Wintertime Superglide updates

[Hooty]

Good Job D, that turned out nice!

[SEATMAKER]

very creative, your lucky ya didn't lose an eye, lol

[LouEvo XL]

d yer making me jealous....just a little...

[Big D]

Well... when you have a plain-jane Superglide, there's just all sorts of things you can do without spending any money. These risers, for instance.




I didn't like the black paint, so while I wait for my throttle cables to come in, I started wetsanding.

Polishing is easy, if you prep right. Stuff needs wetsanded with 400, then 800, then 1,200 grit, then 2,000 grit. After you're there, and have the smoothest possible starting point, and warmed up real nice and warm, this part only took a couple minutes.



Hooty walked me thru these steps a couple years back, and told me polishers were members of the Black Booger Club. And as soon as I started buffing, I learned why!



.

[richard]

nice little trick with the washers!!!!! (and vise)

[Big D]

Opinions, please... When I got the wheel and forks off, I feel a definite "bump" when I turn the trees from stop to stop... the "bump" being, of course, exactly straight.

Are the bearings and cups bad? Or can I index them?

[jerseymutt]

Big D,

I would take it apart and inspect the bearings and races, if they look good I would repack them and put them back together, adjust as needed and try it. (After repacking, over tighten the assembly to push out excessive grease, loosen and adjust as per the manual). If they look bad or the problem doesn't go away, replace them. Also you might want to think about putting in a grease fitting (I haven't installed one but a lot of very knowledgeable people advise it).

Mutt

[Hooty]

Well chances are it's in the bearings and not the races, could just be a bit of dirt or just needs repacked like Mutt said. Now is the time to replace em and they are inexpensive enough to give ya a piece of mind...just make sure nothing is hanging in that area causing it to bind and give it that "bump" feeling in the middle position...other than that I have no idea.

[Big D]

Thanks, guys. Yeah... I'll pull it apart. Be easier to polish the lower tree.

Hmmm... if I replace the bearings, this would be a good time to do that 3 degree kickout, huh?

[Big D]

Originally Posted by Big D

Hmmm... if I replace the bearings, this would be a good time to do that 3 degree kickout, huh?

Well, the fates decided that I needed a break from this project, and I devoted time and considerable effort in passing a kidney stone. (Now there's a life experience I could have done without).

There will be no 3 degree kickout for ol' D... he will instead divert money from the meager bike budget to the CT scan insurance deductable.

I did get the control wiring extensions soldered in (before thoughts turned to large quantities of morphine)




My bar I.D. is roughly 7/8"... the 1/2" wrench is a rough gage that tells me my solder bulges will pass easily down the bar tube.