have available and I know i am going to be thankful...but I can't help thinking...

Under the original warranty I had a bunch done (which was sorta a clue I tried to ignore) - spoked wheels replaced with mags, starter motor replaced with heavy duty HD one, chrome fork cans replaced twice, ignition unit replaced/upgraded, ignition switch replaced three times, Fish Tail exhaust replaced twice then with a Hooker Header system, wing mirror replaced and a few other things I have probably forgot about over the years. I had it serviced regular by professionals (yeah right) changed tires and brake pads, swingarm donuts and battery and did fork oil and a fork seal once after hitting a pothole in New Mexico at 85mph loaded up. Oh, and I replaced the stock shocks with progressive air running at 80lbs to try and stop the rear tire from bouncing off the underneath of the fender.

Apart from having an oil cooler fitted at about 5k miles I don't believe I have done anything else to the engine or transmission other than change the oil and plugs and adjusted the clutch and steering head bearings once or twice. Bike is now 12 years old with 34k miles and counting.

Now I am making plans to;
- tear the topend down and rebuild,
- replace the Baker 5 speed
- rebuild the clutch
- throw away the ECU and hotwire everything with fencing wire
- rebuild the forks
- replace the gas tank
- and I don't know what all else... and I am already working on the swingarm

On the weekend I came across a chap on one of the first 5 speed HD evos that came out, 198?,he has had it 15 years, third owner, done 325k km (200k miles) and while the motor is rattly over 65 mph it has never been torn down!!!! Go figure. Sure it doesn't look as sexy but hey....

So have I got this wrong or are some of you actually getting serious miles out of your (stock) BD's?

just asking like....

John

 

[Peckerwood]

Sounds to me like you're having a lot more trouble than most, and I'm sorry to hear that. As for the reliability issues we (including myself) rant about endlessly on this forum, keep in mind that it is human nature to complain when things go wrong, and this forum provides a convenient place to do so. However, when the Dog is up and running, we take it for granted and rarely log on to the site to share our happy thoughts, do we? For every member bitching about his bike here, there's a hundred out riding and having a good time.

I fear that I never would have bought my mastiff if I had read this forum before the transaction because of all the negative comments. But the fact remains, though, that even though the bike can cause me frustration from time to time, I keep fixing it and enjoying the ride. I can't envision selling it. I might buy a Harley in the future to keep the dog company, but the mastiff's not going anywhere, no matter how much it pisses me off from time to time.

 

[Oldhvymetal]

I went through some of what you did with my 2000 V-Sport initially, but... once done she's been running fine since, or should I say "as expected". Every bike has stuff that wears out eh?

Veteranarians usually see more sick dogs than healthy ones.

 

[05 old dog]

peckerwood is exactually right....and a lot of the rebuilds are done in the name of wanting MORE than stock...i know mine was....bike motor was running perfectly but winter months came on and i was looking for something to do...had 14,000 mi but i rebuilt the top end and had the heads worked and all the other mods that were not needed but wanted...by the way 6 dogs left last weekend on 1000 mi trip from 2500 elevation to 9900 elevation all trouble free miles with a shit load of thumbs up from bikers and cagers....

 

[BigDogNZ]

Now thats what I wanted to hear! I am probably more like Oldhvymetal, got most of the gremlins and issues sorted first 2-3 years and now it is just wear and tear - but i confess you guys were gettig me worried

So maybe some more "these bikes are great" stories on the Board.... Has a poll ever been done on bikes with big miles on them? BDM told me in 2000 about a 95-96 Vintage Classic with 2-300 K miles down california way. Would be good to publish some stats....

 

[BigDogNZ]

....

Now I am making plans to;
- tear the topend down and rebuild,
- replace the Baker 5 speed
- rebuild the clutch
- throw away the ECU and hotwire everything with fencing wire
- rebuild the forks
- replace the gas tank
- and I don't know what all else...
John

Oh...and this bit was said in humour by the way (we laugh differently in this neck of the woods)

 

[Tattooedirish1]

There are a few guys here with over 100k on their dogs. Talk to Raywood. The guy is a miles monster. Runs a stock 05 chopper. and our top poster. He also posts some of the best
"these bikes are great" posts that you're looking for.

 

[BigDogNZ]

There are a few guys here with over 100k on their dogs.


Some stats would be great, a Poll? I got a badge from BDM when I hit 25k -did they keep doing that stuff for long?

 

[woodbutcher]

http://www.bigdogbiker.com/forums/general/38153-how-many-miles-your-bdm.html

 

[BigDogNZ]

coming up on 34k now - not much I hope...

 

[Fibersnake]

I am coming up on 30K (would be much more I feel confident if not stuck overseas most of the time).

Only real problems I have had that I atribute to BD was during the first few months (mine is 2005 and I have had since 05), when my starter had the leak from primary, it was changed out under warranty and has been fine since.

I did have them change out the heads with new valve train right before the warranty went out, which was approximately at 14k, mainly due to there was some concern about work guides from geometry conflicts with the TP stuff. The heads were right at the outer limits but were close enough that they were dovered under warrenty. The did change eveything thing with exception of Rocker Boxes and covers (i,e. new valves, guides, rockers, springs, etc.) kept the TP boxes. so far they are still holding up with no issues.

Other than that, main change was to a 600 cam (had that done when they did the heads).

I went through a few EHC but none had failed due to BD issues. Now have a PDM on it with somehwere around 3k, no issues.

Have road it on multiday rides of a few thousand miles a couple of timeswith single days over 700. Never had an issue nor would be hesitant to do so again (actually planning to do so in October).

So for me nothing major and all the EHC failures or change out were do to over circumstances. Very satisfied with the 05, not hesitant to go anywhere on it, would not change a thing. I keep her pretty stock, do most of my own maintenance, ride it reasonably, not hestant to wash her or ride her in the rain (and have more than once), happy pooch and much less problems than some of the HD I have dealt with over the years.