Last day of the year.

Well this is the last day of 2007. I thought I would be able to ride at least once this month.
No such luck. Rain, snow, fog, black ice. Today their, calling for one maybe four inches of snow by end of New Years day. I'm really a fair weather rider. But I don't really mind riding in cold weather as long as the roads are dry with no salt on them.

This is why I named this Blog "Harley's love em or hate em?" I hate looking at my Harley sitting up on the stand waiting for me to take it out for a winters ride.

Oh well, maybe January will be better.

Lets hear from you riders. Do you like winter riding? Do you ride in any weather conditions?

Hey, have your selves a safe New Years eve and see you next year.

Biker Joe

Hello Harley lovers, by popular demand we here will have from time to time, motorcycle repair projects. We my even have custom projects where we will replace stock parts with custom after market parts and see if they are as good as their manufactures say they are. There will be photos with instructional captions and opinions. So keep visiting this page often.

We welcome all V-Twin owners here but remember this is a Harley Blog so Projects will be with Harley bikes in mind....Biker Joe

This Project comes courtesy of Biker Bob.

Primary Chain Adjustment The Easy Way.

First off I used my 12 inch extension to loosen the lock nut. Once loose, I placed a small piece of wood underneath the extension so that I could use it as a fulcrum while protecting the chrome cover. I used a clothes hanger to make a 6” long hook to gently pull on the back side of the chain (toward me) to disengage the teeth of the bracket. Once disengaged I gently leveraged the bolt and nut upward using the extension until taught. Once taught, I pushed the bracket against the mating teeth of the bracket with the socket & extension and tightened the nut. I ended up with the perfect 5/8” tension on a cold engine. The next time I tighten the chain it should only take me 30 seconds or so.

Photo Courtesy Of Biker Bob

A 2001 Super Glide was left in a garage with pool chemicals and got some splashed on it's forks. The paint was ruined and the chemicals ate right through to the metal. The question was, should the forks be replaced with chrome ones or powder coated? The cost to do either one was out of reach. So we decided to strip the paint off and polish the tubes. We had nothing to loose, but a little time and hard work. The tubes were left on and all striping and polishing was done by hand.

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Welcome Harley Lovers

Why I started this Harley Blog? I want to share my experience with my love and sometimes hate relationship with my H-D motorcycle.

I've been away from Harleys for a while and the one thing that really shocked me was how much these monsters cost. But once you sit on one the sticker shock fades away. Another shock was how heavy these Harleys are. (650+#s) My first Harley, I was able to pick it up and carry it up the stairs into my apartment. I had no garage for winter storage. Or maybe I'm not as strong as I was in the day.

OK, you ask what model Harley do you have. I have one of the Dyna family models. The Super Glide Sport. A 2004, FXDX. Like I said I've been away for a while and did not know much about the new models. I was going to buy a Harley Sportster just so I could say I have a new Harley. The price was right in my comfort zone. But I saw this Dyna and I sat on it and it felt more comfortable than the Sportster. I asked the sales person, how much? He looked at me with this, do you want to really know look. He said it would be about $4500.00 more then the Sportster. I said how much? It was more then I wanted to spend but I could not pass this bike up. It was March 2005 and this bike was a 2004. So if I passed on this I would pay more because there where no more 2004 bikes left.





It is red with a blacked out engine with minimum chrome. I signed on the dotted line and took the bike home.



The scoot looks a lot different now. With all the mods I did. You know we can't leave a stock bike alone.



First thing I noticed the handle bars were to far forward. So I installed 2" pull back risers to get the bars closer to me. Then I noticed the bike stood to high. I got caught between a drive way, gutter and the street I couldn't touch the ground flat footed and dropped the bike. I also found out these bikes are really heavy. When I couldn't touch the ground the bike went over to the side and I couldn't save it. The next week end I lowered it by replacing the rear shocks and adjusting the front forks.



My digital camera is having problems with reds.
The next time I post photos I hope I have found the fix.








I would like to hear from you riders, your riding experience, mechanical problems you had and mods you made to your ride.

If you had any mechanical problems and not able to get them resolved by your dealer. Ask away, I might be able to help.

Biker Joe